the field and sett lin g just in front of
fifth-placed Chris D' Alu isio, the
Motoworld /Lassak Racing /Spectr obacked Aprilia rider.
Sixth was a race throughout, with
Enough Said Productions' Al Salaverria
one better th an Mil e Hi Motorsports'
Donnie Hough. Zero Gravity's Nick lenatsch was bac k in eighth and never able
to close the gap after getting held up at
the start.
It took Oliver 38 minutes, 15.669 seconds to co m p le te the 30-lap, 48-mile
race at an average speed of 75.272 mph.
The w in, in th e s ixth of 10 races,
ext ends Oliver 's lead over his teammate
Sorensen, 207 to 159. D'Aluisio is third
with 146, tw o better than Wa lker. lenatsch is fifth with 131.
A track that was coming apart, backmarkers that were caught early and
often, and blistering heat were some of
the concerns the 25-rider field had on
Saturday after qualifying. Fortunately,
the weather was less severe on Sunday
afternoon, though it was still hot, with
traffic promising to playa big part.
Rich Oliver made his cus tomary start
at the head of the parade, with Salaverria an early second in front of Mori and
Wa lker.
By the end of the second lap, Mori
and Walker had drop ped Sala v erria
back to fourth and set off for Oliver,
who wasn't making a break. He 'd said
after qualifying that he didn't want to
use himself or his tires up ea rly, and
seemed to be playing the waiting game.
· On the sixth of 30 laps, Walker
moved into second in fro nt of Mori,
with the lead trio leaving the fight for
fourth behind. In that fight, Salaverria
led D'Aluisio, Hough, and Sorensen.
"I overshot tum one on the second
lap and Salaverria and D'Aluisio got in
front of me," Sorensen said. " I did it
again on the third or fourth lap ."
Walk er had chosen a softer rear tire
than Oliver and most of the other Dunlop-equipped rid ers (Mori was racing on
Brid gestones ), in a bid to stick with
Oliver ea rly . He knew that's what it
w ould take, and it worked .
"It was one way to make the bike run
hard in the beginning and just hope to
b e th ere at th e fin ish . It was a last. minute decision," Walker said. "I was
actually doing q ui cke r la p s with the
softer tire. I could drive off the comers
'and keep pace wi th Rich."
Walker moved past Oliver on the
10th lap as the lead trio headed through
tum four on to the old track loop. " He
was much better in tra ffic," Oliver said .
By th en , D' Aluisio and Sorensen were
ahead of Sala verria, with Hough sev. enth, and Ienatsch alone in eighth where
he wo uld finish .
On the 12th lap Sorensen made his
move and was in to fou rth. Th ou gh he
knew th e lea ders w ere lon g gone, he
would catch sigh t of Mori at the end.
· · I '.
SrIe Y
'f
'
Mike Smith (68), Jamie
, James (11), Steve Crevier
(4), Gerald Rothman Jr.
(5) and Jon Corn well (49)
battle l or the lead in the
600cc Supersport tina!.
"I didn't see a chance
h im, "
o f catching
Sorensen said.
Oliver stalked Walker
un til the 255th lap, getting past with a clean
move underneath him in
the turn-six loop.
" I talked to Thomas
Stevens before the race;
he's kind of m y rid in g
coach , and h e trie d t o
calm me down," Oliver
said. "He told me to race
for points and get out of
here wi th the lead.
Danny rode extremel y
hard and I noticed a hint
of tiredness. I was tir ed
as we ll."
As tired as they both w ere, Walker
still had enough push to make a last-lap
gasp, using a ba ckmarker they'd both
passed a number of times, but came up
just short.
"I messed up on the last lap ," Oliver
admitted. "I lapped the guy four or five
times. I was able to hold the lead by
about 50 -60 yards . I expected h im
(Walker) to go blowing by me, and was
relieved when he didn 't. I knew h e
wasn'lgoing to banzai. Backmarkers are
hard ~e, beca use they have no lines.
They (the lappers) are in the center of
the track and they could chop you up at
an y minute. I caught him (the lapper) in
the esses out of tum one. I was down to
first. I should have been accelerating ou t
. of second on to the banking."
Walker closed ri ght up, but wasn 't
ab le to pas s Oli ve r and to ok a h a rd fought secon d, with Mori not far behind
in third. If there was an y consolation for
Walker it was that he had the fastest lap
of the day, unofficially, th ou gh Mor i
had a lap nearly as fast.
The Mota Lib er ty Honda rider had
been sticking with the leaders for much
of the race until he wen t too hard into
turn four, th e looping right goi ng up
in to the w oods. He crash ed into Leon
Cortes, knockin g Cortes off his bike, and
pinched th e le ft exhaust p ip e on th e
Mota Liberty RS250 Honda.
"My mistake," Mori said. "I passed a
backmarker and bent my exhaus t p ipe.
Then it won't go as fast, then I try."
Mori had crashed in qu alifyin g, da maging his bike. Though they were abl e to
get it ready for the race, it was vibra ting
badly and a ha ndful to hold on to. Still,
Mori said tha t the Honda was suited to
the track because it accelerated off the
comers so well.
..
..
riding : he's going to be out .front," .Walke.r
Said. Oliver also wankid 10clear.up w ho does
..
' .. .
_ _ _ ~'--'-----:"_--,- .. tne work .on his bike. Thougti it was recently
1 1 1_'
: . alleged in Cycle M i ws thod fr iend of
home $2000.' . '. .. .. ' .: ' ,. ',. . : .' ":line , but I'll never be as good an ' engine
' . . ', ' : .'
. , . : ' . :. .. -: ' . ' : . builder as ~ud. 1 have' a stock piPe onone
issue 'of who uses what. a"d·.why can't I ': sjde. and one.that's ·sIi9I1tly.c.hanged,qn, the
haveit .wasaqalr, raised at Loudon. Walker .. other." . . ..... ' . . : -:: ' . . :.". ". ' :-': . " : ".
wanied to clear up .some of the confus ion " . ', . : '. '. . . . . . . . ' ' , ' . , .
· about his comments regarding Olive(s ' racing· Dutchman Racing 's Chris Taylor also the
gear, He said ~ was true-that he'd triedto' bllY': .25Occ GP missed !he ' race, crashing in tU
fn
a' set of exhaust pipes ' from the shop that
nine in Thursday's practice and re-separating
· builds th'em ior Oliver, but was refused; after . the'collarbone the'sepill'ilted at Lagun" seea. .
.
at :
: initially being tald·.they'd·bl1· supplied. "Rich is :·.: He's·expeCted' to. bEl bilck for. the next.
, a smart guy..\ don'tcare whatbil\e' he was: · ~ id'Ohio on· July. 17 ...
... .
.
'
.
". .
"
." '
. . -.- - ....
':The'
race:
.
Soren sen w as about three seconds
back in fourth, having turned lap times
in the low 1:16's which were below his
qualifying mark, but not enough to close
up on Mori. Though raceday wa s slightly cooler than Saturday, Sorensen said
the h alfway fl a gs did n' t come soon
enough . D'Al u isio w as fi ft h wi th
Sala verria staying in front of Hou gh to
the end.
l.~
New Hampshire International Speedway
Loudon, New Hampsh ire
Results: June 19, 1994 (Round 6 0110)
25Oc< GRAND PRIX Q UALIFYING: 1. Rich Oli ver .
(1:15.555); 2. Danny Wa lke r (1:15.681); 3. Tal:ahilo Mo ri
(1 :15 .940); 4 . C h ris 0 ' A lu isio (1:16.030); 5 . C h uc k
Sorensen (1:16.060); 6. Donald H ou gh (1:16.213); 7. Jon
Co rn well (1:16.633); 8. AI Sala verria (1:16.72'.1); 9. Ni ck
l en a tsch (1:16 .767) ; 10. Geep Te rranova (1:17.450 ); 11.
Christopher Rankin (1:17.733); 12. William Greenwood
(1 :17.805); 13 . Mike- Sultiva n (1:17 .974); 14. M il e s
Baldwin (1:18.509); IS . John France (1:18.511); 16. Jason
Paden (1 :18. 538) ; 17. Bobb y Ke it h (1:18.900); 18. Bill
Himmelsbach (1:19 .055); 19. Bru ce lind (1:19 .192); 20.
Ma rk Fester (1:19.303); 21. leon Co rles (1:19.708); 22.
Bill Borselll (1:20.410); 23. Jim Bonner (1:22.152); 24. Don
Grija lva (1 :22 .460 ); 25 . Fr ank A ra gak i (1:22 .500 ); 26 .
TImo thy O'Connor (1:22.635).
25Oc< GRAND P RIX A N A'" 1. Rich Olive r (Yam) ;
2. Da nny Wal ker (Yam) ; 3. Ta ka hi to Mori (H an); 4.
Chuck So rensen (Yam); 5. Chris D'Aluisi o (A p r); 6. AI
Sa lave rrta (Ya m) ; 7. Dona ld Hough (Ya m ); 8. N ick
Ie na tsc h (Yam); 9. Geep Ter ranova (Ya m ); 10. Jason
Pad e n (Ya m) ; 11. W ill iam G reen w ood (Ya m ); 12.
Willia m Hi m melsbach (Yam); 13. Bobby Ke ith (Yam );
14. John Fra nce (Ho n); 15. Jim Bonn er (Yam ); 16. Bill
Bo rse lli (Ya m); 17. Don G rij a lv a (Ya m ); 18 . Fr ank
Aragaki (Yam ); 19. Ma rk Foste r (Ya m); 20. Bru ce Lind
(Yam) ; 21. Leo n Cortes (Yam) ; 22. M iles Bald w in (Yam);
23. Mike Sullivan (Yam); 24. Christop he r Rank in (Yam);
25. TImothy O'Connor (Yam).
T im e: 38 min., 15.669 sec .
D istance: 30 laps. 48 mil es .
A Vit gr S peed : 75.272 mph.
n
~b rgin of Victory: 0.479 sees.
250c c G R A N D P RIX C'SH IP P O I NT STA N DIN G S
(After 6 of 10 rounds ): 1. Rich Oliver (207); 2 Chuck
Sorensen (159 ); 3 . Chris 0 ' Aluisio (146) ; 4. Danny
Walker (144 ); 5. N;o: Ienatsch (131); 6. Donald HOUgh
(126); 7. Mike Su lliv an (122) ; 8. AI Salaverria (121) ; 9.
Jaso n Paden (104 ); 10. Jon Co rn well (95 ); 11. Ceep
Terranova (92); 12. Takahito M en (89); 13. Bill Quinn
(83); 14. Chrislopher Rankin (82); IS. Bobby Keith (74);
16. fI1E) Aaron TumerlJohn France (65); 18. rna 8iD
Borseil i/Bruce Lind (60); 20. Leon Co rtes (56).
Upcoming Rounds:
Round 7 - Lexington, Ohio, July 17
Round 8 - Brainerd. Minnesota, July 31
AMAlCCS HP4600cc S
upersport Series
Smith wins agem
By Paul Carruthers
Photo s by Henny Ray Abrams
LOUDON, NH, JUNE 19
t would be hard to find a race th at
had mo re: a seven-rider freight train
at the front setting a torrid pace, passes throughout the field, and a championship ha nging in the balanc e.
When it was over and those watching
could take a m uch-welcomed br eath, it
I
was Smokin' Joe's Honda's Mike Smith
w inning his fourth 600cc Supersport
fin a l of the season - and it may have
been the toughest one yet. Smith en ded
up leading most of the laps, and he definitel y led the one that counted most afte r
getting the best of a horde of lapped riders near the end of the race. Smith ended
up winning by 1.756 second s, but that
was the gap that for most of the race separated first throu gh seventh . .
Second place went to Vance & Hines
Yamaha's Jamie James, who was the
only other ri d er to take a tum at the
fron t of the train. He was in the hunt for
victory until Smith's quick run through
lap pers near the end.
"I jus t stayed on him," Smith said. "I
h ad m y elbows and eve ry thi ng out. I
wa s b o w ed u p li ke a c hicke n. H e
Gam es) doesn 't give up. I got him going
up the hill ."
.Local her o Ger ald Rothman Jr. finall y
earned his firs t pod ium finish at New
Hampshire Intern ational Speedway, and
it took a last-lap plunge under Smokin'
Joe's Mike Hale to ge t it d one. Rothman
worked his way past Ha le on the brakes
going in to tu rn six , and ma naged to
hold the Texan off to the finish.
Kinko's Jason Pr id m or e ended up
fifth, tho ugh he trail ed at the back of the
se v en -rider pack for the entire race.
Prid more ended up being hit by a stray
ti re w hen Ca n a d ia n Jon Cornwell
cras hed his Princeton Honda into a tire
wall while in the lead gr ou p on the 26th
of 30 laps. Cornw ell was rid in g well,
and had his yellow CBR600 up wi th the
factory men w hen he came unglued in
th e high-speed turn eight. C ornwell
attem p ted to go under Rothman in the
right-ha nder and the two tou ched, sending th e Canadian in to the tire barrier
where he was kn ocked out. He regained
conci ousne ss a fter th e ambu lance
arrived, and w as transported to Co ncord Hospital for overnight observation.
The second of the lead seven to crash
was Muzzy Kawasaki's Steve Crevier.
The Canadian had mo ved in to the lead
group after starting slowly and w as
ahead of Hale and Rothman w he n he
crashed in tum four .
"I think I hit one of the pot ho les out
there," Crevier said. "Maybe I was just
to o re la xed . It just threw m e on the
floor. I th in k I must h ave jus t put an
ed ge in it."
Loca l Ru ss Katzen berger fini sh ed '
sixth, ahead of fellow New Englanders
Charles Chouinard, Jeff Perry and Brett
Metzger. Utah's Robert Wright finished
10th.
i3
