Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• RACE TWO The second leg was in many ways a repeat of the first, red flag and all, but there were some notable ctifferences. Once again, Munroe led the way, with Fitzpatrick, Scheehser, Sweeney, Harrington and Quarterley in hot pursuit. Quarterley took his time .catching Munroe, making the lead pass on the seventh lap. The red flag flew on the next lap, this time after Weber crashed in turn one on coolant dropped by a blown motor. The restart would be for 17 laps, grid positions being determined by the running order on lap eight. When the action resumed, Munroe aced the start yet again - for the fifth time in a row - ahead of Pinkstaff, the persistent Scheehser, and Tarricone. Quarterley got his worst start of the week~nd and was lying back in ninth. Local boy Scheehser took advantage of his CBR600F3's nimbleness in the twisty back section 6f th.e course to get by Pinkstaff for second and as the pack ctived down into turn 10 on the first lap, the order was Munroe, Scheehser, Pinkstaff, Tarricone, Ha,rrington, Fitzpatrick, Nobles and, already up a notch to ei~th, Quarterley. Then the Team Mirage rider began his inexorable march to the front, picking off a rider a lap. Only this time Munroe had dear sailing for seven laps before Quarterley arrived in second, so he was able having dropped his lap times. "1 was more consistent, and 1 dropped about a second, from 1:18s to low 1:17s. We raised the footpegs up - I was starting to hurt my little toes grinding through in the Bowl (turn six). 1 think I just got more confident with the bike, and my mind was more settled knowing how things were going to turn out (because of the pit board)." '(Left) Despite his 9-10 finishes at Loudon, Keith Pinkstaff retains the points lead over second-place man Pablo Real, 178-174. (Below) Jim Leslie (98) and eventual winner Eric Gulbransen (94) diced for the lead In the Unlimited Sport Challenge class. Gulbransen got the nod. to pull out a gap of about 2-3 seconds. It was not enough, though, because Quarterley pared it away quickly, caught him on the eighth lap, stuffed by on the inside in turn 10, and sailed away as he ctid on the first leg to win by over eight seconds. Munroe was a lonely second, this time ahead of an equally lonely Tarricone in third. Tarricone had passed Scheehser early on and left him alone in fourth. Fitzpatrick, Scheehser's nemesis in the first leg, was in fifth until he had to pit on lap 12 when his battery's negative tenninal worked loose and killed the engine. Repairs cost him two laps. Another rider on a march was Nobles, Munroe· goes to p_ol_e_ S aturday's qualifying heats were held in a light mist on a damp, slippery track that caught out Loudon regulars and newcomers alike. Traction was far poorer than it had been in momiAg practice, most likely due to the heats being run immediately after the lunch break. Without traffic to remove the accumulating moisture from the misty air, the dew had coated the track surface. The first heat win - and ultimately pole postion - went to Kawasaki-mounted Don Munroe. Munroe got a perfect launch from the second row and immediately snatched the lead with local rider John Scheehser on his Scheehser's Raspberries Honda CBR600F3 in tow. As they broke away Munroe had a big moment in tum three on the first lap, getting sideways and nearly going over the bars. The Canadian recovered quickly, and he and Scheehser quickly drew away from the field, settling down and striking the fine balance between speed and caution, with laps in the 1:19·1:21 range despite the difficult conctitions. Meanwhile, Quarterley was picking his way through the field after a slow start, eventually passing local Sean Sweeney (going impressively on his brand-new Desimone Racing Ducati 916) for third. Series regulars Todd Harrington, Tripp Nobles, and Rick Shaw finished sixth, ninth, and 11th, all appearing to be taking it easy under the damp co~tions.. 1be two riders at the top of the point stanctings, Keith Pinkstaff and Pablo Real, were eliminated even before the races started when they fell on the warmup lap of their respective heats - at the same spot on the track! Series points leader Pinkstaff said the back end of the Zlock Racing z:x-7 stepped out on the sealer in tum two. "That's the first time in my life I've done that," said Pinkstaff. "]n 19 years of racing I've never crashed on the warmup lap. On a track (like this one) where passing is difficult, crashing in the heat race is not my idea of game plan A, if you know what I mean." There was speculation that a rider who had crashed into the tires on the outside of tum two near the end of the moming's practice sessions had knocked rainwater out of the tires, which then coated the track and made that area particularly srip" pery. Pinkstaffs bike was ridable but the motor refused to restart even with help from the marshalls. Pinkstaff would start from row nine of the grid. Riding on fresh slicks, Pablo Real went down in tum two on the warm-up lap for the second heat. 1bere was only cosmetic damage to the Martini Racing Ducati 888, but he injured his left ankle, a potentially serious problem at a tight track like Loudon which requires so many gear changes and weight shifts. Real would not start the heat race, thus joining Pinkstaff at the back of the grid. Conctitions worsened at the start of the second heat, rendering it slower than the . ·first and securing the lead spot on the grid for Munroe. Local rider Kory Rooks led the first lap and a half, but Michael Fitzpatrick was already looking for a way to get his Tucker Racing Yamaha YZF750 by. Suddenly local rider Noel Brown, who goes particularly well in the wet, went around both of them and grabbed the lead. Fitzpatrick finally disposed of Rooks but could not catch Brown and his Moto Milano Suzuki GSXR750. Brown went on to take a clear win from Fitzpatrick, while Rooks slipped back to finish fifth behind Richard Alexander and Eric Wood. Sixth-placed Eric Moe was the first series regulaJ: to finish, working his way up from dead last after a ctisastr01.lS, whee1spin-plagued start. Since the conctitions were expected to be dry OIl Sunday, most of the other riders simply rode around trying to stay up and finish. '1 got on the gas out of tum 10 on the warmup lap and the thing went bone sideways," said Wood. "1 just played follow-the-Ieader; I figured fourth was fine." who had had tuner Vic Fasola lower the bike and soften the suspension on his ZEF.CO Kawasaki ZX-7 during the break between the Jegs and had found a big improvement. "1 think we could have gone even further with the settings," he said later. The former World Superbike rider dispatched Harripgton and Pinkstaff, moved up a rung when Fitzpatrick pitted, and finally relegated Scheehser to fifth in the last few laps. Moe, now on the right compound tires for the conctitions, was yet another rider on the move. "It· felt like a whole ctifferent bike," he said afterward. Moe passed Harrington for sixth when the latter's motor seized with five laps to go. Locals Sweeney and Rooks both put in excellent rides, passing Pinkstaff for seventh and eighth, respectively, but were unable to catch Harririgton in sixth. Perhaps most impressive of all was Real, who came from way back despite his injured ankle to pass Pinkstaff for ninth. After the second leg, QuarterJey, who normally gets an excellent launch off the line, revealed why he had been getting such miserable starts all weekend. "The dutch is gone," said Quarterley. "It's just chattering, and if you let it chatter ·t'll break the chain. You've 'just got to be ever-so-easy and just get it rolling and then let the clutch go. But then of course the thing's going just 4,000 rpm and it's got to pick itself back up. That's when everyone just blew by me." Quarterley earned $4000 for his two wins. For his part, Munroe felt that the second leg went better than the first, partly because he was able to see his pi.t board better the second time out, as well as Among the series regulars, Pinkstaff hung onto the points lead with a ninth and 10th on the day. Real's painful rides to 13th and ninth place kept him in range of Pinkstaff even though he ctid lose ground slightly. As the series goes to the final round at Daytona, these two have to be the favorites, but Nobles, Harrington, Moe and Fitzpatrick aren't that far backand anything can happen at Daytona. (N New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire Resuhs:~ober8,1995 RACE ONE: 1. Dale Quarterley (Due); 2. Don Munroe (Kaw); 3. Michael Fitzpatrick (Yam); 4. John Scheehser (Hon); 5. George Tarricone (Kaw); 6. Kory Rooks (Kaw); 7. Tripp Nobles (Kaw); 8. Joe Pittman (Kaw~ 9. Keith Pinkstaff (Kaw~ 10. Sean Sweeney (Due); 11. Eric Moe (Kaw); 12. Peter nJich (Hon ); 13. Pablo Real (Due); 14. Brett Metzger (Hon ~ 15. Seth Hahn (Suz); 16. Brian Kent (Hon); 17. Rick Doucette (Suz); 18. Steve Cooke (Due~ 19. Steve Arsenault (Suz); 20. Noel Brown (Suz); 21. Damian Weber (Due); 22. Kyle Zazzi (yam); 23. David Felt (Kaw~ 24. Michael Calderon (Hon); 25. Andy Deatherage (Kaw); 26. Greg Kopp (Yam); 27. Michael Gage (Kaw); 28. Tim Kisieleski (Due); 29. Rick Shaw (Yam~ 30. Jim Lester (Yam~ 31. Kurt Oillman (Kaw); 32. Todd Piarrington (Kaw); 33. Charles SmaU (Suz); 34. James Lussier (Suz); 35. Mike Walsh (Yam) Time: none due to red flag. Distance: 25 laps.. 40 miles. A ve:rage: Speed: none due to red flag. Margin of victory: none due to red Oag. RACE TWO: 1. Dale Quarterley (Duc); 2. Don Munroe (Kaw); 3. George Tarricone (Kaw); 4. Tripp Nobles (Kaw); 5. John Scheehser (Hon); 6. Todd Harrington (Kaw); 7. Sean Sweeney (Due); 8. Kory Rooks (Kaw); 9. Pablo Real (Due); 10. Keith Pinkstaff (Kaw~ 11. Brett Metzger (Hon ); 12. Seth Hahn (Suz); 13. Peter nJich (Hon ); 14. Noel Brown (Suz); 15. Steve Cooke (Due); 16. David Fett (Kaw); 17. Kyle Zazzi (Yam); 18. Greg Kopp (Yam); 19. Tiro Kisieleski (Duc); 20, Charles SmaJl (Suz); 21. lim Lester (Yam); 22. Mike Walsh (Yam); ·23. Michael Fitzpatrick (Yam); 24. Eric Moe (Kaw); 25. Rick Shaw (Yam); 26. Rick Doucette (Suz); 27. Damian Weber (Ouc}j 28. Michael Calderon (Hon); 29. Michael Gage (Kaw~ 30. Brian Kent (Hon ); 31. Andy Deatherage (Kaw); 32. lames Lussier (Suz); 33. Steve ArsenauJt (Suz); 34. Joe Pittman (Kaw); 35. lames Bouchey (Hon); 36. Ron McGill (H-D) Time: none due to red flag. Distance: 25 laps, 40 miles. Average Speed: none due to red Oag. Margin of vidory: 8.420 seconds. I.!) 0\ 0\ ,...., I.!)~ C'l I-< OJ E u o 19

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