Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

in to lead from there to the final turn. That's when Higbee made his charge, running it in very hard, too hard in fact. He ran wide, allowing Wait into the lead. Higbee came back onto the racing line and ran into Wait's rear tire about a hundred yards from the finish line. Higbee's front wheel was tossed up into the air, but he gathered it in and finished a shadow second, 0.170 econd behind. "It didn't hurt me at all," Wait said of Higbee's hit. '1 looked back to see if he stayed up." Higbee said he made the pass on the .entry and sacrificed the exit of the final corner. "I didn't realize he was coming up the inside of me:' Higbee said. 'We came to the same point on the race track." A close third was Higbee's Bartel's H-D teammate Eric Bostrom, who had taken the lead briefly on the final lap before both Higbee and Wait sped past. Team HMC/Hansen Racing's Billy Graef was fourth, then, at some distance, came Tripp Nobles, on another Bartel's H-D machine. Nobles was well in front of Hal's H-D's Andy Fenwick. Owen Weichel (East Valley Cycles/ Hyd-Mech Saws) just nipped Tilley's HD's Scott Zampach at the line for seventh, with Zampach riding much of the race without his front brakes. Wait completed the nine-lap, 27-rniIe race in a new race record of 17 minutes, 40.727 seconds at an average speed of 91.635 mph on a cloudy and cool afternoon. After seven of 10 races, Bartel's H-D's Zampach leads the championship, 203194, over Wait. The race didn't start well. for one Bostrom, as Eric's brother Ben crashed in turn one on the fu'st lap. From the start it was the Bartel's boys dominating, Higbee leading Eric Bostrom, with Nobles an early third . before dropping back as Billy Graef moved into third on the second lap. Three laps in and the top two were getting away. After another lap, they held better than two seconds on Wait, who was now charging through the field after completing the first lap in fifth. Aaron Yates was up to fourth at the end of four, then coasted into the pits' at the halfway mark. That left a pair of duos: HigbeeBostrom and, just behind, Wait-Graef, the second pair closing the gap and catching up on the penultimate lap. That's when Bostrom's wake-up call came. "On the third to the last lap, coming into the bus stop, 1 downshifted too many times and slid almost off the track. That's when Graef passed me:' Wait said. But Wait recovered and was quickly onto the leaders. "Me and Shawn (Higbee) were pretty friendly together, riding pretty easy. Once Matt (Wait) and Billy (Graefl came up there it changed everything," Bostrom said. 'There were bikes everywhere. 1 passed Matt (Wait) going into turn two. Going into three he outbroke me'and 1 fell back. I tried to reel him in, in the infield." That didn't happen, and they took the white flag with Higbee in front of Wait and Bostrom. But not for long. At the end of the straight Wait drafted Higbee "so hard 1 couldn't hang with him. Matt (Wait) must have caught Eric's (Bostrom) draft," Higbee said. "Going into three on the last lap we were three wide. We all knew that that was the position we wanted to be in. 1 tried him a couple of times into four, then in nine and again in ten:' Higbee said. "1 was sliding both wheels in 'that last corner." Sliding too much, it turned out, and Wait was able to jump ahead and take the win. I~ Brainerd International Raceway Brainerd, Minnesota Results: July 16, 1995 SUPERTWINS: 1. Matl Wait; 2. Shawn Higbee; 3. Eric Bostrom; 4. Billy Graef; 5. Tripp Nobles; 6. Andy Fenwick; 7. Owen Weichel; 8. Scott Zampach; 9. Mario DuHamel; 10. Matthew Guidera; 11. Dean Mizdal; 12. Michael Golden; 13. Jim Whitaker; 14.. Brian Gibb:>; 15. Michael Friberg; 16. Jerry Casciero; 17. Alan eadie; 18. Thomas Maier; 19. Devin Battley; 20. Aaron Yates; 21. Ben Bostrom. Time: 17 min.• 40.727 sec. Distance: 9 laps. 27 miles. Average speed: 91.635 mph. Margin ot victory: 0.]70 sees. SUPERTWINS C'SHlP POINT STANDINGS (After 7 of 10 events): 1. Scott Zampach (203/3 wins); 2. Matt Wait (194/1 win); 3. Eric Bostrom (186); 4. Shawn Higbee (166/2 wins); 5. Andy Fenwick (163); 6. Matthew Cuidera (149); 7. Billy Graef (145); 8: Owen Weichel (141); 9. Mario DuHamel (127); 10. Dave Estok (115); 11. Ben Bostrom (110); 12. Brian Gibbs (105); 13. Dean MizdaJ (03); 14. Alan Eadie (87); 15. Jim Whitaker (83); 16. Aaron Yates (78); 17. Ron McGill (74); 18. Jerry Casciero (66); 19. Devin Battley (64); 20. Jim Leslie (52). Upcoming rounds Round 8 -East St.Louis, Missouri, August 12 Round 9 -Sonoma, California, August 27 AMA 125cc Grand Prix Series Round 6: Brainerd International Raceway By Henny Ray Abrams Photo by George Roberts BRAINERD, MN, JULY 16 andy Renfrow won his first AMA race in almost five years and immediately dedicated the win to two fallen comrades, dirt tracker Rodney Farris and Yoshimura Suzuki rider DonaldJacks. The Virginian veteran's win came in the 125cc Grand Prix, a race he fought hard to win, and one that called on all of his experience. After swapping the lead back and forth with Rodney Fee, the 39year-old Renfrow outfoxed him in the final laps, waiting until the last possible moment to use a slingshot draft pass and pull out a gap that Fee couldn't put a dent in. At the end of the nine-lap, 27-rniIe race, Renfrow had a 3.979-second margin of victory. He averaged 96.005 mph en route to to his first win in five years. Renfrow last won aboard a Commonwealth Honda RC30 Superbike at the AMA National at Willow Springs Raceway in September of 1990, Brainerd saw two new race winners - Matt Walt (above) and Randy Renfrow (right). It was Wait's first career victory in the SuperTwlns race while Renfrow added a 125cc GP victory to his long list of racing accomplishments. '1 really wanted to win a couple of races again," said Renfrow, who was seriously injured after the Willow Springs win. 'Tm dedicating this win to Rodney Farris and Donald Jacks. I wanted to Win so bad 1 couldn't believe it. 1 really, really wanted to dedicate a race to them." Following Fee home, at a distance of close to seven seconds, was Moto Liberty's Masahiro lizuka, who was, like the top two, Honda-mounted. Next to cross the line were Billy Graef and Ronald Sands. With three races to run, Fee leads Renfrow by 21 points, 183-162.Graef is another 14 points back at 148. '1 was real happy to keep up there in the points," Fee said. From the very start it looked like a two-rider race, with Fee leading the first lap, Renfrow the second, Fee the third, then Renfrow the fourth, fifth, and sixth. It was obvious that Renfrow was riding the stronger of the two machines. Part of that he attributed to gearing. "This morning we geared the bike taller, even with the bad wind," Renfrow said. '1 certainly didn't have motor on him. At the end of the straight Rodney was out of steam and I wasn't." Because of that" Renfrow could stay ahead of Fee on the straight, though he had to weave back and forth to break the slipstream. At the end of the seventh lap, Fee ran up the inside of Renfrow entering turn 10, taking the lead briefly. Renfrow ran up the right side of the front straight to take the lead starting the eighth laP and took the white flag with a l.4-second margin. '1 think he was planning on me going by," Fee said. When they came around to take the checkered Renfrow was well ill front, having sped away after taking the lead a lap earlier. 'When we came out of the last corner, we.were at the same speed. 1 wanted to have a working distance on him so 1 kept sitting up and staying about eight bike lengths behind. When I tucked in, in fifth gear, 1 went way by him:' Renfrow said. He also said that he could go through turns one and two wide open, dropping his knee in turn two for a second to slow the bike down. "On that (final) lap, I didn't come out of the tuck," he said. Moto Liberty's lizuka had pulled out to a clean third by the halfway point and had a ten-second-plus cushion at the finiSh. Billy Graef dropped off as well, with Roland Sands, Kevin Murray, and Bryan Okubo following in a procession. l~ Brainerd International RacewBy Brainerd, Minnesota Results: July 16, 1995 125 GP: 1. Randy Renfrow (Hon); 2. Rodney Fee (Hon>; 3. Masahiro lizuka (Hon>; 4. Billy Graef (Hon>; 5. Roland Sands (Hon>; 6. Kevin Murray (Hon>; 7. Bryan Okubo (Yam); 8. Todd Bowman (Hon); 9. Bruce Lind (Yam); 10. David Pare (Hon); 11. Nancy Delgado (Hon); 12. IUchard Merhar (Hon); 13. Mike Mondo (Hon); 14. Jason Lanigan (Hon>; 15. Todd Nordby (Hon). Time: 16 min. 52477 sec. Dis....ce: 9laps, 27 miles. Average .J'ftd' 96.005 mph. Margin of victotr- 3.979 sees. 12See GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 6 of 9 events): 1. Rodney Fee 083/1 win); 2. Randy Renfrow 062/1 win); 3. Billy Graef (48); 4. Masahiro lizuka 025/2 wins); 5. Todd Bowman (12]); 6. Kevin Murray (118); 7. Mike Mondo (l17); 8. David Pare (116); 9. Takahito Mori (102/2 wins); 10. Andre Castanos (100); 11. Chris Rogers (90)i 12. Roland Sands (87); 13. Nancy Delgado (80); 14. Warren Dunaway (60); 15. (TIE) Joji Tokumoto/Craig Avery (SO); 17. Bruce Lind (47); 18. Wesley Totsubo (43); 19. David Colbert (35); 20. Todd Nordby ()4). Upcoming rounds Round 7 - East St. Louis, Missouri, August 13 Round 8 -Sonoma, California, August 27 13

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