Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

350cc Sportsman competitor, and it was here that Barber's Vintage Motorsports Museum rider Stephen Mathews dominated aboard his 1961 Matchless G50. Mathews left the grid in approximately third place, but aggressive riding carried him straight to the' front, as he took an opportunity to hoot between John Cooper and Fred Mark ju t before the dogleg. Then he checked out. Meanwhile, Canadian rider Kemp Archibald left the rest of his competition behind in the 350cc Sportsman ranks, and he used the balance of the race to pick off ali of the Classic"'60s competitors in front of him except for the streaking Mathews. At race's end, Mathews took the checkered flag just as Archibald was sweeping through the chicane on the back straight. Cooper and Mark went on to run 2-3 in the Classic '60s division, while Mike Mathews finished Richardson hung tough and retook the lead on the infield, only to lose it when White outbraked him going into the chicane on the back straight. Richardson then bobbled, all but handing the race to White, who pulled out to a 10-bike-length lead. Richardson tried to close the gap with a last-ditch effort when they pulled onto the East Banking for the final time, but it was too little too late, and White snared the victory. "He (Richardson) had a valve-guide problem yesterday, so I knew his engine was going to get soft - I just had to hang on to him," White said. "He could pull away at will if everything was right. These are both just a couple of old Ducatis from the mid-'60s era." And what about White? 'Tm mid-'40s era." prara of Italy was third on Sand ro a '54 MV Agusta 250, while Bultacomounted Jim Neuenberg was third and Kemp Archibald, on a Ducati, was fourth. The Formula 125 contest was run wi th the 250cc GP class, and it turned out to be a two-bike race - literally. Heritage Racing's Jack Seaver and his '76 Honda outran Yamaha-mounted Christopher Spargo and also picked off quite a few 250s en route to the class ca ~n. • Just to show how advanced his '39 BMW was for its day, Auer came back to contest the Class C Footshift division for '50s-era equipment, and he once again appeared to be the Class of the field. It wasn't as easy this time, though, as Auer battled with Vincent 500mounted Carleton Palmer II, pre-1940class rival McLean, and a game Norman elson on another Norton 500. Nelson led a three-rider pack containing Palmer and Auer across the stripe to complete lap one, with McLean tucked in right behind them. Palmer then outran everybody into the International Horseshoe and grabbed the lead, which he held over Auer while the two put some daylight between themselves and the -Nelson/McLean duo. McLean wasn't done, however, and he jumped into the lead in the chicane on lap two to remain in con·tention. . Auer, McLean and Palmer then shuffled and reshuffled as they rumbled around the track, with Auer waiting to make his move until the white-flag lap, when he tried to break away from the rest. Palmer came with him and took the . lead in the chicane on the final lap, but Auer's horsepower advantage was impossible to overcome, and Auer bagged win number two, ahead of Palmer, McLean, Nelson and Fred Mork. "They were trying to follow me around there all day, but I figured I'd better slow down and try to follow them for a while," Auer said. "The bike's running real good. It's slipping the clutch a little, but it's still coming off thl! corners real good." While Auer led the Footshift division, the Class C Handshift class was also out on the track and was held in complete control by Blake Wilson and his Indian 45. He ran well ahead of Harley-mounted Pierre Baril of Canada. The best racing in the class could be found in the scrap between the dueling Harleys of Thomas Heid and Al Knapp. The pair ran right together for the entire distance, with Heid leading Knapp most of the way, and, when it counted, for third. "Moon" Mullins rode his '49 Harley-Davidson to a fifth-place finish. The 350cc GP grid swelled with 40 entries, one of them a machine that could easily be considered the cream of the crop. But as Great Britain's Collin Breeze learned, having a '69 Benelli 350 at his disposal didn't necessarily make him the class of the field. That honor would be reserved for Erik Green, who piloted his Norton into the lead from row three on the grid when' the green flag was thrown. Breeze came along as part of a six-rider pack that poured onto the West End Banking, and he was quickly revving his way into second place aboard the shrieking Italian machine. Greg Nichols ran third aboard a '67 Ducati 350 before the race was halted due to a crash in the West Horseshoe. On the restart, Nichols took the point and held it for three of the remaining five laps of the race, only to suffer a breakage at the entrance to the West End Banking on la p four. Tha t left Green and Breeze· to wage war for the win, but the war never really rnaterialized. White smoke puffed from Breeze's high-strung Benelli, which signaled surrender. Green cruised home ~th a lead of slightly more than two seconds over Breeze, who kept it running to the finish. Craig Breckon was third, followed by Joe Lachniet and Edward Sensenig. "This feels good," Green said. "It's like the first time, when I won here two years ago. Roper and Hunicutt crashed then and handed me the win. I don't know if I got handed the win today, but I got lucky." Defending event champion Adam Popp got an excellent jump on the field at the start of the Formula 750cc race, the penultimate race of the day, but Popp's hopes for a repeat victory were over almost as quickly when he overshot the right-handed International Horseshoe curve and crashed. That left Australia's Craig Trinder on the point, followed by Motorcyclist magazine editor Mitch Boehm on a Heritage Racing Honda four. Steve Trinder, also on a (Above) Winner Ralph Auer (467) puts his 1939 BMW 500 under Carleton Palmer II and his 1950 Vincent 500 in the second horseshoe during the Class C Foot race. Auer also rode the bike to victory in the Pre-1940 class. (Right) Stephen Mathews piloted his 1961 Matchless 500 to a clear victory in the Classic '60s event. Honda 750, ran third, making for a lead trio of Honda 750s. Craig Trinder continued to carry through the second of the eight scheduled laps before Boehm took the lead on the East. Banking. Craig Trinder then dropped out ~th mechanical problems, and Boehm had a clear track in frbnt of him. He quickly took advantage of it and left the remaining Trinder in his dust. By lap four, Boehm was 17 seconds ahead of Ducati 750-mounted Hasse Gustafson of Sweden, who had taken second from Steve Trinder. From there, Boehm kept the throttle ~cked up and 'dusted the field by more than 18 seconds at the finish. "Man, I am so out of shape," Boehm said. "I kept waiting for the halfway flags - I was sure that they'd forgotten to put them out. Then, two laps later, there they were. I saw (Popp's acddent), and I couldn't believe it was Adam. That guy in front of me was really fast, but soon I saw oil on my face shield and said, 'All I've got to do is hang here and pretty soon he'll be gone: And he was. We only race this bike a couple times a year, and -it's finally getting to where all the bugs are out and it's working good." Gustafson and Trinder finished in second and third, respectively. Kurt Liebmann finished fourth, ahead of Moto-Guzzi-mounted David Fulkerson. Tuesday's vintage schedule's events included the Sportsman classes, the Open Formula Vintage final and a new event, the Vintage Handicap feature. Race one was for the Classic '60s and second and Frank Smith third in the 350cc Sportsman class. "The bike ran really well, and I want to thank Chuck Huneycutt for working so hard all winter to make our bikes run well," Mathews said. "It was just amazing." Formula 500 was the next vintage class on the schedule, and it featured a great cat-and-mouse battle between '76 Yamaha 40o-mounted Harry Barlow of Great Britain and Japanese rider Hikaru Miyagi on a '71 Honda sao. Miyagi, an AMA Super Sport racer as late as last season, was hell on the brakes, and the Japanese used it to his advantage, leading several times throughout the six-lap race as he and Barlow pulled clear of the pack. In the end, though, the superior power of Barlow's machine carried him to the line first, ahead of Miyagi and Christopher Spargo. "We've got good power out of the 400 Yamaha motor," Barlow said. "It's completely AHRMA-legal, and it's making well over 70 rear-wheel horsepower. We're two years down the road of development, and it's been a worthwhile project. I've been doing this track for quite ~ few years now - since '94 and you can't beat experience here." With SOD-plus victories at Daytona, experience is something that Todd Henning had on his side going into the 500cc Sportsman race, but would it be enough to hold off a flying Mike Mathews, a man for whom Henning builds engines? To find out, the two Honda twin riders quickly pulled clear of a terrific three- - ....J::. ~ ca ~ 39

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