Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

whom he chased for six laps. Wait took the lead on the final lap and held off Pegram at the flag by half a wheel - officially 0.391 seconds. He completed the 25-mile race in 13 minutes, 25.915 seconds at an average speed of 111.317 mph - the fastest of the weekend. "It was just determination," Wait said of his first complete race on the Ducati. "I wanted to beat Larry (Pegram). ['m trying to get my setup right for the Daytona 200. I've got two more races tomorrow to try to dial the bike in to where it needs to be. Hopefully, we'll get it done the best we can to be able to run up in front in the 200. I think it's important - no matter where you're racing at or what race it is - to try to win. lt shows you are really giving it 100 percent. [ just pushed the tires and pushed the bike and caught up a little bit every lap." Pegram won again on Sunday morning in the Unlimited Grand Prix class. It took him until the start of the second lap ning two races on Saturday and another pair on Sunday. Having led a race on Friday only to be docked with a stopand-go penalty for jumping the start and finishing fourth, Saeby won two races and captured the pole for Sunday's ASB EBC Brakes Sport Bike final. 'Tve never won in Daytona," Saeby said. "This ha been my dream. I can't describe it. It's one of the biggest moments in my racing career." His first win came in the Expert Middleweight Superbike race again t a pair of Kawasakis belonging to Eric Wood and 4&6 Computrack's Todd Harrington. By the second of seven laps, Saeby was in charge, though not with any confidence. Harrington was quickly by him, and Wood pushed Saeby to third on the fourth lap after leading out of the chicane on the prior lap. The trio went at it right to the end, swapping repeatedly on lap six to setup a hectic lap seven. • Wood led through the International (Above) Norwegian ThoNald S8eby sticks his leg out in celebrating his victory after claiming the Expert Middleweight Superaport race win on Sunday afternoon. Saeby, who had never won at Daytona before, also won the Expert Middleweight Grand Prix and Expert Middleweight Superbike races. (Left) Saeby (83) leads Eric Wood (5) In the Expert Middleweight Superbike class. Wood finished out the race in third. (Below) Mario Martin (69) leads Page Galthings through turn one in the Amateur Middleweight Supersport final. Martin won the race, as well as the Amateur Heavyweight Supersport class. (of seven) to get'in front. Wait went with him, and the pair cleared out running in the mid-1:53 range, some of their best times of the weekend. Wait took the lead on the fifth lap but went down exiting the chicane soon after and handed Pegram the win. Suzuki GSXR-750 pilot Rad Greaves was second, 7.7891 seconds back, with Cycle Works' Steve Moriarty, also on a 750cc Suzuki, third. Pegram completed the seven-lap, 25mile race in 13 minutes, 37.404 seconds at an average speed of 109.752 mph. "We've still got a little way to go trying to get the bike dialed in," Pegram said. "We didn't get to test here in December, so thank God we got this in, but we need more laps. Seven laps doesn't give us the time to do what we need to do. It was very windy today, especially down. the front straightaway." Pegram's final win came in the final race of the weekend: the Expert Heavyweight Superbike contest. Wait pulled in after the warmup lap when he knew that his Ducati was more than a handful. That left the race to the same trio tha t took the podium spots in the Unlimited GP: Pegram, Greaves and Moriarty. Pegram took the lead on the front straight of the first lap and was gone. Greaves, who had the early lead, was ec'ond, and Moriarty came out of the pack on the fourth of five laps to claim third, about 11 seconds behind Greaves. This race took Pegram nine minutes, 40.393 seconds to complete at an average speed of 110.408 mph. He won by 8.028 seconds. Thorvald Saeby finally ended years of frustration at the Speedway by win- Horseshoe on the final lap, with Saeby taking the point coming off of the West Banking. He kept the lead into and out of the chicane (normally not a wise move), but he had the power of his new Yamaha R-6 to pull him through and, with a move low down on the banking, he beat Harrington to the strip by 0.894 seconds. Wood was a shadow third. Saeby completed the seven-lap, 25mile race in 13 minutes, 57.171 seconds at an average speed of 107.161 mph. "We're just here because it's a very good way of getting things rolling," Saeby said. "Back home (in Norway), there's snow, and so there's no rid ing. By the time I get back, hopefully ['11 have a lot of valuable knowledge about the bike and be a little ahead. It's going to be fun to see how we can do in the AM.A." Two races later, Saeby came back and won the second (and faster) of the two three-lap EBC Brakes Sport Bike heat races. Again, he would vanquish Eric Wood and the Penguin Racing School Kawasaki, though the win was harder than his fir t and the finish was closer. Wood had jumped out to a big lead before Saeby, starting from the fourth row, began to quickly close on the third lap. By the time they hit the chicane, Saeby was on Wood, getting near enough to slingshot by at the finish. He won the race by 0.202 seconds in six minutes, 1.860 seconds at an average speed of 106.251 mph. "Being able to beat the high level of competition makes me feel good," Saeby said. The Norwegian had also been involved in Fr'iday's best race - the ExpertGTU. It began as a runaway for Saeby and his Yamaha R-6, only he was judged to have jumped the start and was forced in at the end of the second lap for a stopand-go penalty. When he rejoined the race, in fourth place, he was part of a quartet that would swap spots for the duration of the 30-minute, IS-lap race. At one time or another, Saeby, Yamaha-mounted Ken Krebs, and Suzuki riders Ed Bartoli and Joshua Kurt Hayes led it. Bartoli, as it turned out, had the strongest runner, eijsily passing the others on the straights, though losing ground in the infield. With two laps to go, the four were running together. Then Hayes u ed traffic judiciously and managed to stay ahead of the pursuing trio to the checkered flag. "I started way back in the second wave of riders," Hayes said. "Slicing my way through to the front was quite an adventure. Once I got up to the lead pack, I foun~ that tho e guys were riding really well. That number-102 bike (Ed Bartoli) was very fast on the banking. I took the lead but couldn't hold him off. I finally got out front for good by making it really cleanly through the chicane." Krebs was econd, 0.669 seconds back, with Bartoli and Saeby finishing close behind. Hayes completed the IS-lap, 53.4mile race in 30 minutes, 9.056 seconds at an average speed of 106.265 mph. On Sunday, Saeby disappeared from the Expert Middleweight Grand Prix class, only to be brought back to earth when the race was red-flagged. A light rain had been falling, which caused a crash exiting first horseshoe. The restart wasn't as kind to Saeby,

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