Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Road Race By Henny Ray Abrams MONTEREY, CA, JAN. 13-14 he first time that new riders get to ride new bikes on new teams is generally at the winter tire tests at Daytona International Speedway. But because of the track layout at Daytona, and the use of dual-compound tires, riders don't always get a feel for how the machinery will work on a more proper race course. For that, there's Laguna Seca. Except for Fast By Ferracci Uucati, all of the factory superbike teams were there, as were the Supersport teams of Erion Racing, 1-800-CYCLEGEAR and Chaparral Suzuki. Everyone had something new to try - if not a whole new bike, then at least significant parts. Cold weather on Wednesday, January 13, the first day of the two-day test, kept the riders off the track for most of the morning. From then on, they went nonstop, and the unofficial stopwatches brought out a few surprises. Vance & Hines Ducati's Anthony Gobert, still well T ..... N ~ ftI :::> c:: ftI "") 18 Laguna Seea test session above his ideal fighting weight, was the fastest of the superbike riders, bu t well above the lap records and his own personal best here. The best 600s belonged to the Yamaha team of Rich Oliver and Tommy Hayden, proving that the work they'd done since debuting the new R-6 at Daytona wasn't in vain. Here, then, are some random notes from the test. Vance & Hines' Anthony Gobert was the fastest rider at the two-day Laguna Seca test, though his time was above his ~st, and well abov\; the best turned in by Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin in setting the pole for last year's AMA Superbike National. "I've been a lot quicker," Gobert said after his best lap of 1:27.19 for the 2.2-mile, ll-turn Laguna Seca Raceway. Mladin took the pole for the April running of last year's AMA race with a time of 1:25.600. Ducati's Troy Corser's pole time for the July round of the World Superbike Series race was actually slower, a 1:26.325. 'The best I've done is 27.4 (Gobert was clocked at a hand-timed 1:27.19), and last year in testing I did a 26.4 here. The bike's quite a bit better as well. I did 26.2, I'm pretty sure, on the Kawasaki in World Superbike qualifying here (in 1996). But the track's pretty cold and greasy. Still, I'm satisfied with the time. I've been having this offsea on totally off and I haven't really been training or doing any riding. I've been doing a little bit of Jet Skiing. Considering where I'm at right now, I'm happy with the lap time, but I'm sure when I get a lot fitter and I'm ready for the season, which I intend to do from now on, the lap time should be a lot better. From here last year - I'm still a few kilograms heavier - the bike feels a lot quicker. It seems to be lifting the front wheel up a bit extra, so it's definitely got more horsepower. We just need to get the rIder more in tune with the bike." Now that he's back in the United States after spending the holidays at home in Australia, Gobert said he'd work toward being fit for the season-opening paytona 200 in March. At the Dunlop tire test at Daytona in December, he said he was (Top left) Vance & Hines Ducati's Anthony Gobert (it's a wig...) and Ben Bostrom . ended the laguna Seca test as the two fastest Superbike riders. (Top right) Rich Oliver was the quickest of the 600cc Supersport riders. (Above left) Doug Chandler had his first outing of the year on the Muzzy Kawasaki. (Above) Ditto for Jason Pridmore and the Yoshimura Suzuki. about 20 pounds overweight, most of which he's still carrying, though he appears to have lost some weight. The Harley-Davidson team has'n't been idle since the Daytona tire tests in December. They tested for two days in Savannah, Georgia, though the track was cold and the flat layou t didn't tax the VRIOOO. They arrived at Laguna Seca' with Showa suspension, front and rear, for the first time, and a new fuel-injection system. H-D's Scott Russell said that at Savannah they "were just kind of running through it. I just wanted to go and

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