Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Scott Zampach By Mike Nic ks Photos by Henny Ray Abrams cott Za m pach sou nds like a feeble threa t to Bri tis h rid er s w he n h e tal ks abou t co m pe t ing in th e upcoming new Tri umph Sp eed Triple Tr ansatl a nt ic Cha llenge at Don in gt on Park in May . "I d on ' t want to go there thi nking, T ve got to win this race: and pu t too much pressure on myself:' says the 33year-old from Wes t Bend, Wisconsin. .But the Brits had better no t be fooled . Zampach adopted the same laid-back approach to the International Speed Triple Challeng e at the Bol d 'Or in France la st year - and then humbled Europe's best Triumph riders. He took pole position and the race win in his first ride on a Triumph, in his first event outside his homeland. British fans will get their first sight of Zampach when he represents the visiting team at the Britain vs. USA clash in England on May 27. Twelve riders from each country will contest three races in a reviva l of the great Trans-Atlantic battles of the 70s and '80s, when giants such as Dick Mann, Gary N ixon, Steve Baker and Kenny Rober ts represented America . Those contests were always held on English soil - which didn't preven t the .Americans from winning frequently - but th is time Triumph ho pes to stage a re turn leg at Day tona in October. Zampac h may also ride in th e Speed Triple race at the British Gra na Prix at Donington on July 21. But unlike p rev ious America n invaders, the "Z-Man" does not go with a giant-killing re putation as a superbike performer. The op posite is tru e: Zarn. pach ha s forged h is repu tation and a lucra tive living by sq ueezing consistent success out of 883cc Harley-Davidson Sportsters, bikes wit h only 60 horsepower and a top speed of no more than 120 mp h. He is one of the most intelligent and articulate pe rso na lities in road racing, but missed out on major superbike ' rides after getting into the sport late, at 23. "I haven't got the contracts of someone like Scott Russell or become a mil • lionaire, but the re are very few people who can say that for five years all they've done as a job' is race motorcycles," he says. "Thi ngs have worked out real well for me." Zampach has won seven Harley titles since 1991. But now he has a new am bition - to sever his links with the legendary V-twin and transfer his skills to Britain's Trium ph marquee, now cutting a glamorous swath into the Ll.S. ma rket . "I'd love to be em p loyed so lely by Triump h," he ad mi ts. "My primary goa l is to w in th e Speed T riple Cha m pionship this yea r. The n I'd like to sign a th ree-yea r con tract to demons trate to Triu m ph that I would not sell that number -on e plate to Kawasaki or Suz uki. I love the Triumph's smooth power delive ry and its h an d li n g, an d tha t th reecyli nder engine sounds fan tastic." Back in t he' 50s or ' 60s, a Harley champio n defecti ng to a British make S wou ld almos t ha ve been cause for a lynching, but these days the parties act more reasonably. "I've accomplished so much wit h the Harl eys tha t there isn ' t really'too mu ch more for me to do," Za mpach explains. "I cou ld stay wit h it an d keep winning good mon ey, but I' m always looking for a new challenge and to better myself. "At 33, I'm not going to get hired by someone like (Era ldo) Ferracci . But Trium p h doesn't seem to worry about how old I am . They see my skill, my determination to win , how good I am with the press, all of this. It' s positive, plus I keep winning on these Speed Triples . You can 't deny it when you win races ." This year Zampach is contesting two Harley championships for two Wisconsin dealers: the AMA Super'Iwins series for Suburban Motors in Theinsville, and quality these da ys. How does the Z-Man achieve this? "I think it goes all the way back to when I sta rted racing go-karts as a kid at eight or nine years of age . I've been racing eve r since, and I now have an exceptional feel for being pa rt of the machine an d being easy on it. I always set my bikes u p so I do m a yb e tw o downshifts for a corner, whereas other riders do three: They rev t he bike, overwo rk it , overhea t the eng ine, all of these thi ngs. "A n d if I'm in a new situa tion - a new bike or new tires, maybe - I never take a lot of risk or ride over my head . I ease int o it, take my time. I've learned how to u se my God-given talent s and .skills to the best of my ability, and I'm confident with myself." Za rnpach has dominated the Harley scene since 1991 by successfully ana lyzing how he cou ld gain an advantage in a the Twin Sports series run by NASB (North American Sport Bike) for Mitch Hansen in Manitowoc. Hansen also provides the Triumph on which Zampach leads the inaugural Mobil 1 Speed Triple Challenge in the NASB program. "Every one's happy," Zampach says. "I think communication is the kev to it." He also has another Triumph ride this year, on the Taylormade Triumph special-designed by Britain's Paul Taylor. The ingenious 980cc triple (see sid ebar) has previously been run in the World BEARS series, but Zampach is now riding it in ASB's Formula USA Open Class . Few riders take on such a va rie ty of bikes in one season, but Zampach has coped wi th this kind of pressure before. "It's a fine line, and as a racer you do n't want to talk abou t this too much, bu t I once rode for two and a half seasons , setting the pa ce in three or fou r classes, and ne ve r fe ll off a mo torcy cl e," he says .· "I wen t a ll season on the 883 Harley last year without putting a sera tch on it." Winning wi thout crashing: it's a rare Taylormade Triumph comes to America B. 4 ritish designer Paul Taylor has sw itched his uniq u e Taylormade Triumph from the World BEARS championship to NASB'S Sunoco Race Fuels Formula USA Championship. "I'm sorry to be leaving BEARS racing, but the competition in Formu la USA is tougher," Taylor said . "1 hope we can finish in the top five in the championship an d get a t least one podium placing." Scott Zarnpach faces machines ra ngi ng fro m 250s to 170 bh p Suzu ki GSXRll00's in the nine-round F-USA Series. Previou sly known as the Saxon Tr iump h in BEARS (British European and Am eri can) com pe tition, his three-cylin d er spe cial has bee n develo ped over three years. Designe r Pau l Tay lor. a geologist w ho sea rc he s for oil depos its in th e Nort h Sea off Britai n's northeas t coast, has installed 980cc cylinder barrels, and has combed Eng land's racing car ind us try for interna l com ponen ts, includ ing Accra lite forged pistons and Ar row conrods, Cyli nder-hea d specialist George Man sfield has fitted dow ndraft inlet por ting, a nd the engine .. gives 136 bhp. Extensive carbon-fibe r par ts include 20-layer whee ls and a six-layer fuel tank which gives structu ral support to the tub ular aluminu m fram e. The bike has a wish bone front suspension sys tem similar to BMW's telelever d esign . Zampach scored two ninth places in F-USA races in his debut w ith the bike at Daytona. The engine suffered valve-gea r probl ems in the seco nd rou nd at Road Atlanta . but the team hopes for better luck in the third round a t Brainerd. on May 18-19, a nd Mike Lock, chief of Triumph USA, hopes to arra nge a full spo nsorship deal to keep the bike in Ame rican racing in 1997.

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