. ·W R
E AGrand National Finals
Road Race
ROAD ATLANTA
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America n Su zu ki se t the li mits for
the Open class bikes - w hich included
10
(Above) Tim Bemisderfer (left) , Mike Cic cotto (center) and Chris Caylo r
(right) took home the majo r share of th e purse in the Suzuki Cup Series
Final at the series-ending WERA Grand Nationa ls at Road Atlanta.
(Below) Clccotto was .a double-class win ner in the Suzuki Cup races .
Ca ylor wa s racin g the v e n e ra b le
GSX-R 1100 for only the seco nd time
ever, and the first time in wet co nd itio n s . Cay lor was rid in g fo r Team
Va lvoli ne /EMGO Su z uki in w ha t he
co nside red a " try-o u t" rid e with th e
team an d to give them a p resence in the
big-bore class. After slow ly picking his
way th rou gh the pack of more-experienc ed 'Open class racers to en d up seco n d in terr ib le co ndi t io ns , Cay lo r
showed h e ha s w ha t it ta kes to r id e
smart as well as fast.
The first race on Sunday's sched u le
was the Open Su zuki Cup e ven t that
would crow n a year-end cha mp ion and
pa y the winner a cool $5000 for th eir
e ffor t. Ci ccotto g ra bbed th e hoJeshot
from his fro nt-row starting position and
bega n to pull away, qu ickly followed by
Caylor a nd Tim Bemi sd erfer up from
the second row . By the thi rd lap, Ciccotto's Michelin rain- sli ck shod TL-1000R
had a nin e-second lead in the battle for
seco nd .
Caylor and Bemisd erfer staye d close
to each other as they pulled away from
Scott Harw ell and Lee Acree's battle to
round ou t the top fiv e. Bemisd erfer,
wh o has campaig ned the Suzuki G5X-R
1100 for several years, gi nge rly mad e his
way aro u nd the big-bike roo kie Cay lor
on th e ba ck straigh t. Berni sd er fer was
able to stretch his advantage to abo ut a
second over Caylor, but was unable to
make an y headway into Ciccollo 's lead .
At the halfway point of the race, Ciccotto had a 17-second lead over his
pu rsu ers .
The ba tt le for fou r th a nd fift h
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the ever po pu lar GSX-R 1100 mod el and
the newer TL-1000R twin at 135 hp an d
430 po u nd s for the fou r cylinder, and
125 hp an d 420 pounds for the twin. The
GSX-R 750 models we re lim ited to 125
hp and 390 po u nds, w hile the GSX-R
600s we re allowed 99 hp a nd 380
pounds.
OPEN SUZUKI CUP RACE
The Open Suzuki Cu p heat race wa s
a six-lap preview of wh at to expec t du ring the final. On ly 13 riders took to the
grid, in we t co n di tio ns, to try to
improve their starting positions for Sunda i s main event. Cicco llo grabbed the
lea d immedia te ly a n d p u t h is h ead
down to pu ll away on his Cycle Riders
of Orla ndo Suzu ki TL-I 000R, turning
times over three-seco nds-a -lap faster
than second-place finisher Chris "Opie"
Caylor. .
hea ted up when Acree d rafted by Har well en tering tu rn one, but Har well, the
n ewl y crow ned He avyweig h t Tw ins
Expert Nationa l Cha m pion, m ad e an
aggress ive pass down the hill be tween
turn s 11 a nd 12 to retake the spot in
tricky conditions . Harwell, on his Tapewo rks Racing-backed TL-1000R, wo uld
d e fend hi s fourth p lace from the
Arclight Suzuki GSX-R 1100 ridden by
Acree until Harwell fell on the back sec-
