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PACE U.S. Off-Road Championship series, Round l' • u ae wins a ., PONTIAC, MI, MAR 14 earn White Brothers/¥amaha's Spud Walters earned his place in motorcycle history as he claimed the first Professional title aboard Yamaha's new YZ400F four-stroke. Walters ""as formally crowned the inaugural PACE U.S. Off-Road Championship S,eries Thunderbike-class champion at the Pontiac Silverdome series finale, although he had mathematicallyclinched the four-stroke-only stadium series title at round 6 in Minneapolis two weeks earlier. In Pontiac, Walters finished second to his teammate Doug Dubach, who also won round five in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. . "It feels really good to win the title for White Brothers and Yamaha," the MSR/Gatorz-Shoei-sponsored Walters said. "T>he YZ400F is a really good bike. 'thUS Yamalla four-stroke is going to win a lot more titles in the future." Y Thunderbike newcomer and ProAction test rider Trevor Vines took the holeshot in the six-lap Silverdc,>me heat race. "I was riding well, but Spud and Dubach caught me with two laps to go," explained the Xtreme Sports YZ400Fmounted Vines. "The track was a little soggy and the ruts got pretty deep, but my Pro Action suspension worked great. The track is very high-speed and not too technical - just one slight bobble can mean the difference between first and fifth place." Walters may have won the title, but his 34-year-old White Brothers/Yamalla teammate, Dubach, was unstoppable in the Pontiac finale. '1 drew a back-row starting position for the heat race and was just trying to work my way to the front," Dubach explained. "Spud was in the lead on the last lap. He thought the white flag was the checkered so he let up a little bit, which allowed me to get by and take the win. That (the heat-race win) put me in (Above left) Spud Walters may have finished second In Pontiac, but he emerged as the Thunderbike champion in the inaugural season of the PACE U.S. Off-Road Championship Series. (Top) Walters' White 8rotherslYamaha teammate Doug Dubach picked up his second win of the series in Pontiac. (Above) The racing was fast and exciting in the Silverdome, as Ed Hammerschmidt found out. position for a good start in the main. That's what it took. I got the holeshot in the main and led from start to finish." At the drop of the green flag in the main, 'Walters gated second behind Dubach.' Walters stayed close until he bobbled near the midpoint of the 12-lap main event and got stuck in· a rut, giving Dubach the uncontested win. Vines started mid pack, working his way through the field and into third at one point. However, he - like Walters - bobbled in a rut and KRW Cycles' Chris Knox took third at the checkers on his Husaberg, with Vines a close fourth. Smitty's' Husaberg-supported Mitch Ward filled out the top five. "We've had a great time this year. It's been a 'fantastic series," said White Brothers/Yamalla race-team manager John Anderson. "We've gained a lot of exposure for Yamaha and White Brothers, and put on a good show for over 200,000 fans in this seven-race series. Now we're going to switch gears and ride some select supercr.osses and Outdoor Nationals." Dubach was optimistic about the future of the series and stadium fourstroke racing. "I only rode three of the events, but they all seemed to go off really well," Dubach said after his Silverdome win. "I think there's a good future for fourstroke stadium racing. They've got a good, deep sound to them and they get around the track every bit as (ast as, or maybe even faster than, the other bikes. Hearing the thunder really gets the crowd going!" ~ Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan Results: March 14,1998 (Round 7 of 7) MAIN: 1. Doug Dubach (Yam); 2. Spud Walters (Yam); 3. Chris Knox (Hbg); 4. Trevor Vines (Yam); S. Mitch Ward (Hbg); 6. Kory Ellis (Yam); 7. Harold Goodman (Yam); 8. Keith Guiden (Hbg); 9. Mark Bonnell (Hbg); 10. Jon Schubert (Hbg). PACE U.S. OFF·ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP THUNDERBIKE SERIES FINAL POINT STANDINGS (After 7 of 7 rounds): 1. Spud Walters (808); 2. Ed Hammerschmidt (517); 3. Jeremy Sboning (455); 4. Robert. Naughton (428); 5. Mark Bonnell (384); 6. Doug Dubach (337); 7. Mike Healy (320); 8. Cnris Ridgeway (310); 9. Keith Guiden (295); 10. David Riordan (288).