Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Vanson Trans Atlantic Match Races, Round f by J.A.M. Potter Photos by Steve Simmons MONTEREY, CA, APR 1~19 Jllf'iream USA vindicated itself for its loss to the English in Daytona earlier this year by taking the win in round one of the Trans Atlantic Match Races, 207-200. After the successful revi val of the Trans Atlantic Match Races last October at Daytona Speedway, Team Obsolete has established a three-event series for 1998, with two races per event. Round two will be held at Cadwell Park in England, July 25-26, utilizing six-time World Champion Jim Redman as Grand Marshall on his Honda Six. Row1d three will be at Daytona on October 18, featuring 15-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini on his MV Agusta 500/3. After a month of El Nino-spawned rains, the Sun God smiled on America's only FIM-approved Grand Prix circuit. The Vanson Trans Atlantic Match Races fea tured possibly the highest-quality grid ever seen at a USA Historic event. The USA Team featured Dave Roper riding an ex-Agostini MV Agusta, Yvon DuHamel riding an ex-Dick Mann BSA Triple, Don Vesco riding an ex-Hailwood Manx orton, Cal Rayborn ill riding an XR750 Harley, Todd Henning riding a Drixton Honda, John Long riding a Rob North Triumph Triple, Craig McLean riding a Team Obsolete G-50, and Mike Green riding a Seeley Triumph. Long and DuHamel, as well as Rayborn's late father, all were entrants in the original 1970s series. Early entrant John Ulrich had to withdraw when ilie heavy demands of ancient drum brakes aggravated his carpal-tunnel syndrome. He was replaced by Motorcycles Unlimited's Craig McLean. Cal Rayborn III was a nonstarter, experiencing teething problems on his newly rebuilt XR750. The U.K. team featured evergreen Dave Pither, Colin Breeze, Richard Haas and Malcolm Tunstall on a trio of Rob North Triples and a Ducati Special, while Chris "Wingnut" McGahan, Vernon Glashier, Larry Swann and Manx Grand Prix-winner Paul Barrett were all on Seeley G-50s. In race one, McLean pulled a holeshot on the Rob Iannucci-tuned G50 and pulled away. Ten seconds after ilie 500s got under way, the 750s got the green flag. Long got the holeshot, with Breeze, Roper and Pither in close pursuit. The big drama was whether or not ilie 750s - which started in the second wa ve - could overtake the 5OOs. At the start of lap two, Roper powered by Long into turn one, passing the United Kingdom's Colin Breeze and Dave Pi ther as well. Roper showed ilie way for two laps, but Breeze was right on his tail and eventually got by him on ilie brakes on lap four. Paul Barrett lowsided his Seeley G-50 in turn six on the same lap, ending his ride for ilie weekend, though fortunately without injury. Meanwhile, Pither thought better of a last-lap dive under Breeze, deciding in favor of the safety of his immaculate Commonwealth Triple, for the Brit Team and Mother England. DuHamel had dogged Henning for the entire race, but a last-lap charge failed. While the 750s were closing on the 500s of Henning, McGahan and Glashier, McLean had run away with first place by lap three and remained unchallenged for the remainder of the race, ,ending up the overall winner, including all 750 machines. At the end, McLe'an was so far ahead that Roper, Pither and Breeze could no longer see him. The score for the first race was USA 101, u.K. 98. In Sunday's race, Henning, who had recovered from a stomach ailment, ran away and hid from ilie field, eventually taking first overall. This time, McLean had no answer and settled for tl1ird 500 after a race-long battle wiili Glashier. As the 750 riders got off the line, Breeze got the holeshot and was first into turn one. The racing was much closer than on the previous day, wit.h the 750s of Breeze, Pither and Roper in . formation quickly overtaking several 500s. In ilie corkscrew on the fourililap, Breeze caught up with three smaller machines and was making the pass when his throttle stuck. He kept the bike upright but had to "go empty his leailiers" at the end of ilie race. From iliat point forward, Pither was gone, and Breeze had no hope of catching him with his sticking throttle. Roper passed McLean and made a good attempt at catching Pither, as did DuHamel, while Tunstall, Long and Haas swapped positions. Then, on the last lap, Piilier went into the Corkscrew too hard and almost lost it. Luckily, he kept it up and kept the lead for the win. "On the penultimate lap, I made a mistake in the corkscrew," Pither confirmed. "I misjudged braking and was also having more front-end chatter. Maybe I was trying harder than Saturday - I'm still trying to learn it; it's so technical and I don't want to let the team down by crashing. Apart from ilia t, ilie bike ran like a clock." The score for Sunday's race was U.K:102, USA 106. This gave the USA the overall victory, 207-200. The High Points scorer for this round was once again Pither, repeating his Daytona honor from last October. At that race, the U.K. team beat the USA team, 333-319. Piilier will take ilie prestigious Hailwood Trophy back home to the U.K. The trophy was awarded to Mike Hailwood for his victory in the 1965 USGP. A FAMILY AFFAIR Fresh from his start-to-fiitish victory over Doug Chandler in ilie Honda Challenge AMA Superbike National, Honda's Miguel DuHamel stepped back 34 years in history to ride the legendary 18,000-rpm Honda 250cc "Six" that was first raced by Jim Redman in 1964. Miguel was accompanied by his brother, Hooter's Suznki pilot Mario, on an exAgostini MY Agusta 500 Four, and ilieir father, Yvon, riding the ex-Dick Marm BSA Triple that he rode to victory last month at Daytona. As the fabulous trio did two fast laps, ilie howl of 13 unmuffled cylinders echoed off the hillsides. 'This is a fabulous machine," Miguel said afterward. "Its power starts at 13,000 rpm. It's light and handles great!" , Brother Mario was surprised at the speed of the 22-year-old MY. When told iliat it could do 180 mph, Mario asked if it was legal for the 750cc Supersport class. Yvon just smiled proudly at his sons. This was truly a special moment in racing history. CN Vanson Trans Atlantic Match Races Laguna Seca, California Results: April 18 (Round 1) Rac:eOne 500: 1. Craig McLean (Mat); 2. Vernon Cia shier (See); 3. Todd Henning (Han); 4. Chris McGahan (See); S. Milce Green (Tri). (Right) Yvon DuHamel (1) and Todd Henning (5) helped the American team defeat the British team, 207200. (Below) Brits Colin Breeze (8), David Pither (3) and Vernon Glashier (4) take on the Corkscrew at Laguna Seea Raceway. Pither's team may not have won, but he went home as the top points scorer again with a 2-1 in the 750cc class. 150: 1. Colin Breeze (BSA); 2. David Pither (Tn); 3. Dave Roper (MV); 4. Yvon DuHamel (BSA); 5. Malcolme TunstaU

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