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/127800
(Opposite page) Davey Cam lin (27) was the man on the move at the Springfield Mile doubleheader. The illinois native scored the victories on both days to earn his third and fourth career Grand National wins in one weekend. (Above) Camlln (27) mastered the wide, - fast rac;:ing surface, finishing ahead of Rich King (80) and 'Kevin Atherton (23) on Saturday and then Atherton and Scott Parker (1) on Sunday. (Right) Saturday's Grand National was close. Camlln (27) held King (80), and AttJerton (23) at bay as the three·riders powered down the front straightaway. two days, Furthermore, the team may just have banke~ big karma points by helping an old friend on Sunday. And those points may have paid dividends right off after Parker crashed along with Atherton while fighting for the lead on Sunday. "Hey, for someone who didn't win, we're gonna get out of here with a bigger lead than when we started," Parker said with a grin. "But that oil was a real pain in the ass, What was funny was that 1 went back around again, and 1 could see that the trail went all the way to the top of the race track, but 1 knew 1 didn't hit it there. Then 1 coulp. see right where it crossed the groove ·at the start of the corner, and 1 said, 'Yep - there's the intersection.' And as happy as the capacity crowd was for home-state kid Camlin's repeat victory on Sunday, it was aI' Springer who absolutely electrified them for 17 laps of the main event. The 39-year-old three-time champion was a creditable ninth in the main event on Saturday but found himself aboard one of Parker's Werner-built factory XRs after his own Bartels' machine let go in the scratch qualifying heat on Sunday, Somehow the magic returned that day as Springsteen rode in a fashion that mirrored his factory performances of the'mid-to-late '70s and his 41st win at the '95 Pomona Half Mile. 'He appeared to be the strongest rider on the race track, taking the lead on lap nine and then sizing the rest of the competition up on each lap before developing a clear edge down the front chute 11 two laps before the Parker / Atherton crash took the wind out of his sails. After the restart, Springsteen wasn't as strong. He still finished an excellent fourth behind Atherton and Parker, but the Springfield Mile, a race that he cannot count among those 41 career victories, eluded him for another day. "1 tried, 1 really tried," Springsteen said. "We switched to a different edge than what we were running in the first part of the race, and it didn't come in. But we were there, man. And 1 was a factory rider today. First time in 10 years. Wouldn't it be something if they hired me back?" SATURDAY HEATS The first heat on Saturday was a microcosm of the weekend as it hosted a five-rider battle for the first three available qualifying spots into the main event. Kopp, clearly beginning to get the hang of the starts, holeshot Atherton, Schmulbach Racing's Dan Stanley, Loral Lake Racing's Paul Bergstrom, Willie McCoy on the Harley-Davidson of Dal- las entry and Schnabel. Atherton quickly drafted by Kopp, but Stanley doubledrafted both riders to lead it into turn three. Schnabel quickly broke free of Bergstrom and McCoy to join the other three. Atherton 'then made a break for it at the the fron't and checked out to guarantee himself a front-row berth in the main by posting the second-fastest heat win at five minutes, 57.55 seconds. "1 just tried to do some fast laps," Atherton said. "We blistered a tire, but my lap times still picked up. Everyone seems to be going faster as the race goes 11