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/127798
'INSIDE THE'TEXAS TORNADOII' . By.CoUnEdwards e won the 8 Hour! Since that's the highlight of the article - of my life - we'll get to that in a ute... Now to pick up where we left off. ell, we got to go back to the States fter Brno to try and get some relaxing n.I went ~akeboarding with my iends on the lake and spent some time ith our dogs - basically just enjoyed ur five days at home in the States. For ose of you who don't know, I have an ustralian shepherd named Sheila and n English bulldog named Otis Boss og. If you saw him, you would know hy. So the next round was Lagun~, here I had high hopes to do· good in ront of the fans. Overall, the new surace was much better, but there were till a few bumps to deal with. We idn't have' much problem setting up e bike, and we were on the pace right way. Qualifying wasn't anything spe'al with fifth on the grid, but I was still leased. Race day arrived with a perfect cliate and loads of people to come out nd watch. The first race was a Gobert clash & crash" which put me in fourth hen the checkered dropped. Three ucati 998s littered the podium, but we on the 750 race, which is proof that we re improving every race. The second wasn't so kind. A bad tart put me out of the top five with the ant guys pushing hard. We made an djustment to the bike for the second ace and it was working much better. I ound myself fifth behind Slight after a ap and a half. So anyway, I crashed at he top of the corkscrew like a dumb ss. I came in too close to the curb and 'pped the footpeg. Nobody's fault but yawn, and my race was finished. The bummer was the fact that thousands of people, Alyssia's parents (who have only seen me ride 250s), friends and family came to see me kick ass. I felt I short-changed them since I only raced once. The weekend. ended with a couple of beers and an early bedtime. Monday morning we had an early flight to Japan for the 8 Hour. I knew as soon as we stepped off the plane that this was going to be a tough race, considering- the heat and humidity. I spent my spare time riding some awesome roller-coasters and getting used to the heat before race weekend., The two tests beforehand had definitely paid off as we were with the top guys right off. This race is like no other race. Qualifying on the Friday is only to place you for the one-lap qualifying dash Saturday. Fri(jay's qualifying yielded good results, placing us third for Saturday's qualifying with a 2:10.8. For Saturday's qualifying, the 30 fastest teams are split into two groups with the fastest r~~ers being last. The session begins from 30 and works down, giving each rider only one lap to put in his best time. This one-lap qualifier is the absolute biggest adrenaline' rush one could possibly ask for. After the one-lap dash, we ended up fourth on the grid with a 2:11.0. There we're three important hours in this race: the first, second and fourth. The first hour was important because I got a good start and kept with the lead pack. The second hour, Aaron Slight crashed, giving the lead to Fogarty, who was teamed up with Aoki. Noriyuki Haga, my teammate whom I have not yet mentioned, did an unbelievable job of tracking and passing Fogarty to take the' lead. After Aoki had passed me back in the third hour, Haga started reeling Fogarty back in the fourth. I believe it was the pressure Haga was putting on Fogarty that made him crash. The gap had quickly dwindled down to two seconds when Fogarty lost .the front. Now that we were in the lead by 20 seconds over Crafar and Gobert in the Kawasaki, we didn't have too much to worry about; we just kept a steady pace. Everybody knows how this race wears on your endurance, so we had Dr. Ting give us an IV hourly to keep us functioning properly. Finally, the eighth hour came. Haga kept the bike up and we took the win with over a minute to spare. I have to say that if there is one race you want to win, it is the 8-Hour. The feeling af standing on the podium with thousands of people below you wanting your hat, or champagne sprayed on them, is unbelievable. Yamaha couldn't believe it - kicking Honda's ass on their own track, not once bu t twice in the same year (including Abe winning the GP)! As you might imagine, we had a crazy' party with everyone soaked in beer and champagne. Yamaha motorsports boss Mr. Iio, also known as "one ten," was the happiest man on earth. The 8-Hour wasn't only a victory for Haga and myself, but for everyone who works for Yamaha. I called everyone I could think of that night to tell them the good news. The next morning we were on our way to Brands Hatch in England for the next WSB round. We (my father,' Alyssia and I) had a layover in Hong Kong and I couldn't resist the low prices in the duty free shops. I bought a solid gold Presidential Rolex as a gift to myself for winning. We landed in London at 5 a.m. Tues- day. With a couple of days to get over jet lag, we took advantage and slept. Mr. lio, my boss, called and offered me any Yamaha product for winning the 8-Hour. Eventually, I decided on a white grand piano since I have all the other Yamaha products. I knew I'd never buy one, but it sure would look nice in the right house. Anyway, Brands is a track I was looking forward to, since it was my best result last year' when I caine in second. We were once again on the pace straight away, with the results looking good for Sunday. I qualified fourth on the front row with lots of qualifying time being lost. With 20 minutes to go in the last session, I threw it down the road. I simply got into a left too hot and lost the front. Race one was a decent start, but later I got caught behind Fogarty with the leaders steadily pulling away. I forced my way past Foggy with one lap to go and ended fourth. Not happy with that, I had to do better in the second race. A terrible start put me in seventh after tum two. By lap one I was .fourth with Gobert right in front of me, and he was losing time on the Dukes with 18 laps left. Once they got wind I was catching, they just tried a little harder, and my hopes of a win slowly went. out the window. I finished third, six seconds behind'Chili, with Corser winning. There was a time last year when I was happy to get on the podium, but not anymore. Once I felt the top of the podium in Suzuka, I knew I could never be happy with anything else. Next trip is Indonesia and Japan, so I'll fill you in on a later date. Until then, . keep the rubber side down and, most important, have fun! l:N ! .. YEARS AGO... EPTEMBER 7, . 971 uzuki's R 0 g e r DeCoster rapped-up the OOcc World otocross hampionship ith a win at e Dutch GP. eCoster the vent after oints leader Ake Johnson had echanical problems in the first moto d finished sixth overall. It was Suzu"s first try at a 500cc World title. Teamate and fellow Belgian Joel Roberts apped off his 250cc World Champinship with a win at the British GP. It as the five-time World .Champion's 3rd GP win of his career... Rick Woods wept every race he entered at Costa esa Speedway. Younger brother Gene oods won the intermission races on 's mini-speedway machine. 5YEARS AGO... EPTEMBER 2, 1981 arley Davidson-mounted Scott Pearson took his second win in a row at the Tulsa, Oklahoma, AMA rand National Championship half ile, followed by Randy Goss and ike Kidd, also on Harleys. Kidd oved ahead into the points lead over lOOKINGBACK;li I ~~n:lrJ~I"':1'~""_with a win at the San Marino GP in Gary Scott, 153-150, who finished eighth... Bo O'Brochta took the Top Fuel win with a run at 192.30 mph at round nine of the NMRA National Championship Drag Race Series held at Orange County International Raceway. Terry Vance finished second at 0.51 seconds back and won the Pro Stock class... Over 2000 entrants showed up to race the NMA Grand National Championship MX in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Notable class winners were Jeff Emig,(83cc Stock Novice (0-11), Damon Bradshaw, (Jr. Cycle Mod 6-8), Kyle Lewis (83cc Modified Intermediate (0-11), and Larry Ward (105cc 0-11). Ml,\gello, Italy. Suzuki's Kevin Schwantz took the pole and finished second, while Honda's Michael Doohan got third...Team Honda's Jean Mimel Bayle took the overall win at the final round of the 500cc World Championship MX . Series held at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California. Team Kawasaki's Jeff Ward finished second and newly crowned 500cc World Champion Georges Jobe finished third. fN 5 YEARS AGO... arley D-avidson's Scott Parker became the winningest rider in AMA Grand National Championship Series history by scoring his 41st national victory at the Indianapolis Mile. David Durelle finished second and Chris Carr took third and held on to the points lead over Parker, 165153...Team Yamaha's World Champion Wayne Rainey edged closer to maintaining his 500cc World Championship H Kevin SclIwenlz (34) leads the SOOCC French Grand Prix In 1988 at Paul RIcard. Christian sarron (hidden), Wayne Rainey (17), Kevin Magee (16), Wayna Gardner (hidden), Dldlar de Radlgutlll (12) and NIall Mackenzie (5) gIve chase. Photo by Paul carruthers.