Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD·RACE Sunoco Race Fuels Formula USA Series Final round: Road Atlanta Led by Michael Martin (1) In his last appearance for the dominant squad, Team Suzuki Endurance took yet another victory in the Performance Machine/Goodridge WERA endurance series. the Plano Honda CBR600. Though Abbott 'Was hoping to take second in the championship, he knew that when the Pearls Suzuki went down his team would help get them back on track. "We couldn't not help after the help they gave us at Talladega," Abbott said, explaining that Pearls had given them a motor after Northwest Honda had broken their transmission during the fourhour race. "We just came down to help them put their bike together." DI Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia Results: November 13, 1995 ~ 0\ ...-< U")' N l-; OJ .g ..... o U 16 Stanton did a fifteen-minute stint before the second of two red flags, it was Martin in the saddle at the start and the end, winning his 48th, and the team's l09th, national endurance race. The only trouble he had was being brought onto pit lane for the stop-and-go penalty after WERA officials decided he'd jumped the final start. Even that wasn't enough to stop him from winning. "When I came out (after the penalty) I was 20 seconds back," said the GSXRllOO-mounted Martin. "The track had dried a bit and I was not gaining. I felt that, with the pace I was gOing, and they were on DOTs, it would be tough for them to keep that pace. I just had to keep chewing away at that lead." He was chewing away enough that he took the lead from H&H Racing's Kevin Rentzell going into turn one with 39 minutes to go. Ten minutes later he had a 36-second lead, which was shortened somewhat by a late-race gas stop. Rentzell held on for second, but his Suzuki 1100 Superstock machine was protested and torn down on Sunday night. The machine was determined legal and the po itions held. Both Team Suzuki Endurance and H&H Racing completed 69 laps of the 2.5-mile track. orthwest Honda Racing took third, one lap down, Gregg Abbott able to do all of the riffing since the aggregate running time was less than two hours. The first red flag came out about 20 minutes into the race when almost the entire track was coated with oil by an engine problem. The delay was lengthy, over 90 minutes, since nearly all of the 2.5-mile Road Atlanta circuit was soiled. "It was a lost cam-chain tensioner and it misted the track," WERA race director Jim Sublet said. "A lot of riders came by start I finish pointing down. When the cornerworkers got close to the track, they ~ould see rain.bows." The race had begun in a light drizzle, which intensifed on di fferent parts of the track, and it was the rain that did the most to clear the oil from the track. The second attempt at a race lasted about 15 minutes before Frank Wilson crashed the Team. Pearls Suzuki coming down the hill to the final tum. Because there was no safe way to get to Wilson or the crashed bike, the race was stopped again. The final run would be one hour, 23 minutes, which, with the other two segments, added up to a total of one hour, 58 minutes. Despite crashing, Team Pearls was able to rejoin the race and finish seventh with Darryl Saylor aboard. The result gave them second in the championship. Team Suzuki Endur,ance, which had already clinched their 11th title, was first, while Northwest Honda finished third. The 42-rider field faced a light, misting drizzle when it took to the track on Saturday afternoon, forcing the top teams to switch to rain tires for the start. Barely 20 minutes in to the race the red flag flew, and though Team Suzuki EndUIance had already begun pulling away their lead was nullified when the race was stopped. After more than 90 minutes, the race was restarted, 'and about nine minutes in the halfway flags were shown, Team Suzuki Endurance's David Stanton in front by about six seconds, followed by Northwest Honda's Gregg Abbott second, with Frank Wilson third on the Team Pearls Suzuki. Then Wilson crashed coming down the hill, sliding all the way to the hay bales and tire barriers in the final turn to bring out the second red flag. Wilson was quickly up and the bike was rolled back to the pits for repairs. Wilson explained that, as he crossed the painted double line which delineates the pit entrance, he ffidn't feel the front end move. "I started to roll it on and the next thing I know the back tire is in fron t of me," said Wilson. The force of the impact dislocated the clutch mechanism and it had to be replaced, along with the handlebars, footpegs, and bodywork. Darryl Saylor brought the repaired Suzuki GSXRJ 100 to the track, but without the lower bodywork. The race was green-flagged for the third time with about one hour, 23 min- utes to go. Martin jumped into the lead, and accoriling to WERA, he jumped the start, too. So on the following lap he saw his number displayed and pulled in the next time around. "That's the first time that's happened to me, ever. I thought I got a perfect start," Martin said. "Then I saw the number one with a blue flag. I was going to have to come in. "When I was out there I was riding and thiilking 'Holy smokes, it's my last endurance race and I'm going to get beat because I jumped the start,'" Martin added. The stop was flawless and when Martin rejoined the race he was in third place, moving past Northwest Honda's Abbott for second just before the end of the third hour. The only rider between him and the victory was Kevin Rentzell and Martin quickly ran him down on the drying track. The track, though never dry, was de\leloping a drier line and Martin felt his rain tires overheating on the racing line. "Rain tires were almost too soft for the conditions," Martin said. StU.l, he caught up to Rentzell with about 39 minutes left and drove by him entering turn one. From there the only drama would be fuel. Martin thought he might have enough, then he saw his pit crew display the "gas" board. "Right at the end of the straight it blurbled," Martin said. "That's (crew chief) Keith Parry knowing what's going on. I came in for a splash-and-go." The team never lost the lead and ended the season with a win. Rentzell had tried to hold Martin as long as he could, but he knew that the Suzuki rider was coming. "I knew I was in trouble when it started raining on the back straight," Rentzell said. "I couldn't hold it open back through the hole (turn nine). It was misting and then it started raining about'35 minutes from the end." With better than a lap on thirdplaced Gregg Abbott, Rentzell's spot was safe, as was Abbott's. The Honda CBR9OO-mounted Abbott was well in front of his fellow Texans on PERFORMANCE MACHINE/GOODRIDGE ENDURANCE: 1. Team Suzuki Endurance (5uz); 2. H&H Racing (5uz); 3. Northwest Honda (Hon); 4. Royale Racing (Hon); 5. PInna Honda (Hon); 6. A.iTpott Racing (Kaw); 7. Team Pearls Suzuki (Suz); 8. HP Motorsports (Knw); 9. Team Flying Colors (Yam); 10. Nicholson's Ann Arbor (Kaw); 11. Canton Racing (Kaw); 12. Image Racing (Yam); ]3. Reciprocation Racing (Hon); 14. Ohio Superb ike Racing (Sux); 15. TKO. (!Caw); 16. RA Racing (Yam); 17. Can-Am Racing (Suz); 18. Arclight Racing (Suz); 19. Monterrey Racing Team (Kaw); 20. Pure Sports Racing (Hon); 21. Team TS8A (Kaw); 22. Team Ten 40 Racing (Hon); 23. The Rayce Team (Hon); 24. Canton Racing Endurance (Suz); 25. TBA Racing (Suz); 26. Team Marmo (Suz); 27. Cycle Speed Racing (Yam~ 28. Eagle Industries Racing (Suz); 29. TMTS Racing (Han); 30. Buckeye Racing (Hon); 31. Team Unknown (Yam); 32. Anderson/jardine Racing (Yam); 33. 'The Rayce Team Too (Hon); 34. Penn Stlte (Yam); 35. Team Chicago (Yam); 36. Central .ohio Endurance (Han); 37. Team Gamma (Kaw); 38. Tapewod<5 Racing (Hon); 39. Bluff City Racing (SUZ); 40. Probst Brothers Racing (Kaw); 41. American HarleyDavidson (Bue); 42. Team Radng (suz). Distance: 691aps. 272.5 miles. Michelin Superstock Box stock By Henny Ray Abrams BRASELTON, GA, OCT. J4 aturday's Michelin 1100cc Super-, stock Final looked like a runaway for Georgian Kevin Rentzell before he was reeled in during the final laps by a battle between the Valvoline Suzukis of Grant Lopez and Tray Batey. In the end, Rentzell, whose lead on the wet track was close to seven seconds at one point, won the eight-lap, 2D-mile race by 1.29 seconds over Grant Lopez. J After followiing him for nearly the entire race, Lopez took second away from Tray Batey on the penultimate lap. Batey had crashed in practice and was riding with broken \'ones in his right hand. Brian Lantz moved through the field to take fourth with two laps to go, while John C. Branch ill finished in fifth place. The season's title goes to Lopez, with Batey finishing second and Rentzel! third. At the drop of the flag Rentzell blew into the lead and no one could come close to his pace. By the third of ei~t laps he had better than a six-second gap on the two Valvoline Suzukis which had distanced themselves from the rest of the IS-rider field. But two laps later the tide began to shift and Rentzell's lead was beg:inni.ng to shrink and shrink dramatically. At that point his lead was less than two seconds, with Lopez, who had dropped back more than a second behind Batey, right back up on his tail. When the trio crossed the line with a lap to go, the gap from first to second was about 1.9 seconds, with Lopez now in second followed by Batey close S

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