Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·R ADR E·.' O . AC · AMA S iJperbike R R Series oad ace (Above) M Smith (68) leads Steve ike Crevier (14) and Takahiro Sohwa (41). Both Ducatls had mechanica l problems while Crevier finis hed fifth. (Above Right) Tom Kipp ended up s ixth after qualifying on pole posit ion. 8 had -to override it. The bike has d efinit ely co me good a nd a ll of Yos himura 's, Suzuki's an d Suz uki Japan's har d work is paying off." While Stevens was fading, Hale was gaini ng . O n th e 13th lap, th e Texan tu rned his fastest la p of the ra ce - a 1:30.810 - an d soon moved by Stevens to take over th ird pl ace . He th en clawed his way to within striking d istance of Merkel, a n d m o v ed p a st th e former cha mpion on the 21st lap. He was soon right on.DuHamel. the French Canad ian having troub le getting through traffic. "I felt like a pinball machine," DuHamel said later. "1 just kept hi ttin g every lapped backm ar ker, 1 couldn't get by one guy clean. I hit at least three or fou r guys. 1 m ean, I cou ld not pi ck a ri g ht pass . If 1 too k my ti me to p a ss them it took me a week, and eve n then it d idn't work . O ne time, 1 th ink it was Chuck Graves, he ac tually sw u ng left before h e wen t right a nd he se n t me almost off the track." Wha t res ul ted wa s a terrific race to the flag, a finis h that wo uld likely have been closer if Ha le did n't encounter the same tra ffic in the final laps. Ha le, in fact, led eve r so briefly on the 23rd lap. "That 's who (Graves) bit me on th e seco n d- to -Ias t lap," H ale s ai d . " He (Du Hamel) go t by him (Graves) a littl e bit cleaner than 1 did, and that set up a littl e gap for the last lap , "I got a bad sta rt," Hale add ed . "I need to practic e my starts on that superbike - 1 re all y d o . 1 felt li ke we were go ing a t a d ecent pace, but it' s just so hard to p ass here. The guys are go ing go od enough so that it's really hard to pass. Finally 1 just started gritting my teeth an d m aking the p asses s t ick . 1 never lost sight of Miguel or whoever wa s lead in g . 1 kept an ey e on th em throughout the whole race and 1 was just trying to preserve m y tire. It was kind of a cri tical tir e choice before the race, and we kind of gambled. 1 think 1 used a lot of my rear tire trying to run those gu ys d own . Once 1 go t th ere it w as a real balan cing act to make a pass stick - I. w:as d rifting both ends going in and drifting both en d s coming ou t. 1 passed Miguel. but I was having a really hard time getting a good drive ou t of the Keyhole, between the water (which was seeping up from the surface on the Round4: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course exit of the right-hander ) and th e u sedup rear tire . He got a little better drive and that's what cost me." Merkel, meanwhile, h ad a lre a dy made a decision to settle for third place: "With five laps to go 1 just melt ed th e tire," Merkel said. "I had o ne ma jor whoops. There was nob od y behind me and 1 knew 1cou ld n' t beat them , so 1settled for third. The Suz uki is not userfriendly with the tire, the power feels a lot like a tw o-strok e. But it su re is han dling beautifully now . You've just got to use a harder tir e th an everybody else. Ther e's no way aro und it." After his less-than-stellar start, James finished a stro ng fourth, the Louis ianan also fighti ng a losing ba ttle with lapped traffi c. "I w as as quic k as the lead ers, bu t 1 ju s t got a slow s ta rt." James said . "I caught th e leaders, but I'd h it lapped riders. Th ey'd inc h by and I' d have to follow . 1 got ba ck to two s econds behind , bu t then I hit more lapped tra ffic. I kept my head d own and start ed closi ng agai n, but the n there was mor e tra ffic. There was fou r laps to go and 1 was three or four seconds behind. Ther e wasn' t going to be an y miracl es tod ay; I'd used the tires up getting to w here 1 was. That' s the way it goes, I've had 'e m (traffic) come back to ·me. I got some poi nts and now we'll go on to Elkhart." . Crevier and Kipp were bot h able to mov e aro u nd Stevens late in the race, wi th Kipp fighting a misfiring Yamaha . Crevi er had thou ght he had a front tire p robl em , but he d idn't: "I thought it was goin g a way, but it was the concre te patches," Crevier said . "I'm not sure what happened ," Kipp said . "The firs t or second lap it jus t fell off . It was popp ing and carrying on . 1 was su rprised because it had run good all weekend long.': Sadowski, Qu arterley and Spencer, whose Du cati, according to tea m owner Eraldo Ferracci had d eveloped front-end push, rounded ou t the top 10. ~ Mid-Ohio Spo rts Car Course Lexington, Ohio Resu lts : June 4, 1995 SUPERB IKE QUALI FYI N G : 1. To m Kipp (] :31. 095 ); 2. M igu el Du H am el 0 :3 1.272); 3. Mike Smith (1:3 1.480); 4. Fred Merkel 0 :41.513); 5. Mike Hale 0:31.596); 6. Steve Cre vier 0 :31.993); 7. Tho mas Ste vens 0 :32.080); 8. Ta kah ir o So h wa (1:32.159); 9. David Sad owsk i (1 :32.3 19 ); 10. Dale Qu arterley 0 :32.356); 11. Jamie James (1:32579); 12. Pascal Pico tte 0 :32.699); 13. Freddie Spence' 0 :33.256); 14. Donald Jacks 0 :33.982); IS. Do ug Ch andler (\ ;3451 4); 16. AI Sa Ia"e~ a 0 :34.565); 17. Todd Harri ngt on 0 :34.811); 18. Chris Can- (\ :35.267); 19. Jim Leslie (\: 35.611); 20. Ch uc k Graves 0 :35.614); 21. Eric Moe (\: 35.621); 22. And rew Dea th er age 0 :37 .077) ; 23. Da mia n We be r (\ :38.034); 24. Michael Fitzpa trick (\ :38.432); 25. John Ashm ead 0 :38.521); 26. An thon y Faria (\:38583); 27. Rick Sha w 0 :38.699); 28. Scott Zampach (\ :39.072); 29. Set h H ahn (\ :39.7'13); 30. James Milr oy J, . (\ :40.139); 31. Brett Ray 0 :40.155); 32. Matt Cusuma no 0:40.178); 33 . Steve Jo h ns o n O:40.39U; 34. Dann y Roberts (\: 40.428); 35. Mark Black (\ :40529 ); 36. Anthony Lupo 0 :40.853); 37. Lome Bank s (1:41.001): 38. Jeff Reeves (\ :41.025); 39. Mike Wal sh 0 :41.255); 40. Ron McGill (\ :41.401); SU PE R BI KE NATIONAL: 1. Miguel Du Ha mel (H an); 2: Mike Ha le (Hon k 3. Fred Me rkel (Suz): 4. Jami e James (Ya m); 5. Stev e Crevier IKaw ): 6. Tom Kipp (Ya m); 7. Thomas Ste vens (Suz) ; 8. David Sadowski (Due) ; 9. Dal e Qu~rtcrley (Due): 10. Fred d ie Spencer (Oue); 11. Pascal Picott e (Kaw); 12. AI Salaverria (Due); 13. Chuck Gr a ves (Su z); 14. Don ald Jac ks (Suz) ; 15. Dou g Chandler (H-D); 16. Jim Leslie (Suz): 17. Chri s Ca rr (H -D ): 18. Da mian We be r (Due) ; 19. Eric Moe (Ka w ): 20 . An thony Fa ria Jr . (Kaw ): 21 . Michael Fitz pa tri ck (Ya m); 22. John Ashmea d (Ka w), 23. Ron McGill (H-D); 24. Jell Reeves (Du e); 2$ . Seth Hahn (Suz ); 26. Mac k Black (Suz ): 27. Jam es Milroy Jr . (Ka w): 28. Steve Joh nson (Ka w); 29. Brett Ray (Kaw): 30. Lome Banks (Kaw ); 31. Mike Walsh (Ya m); 32. Dann y Roberts ISuz): 33. Scott Za m pach (H -D ); 34. An th ony Lu p o (Yam ); 35. Matt Cus uma no (5uz) ; 36. Ta ka hiro Sc hwa Brieflv... - Miguel DuHamel pocketed $7500 for winning the fourth AMA Supe rbike National of his career. Mike Hale took home $5000 and third-placed Fred M erkel eamed $3500. Both DuHamel and Hale used Dunlop's new 868 rear slick in the Superbike National, with neither ride, certain that the tire would go the distance. "It was a bit of a gamble," Dunlop's Jim Allen sa id. "But it had such good grip. We had it for Laguna, but we just ran out of time." Chris Carr had a wild Saturday night as he flew from Lexington, Ohio, to La Salle, Illinois, to compete in the Grand National Short Trac k. Carr left the Mid-Ohio Sports Ca r Course at 1:40 p.m. (Eas te rn), drove to Mansfield and departed the airport at 2:05 p.m., arrived at La Salle at 3:05 p.m (Central). practiced and finished third in the National. Then the Californian started running into problems. The plane he rented left the airport at 12:45 a.m., but couldn't land in Mansfield because of fog_The pilot flew to Columbus, arrivin.g there at 4:20 a.m. (Eastern), but Carr couldn't get a rental car or any other transportation back to his hotel in Lexington. The plane was refueled and they attempted to fly to Marion , Ohio, but again encountered fog. At 5:30 a .m., the plane landed at the Ohio State Univers ity airfield, Carr slept until 6:30 a.m., and then a friend of the pilot drove Carr to his rental car at the Mansfield Airport. Carr arrived at his hotel at 8:15 a.m. and was at the race track at 9:15 a.m. for practice. "We'll know if it was worth it at the end of the year, but I got 13 points and I had fun. I'm not paying the price for it right now, but tonight I'll be the Night of the Living Dead." Carr went on to finish 17th in the AMA Superbike National on his HarleyDavidson VR1000. "I was bored stiff," Carr sa id of his lonely ride in the Superbike National. "I'd make a run at Doug (Chandler) and them, and then I'd make a mistake and lose it all. I started to get it back again, but then I had an ambulance fa, an apex." Carr, in his rookie season of road racing, moved (Due); 37. Andrew Death erage (Kaw ): 38. Mike Smith (Due); 39. Rick Shaw (Yam). Time: 39 min.,54.403 sec. Distance: 26 laps, 62.4 miles. Ave rage Speed: 93.819 mph. MMgin of Victo ry: 1.343 sec. Fastest Lap : Miguel DuH amel. 1:30.624, Lap 26. SUPERB IKE NAT'L C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 4 of 10 rou nds ): 1. Mike Hale (114/ 1 win); 2. Fred Merk el (03); 3. Dale Qu arterley (97); 4. Thomas Stevens (90); 5. Migu el DuHa meJ (85f 1 w in ); 6. Dona ld Jacks (83); 7. Jam ie Jam es (80); 8. Tom Kipp (7'1); 9. Freddi e Spen cer (7] / 1 win); 10. Pasca l Picotte (72); 11. (TIE) Eric Moe /Steve Crevier (61); 13. AI Salave rria (58); 14. Todd Ha rrin gt o n (52); 15. Dam ia n We ber (49); 16. Da ve Sadow~ki (44); 17. Jeff Reeves (41); 18. Doug Polen (40): 19. Chris Carr (38); 20. Scott Russell (36/1 win). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Elkhart Lake, WI , June 11 Round 6 - Loudon, NH, J une 18 into the top 20 in the championship point standings. Dale Quarterley had a close ca ll with his Team Mirage Ducati on the opening lap of the Superbike National. "I didn't scuff in a tront tire," the New Englander sa id. "I hit a bump and the front went away. I hit my foot, knee and shoulder, but it tank-slapped itself back up. Two hands and a foot were all that I had on it. I went off in the grass and started back in about 17th." Pas cal Picotte had a weekend he'd ratherforget, though it was his first crash-free weekend. "It was a really tough weekend," Picotte said. "I didn't quality in tfie dry (on Friday) because the transmission broke. I reinjured my collarbone at Hockenheim (in a 600cc Supersport crash) and it's still really sore. I'm having a hard time with my confidence. We used an old engine, the third one of the weekend." Picotte will have the services of Scott Russell's longtime mechanic Gary Medley beginning with next week's race at Road America. Doug Chandler had his first finish of the 1995 season on the Harley- Davidson VR1000 when he crossed the line in 15th place, Surprisingly, the former AMA Superbike National Champion came out on the losing end of a battle with Chuck Graves and Donald Jacks . "I'd run up on 'em, but they'd just get me 'coming out. They'd park it going Into the comers. I'm just happy itfinished. We had no majorproblemsand it ran." Californian AI Salaverrla rode well to finish 12th after completing the first lap in 28th place. "1sta lled the bike on pit lane and they wou ldn't let me take the warm-up la p," Salaverria said. "I had no warm-up lap and cold tires. On the seco nd lap my right knee puck flew off. I don't know why they didn't let me go out; I would have caught the rest of them without a problem. All the teams were yelling at them to let me go. This is the third time for me on this bike (a Ducati 955). It's a lot of fun to ride, but I've got to learn to muscle it in and get on the gas sooner. But I'm getting used to it pretty quick." Salaverria is sponsored by Leg Art, an embroidery company located in San Francisco, California.

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