Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD.RACE .:'. . . .. ' .> AMA/CCS Championship Road Race series ' . Round 2: Phoenix International Raceway The Middleweight Team Challenge gets underway witheventual winner Moto Liberty (1)leading the way. H.I. Racing Honda CBR900RR, with Shawn Higbee and Brian Kohl aboard the Blackhawk Yamaha FZRI000. There were 16 finishers in the class, with four superbike riders using the race for practice. Sunday's first race was the Unlimited Team Challenge, the one-hour event getting the green flag just after noon on a perfect, sunlit day in the desert southwest. Gray, riding first for Dutchman,' got the jump.on the field and was quickly joined by Erion Racing's Barnes, with Muzzy Kawasaki's Sohwa moving into third. Team Suzuki's Tom Kipp was fourth, though he was testing his Superbike and would drop out on the eighth lap. By then the hierarchy was apparent, with Gray and Barnes losing Sohwa, who was alone in front of Vance & Hines' Jamie James and Fastline /MCM Suzuki's Guenette. Higbee was sixth ahead of Woody Deatherage on the Team American Honda CBR900RR. Ten minutes into the race the leaders were already into traffic, and on the 10th lap Barnes took the lead for the first time. "1 knew Scott would get a good start," Barnes said. "I wanted to pace myself and be in the lead when 1 came in. I'd have an edge on the entrance to the comers, Scott was better mid-eomer, and I had exit speed. He passed me a couple of times and I'd set it up to come out strong. I just never let off." Barnes moved to the front for good on the 13th lap and tried to pull away, but Gray wasn't to be shaken. "1 got a couple of breaks in traffic, but I heard him right there every time," Barnes said. "This is a sprint race. You have to charge all the way to the pit stop." "Our strategy was to keep as close to the lead (as possible) for Andy (Fenwick) to take over," Gray said. "Our bike's the heaviest, so 1 had to work it hard. Our pit stop was fast; we took a splash of fuel and that was it." "Scott gave me the .b ike in good shape," Fenwick said. "I'd expected the tires to be off, but they were in good shape. Scott's a heavy guy and can wear out the tires." Once the changes were made in the 34th lap pit stop, Erion Racing's Gardner took control and pulled away. By the 39th lap he had close to a nine-second lead and was adding over a second a lap to his edge. After 54 laps, it was over 15 seconds. "I was just getting pIus-14, plus-IS, plus-IS," Gardner said. "It was just a very confident pace. No problems at all. I made maybe two passes where I had to actually stuff somebody. It was nothing like last year." Fenwick brought the Dutchman bike home second with better than 19 seconds on Nobles in third. Lynch and Guenette Jr. were fourth on the Fastline/MCM machine, a bike that could have used more practice time. "We just ran out of time," Guenette said. "That's as fast as the bike would go. It needs more adjustments. I rode steady 1:06's and that was it." H.I.Racing was a lap down in .fifth, Kieffer riding until the 34th lap before John Hilton took over for the run to the flag. Kohl finished up for Blackhawk Racing after getting the team 's Yamaha . FZR1000on the 31st lap. The Muzzy Kawasa ki team retained their lead in the championship, with 65 points to Erion Racing's 63, after two of 11 rounds. Dutchman is thir d with 62, two ahead of Fastline/MCM Suzuki . eN Phoenix International Raceway GOOdyear, Arizona Results: March26, 1994 EBC BRAKES UNUMITED TEAM CHALLENGE: 1. Erion Racing (Hon); 2. Dutchman Racing (Yam); 3. Team Kawasak i/Mu zzy (Kaw); 4. Fastline MCM /Suzuki (Suz); 5. H.I . Racing (Ho n); 6. Blackhawk Racing (Yam); 7. Sp or tsl and of La ra m ie (Yam); 8. Northwest Racing (Hon) ; 9. Keystone /Northstar (Yam); 10. New Tech Racing (Hon); 11. Team America (Hon); 12. Anderson /Dynamic Ra dng (Ya m) ; 13. Team Racelew (H on); 14. Team Bud (Suz); 15. Vance okHines 1 (Yam); 16. Team Attack (Yam); 17. Vance &: Hin es II (Yam ); lB. Team Suzuki (Suz); 19. Harley-Davidson (HD); 20. Loveland Motorsports Hond a (Han).. TIme: 59 minutes. 48.134 seconds. Distance: 54 laps, 81.54 miles. Average speed: 81.810 mph . Margin of victory: 15.217 seco nds . EBC BRAKES UNLIMITED TEAM CHALLENGE C· SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 11 rounds): I. Team Kawasaki /Muzzy (65); 2. Erion Racing (63); 3. Dutchman Racing (62); 4. Fastline/MCM Suzuki (60); 5. Blackhawk Racing (48); 6. Sportsland of La ramie Racing (46) ; 7. Anderson /Dynam ic Racing (44) ; 8 . (TIE) Keystone /Northstar/New Tech Racing (42); 10. Team America (30); 11. (fIE) H.l. Racin g /K.WS. Motorsports (26); 13. Dyno Jet Racing (24); 14. Northwest Racing (23); 15. Vance 01< Hines 11 (22); 16. Vance ok Hi nes I (21); 17. TBR Racing (19); 18. (fIE) Team Racelaw /R ok R Racing (IB); 20. (TIE) Cadman Racing/Team Bud . Upcoming rounds Pomona, California, April 10 Monterey, California, May 22 AMAlCCS Middleweight Challenge Series Round 2: Phoenix International Raceway Mota libertyl Honda takes esertstorm By Henny Ray Abrams GOODYEAR, AZ, MAR. 27 e one-hour Middleweight Team , Challenge at Phoenix International Raceway was a tale of two races . The first half was highly competitive with three riders running at the front in volatile weather - it was anybody's ball game. The second half, after the gas stops, belonged to Moto Uberty/Honda with number two rider Takahito Mori taking command and pulling away to give the defending National Champions their first victory of the season. "After the pit stop it's a whole different sto ry," said Michael Barnes, who rode the opening stint on the Moto liberty/ Honda CBR600. The race began in a light drizzle that would soon stop. Barnes took the early lead, onl y to be caught and passed by Robin Holiday on the Loveland Motorsports Honda CBR600 and Andy Fenwick on the Northwest Racing Honda. Then, just before Fenwick was to pit, he crashed in front of Barnes, nearly taking the Floridian with hiin. Fenwick remounted, but lost 10 seconds to Barnes, who held down second place. Once Mori took over just past the halfway mark, he began to go after race-leader Holiday. Although he couldn't catch Holiday, he was able to get to Holiday's teammate Robert Miosek. He caught and passed him in tum one on the 34th lap. Miosek would also be passed by Shawn Higbee, who had taken over the AGV Sports Group Honda from Scott Zampach on the same lap that Barnes had come in. Higbee moved into second on the 40th lap and would stay there, with Holiday and Miosek taking third. "We won Daytona, we finished second here - it's great for our points lead," Zampach said . Th e third place team, Loveland Motorsports Honda, was surprised at their finish in what will be one of their few AMA appearances this year . "I was ' a little bit surprised to be in the lead ," Miosek said. "This was my first time on this track. Robin did all the riding." "We'll ma inly do club stuff in Colorado to promote Honda motorcycles," said Holiday, who owns Loveland Motorsports Honda in Loveland, Colorado. "We can pay for the racing from last year ." Northwest Racing's Fenwick and Dean Mizdal would recover to finish fourth on their Honda CBR600, one spot better than Team Red Baron's Lefty Bell and Stu Morrison. Barnes and Mori completed 52 laps of the l.Sl-mile circuit in one hour, 10.985 seconds at an average speed of 78.281 mph . Their margin of victory was 7.696seconds. With a first at Daytona and a second here, AGV Sports Group increases their championship lead . After two of 11 rounds, they have 67 points, 16 better than Hyvac Racing who finished 10th today. [icarilla Apache Race team is third with a pair of sixths, and their 50 points is nine better than Moto liberty/Honda. Fifteen Middleweight Team Challenge entries lined up on the grid late on a blust ery Saturday afternoon. The field was green-flagged just before 4:25 p.m . as a light drizzle started to fall, but it would stop by the fourth lap. Barnes jumped out to the early lead, with Holiday giving chase early along with Lefty Bell and Fenwick. By the fifth lap Barnes and Holiday had separated from the pack. Fenwick was alone in third, in front of Bell and Zampach, who was having a hard time getting started. "I was spooked at the start," Zampach said. " It was pouring down rain and all I could remember was the Harley race last year when everyone went down. 1was so tense 1 couldn't get my rhythm at all. 1 was just waiting for the halfway point so I could give it to Shawn." Zampach moved into third on the seventh lap but soon lost the position to Bell, who seemed to have a stronger machine on the front straight. Zampach, though, regained the spot for good on the ninth lap. The lead was taken over by Holiday on the 11th lap, with Barnes in second in front of Fenwick and Zampach. The Holiday-Bames duel went on for several laps with Holiday having a bit more steam on the front straight, thanks to a better drive out of the bowl. "I could draft him and slingshot him ou t of the bowI and carry it onto the straightaway," Holiday said. "He was holding me up in the horseshoe and tum nine. His bike seemed sluggish. 1 passed him and he passed me and 1 passed him again and waved him past, but he didn't go." "We were having a good time dicing back and forth," Barnes said. "He was coming off the turns a little harder. I could come up on him on the brakes. Sometimes I'd get a good drive and get him in one. The pair remained close until the 25th lap when Barnes missed a shift from third to fourth going into the bowl. Fenwick was able to close up on and pass Barnes in a slow left-hand comer, only to crash in front of him a few laps later in the same spot. "I was making my charge and he crashed right in front of me," Barnes said. "When he first crashed it was so close I was worried, then he slid off the II track." "The bike was cha ttering and 1 thought 1 was getting away with it," Fenwick said. "I lost the front end and kept my hands on the bars and I was revving it up - I think because of ice racing. I had to catch way back up." The pit stops and rider changes started soon afterwards: Mori for Barnes, Higbee for Zampach, Morrison for Bell, Mizdal for Fenwick; and, after riding almost to the 40-minute limit, Holiday gave way to Miosek. Much of the race was decided in the pits with Mizdal stalling on the way out and Higbee getting doused with fuel. "When I left I got a face full of fuel," Higbee said. "My eyes were burning. We put in about half a gallon, and half of that was on me." Turning lap times of about oneminute, eight-seconds, Mori was soon in the lead and the race for first was over. . Second went to Zampach on the 40th lap, with that change setting the top five. Mori went on to win by 7.696seconds with Higbee second - about 17.5 seconds in front of Miosek, who had a similar margin on Mizdal. Morrison crossed .the line about 24 seconds later. 0'1 Phoenix International Raceway GOOdyear, Arizona Results: March 26, 1994 MIDDLEWElGHT TEAM CHALLENGE:1 . Moto Liberty/Honda (Hon); 2. AGV sports Group (Hon); 3. Loveland Motcrsports Honda (Hon); 4. Northwest Racing (Hon) ; 5. Team Red Baron (Hon) ; 6. )icarilIa Apache Rare Team (Han); 7. Wolf Racing (Suz) ; 8. Amherst Motorsports (Hon) ; 9. Three Style (Han); 10. Hyvac/New Tech Cycle (Han); 11. Desert Tortoise Racing (Yam); 12. Team Desparado (Hon); 13. Renegade Racing (!

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