Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127791
RQ\D RACE WERA National Endurance series Round 5: Grattan Raceway Park By Jacki Fisher Photos by Nick Devlnck BELDING, MI, JUNE 22 eam Suzuki Endurance, feeling comfortable after 113 series wins, had a few tense moments when endurance rookies Dega Racing turned up the heat during round five of the WERA National Endurance Series at Grattan Raceway Park. When it came to actual track time, Dega's top gun Greg Gibson was able to match the champ's torrid pace. The three-lap margin of victory ended up being decided in the pits. Team Suzuki Endurance was averaging 2D- to 3D-second pit stops, while Dega Racing was held back with two- to four-minute stops. Dega's first pit stop occurred before the hot lap. Gibson was stopped cold on hot-pit lane by a dead battery. The ~ge took too long for Gibson to make the grid and. he started dead last after the pack left the line. By the third lap, he had charged through traffic and was in 10th place out of 42 riders. Effortlessly flying around the two-mile circuit as though he were unaware of the other riders, Gibson was in second 15. minutes into the first hour. Arclight Racing's Joe Prussiano and H&tH Racing/RK Motorsports' Brian Lantz were in the mix to make the battle interesting. Suzuki's Tray Batey was racing alone way out front. TKO Rayce Team Suzuki Too, one of the series' top-five-overall teams, began having trouble and had to pit unexpectedly to change carbs and the airbox. By the end of the first hour the leaders were turning 23s and 2Ss to set the pace for the day. A little over halfway through the first hour, Wing Riders' Honda F3 came out of turn 10 wide, hit the bump coming onto the straight and crashed, bringing out the first red flag for the day and sending everyone to the pits. For the restart, Gibson came from the middle of the second wave, which was his original grid position since this was Dega's first time in th.e series. Again he was in second place after 15 minutes. Seven minutes into the second hour, H&H's Lantz crashed in turn seven which brought out the ambulance and the second red flag. Halfway through the second hour, TKO was dealt the knockout blow. Their engine began breaking up, sending Joey Gilleland into the pits for a complete engine change which lasted 38 minutes and took away any chance of a top-three finish. The third red flag waved 10 minutes into the fifth hour when Army of Darkness' YZF got into a headshake over the bump coming onto the straight. Quickly, headshake turned into an unsavable tank-slapper, and that resulted in a crash that left the bike in the racing line. The race drama began in the last half of the fifth hour. The gods smiled on Suzuki when Dave Stanton's crash between turns four and five due to a dislodged battery brought out the day's final red flag. The delay allowed master crew chief Keith Perry to make repairs allowing them to make the restart. Batey T (Above) Team Suzuki Endurance (1) leads TKO Rayce Team (17), H&H Racing (5) and Arcllght Racing (7) In WERA endurance racing at Grattan Raceway park. (Left) Endurance fookles Dega Racing (51) led Team Suzuki Endurance (1) briefly at Grattan Raceway Park; TSE would goon to win. Grattan Raceway Park Belding, Michigan Results: June 22, 1996 (Round 5 of 10) went out for the final tour, but never felt secure on the crash-damaged bike. With six minu tes left in the fifth hour, Batey overshot the entrance to the esses and did a little motocrossing, which allowed Gibson to get by before he could reenter the track. Batey, feeling the pressure, pulled out all the stops and turned it up. Running low 23s, he took the checkered flag giving Team Suzuki Endurance a record 114th win. Gibson mirrored Batey's drive and brought Dega Racing's Yamaha home in a solid second place. The final podium position was hotly contested during the final two hours with HP Motorsports' prime-time pilots Dean Hayes and Lanny Allen stealing third from Arclight Racing in the last half of the final hour. Arclight hung in for fourth overall, while masters of consistency Triple R Racing maintained the fifth position from the second hour through the end of th.e race. fN ENDUR O/A: 1. Team Suzuki Endurance (5uz~ 2. Doga Racing (Yam~ 3. HP Motorsports (Suz); 4. Arclight Racing (Suz); S. Triple R Racing (Kaw); 6. H&H Racing I RK Motorsports (5uz); 7. Team Bells Suzuki (5uz); 8. Team Triad Il/Tapeworks (Yam); 9. Team Ten 40 Racing (Hon); 10. TKO Rayce Team suzuki Too (Suz); II. S.B.R. (Yam); 12. Royale Racing (Hon); 13. Cycle Speed Racing (Hon~ 14. Performance Motorsports (Hon); 15. Team Triad I/Tapeworks (Suz); 16. Free Bud (Due); 17. PC Racing (Hon); 18. TIlA Racing (Suz); 19. Thunder Racing (Kaw); 20. Team Fast Forward (Hon). Time: 5 hr., 38 min., 20 sec. Distance: 385.92 miles. Average Speed: 68.40 mph. Margin of Victory: 3 laps. WERA NATIONAL ENDURANCE SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (Af'e, 5 of 1.0 rounds): 1. Team Suzuki Endurance (547.83 points); 2. Arclight Rodng (467.4); 3. TKO Rayce Team Suzuki Too (412.12); 4. Tdple R Racing (374.7); 5. Performance Motorsports Racing (304.04); 6. H&:H Racing/RK Motorsports (300.08); 7. Royale Racing (298.9); 8. Cycle Speed Racing (289.75); 9. Team Ten 40 Racing (270.8); 10. Team Triad III Tapewod,s (270.47); 11. HP Mo'orspo,.s (264.47); 12. Army of Darkness (248.57); 13. The TKO Rayce Team· Suzuk; (247.82); 14. Team Bells Suzuk; (234.96); IS. S.B.R. (234.37); 16. Roswen Racing (230.83); 17. Excel Racing (229.77); 18. Team Fury (222.48); 19. Team Triad l/Tapewo'ks (198.51); 20. Teom Fas. Forward (197.13). Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 - Clennont, IN, July 11-14 Round 7 - Mount Meridian, IN, August 8-10