Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

emerged side by side. Yates kept the drive on and moved into second, catching up to Zampach and preventing him from opening any kind of gap between them. Zampach wicked it up in an effort to shake Yates, but Yates clung to Zampach's back tire and the two riders began to pull away from Bostrom. Defending Champion Shawn Higbee, expected to be at the front of the pack, instead suffered a contin ua tion of the misfortune this season has brought him (starting with disqualifications at Daytona and Loudon), this time dropping to fourth position halfway through the first lap due to unknown (but clearly audible) mechanical problems. Yates continued to pressure Zampach, finally passing him with a slingshot move on the fourth lap. As Yates began to inch away from Zampach, the Wisconsin resident started to likewise put space between himelf and Bostrom. The young dirt tracker, meanwhile, ecame the leader of a five-bike freighttrain that included Graef, Estok, Fenwick, and Owen Weichel. Yates and Zampach continued to pull away as Bostrom and Graef separated themselves from the rest of the pack in a battle for third; with Bostrom again pulling ahead in the seventh lap and putting a lapped rider between himself and Graef. Yates continued to increase his lead throughout the rest of the race as did Zarnpach over Bostrom, and Bostrom over Graef, who almost went down with Weichel when the Canadian attempted a pass earlier in the race. Graef had gone to the inside in an attempt to get the line into the chicane when Weich.el, intent on the pass, hit the back of Graefs machine. Weichel hit the ground but his bike went "ghostriding," giving Zampach and the other a moment of fright. "It (Weichel's bike) just went riding across me on the track." said Zampach. '1 thought it was going to hit me." Yates had a comfortable lead over Zampach as he flew past the white flag, lapping 'Higbee, who had long since accepted his lot and was finishing the race on cruising speed. At the checkered flag it was Yates, Zampach and Bostrom, followed by Graef and (at some distance back) Fenwick. '1 have real different lines than most of the guys," said Yates. "And maybe other guys don't go through their turns as fast as I do. There wete some real tough places on the track and you had to gas it to get over the bumps, but everybody had to deal with that. I've had some bad luck, so I was really focused on winning." Zampach agreed, saying"Aaron (Yates) seemed highly motivated to go fast and win the race." Bostrom too seemed highly motivat'ed, but somewhat tired from having raced in the 600cc Supersport event before mounting the Harley. "My arms felt shaky,"said Bostrom. "Like spaghetti. This track has a neat layout, but the bumps are a little scary; I caught air a couple of times. There's only so much you can do on an 883. You've just got to go wide open, try to stay on the bike, and attack the track. It definitely teaches you how to charge." When asked about his riding style compared to that of Yates and Bastrom, Zampach replied: 'Tm smoother and I use five years of experience. These younger guys sort of fly by the seat of their pants... or what's inside them. '1t was a really good race," Zampach added. '1 led for a little while and finished in a safe second. Maybe things could have been better, but I had a great time. I depend on racing, (not just) for income, but for therapy." (Right) Aaron Yates was the class of the SuperTwins event, taking his first win of the season. (Below) Randy Renfrow ended up winning his second consecutive 125cc Grand Prix National. Higbee's mechanical problem, which had reared its ugly head in the morning practice session, remained a mystery even after the race was completed. Crew members, though, thought the most likely possibility was fuel starvation due to debris in the tank. IN Gateway International Raceway Fairmont City, Illinois Results: August 13, 1995 SlJPERTWINS: " Aaro[l Yates; 2 Scott Zampach; 3. Ben Bostrom; 4. Billy Graef; 5. Andy Fenwick; 6. Dave Estok: 7. Matthew Guidera; 8. Brian Gibbs; 9. Matt Wait; 10. Dean MiZdal; 11. Jerry Casciero; 12. Michael Friberg; 13. Jim Whitacker; 14. Shawn Higbee; 15. Devin Battley; 16. Owen Weichel; 17. Eric Bostrom; 18. Alan Eadie. Time: 20 min., 22..210 sec. Aver.tge speed: 77.761 mph Margin 01 victory: 3.229 sec. SUPERTWINS C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): 1. Scott Zampach (249/3 wins); 2. Matt Wait (227/1); 3. Shawn Higbee (218/3); 4. Eric 8oslrom (212); S. Billy Graef (203); 6. Andy Fenwick (99); 7. Matthew Guidera (97); 8. Owen Weichel (171); 9. Ben Bostrom (68); 10. (TIE) Mario DuHamel/Brian Gibbs (153); 12. Dean Mizdal (147); 13. Dave Estok (140/1); 14. Alan Eadie (21);15. Jim Whitaker (114); 16. Aaron Yates 013/1); 17. Devin Battley (96); 18. Jerry Casciero (86); 19. Ron Mc.Cill (74); 20. Trip Nobles (58). Upcoming rounds Round 9: Sonoma. Cal~omia - August 26 Round 10: Chandler, Arizona - September 23 AMA1~cGrcmdPrix~ Round 8: Gateway International Raceway Renfrow again By Laurel Allen Photo by Henny Ray Abrams FAIRMONT CITY, IL, AUG. 13 d Y Renfrow scored his second consecutive 125cc Grand Prix victo, crossing the finish line of Gateway International Raceway approximately six seconds ahead of second place finisher Masahiro Iizuka. Rf Renfrow, who's fastest lap of one minute, 43.1 seconds was only a half seeond slower than his 250cc fast time and would have qualifed him for a front-row starting position in the 600cc Supersport class, grabbed the holeshot and was never headed. Though the 39-year-old would very much like to win the 125cc Grand Prix Championship, his hopes appear somewhat slim with two races to go - due in part to the consistency of championship leader Rodney Fee. The Californian finished third at Gateway, behind the Moto Liberty Honda of Iizuka, but maintains a 16-point lead over Renfrow in the point standings, 213-197. Fee has only had two non-podium finishes in 1995, while Renfrow's run was thwarted somewhat by a crash in the opening round of the series at Pomona. Renfrow grabbe<;l the lead at the start, leading Iizuka and Fee. By the second lap, Renfrow had put some ground between himself and Iizuka, who had started behind Fee but had passed him by the end of the first lap. "By the time I passed Fee," Iizuka said later. "He (Renfrow) was aready gone." Renfrow co"ntinued to draw away, using the next four laps to extend his lead over lizuka, who was being hounded by a determined Fee. "He (Iizuka) charges the corners , harder than I do," said Fee. "But I think my riding style is smoother. I also might have a little motqr on him .this weekend." As smooth as Fee rode, Iizuka's technique apparently worked well on the curves of Gateway, for by the end of the fifth lap the Japanese rider had managed to reel in Renfrow somewhat .while pulling free of Fee. The leading trio had pulled clear of the rest of the pack, while the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-placed riders - Bobby Keith, Billy Graef, and Roland Sands, respectively - were likewise riding alone. In fact, the only dicing was being done between Mike Mondo and Dave Pare as they struggled over seventh place. lizuka continued to gain on Renfrow, completely closing the gap by the seventh lap and staying on Renfrow's back tire. Iizuka appeared to be setting up for a pass on Renfrow when the duo encountered lapped traffic going into tum two. The backmarker slowed Renfrow considerably going into the turn, but the Virginian managed to make the pass before the entrance to tum three. No such luck for Iizuka, who was unable to pass the lapped rider until tum five and emerged without the advantage he had gained in the previous laps. "Renfrow passed (the backmarker) in a good place," said Iizuka. '1 didn't." With only five laps left in the race, Iizuka's loss of time proved fatal to his chances for the race victory as Renfrow ran away to the win. Iizuka, meanwhile, crossed the finish line over five seconds ahead of third-place finisher Fee, who readily admitted to riding conservatively in his bid for the 125cc title. '1 didn't want to take any chan.ces," said Fee, who only needs two fourthplace finishes to secure the National Championship. "Thirty points is better than crashing." Due to the lightness of the bikes (approximately 140 pounds) the 125s suffered perhaps more than any other class from the numerous bumps in the track. "My tires were good in slide, very easy," said Iizuka. "But there is too much bump on the 125cc. My bike was almost dancing." . Renfrow echoed that sentiment, adding, "I was .trying as hard and going as fast as I thought I could go." "We'll just have to take it one at a time," he added in reference to the championship he so desires. "There aren't a: lot of guys who can get between me and Rodney (Fee) right now." Keith, in his first-ever 125cc race, and Graef rounded out the top five. cr Gateway International Raceway Fairmont City, illinois Results: August 13, 1995 l25cc GRANO PRIX: 1. Randy Renfrow (Hon); 2 Masahiro IizuI:a (}fan); 3. Rodney Fee (Han); 4. Bobby Keith (Yam); 5. Billy Graef (Hon); 6. Kevin Murray (Hon); 7. David Pare (Hon); 8. Milc:e Mondo (Hon); 9. Nancy Delgado (Hon); 10. Todd Bowman (Hon); 11. Buree Und (Yam); 12. Doug Scronce (Hon); 13. Todd Nordby (Han); 14. Roland Sands (}fan). Time: 19 min., 5267 sec. Distance: 1226.4 miles. Average speed: 82985 mph. Margin of victory: 5.998 sec. AMA U5ee C'SHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS (After 1 of 9 rounds): 1. Rodney Fee (213/1 win); 2. Randy Renfrow 097/2); 3. Billy Graef (174); 4. Masahiro Iizuka (157/2); S. Kevin Murray (143); 6. Todd Bowman (142); 7. (TIE) Mike Mondo/David Pare (140); 9. Roland Sands (04); 10. (TlE) Nancy Delgado/Takhito Mod (02); 12. Andie Castan.. (loo); 13. Chris Rogers (90); 14. Bruce Lind (67); 15. Warren Dunaway (60); 16. Todd Nordby (52); 17. (TIE) Craig Avery/Joji Tokumoto (SO); 19. Wesley Totsubo (43); 20. Dav;d Colbert (35). Upcoming rounds Round 9: Sonoma, Califomia - August 26 Round 10: Chandler, Arizona - September 23

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