Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

place - a group that included Mark McDaniel, James Randolph, Thomas Wilson and Tom Kipp. On the 16th lap Pridmore moved into fifth, and a lap later he was up to third. Though he couldn't get close enough to challenge the lead duo, his ride was impressive nonetheless. The Suzukis of Team Suzuki Sportbacked McDaniel and Rando lph filled out the top five, with Wilson and his Kinko's Yamaha getting the best of Yoshimura Suzuki's Kipp . TBR Ra cin g ' s Robert Wright, Team Suzuki Sport's Aaron Yates and Valvoline Suzuki's David Stanton completed the top 10. At the end of the day, however, the AMA disqualified McDaniel from his fourth-place finish when they discovered an "equipment viclation" during post-race teardowns. The Santa Rosa, California, rider has appealed the disqualification, making all results unofficial. Turkington's win moved him into the championship points lead. The Texan's 102 points leads Rothman's 97 points. Pridmore is third in the champion ship standings with 90 points. Muzzy Kawasaki's Fred Merkel dropped all the way back to seventh after crashing out of the race on the opening lap after being hit by Pridmore. The race started under cloudy skies on a race track that had come under harsh critiscm and was nearly -boycotted, with Turkington leading the wa y down the front straightaway and into the left-hand turn one. At the end of the first lap, Turkington led Rothman, with the pair already slightly clear of the pack that included Pridmore, Kipp, Randolph, and McDaniel. By. this time Merkel was already out, crashing and riding the bike back to the pits. "Pridmore took me out," Merkel said later. "Fred hit me, bu t it was my fault," Pridmore admitted. "I hit a hay bale and it jerked the bike from underneath me. 1 felt him hit me. It was right under the tunnel." On the third lap, Pridmore crashed by himself in tum seven as he charged to catch the lead duo: "I jus t lost the front en d," the Californian said . "It was just real easy. 1 made sure my brake levers were there and started charging. It shows how good the Yamaha works - it wouldn't let me stop riding it. For the first three laps 1 was just looking down to see if it was okay. 1 ju st kept charging after that" And what a charge it wa s. Pridmore was eighth when he finall y got back on tra ck. Like he said, his run to the fron t started slo wl y as he made sure things were in order. He stayed in eighth for a few laps, moved to seventh and then started eating away at those in front of him. On the 16th of the 23 laps, Pridmore moved in behind the group fighting over third. On lap 17 he was up to fifth and a lap later he was third. Though he was able to close on the leading duo, there wasn't time to challenge for the win. Meanwhile, Turkington continued to lead Rothman; the New Englander staying close but never pa ssing. It all came down to the final corner. Rothman · charged in hard and rode around Turkington, but his speed forced him to run wide, allowing Turkington to come back underneath to take the victory. "I thought, 'Should 1 guard the inside and risk getting a bad drive, or just concentrate on getting a good drive out?' 1 chose the latter and gave him the outside. The only problem was figuring out how far you can lean it over with the bumps. The front wheel is in the air as much as it's on the ground. I'd have hit the bridge three times if it had beenthere today." "I went for it, " Rothman said. "H e slowed down and squared it off. 1 knew he w as coming back under me. Th ere were only two comers wh ere 1 thought 1 had a chance of passing him - the braking corners at the end of the stra ights. 1 didn't have that opportunity an d the re was only one more corner. 1 figured 1 might as well try b ecause there's so D much run-off there ." (Left) In Harl eyDav idson Tw lnSports action, Shawn Hlgb8e (2) dealt three-time champion SCott za inpach (1) his fi rst defeat of th e season. (Below) The 750c c Supe rspo rt class takes to the co urse that wo und through the Pomo na Falrp lex parking lot. Pomona Falrplex Pomona , California Unofficial Results: Apri l 9, 1994 7SOcc 55 FINAL: I . Britt Turkington (5uz); 2. Gerald Rothman Jr. (Kaw); 3. Jason Prid more (Yam); 4. Mark McDaniel (Suz); S. Jam es Randolph (Suz); 6. Thomas Wilson (Yam); 7. To m Kipp (Suz); 8. Robert Wright (!Ca w); 9. Aaron Yates (Suz); 10: Oa vid Slanton (Suz); 11. Aaron La nningha m (Ka w) ; 12. Da vi d Roy (Kaw); 13. Jacques G uenette Jr. (S uz); 14. Steve Cottrell (Suz); I S. Gary Lenz meimer (Yam); 16. Dean Mizd al (Yam); 17. Leo Johnston (Hon); 18. Dax Snow (Suz); 19. Brad More ho use (Yam); 20. Steven MY"" (5uz); 21. Dylon H usband (!Caw) ; 22. Matt Cusumano (Suz); 23. Kora l Vaughn (Suz); 24. H ika ru Miya gi (Ho n); 25. Dav id Estok (Ho n); 26. John Jacob (Ya m); 27: Lee Johnston (Hon); 28~cra Arcuri i (Yam) ; 29. Denni e Burke (5uz) ; 30. Mike (!Caw); 31. Dave Rosno (Kaw) ; 32. Robert Fletcher on); 33. Trip p Nob les (Kaw) ; ~ . Rand y Renfrow (Hon); 35. Dan Shrum (!Ca 36. Bra d Stephens (Suz); 37. Fred Merkel (!Caw); 38. w); Anthony Lupo (Suz); 39. Owen Weiche l (Hon); 40. Ma rk Miller (Kaw); 41. Jim Leslie (Ka w) ; 42. Franco Stefani (!Caw~ Time: 33 min., 54.910 sec. Distlnce: 23 laps , 48.3 miles. Average Speed: 85.448 m ph. Margin of Victory: 0.246 sec. Upcoming rounds Round 4: Monterey, California - May 22 Round 5: Bkhart Lake, Wisconsin - June 12 AlWCCS Hartey-Davidson Twin S Series port Round 3: Pomona Fairplex By Donn Maeda Photo by Joe Bonello POMONA,CA, APR. 10 .0 some racers, second-place isn't . much better than last. TIred of the big number two on his bike, and tired of finishing second to three-time class champion Scott Zarnp ach, Bartels' HarleyDavidson rider Shawn Higbee finally put it all together and scored his first win of the season at the Pomona Fairplex. "I'v e finished second to Scott at the first tw o races this year, and I figured that it was time to make a change," said Higbee. "We had a great race out there, and I'm proud to have come out on top." A great race, ind eed. On ce again, the series top-three ranked riders took to the head of the pack from the get-go, and Zampach , Higbee and Shawn Fenwick waged their own perso nal battle for the lead throughout the 12-lap event. Zampach and Higbee traded the lead numerous times in the closing stages of the race while Fenwick faded off the pace. In the end, it was Higbee wh o won by onl y a matter of a few inches. "Shawn rode a hell of a race," said Zampach. "We didn't have the bike qui te dialed in because of the lack of track time, and we were a little undergeared coming out of the comers. 1 could pa ss Shawn coming into the turns, but he wou ld smoke me coming out." Fenwick held on to th ird , de spite a late-race charge from fourth-placed Billy Graef. Zampach maintained his series po int lead, but H igbee's wi n allowed him to close within three poin ts of Zampach, 99102. Fenwick sits in a solid third with 90. A collective sigh arose from the crowd at the start of the race when Zampach put his Don Tilley-tuned Harley-Davidson into the lead, as many expected the champion to run awa y with his third win of the series. Higbee had other intentions, how- ever , an d latched onto the rear of Zampach's machine. Fenwick tagged along in th ird , w h ile Ron a ld McGill and Don Greene followed close behiIid. Higbee ma de his first move on th e opening lap , a nd led the first charge across th e fini sh line. Zampach struck back quickly, though, setting the stage for a race-long d uel between the two. Fen wick joined Zampach and Higbee as they pulled away from the rest of the field, but was not able to find the extra drive to challenge either rider. "I did my best to hand in there with those two," said Hal 's Harley-Davidsonsponsored Fenwick. "But 1 made a couple litt le mis ta kes and lost touch with their draft. After tha t 1 settled into a comfortable pace and wai ted for the finish." Slowly bu t surely, Zampach and Higbee began to dis tance themselves fro m Fenwick, who early in the race ran equ ally alone in third . Some distance behind Fenwick, Billy Graef, Aaron Yates and Ronald McGill battled over fourth . Making a credible charge through the field after a horrib le s ta r t was d irt tr acker Matt Wa it , aboard the Modesto Ha rley-Davidson machine. Wait held down seventh. Meanw hile up fron t, Zampach and Higbee continued to swa p the lead back and forth - Higbee's strength was exiting the comers, Zampach's was comin g in to them. "I think 1 ma y have had some power on Scott," said Higbee. "I could gain on him as we exited the turns." As the race came to a close, it was Higbee who performed the final pass and led the charge past the whi te flag. On the final lap, Higbee seemed to swerve a bit as he raced down the fast straight that followed tu rn s ix, pre venting Zampach from pulling alongside him and diving deeper into turn seven. "Scott had passed me there a few times during the race, and 1 wa n ted to mak e su re that he d idn' t get me on th e final lap," said Higbee. His stra tegy foiled, Zampach was forced to follow his rival home in second. Higbee raced across the finish line with a scant .393second lead. Fenwick crossed the finish line fourth, some eight second later, with Graef, Yates and McGill breathing down his neck. "I was just riding around, and suddenly 1 loo ked and they were right behind me," said Fenwick. "I had to kick up the pace at the end." "We didn't have a whole lot of time to get the bike set up beca use of the lack of practice time," said Zampa ch. "We still have the same tires on the bike tha t we won Pheonix with! We could have used another tooth on the rear sprocket to help get me out of the turns better - I'd ou tbrake Shawn, but when we came out of the turn my bike would just go 'booaahh' and fall on its face." D Pomo na Falrplex Pomona, California Results: April 10, 1994 H-D 1WlN S PO RT FIN AL: I. Sha wn Higbeea 2. Scott Zampach; 3. Andy Fenwick; 4. Billy Graef; 5. Aaron Vates; 6. Ronal d McGill; 7. Matt Wait; 8. Ch uck Blackmon; 9. Sha wn McNary; 10. Dean MizcI.l~ 11. Brian Kohl; 12. Ben Bostrom; 13. Robert Cunnington; 14. Rick Hutchins; 15. Jim Whittaker; 16. Pete Demas; 17. Jeff Harding; 18. Walt Dorsch; 19. Joe Winston; 20. Don Greene; 21. Matthew Guidera. TIme: 18 minu tes. 45.281seconds. DislM\ce: 12 1a~, 252 miles. Average s peed: St1620 mph. M.argin of victory: 393 seconds. A M A CCS H·D TW IN SP ORTS C' S HI PS S ERIES POINT STANDINGS (Aft er 3 of 10 rounds): L Scott Zam pach (102/2 wins) ; 2. Shawn Higbee (99/1); 3. Andy Fenwick (90); 4. Ma tt Wa it (72); S. Billy Graef (69); 6. Shawn McNary (63); 7. Don Greene (56); 8. Jim Whi taker (55); 9. Ronald McGUI (49); 10. Robert Cunnington (46); 11. Ch uc k Blackmon (45); 12. (TIE) Dean Mizda l/ Joe Winston (44); 14. Riel: H u lChins (43); IS. Ben Bostro m (38); 16. Brian Kohl (33); 17. Danny Roberts (32); 18. Ma tthew Guid era (28); 19. (TIE) Aaron Vates l Dick Koehler (26). UpcomingRounds Round 4: Monterey California - May 22 , Round 5: B khart Lake, WlSCOtlsin - June 12 AMAICCS ESC Brakes Unlimited T C eam hallenge Round 3 :Pomona Fairplex Gralsav .s Dutchman's da By Donn Maeda Photo by Joe Bonello POM ONA, CA,APR. 10 hings looked bleak for Scott Gray as he took the Dutchman Racing Yamaha FZRI000 from his teammate a . N .I-< .. ~ 15

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