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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127672
Round 6: New Hampshire International Speedway At least it was close (Left) Rich Oliver (97) got final charge, closing the gap substantially, though not enough. "I almost got him back on the final lap . I saw it coming with the backmarker - he really slowed Rich's drive. But his bike is strong and I couldn't close up on him enough as we wen t up the hill," Walker sai d. Third place wen t to Moto Liberty's Takahito Mori, the Honda-mounted Japanese rid er who was running with the leaders before tan gling with a backmarker and damaging his exhaust pipe late on the 18th of 30 laps. Though it kept him from ma king a charge at the lead e rs, he w a s easily able to hold fou rth-placed Performance Sou th Racing's Chuck Sorensen at bay. Sorense n got off to a bad start, over: shooting the first tum twice in the early go ing before wo rk ing his way through the Jump on the lIeld In the 250cc Grand Prix class at New Hampshire International Speedway; here he's followed by AI Salaverrla (22)among others. (Below) The race turned Into an Oliver, Danny Walker (4) and Tahahito Marl(42) battle with Oliver aga in coming out on top. By Henny Ray Abrams LOUDON, NH, JUNE 19 ich Oliver may not be perfect, h e . just seems that way . The Performance Sou th Racing team owner looked vulnerable early on in the 250cc GP event before tu rning up the heat late in the race for his fifth win in a row. "It's d efi nit ely getting hard er and harde r to win," Oliver said after beating R . , . c" P racers, Loudon was a new track. For the rest of the or some ofthe tdp G field, it was a different track. A record heat wave caused overheating concerns for both riders and their machines, and turned tires to trash. Performance South Racing's Rich Oliver hadn't been to the "new" Loudon, and when he saw it wasn't particularly impressed. He approached the track with caution, knowing there wasn't much of a safety margin - especially on a day of record heat but also knowing that it was something he had to deal with. That didn't stop the 250cc GP championship lead er from taking his fifth AMA pole position in a row, however. "I was a bit surprised about the criticism other tracks got for their safety marks," Oliver said. "There is quite a lot of stuff to hit here : solid walls, tires . I have a pretty good safety margin. I approached qualifying fairly conservatively. On a tigh t track like this, handling and rider stamina make the difference." . The heat caused Oliver's Yamaha TZ250 to run hot and he was forced to lean out the carburetion to a point that made him uneasy. But when he d id it, he picked up speed and knew that he'd have to take the gamble, both on carburetion and his riding. "It's important to have a chassis that's easy on the tires, especially at a pla ce like this. You can 't just guarantee yourself a safe pace. You have to hang it out," Oliver said. Danny Walker was second fastest, on the Southwest Motorsports Yamaha , cutting his fastest lap while watching Chris D'Aluisio go hurtling off the track on his Motoworld/Lassak Racing/Spectro Aprilia. "I wanted my first dry pole really bad," Walker said. '1 saw him (D' Aluisio) going off-track at a high rate of speed and it blew my concentration; I hesitated on w hat could have been my fastest lap." What Walker discovered in the brutal midmorning heat was that he ha d to take chances on a place that isn't known to be forgiving. "It's a mentalthing. You'ye got to get over the fact that you 've got to have the bike movirig around-a 10t:'Walker said. "If the bike isn't squiggling, sha king and sliding, "you're not going anywhere. To go really fast, you have t() be really hanging it out and having it shaking itself to death. That's going to be the key ." ....~ Moto Liberty's Takahito Mori was third fastest on a track that seemed to su it his riding style and the power chaiacteristics of his Honda RS250. Mori brakes almost to the apex, then accelerates out. His biggest qu estion mark was how well the Bridgestone tires w ould ha ndle the heat. . Motoworld's Chris D'Aluisio filled out the fron t row after ending his session premature1y with his off-track jaunt. The fron t end of D'Aluisio's Apfilia developed a violent F . oC'l ยง ....... 12 Southwest Racing's Danny Walker by 0.479 seconds. "I wanted to win the pole, but I didn't really want to push too hard to win the race. I did win , and it's sweet to come here after a few years and win on the new track," a track that Oliver was cri tical of on his first visit here. "Ric h is one smart cookie," Wa lker conceded . "He just followed me, wa iting. I tired myself out." The pair hit traffic on the final lap an d Walker made a 250e t: headsha ke in the transition from turns seven to eight, a wobble that was so bad that it shook the brake pads back and he had no front stoppers. He clamped the rear brake On and motocrossed off the edge of the track, stopping short of a pond. "I did a motocross ride like you wouldn't believe," D'Aluisio said. Technically, D'Aluisio wason his own. His tuner John Lassak was back in Califor nia helping his wife recover from recent surgery. His crew at Loudon included team owner Brad Lowe, Cycle World magazine' s technical editor Kevin Cameron, and D'Aluisio 's brother, Gary. D'Aluisio was in contact wit h Lassak, "tuning by phone," he called it, and was getting help from White Bros. for his WP suspension. "They're working really hard to get the parts we need," D'Aluisio said. "The bike is really settled well. It's running cool, and for this kind of heat it's important to run cool." After seizing twice at Elkhart Lake due to fuel starvation, chipping the Nikasil from his cylinders, D' Aluisio fitted new cylinders for the race. Oliver's Performance South Racing teammate Chuck Sorensen was fifth fastest, just .030 seconds. behind D'Aluisio, after getting the weekend off to a rought start. "We really made a turnaround since yesterday," Sorensen said after Saturday's qualifying session. "Two steering dampers locked up and destroyed. I had a chain fly off, and did two laps in a half-hour session. I didn't feel the track was coming to me as far as being smooth and cutting clean laps. Then, yesterday, with those two laps it felt good . I'm very happy to be on the second row ." Like Oliver, Sorensen had never been to Loudon and found it to be a "real hacker's course. It's a lot like Pomona, but a little safer. "The heat is hard to deal with. Brain fade could set in early. I'll probably go out and set an even pace , then push the last 10 laps. Tomorrow is survival of the fittest," said Sorensen. . Sixth-fastes t, and the final rider to qualify on the same second as Oliver, was Mile Hi Motorsports Donnie Hough, also a first-timer to Loudon, though he said that the tracks reminded him of many that he raced on in his native Colorado. "It's a pretty easy track to learn once yo u can overlook the walls. I'm surprised there aren't hay bales in front of the walls. You see it. It slows me down a little bit. There are a lot more races than this one left:' Hough said. Also like the others, Hough thought the heat wo uld be a deciding factor. "The heat - this could be a breaker. "I'll try to ha ve some tires left at the end - to still have something left at the end and make a push. The track seems ha rd on tires .and brutal on peo ple." ," Jo n Co rnwell was seven th fastest ab oard th e Jackson Ra ci ng y Hyd -Mech Saws/McBride Cycle Riders Club Yamah a just in front of Enough Said Productions' Al Salaverria. There were 26 qualifiers for the 3O-lap, 48-mile, . 59cc GP. 2 ----