Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rounds 5 /6:Las Vegas International Raceway a thews breaks the bank in Vegas By Andy Saunders LAS VEGAS, NV, MAY 8-9 tep hen Matthews won five of the battles at AHRMA's combined Battle of the Twins, Sound of Singles and Vintage roadraces at Las Vegas raceway. The Barber Vintage Motorsports-sponsored rider showed amazing versatility by swapping between S youngest competitors in vintage racing, 25-year-old Jeff Elings, who was racing up a class by riding his classic '60 class G50 in the Premier race. Roper appeared to be none the worse for wear as he stormed into the lead of the Premier SOOcc event on his own G5O, followed by Mathews and Barber Vintage Motorsports teammate Charles Huneycutt on another Matchless. Roper (Left) Stephen Matthews (81) and Dave Roper (1), both Matc hless G50-mounted , battled hard fo r victory In Sunday's Prem ier 500cc race with MattMwS prevailing for the win. (Abo ve) In the Battle of the Tw ins Open class race, eventual winner Stephen Matthews (81) plays a waiti ng game In second place beh ind Tom Hull (61) and In front of John Hilton (52). (Balow) Sound of Singles winner Marc Field on a Wood-Rotax (407) pulla away from Gary Slabaugh's Norton (355) In the combined Sound of SlnglesIFormuia Vintage race. three different bikes - at times jumping from one bike to another - to win five " points races in the fourth weekend of the AHRMA (American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association) National series. Each vintage class raced for points twice on lhe weekend: the chance for double points attracted East Coast racers who had complained that the gap between Las Vegas and the upcoming Sears Point races, on July 9-10 made it not worthwhile for them to race on the West Coast. Practice day on Friday was complicated by strong desert winds. "The wind sandblasted all the paint off my Manx . Norton" claimed Dick Miles of Ironoxide Engineering. By the start of the race day on, Sa tu rd a y, air cleaners had sprung up on many vintage racers to preserve the valuable internals. Premier 500 champion Dave Roper on a replica Matchless G50 tested the air cleaner's protective abilities during practice; the Team Obsolete rider fell on an oil patch left by a competitor's CR750 Honda replica, tumbling off into the desert. Roper was unhurt, although the Matchless suffered substantial cosmetic damage. Frantic activity in the pits straightened out the crashed Matchless in time for the main event of the Vintage race day, the Premier 500cc race. SATURDAY The Premier 500cc class showed a strong field, with Roper and Matthews being strongly challenged by one of the and Mathews traded the lead on lap three, as Jeff Elings pushed into the third position and Larry Poons stayed close to the leaders, in fifth on his Seeley . By the fifth lap, the leaders were " lapping backmarkers, and Roper nearly took off into the dirt again on turn nine when a backmarker rode w ide as he passed. A puff of sand rose from the edge of the track, but Roper recovered to stay in the lead. The race appeared to be in the bag with Roper a bike length ahead going into tum nine, the last tum on the last lap . But Mathews took a tight inside line, got a better drive out of the cornerand swung out of Roper's draft to take the win by a few feet. Competition was also fierce in the 750cc Sportsman event, as Big D Cycle'S Chris Stobaugh, riding a 750 Triumph, faced up against Randy Bradesku's BMW and the Nortons of James Comstock and Br u ce Haugh. Stobaugh charged into the lead followed by Comstock and Bradesku. The hard-eharging BMW rider passed the Norton on lap three, and took over the lead for good as Stobaugh's machine broke a spoke in the rear wheel, puncturing the tire and forcing the Texan out of the race. In the classic '60s race, Stephen Matthews started his winning streak as he brought his Barber Vintage Motorsports Matchless G50 in ahead of Jeff Elings' G50 and Rusty Lowry on GMA Racing's side-valve Harley-Davidson KR. A three-brand fight in the Formula 750cc race between Pat Conroy's GMA Racing/Bell Helmets/Schaefer Fiberglass-sponsored XR750 Harley-Davidson, Chris Stobaugh's Triumph and Peter Watson's CC Products/Eurotech/ Metzeler-sponsored BMW was soon settled as Watson took the lead and held it to the end of the eight-lap race around the I.8-mile Las Vegas track . In the 350cc GP event, Mike Green on the WCBR Ducati dogged the back wheel of Dave Roper's Matchless throughout the race as the pair carved through slower 500cc Sportsman class riders. The Team Obsolete/Matchless rider took command of the race and held the overall lead to the end. Green took victory in the 250cc GP event, taking the lead from S&R Oassics Ducati-mounted Harold Parks. Slowstarting Sexton Numerical/Bultaco rider Charles Sexton clawed his way through traffic for thir d sp ot. SUNDAY In rematches of Saturday's racing, the action was just as fierce and fast, as riders tried to exact revenge for their losses the day before. In the 750cc Sportsman race, Stobaugh managed to hold his Triumph out in front of Bradesku's BMW. Bradesku didn't slow despite the pain from a broken bone in his wrist, inflicted when a freak gust of wind blew away his pit tent. James Comstock stayed in sight for a third place finish on his Norton. Pat Conroy got his revenge on the imports in the Formula 750cc, keeping his rapid XR750 Harley-Davidson in front of Peter Watson's BMW and Stobaugh's Triumph 750. The rider of the day, though, was Matthews, who rode three consecutive races on three different bikes to three wins, first in the Classic 60s class on a Barber Vintage Motorsports G50, followed by an open BOIT victory aboard an 888 Duca ti and the 500cc Premier class title aboard another G50 Matchless . "I didn't think I would last, and I got into a few good slides out there, but it sure was fun," Matthews said afterward. Sound of Singles/Battle of the Twins favorite Kiyo Watanabe's Honda Hawk developed engine problems in Saturday's practice, an d was sidelined for the main event of the Twins calend ar, the BOIT Open race. The action was close for mos t of the 16-lap event, as Tom Hull took the lead on his Ducati, followed by Ro ge r Heemsbergen's rapid Honda Hawk, which moved up a class. Matthews played a waiting game, dropping from second to third until the eighth lap, when the Barber Dairy rider started pulling away aboard his 888 Ducati; he remained unchaIlenged until the end. John Hjelm used the light weight and handling advantage of his Honda RSl25 to make a scorching drive through the field in the combined Battle of the Twins Formula 3/SOS Junior/ Two-Stroke Singles race, "eventually challenging William Brinckerhoff's Honda Hawk for the lead . Brinckerhoff fough t off the tid-

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