Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Round 5: Road America Troy Corser (19) led the ope nin g lap of the AMA U.S. Superblke National at Road America; the Australian is chased by Jamie James (2), Pascal Picotte (21I, Fred Merkel (hidden) and Mike Smith (68). By Paul Carruthers Photos by George Roberts ELKHART LAKE,WL JUNE 12 f nothing else, a season of racing usually features a se ries of momentum shifts. For the first half of the season, that momentum definitely rode side-sadd1e on tile Ducati of Australian Troy Corser. But just like that, Big Mo seems to have jumped ship and it is now Corser's Fast By Ferracci Ducati teammate Pascal Picotte who seems to be hitting his stride as the series begins its second-half run. Take Road America for example. For the second straight race, Picotte not only put his Fast By Ferracci Ducati on pole position, but he also went out and won the National - and he did so in recordbreaking fashion. It was the French Canadian's second career victory and it came only three weeks after his first . They really don 't get much better than this one. At the conclusion of the 16-lap, 64-mile race, Picotte was jus t .051-of-asecond ahead of Vance &. Hines YamacJ:. ha's Jamie James with Muzzy Kawasaki's 0\ Fred Merkel nearly as close in third ,...-l place. At least that was the top-three finishing order at the conclusion of the race . Long after specators and participants alike had departed, the AMA decided to dock James a lap for passing Picotte under a wa ving yellow flag in the final comer on the last lap. Thus, the popular rider from Louisiana was dropped to 17th overall, and his championship aspirations were dealt a serious blow. James, however, has filed an appeal. It is important to remember that u.s. Superbike National Championships are not won in March, April or, for that matter, even May - they're won in the dog days of su mmer when the series ventures to places like wide-open Road America and the tight and twisty New Ham pshire International Speedway on back-to-hack weekends. So far, the end of May and the beginning of June belong to Picotte. But to conclude that Corser's championship hopes have been dashed would be simpl y ludicrous. In fact, the talented young Aussie made what was really his first mistake of the five-race-old season at Road America - and he still ended up in fifth place (which became fourth with James' penalty) . The championship leader was with the lead group un til the 11th lap when he ran st r aig h t a t the end o f the back straigh t, picking the Ducati up after hitting a false neutral and running straight up the slip road . He got th e V-twin turned and calmly exited tum five on the gravel, losing any chance of victory but making certain of a top finish and more valuable championship points. While the top three ran together to the flag, Desmo-backed Ducati privateer David Sadowski was alone in fourth at the finish . Sadowski had raced with the leaders in the early going, running as high as second before being slowed with brake fad e problems, and he again showed that he's still very cap able of circulati ng at the front of a Superbike National. Although he didn't get to stand on the winner's po dium, third pl ace would become Sadowski's after the decision on James was handed do wn. Officially, fifth place - behind Corser wen t to Muzzy Kawasa ki' s Tak a hiro Sohw a, just ahead of his teammate Steve Crevier. Smokin ' Joe's Racing's Kevin Magee ha d the best outing of his br ief AMA Superbike career by finishing seventh on the still-developing Honda RC45. Yoshimura Suzuki 's Thomas Stevens was just behind in eighth, with Magee's teammate Mike Smith fading to n inth after burning up his rear tire early in the race. Team Mirage' s Dal e Quarterley w as credited with 10th. The m issing fac tory star who had been a factor in the race wa s Vance &. Hines Yamaha's Colin Ed war ds n. The young Texan had just moved into second place on the 14th of 16 laps when he was high-sided from the YZF750 on the exit of tum 14, bringing out the waving yellow flag that a lap later would lead to his teammate's demise. Edwards was credited with 22nd as his season of discontent and his poor luck at Road America continued. While Corser's fourth -place finish d idn't se rio usly jeop a rd ize the Australian's championship position, it did provid e a glimmer of hope for his pur- suers. Before being hit with the one-lap penaltly, James ' effo rt wou ld ha ve moved him to within 17 points of Corser: 161-144; a moot point, given the AMA's decision. Inst ead it is the cons is tent Crevier who sits second in the title chase with 129 points, jus t three ahead of the fast-closing Picotte and James - both of whom have 126 points. Soh wa is fifth with 124 points. A record crow d of 45,000 filled the viewin g areas aroun d the four-mile Road America circuit on a superb summer day in Wisconsin. The Coca-Cola-sponsored Superbike National got underway at 3:55 p.rn. with Corser getting the jump off the line. The Dapto, New South Wales resident led the field as they charged down the back straigh t and into the left-hand tum five for the first time; James, Picotte, Merkel, Smith, Sadowski, Stevens, Magee and the unusually slow-star ting Edwards gave chase. Picotte moved by James by the time the y reache d the start / finis h line - and the 2Q-pound heavier Ducatis were run nin g one-two after the first four miles of racing action. Smith, meanwhile, moved into fifth as he dove under Merkel in tum five. Picotte wasn't in a patient mood; he eased by his tea mm ate a lap la ter and instan tly opened up a slight gap on the freight train that followed. As if to further illustrate jus t how good the Ducatis really are, Sadowski moved his V-twin into third place on the th ird lap - making it a Ducati one-twothree. The man on the move, though, was Edwards. The Yamaha YZF750 rider had moved by James, Merkel and Smith and was up to fourth at the end of four laps, and he seemed hellbent on finishing even higher. Picotte's initial attempt at a breakaway was thwarted as Corser, Sadowski, Edwards, James and Merkel were latched onto the Fren ch Canadian on the fifth lap . On the sixth lap, Picotte opened up a second lead - bu t he started what would become somewhat of a habit as he ran wide in tum eight. Just like tha t, the others were right back on top of him on the seventh lap with Edwards moving in behind Corse r after disposing of Sadowski. On the ninth lap, Picotte turned his fastest lap of the race - a two-minute, 16.54-second go-round - to open up a 2.38-second lead b y the time they reached the final comer, the all-important right-hander, tum 14. As they completed the 10th lap, Edwards was up to second with Corser slipping to fifth. James was third with Sadowski fourth. The pack behind was led by Crevier, with Sohwa moving past Stevens, Magee and the now-fading Smith. , "I cooked my tire," Smith said later. "I was right there, and then it just started spinning everywhere." Corser was back in the hunt on the 11th lap as he moved in behind Edwards

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