Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.ROAD RACEChampionship . Round 5: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course . . AMA SuperbikeNational (Fr o m left to ri ght) Surp rise th i rd -place fi ni s he r B rett Metzge r ce leb rat es w ith w inner Pascal Picotte and runner-up Thomas W ils o n. Wilson may have had his measure if the ra ce had gone a ny furth er: "I d idn 't think 1 was go ing to win when Wilson w as b ehind me becaus e I was reall y holding him back, " Picott e said. "He was definitely faster than me because I was really loose on the rea r - really, really lo ose, 1 ju st did th e bes t 1 cou ld with what I' ve got. Our bike was a little slow Briefl • on top speed the entire weekend, and a little slow on the bottom also. With these con ditions in th e wet, yo u do n' t really need a lot of torque on the bott om an d horsepower do esn 't really mat ter. That' s why I think all th e Suz uki guys w er e right there - even the private guys, you kn ow . We definitely need mor e hor sepo we r if we're going to wi n in the dry ••• .M ost were surprised to see Doug Polen in the paddock area at the Mid ·Ohio Sport s Car Course . The two-time W orld Superbike Champion and one-tim e AMA Superbike National Ch ampion was teaming w it h Dale Quarterley on the .EBSCO Suzuki for the one-hour Sope r'Iea ms event "It was just a case of their guys get· ting beat up, " Polen said. " M ark (Mc Da nielJ and Michael (Barnes) are a bit hurt so I'm here to see if we can catc h up and help. their point s cause, or at least not .lose any ground. SuperTeams is really for bragging right s fo r. the fact ories so I figured, 'Hey, I'll come . out and try to help 'em and get them in a belle' position.' I'll be here for thi s one and fo r Road America next weekend. The n I'll be' testing ·in Paul Ricard because I'm doing the Spa 8-Hour and the Bol d'Or wit h Rymer and Gomez: we should kick some serious butt. It' s also good because l'll be riding a full-factory Suzuki so I can see where we are with ours. " Polen 's EBSCO Suzuki was fit: ted With Dunlop tires, whi le the Poien Racing Suzuki he's been us ing in For mu la USA isfitted w it h Br idqest on es:' his W orld Endurance Suzuki will be filled with M ichelins. . Leslie (1:33.458 ); 20. Jam es Randolph (1:34.635); 21. David Roy (1:1:34.843); 22 Anthony Lupo (1:34.859); 23. . Ste ve Grigg (1:35 .044 ); 24. Daniel Bailey (1:35.089); 25. Rad Greaves (1:35. 122); 26. Mark Miller (1:35.153); 27. becau se we' re really struggling. I hop e they are go ing to find som ething, and they are going to call Japan and bring us some parts from somewhere." As for the champion ship chase, both Picotte and DuHamel mad e some headwa y in their pursuit of Chandler. " It d idn't look re al pretty, but we ga in e d p ain ts o n th e com p eti ti on," DuHam el said. Gram igni's mood was better after the . race had been stoppe d and he'd en de d his first-ever superbike race with a fifthplace finish . "Wh en 1 go behind him (Du Ha me l), I'd already passed one Yamaha (Kipp) and there we re two veilow bikes ahead of me," Gram igni explai ne d , "When 1 was rig ht behi nd him (Du Hamel), h e was sp rayi ng too much and 1 had water in m y visor, 1 w as lucky for re d flag 4~ because 1 never see no thing." Mi d- Ohi o Sp orts Car Co urse Le xingto n, Oh io Results : June 2, 1996 (Ro und 5 of 10) SUPERBI KE QUALIFYIN G, L Doug Chandler ( 1:29. 251); 2. M iguel Du Hamel (1:29 .529); 3. Larr y Pe gram (1:29.657 ); 4. Jamie James (1:29.935); 5. Pas ca l Picotte (1:30.375); 6. Mat Mladi n (1:30.403); 7. Thomas Wilson (1:30.425); 8. Chris Carr (1:30.568); 9. Shawn Hi gb ee (1:30.659); 10. Aaron Yates (1:30.403); 11. Mik e Muk Black (1:35.382 28. Dale Kieffer (1:35.415); 29. ); Andrew Deather age (1:35.483); 30. Michael Fitzpatrick (1:35.970); 31. Richard Alexander Jr. (1:35.970); 32. Brett Metzger (1:36 .542); 33. Da x Snow (1:36.598); 34. Ste ve Patterson (1:36.815 ); 35. Jim Kusar (1:37.389); 36. Frank Wilson (1:37.581); 37. Jeff Heino (1:37.590); 38. Michael Barnes (1:37.638 ); 39. Dave Knapp (1:37 .790); 40. Dean Mizdal (1;38.260); 41. Mike Wals h (lS9.822); 42. Stev e Cooke (1:41.298); 43. Stephen Vlasblom (1:41.836). SUPERB IKE FINA L: 1. Pascal Picotte (Suz); 2. Thomas Wilso n (H-D) ; 3. Brett Metzger (Suz); 4. Miguel DuHamel (Hon); 5. Alessandro Gramigni (Due); 6. Tom Ki pp (Yam); 7. Doug Chandler (Kaw): 8. Aar on Yates (Suz); 9. Chris Ca (H-D); 10. Shawn Higbee (Du e); 11. rr James Randolph (Suz ); 12. AI Sala verria (H -D); 13. Eric Moe (Kaw); 14. Jeff Hein o (Suz); 15. Dave Estok (Due); 16. Rad G re av es (Su z); 17. Frank Wilson (Suz); l B. Michael Fitzpatrick (Kaw ); 19. Da vid Roy (Suz); 20. Mat Mladin (Suz ); 21. Mark Miller (Suz ); 22. Michael Tavlor (Kaw); 23. Dean Miz d al (Yam); U . Larry Pegram (Due); 25. ~ave Knapp (Due); 26. Tripp N obles (H-D); 27. Mik e Smith (Kaw); 28. Stephe n Vla sbl om (Yam); 29. Steve Grig g (Kaw); 30. Steve Patterson (Suz); 31. An thony Lupn (Suz); 32. Jami e James (Yam) . Tim e: 01a due to red flag. Averag e Speed: n l a du e to red flag. Mar gin of Vict ory : nl a d ue to red flag. AMA SUPERBIKE NA TION AL C'SH1P POINT STAN D INGS (After 5 of 10 rou nd s): 1. Doug Chandler (149/1 win ); 2. (TIE ) Pa scal Picotte /Miguel DuHamel (136/1 win. 3 win s); 4. Tom Kipp (124); 5. Mat Mladin (113); 6. Steve Cre vier (101 ); 7. Shawn Hi gbee (97); 8. Larry Pegram (96); 9. Al Salaverri a (81); 10. Chris Ca rr (79); 11. Mike Smith (77); 12. Th omas Wil son (73); 13. James Ra ndolph (72); 14. Ja m ie James (71); 15. Aaron Yates (70); 16 . Rad Greaves (59); 17 . (TIE) Da ve Estok/ Mark Miller (56); 19. Tripp Nobles (42); 20. Fran k Wilson (46). Upcoming Rounds: Ro und 6 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 9 Round 7 - Lo udo n, New Ham pshire, June 16 finishing 10th in theSuperbl ka National , despite banging bot h his · ankle. -. Robert s told Turfr ey· tha t he lost the front end, saved it hand and his head in the practice crash. - I was n't able to use the · with his knee, but ultimate ly crashed when his fooi came . off the . clutc h and I had to down shift without it ." : Higbee explained. " I peg and locked the r~a r brake. guess I' m pretty fortu nate after that accident. I' m goi ng to go home, rest and get healthy for the next couple of ' aces. ". Vance & Hines Yamaha's Jamie James and Tom Kipp will not be tak ing part in Hie U.S . round of the W orl d Superbike C h am The f i nal cor n e r at Mid- Ohi o is one of the more daunt ing in pionship, sc heduled for Laguna Seca .Raceway in M on terey, the AMA series with a hay bale- and Air Fence-prot ect ed wall sitC alifornia, on July 2 1. "They use differen t tires, different rims. ting only a few feet on the outside of a relatively fast left -bander stuff we j ust don't have: James said . " lf I wa nte d t o enter a parade, I'd enter a parade. . . that' s already difficu lt enouqh because of a dip in its center. The co rner is where Lany Schwarzbach lost his life in 1992 when he · . crashed jn the Superbike National and it was the site of the two According ' toS ~zuki ' s Mel Harris..the decision as to whether or crashes that stopped this year 's National premat urely, W ell,. that not the Yoshimura S uzu k i team ·of Pascal Picotte, ·Aaron Yates and M at Mladin will take part in the W orld Superbi ke round comer is finally gong to be made safer . " It' s just an issue of doing it right" Mid -Ohlo Sport s Car.Course pres ident Mi chelle Truernan at Laguna Seca has stili not been made..Their decision apparently Gajoc h said on Sunday , June 2..,I can say so met hing w ill be revolves around the iss ue .o f whether or not t hey can get the sameDunlop rubber as the to p World Superbike teams. . Anothe r new face in the racinq fratemity at Mid -Ohio was former 125cc W odd Champi on Alessandro Grariligni. The Italian has signed up to race th e rest of the series on one of Eraldo Ferracci's Ducat ts, and Mid -Ohio marke d his first·ever Superb ike race, After qual ifyi ng on F riday and Saturd ay, Gramigni was suffering from muscle soreness , caused mainly by racing inactivity. Prior to Mid-Ohlo, Gra rntqnl hadn 't raced a mot orcycl e since O ctober, 1995 , when he raced a 250cc G P bike in the Ducados Open race . in J arama. Spain. "Today, I have big, big pain,' Gramigni said. The former W odd Champ ion was also having w hat was only his second ride on a Ducati, the first being three or four iaps .at M ugello in Italy in August of last year. "The track is very short and t he bike ·has very big power; " Grarntqm said afte r qualifyin g.· " Fro m the start to now , I'm very happy. W e've .only had o ne day toqether : and everyth ing is going very goo d. - Gramigni flnlshed fifth in his AMA Superbike debut 8 Smi th (1:30.858); 12. Michael Taylor (1:31.051); 13. Tom Kipp (1:31.484); 14. Alessandro Gramigni (1:31.863); 15. AI Salaverria (1:32.009); 16. Da ve Estok (1:32.704); 17. Tripp Nobles (1 :32.745); 18. Eric Moe (1: 3.372); 19. Jim 3 Accordinqto Kinko's Kawasakt's Robert Null, Jason Pridmore changed, I just .can't say .w hat yet Hopefully, in t he next ·14 days may be back in actionforthe Brainerd round of the series on Ju ly 1 . The Califomian rebroke the leg that kept him out of t he 1995. we 'll have some peop le out here.to give usour options. " . 4 .series just prior to Mid-Ohio in a mountain biking accident Null said the bone w hich was first broken in a motocross accident at . AMA Pro Racing and the Mid -Ohio Sports Car Cou rse announced on Sund ay, June 2, plans for a week-long C ycle Fe stiva l on the end of the 1994 season ';"as re-fractur ed. but didn't have to Ju iy 1.1 ·20, 1997 .. The ·AMA Superbike Nat ional Cha mpion ship be reset: NUll was also trying 10 dec ide if P ridmore wou ld be round will be. held on July t 1-13 , in conjunction with the followin q replace~ until his return w ith another rider . . . wee kend's AM A Vi ntage M otorcycle Days. M id-O hio pres ident Michelle Trueman Gajoch also said the date change for the AMA ' Red fla gs sto pped both o f S aturd ay 's superblke sessions and Superbike week end had a lot to do wit h the poor wea ther t he also Satur day's 60 0cc· Super sport qualifying . The morn·ing pracevent has 'had since mov ing to early June. tice was stopped when Shawn Higbee crashed his Fast B y Ferracci Ducati in t he infamous fjnal co rner, missing the air fence' but spraying hay bales everywhere. Fortu nately, Higbee escaped witb- . PJ,1 . Racing Oil s Plus' K urtis R oberts crash~d in ·Sal urday ou t serious injury but was taken to the hospit al fo r x-rays. The afte rnoo n's seco nd 250cc Grand Prix heat race, possibly suffe rfinal superbi ke qualifying session was interrupted when Au st rallan : ing broken bones in his ankle. Robert s flew back to California M at Mla d i n crashed his Yoshimura Suzuki. Mladin escaped with . early on Sunday rnomtnq to undarpo ' surgery by noted surgeon a sore back. In additi on, 600cc Supersport .qualifying wasstop ped D,. Art hurTing. "He left at 4 a .m. and he's expected to be operatwhe n T h o mas Stevens crashed his Kinko's Kawasaki in the ed on by Ting todayGundayl ." Robert s' tuner Brian Turfreysaid. samespoi as Higbee , bruiSing his left shoulder. Higbee ended up · "They think he fract u, ed t~ e tw o bo nes on eiiher side of his P a sca l P icotte took home .the $ 7000 w inner' s share of the $45,000 superbtke purse for winning the third AMA Superbike National of his career. Thomas W ilson earned $5 000 ·and Brett M etz ger pocketed $35 00 . M etzger said he'd usethe money to pay off some credit card bills, before giving it some more thought: "Actually, that won 't [,ay off a te nth of my.credit cards . , M iguel· DuH amel was miffed by the $45 ,000 "pu"';e offe red by . the M id·Ohio Sp ort s CarCourse, " It's rnind-boqqlinq .- . Dul-lamel · said of the purse. " It's just so frustrating. Mydad used to make . mor e I n his day. There's no .reason why a place like thi s doesn't pay a decent purse .". , . . '.' New Ze alande r Stephen V lasblom was black-flagged in. the Superbike Nation al aft er getlin g lapped on t he fi fth lap of the restart, Whi le the fast est lap of the wet race was t urned in by Harley-David son' s Thomas Wil son at 1:46. 18 1, Vlas blorn's best was a 2:28.546 • SOme 42 seco nds slower. . No one ~ou ld remember a day filled with more cra s h e s than Sunday at Mi d-Ohio, and keep ing trac k of them was a near-irnpcssible tas k.. Case in poi nt: D efending AMA Superbik e and 600cc National Champi on. Miguel DuHamel crashed four times on Sunday; once on his superbi ke in the mo ming warmup, once on his · 600cc Supersport bike In morning practi ce and twice on his 600 in tbe race . Thanks to the red flags, D uHamel was sti ll able to finish sixth in the 600cc Supersport final , despi te the two crashes. . And how's this for crashes -The top threefinishers in the 600cc Su per sport final all crashed during t he race . Winn er And r e w · S t r o u d crashed o nce : runner-up Ge rald ·Rothman J r. crashed tw iceand third-place finisher Doug Toland crashed 'once. Proving that so met imes it actua lly pays to c rash, fo urt h-place fin isher .... Todd Harrington had a crash-free race , . AMA 250cc G rand Prix reguiar ·M i k e S "'lIiva n was on hand for the Mid -Ohio race, but his machinery wasn' t. Wh ile Sullivan flew to the race, his bikes were stra nded in his truc k which had broken dow n in M ont ana. Sullivan said the truck sho uld be fixed and his bikes shcu ld be at Road Amer ica. Sullivan helped a number of his · fellow competitors, including th ird-place finisher Peny M elneciuc, . who credited S u ll iv~n for his assistan ce..

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