Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

General Guarantee Triumph Trans-Atlantic Challenge First run In 1971, the Trans-Atlantic series has featured some of the top riders In the world. That year two teams of five from each country competed on Triumph or BSAtriples. The 1996 edition featured Triumph Speed Triples with limited modifications . times I was going so fast I couldn't draw breath for a lap." LEG TWO By Bruce Scho lten Pho to s by Kyolchl Nakamura OONINGTONPARK, ENGLAND, MAY 1h-'lJ hile two different "Indy 500s" fought in their own strange battle for public attention in the United States, there was a war of a different kind between much longer-standing rivals taking place in England on the famou s Donington Park National circuit. An American team of 13 riders led by spec-class guru and team captain Scott Zampach was locked in battle with a 13rider British team led by Captain Mark Phillips in the Silver Anniversary TransAtlantic Challenge. All were on similarly prepared Triumph 900cc Speed Triples, with little more than Proflex suspension compo nents, a steering damper, a Sebring pipe and main-jet changes allowed . And all the machines were strictly limited to 100 horsepower on the dyno. But after three legs of 12 laps each, it was the British team that came away on top, solidly outscoring the United States 614-426 in the 25th running of the Trans-Atlantic Match Races. A quarter of a century ago, Pat Hennen wasn't yet a fast expatriate, nor had Steve Baker yet met the monstrous TZ750 he'd slide to the world F-750 crown. Dick Mann had just won Daytona on a Tri umph Triple and someone got the bright idea to send him, David Aldana and a few more Yanks to show the Brits that we could do this road race biz as good as any Sa turday night mile on the dirt tracks . Everyone rode BSA (later absorbed b y Triumph) or Triumph triples. In those days, the "Match Races" took place at Brands Hatch, Mallory and Oulton Parks - three tracks in four days with 30,000 road race fans (many turned up as marshals or scrutineers in 1996) following the Match Races like a holy procession. Over the years, the Yanks acquitted th em se lves well - on so me occasio ns exposing the British team as n o-h ope backmarkers. But that is an empty boast next to this incontrovertible statistic: In the sporadic history of the Trans-Atlantic Match Races, the score for overall wins after the last event in 1991 was Brits 13, W Yanks 6. 22 This year's wave of invading Yanks had much to face as they explored Don- ingto n's braking points as the track dri ed out, and they also had to come to terms with the idiosyncraci es of Speed Trip les that generally had a few more horsepower and better ground clearan ce than STs back Stateside, though th eir m achines weren't as finel y " fettled " as the Brits' bikes, which the nativ es also race in the U.K Speed Triple series . During Sunday' s practice and Bank Holiday Monday's qu alifying session, foul weather definitely fa vored th e British team , many of whom are accustomed not only to the weather, but also to the Donington Park "National" circuit. Ou t of the 26 compe titors, on ly tw o Americans, Zampach and Tripp Nobles, made the top 10 in the slow (Alan Batson was fastest with 1:29.59 on the shortened 1.97-mile Donington course), wet, overcast qua lifying session. However, David Sadowski (eventual winner of leg three) managed to go 13th -fastest - ahead of David Jeffries; who was rumored to have done two early-morning laps at the Isle of Man before flying to Donington! If by now you infer there was atmosphere aplenty at these silver-anniversary Match Races, you are spo t on. It wasn 't just that Ivan and Maggie N orvis, the couple employed by Donington to shepherd the American te am, ca re fu lly observed traditions like the ritu al trashing of the rental cars. The point- of-honor grass track excursions with Vau xhauls and Polos, the team dinner in the Thistle Hotel. the beers in Redgate Lodge and what Sadowski described as "a lot of community-mechanicking" as riders furiously shared tire-and-brake-changing drills between sessions, a ll h arkened back to an era before the American GP d ynasty that stretched from Kenn y Roberst to Kevin Schwantz. LEG ONE Overcast skies and a drying track greeted po le-sitter Alan Bat son for th e start of ra ce one. Next to him was the fastes t Ame rican, tea m captain Sco tt Zampach, who was in tum flanked by second -fastest Brit Paul Brown, w ho was next to second fastest Yank Tripp Nobles - an d so on. Second row of the grid was Brit Mick Corrigan on the inside, next to David Sadowski, Michael Rutter (rumored to be flying off to the , Isle of Man in the afternoon) and Chuck Graves. Yanks David McGrath and Rick Kirk were on row three; Kent Kunitsugu and Paul Hanrahan on row four, Conrad and Wh ite on row five; Fitzp atrick and Ald ana on row six; and journalist Ala n Cathcart and Ben Welch on row seven . At the green flag Tripp Nobles hightailed it into right-hand Redgate comer. When the freight train came arou nd to end lap one, it was Brit Mick Corrigan leading Zampach, Paul Brown, Phillips, Llewellyn and pol e- starter Batson. Aldana held seventh at the end of a bike train that was strongly reminiscent of an AMA flat track race in sound and attitude. By lap three, Brit captain Ph ill ips (winner of the 1995 U.K. Mobil 1 Speed Triple series) had taken the lead, ju st ahead of Zampach, who relegated Corrigan to third. Then Batson trundled into the pits, unable to continue, as Aldana tried drafting the blur in fron t of him. Phillips kept the lead until about lap nine, when Llewellyn passed him, Brown and Zampach into the front. Aldana led fellow journalist Cathcart by about two bike lengths - both about five spots from the caboose. Not long after that, Brown , wh o had qualified next to Motorcyclist roa d test editor Kunitsugu, seized the lead. Over the remaining three laps, Brown go t some momentary argument from Llewellyn, but prevailed at the checkered fla g, ahead of Zampach, David Heal, Llewellyn, Phillips, McGrath, Sadowski. Nobles, Brit Adam Lewis and Mick Corrigan in 10th. Good omens for the American team wer e Zampach in fourth place; and Sadowski, who go t fas test race lap with a 1:17.12,0.12 second faster than British veteran Ray Stringer. In the American garage afterward, Ald ana and other riders checking the zip ties on the ir forks noted that they were using every inch of fork travel. William White was one of many complaining tha t his bike wouldn't downshift when needed . But the mood was up; although there were still damp patches, the Donington racing line was dry and lap times were coming down. It was still tou gh going, though. " If I'd go ne any faster," said Zampach, '1 would have crashed! Some- Zampach got the hol eshot, and then yo u could say things got worse be fore they got better. Under the back straight's Dunlop bridge, it wa s leg -one winner Brown leadin g Batson, Zampach an d Phillips going into the tight right-han d chicane. Then su ddenly four motorcycles were sliding off the track . American Shawn Conrad later said, " It was my fault. Going into the tight right-hand chicane I tried to pass a Brit when he moved over. That put me into David McGrath." Brits Dav id H eal an d Mick Corrigan w ere also out after th e cra sh. The race was red-fl ag ged, and M cGrath was unfortunate ly side line d with a pu lled right shoulder. At the restart, it was Paul Brown leading lap one, bu t he quarrelled with Zampach, Batson, Phillips, a fired-up Conrad, and Sado wski. Zampach was havin g a war with Batson, both of them also fighting the wind on the back straigh t - frequ ently a factor in Donington action. Thankfully the track was d ry now. Then th ing s got inte resting. Around the eighth lap Phillips led Sadowski, Batson, Zampach, Llewell yn, Stringer, Nobles, Rutter, Lewis and Martin . From ri ght-hand McCl eans into right-hand Copp ice, Sadowsk i ch al lenged for the lead. What he got was plenty of kitty litter. The tower announcer howled as Sadowski (unlike everyone else who DNFs in the Coppice gravel trap) s tayed o n two wheels and re-entered the fray . Clearly an American win was n ot yet in th e cards, but Sadowski finishe d a luc ky '13th, nevertheless. Afterwards, swa pping wrenches in the American garage, someone pointed out tha t the old-time TransAtlantic match races were a little less hectic with just a do zen racers on each team, instead of 13. LEG THREE Going right into Redga te on the start, Brown was on the outside, Zampach on the inside and the pair was about equally placed. But comingaround after a lap, it was Brow n leading Rutter, Graves and Zampach. Further back, Brit Dave Martin tried to guard his privacy against Aldana and Catchcart. The fairground enerva tion of an AMA flat track race once again descended . British rider Brown managed to lead most laps at the s tar t! finish line, but Phillips reared his Anglo head to take the lead on lap seven (ahead of Brown and Llewellyn). Mike Fi tzpatrick la te r remembered, "I was drafting too close to Adam Lewis - with Tripp just ahead when Lewis missed a gear and our tires hit in a big puff of smoke. But we both stayed up." ( Around lap 10, Sadwoski made a bit for the lead on the back straight. Zarnpac h somehow held on to sixt h after a miracul ous save in fifth gear through Schwantz curve. Zampach later showed h is h eel m ar ks on th e American flag decal on the rear seat cowling - an appropria te au tograph pad for the other team members, during the post-race conference. At the checkered flag, it was Sadowski taking the win ahea d of Brown Llewellyn and Batson. f~

• Cover