Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128100
AMA U.S. Drag Racing Championships Round 2: Atlanta Dragway ence on my life. People have said my other five-second runs weren't official because they were run at exhibition events," he continued. "Now it's official. tl application better and that is what made it happen," he said. Saturday's first qualifying session served as the final of the rained-out Gainesville event. McBride went up against Ron Webb and took the win with a 5.969 elapsed time at 220 mph, during which the cam chain broke at 1100 feet. The run became the first national record under six seconds. It was also the first time STORY AND PHOTOS By MATT POLITO COMMERCE, GA, MAR. 31-APR. 2 arry "Spiderman" McBride, the . . first rider to cover the quarter mile in under six seconds, had a career weekend at the AMA/Prostar Star Racing Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, recording the quickest motorcycle run in history at 5.89 seconds, setting a new national record at 5.96 seconds, and taking two event wins. The event was the second stop of the AMA/Prostar U.S. Drag Racing Championships and featured the rained-out finals of the opening race at Gainesville, Florida. The historic 5.89 pass came during Friday's second qualifying session. McBride shut the bike off 5.7 seconds into the run with a final time of 5.890 seconds at 228.46 mph. The eighth-mile performances were also all-time numbers of 3.891 seconds at 200.92 mph. Incredibly, McBride covered the last half of the track in 1.999 seconds, the first time under two seconds. McBride gave credit for the performance to his brother and crew chief Steve and Keith Adams, assistant crew chief on Alan Johnson's Top Fuel car team. "Steve and Keith have been constantly developing the clutch system so we can control the power 38ApRIL18,2001' cue I back-to-back five-second runs were recorded. The record reset the 6.069 mark established by the late Elmer Trett at Indy in 1996. It is almost fitting that McBride took the record at what Trett considered his home track. "I would rather Elmer had been here to do it," said McBride, "but, since Elmer isn't here anymore, I'm glad I did it. He was a major influ- On Sunday, McBride again faced off against Webb in the final - this time for the Atlanta title. The pair were side-by-side, and Larry was granted the win when high cross winds pushed Webb across the centerline and into the timing blocks. The two wins put McBride solidly in the points lead to defend his current AMA/Prostar championship - his first number-one plate since 1991. In the 'Orient Express Funnybike Series, Robert Giard scored a double win, taking the Gainesville win over Travis Davis, 7.20 to 7.27 and then beat the ZX-11 powered Kawasaki factory bike of Chip Ellis. Giard, a past Funnybike racer who stormed back onto the scene at the 2000 World Finals with 6.6-second laps, qualified on the pole 6.90 followed by the consistent bike of Barry Van Hook with a 7.04. The final with Ellis was a wild one. Giard went through the traps at 6.85, but Ellis, like Webb in Top Fuel, crossed the centerline and we!lt through the traps in Giard's lane. In the Fast by Gast Pro Modified class, Louie Grist earned redemption by taking his first-ever event win. Grist was disqualified from the Gainesville final after failing fuel check, (apparently due to a fuel jug contaminated with purnp gas), following the semifinals. The Gainesville final saw John Sachs, new to the Franco's Performance camp, taking the win over veteran Steve Drake. The Atlanta event saw a duel between the BVR Suzuki of Grist and Franco regular Tommy Miceli. The two led the pack in qualifying with Grist taking the top spot at 6.74/197. They met in the final and Grist took the win with a 6.85 as Miceli's transmission failed. Billy Vose proved he may be the most multi-talented racer in motorcycle drag racing by taking the win in the Lectron Pro Stock series. The multi-time Pro Mod and Pro Camp champion, appearing in only his second Pro Stock race (with a Freedom Motorsports-powered Suzuki), blew the field away by taking the pole at 7.19/183, and scoring the win over the Ward Performance bike of Todd (Top) Larry "Spidennan" McBride pushed the ultimate motorcycle drag racing perfonnance to under 5.9 seconds, with a 5.890-second elapsed time at Atlanta Dragway. McBride also established a new national record and garnered two event wins. (Left) Billy Vose stepped into the Pro Stock class in a big way. In only his second event, the current Pro Mod champion took the pole and the event win In Pro Stock. e n e _ s