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/128227
AHRMAJPro-Flo/Progressive Suspension Historic Cup Series Rounds 13-14: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course STORY AND PHOTOS BY MATT BENSON LEXINGTON, OH, JULY 19·20 Ifllis year's AMA Vintage Motorcycle J. Days was a celebration of 100 years of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and what better way to celebrate than with a quartet of class wins by one of the most popular racers ever to sling a leg over a Milwaukee 750cc V-twin? Three-time Grand National Champion Jay Springsteen rode an Hourglass Racing HarleyDavidson XRTT to wins each day in Formula 750cc and Formula Vintage competition. Springer's Formula 750cc races included a couple of good-battles with Tim Joyce on an identical blackorange-and-white 1972 Harley XR. The AHRMA Road Race Nationals drew approximately 450 entries each day and plenty of spectators among the large VMD crowd. There was close racing in many of the classes, but also far more crashes than normal. The worst of these came on the Friday practice day: James Swartout suffered fatal injuries when he crashed - apparently in his own oil after his Yamaha's ~ngine blew - and was hit by a following rider who also went down in the oil spill. Swartout, 53, of Martinsville, Indiana, On • pair of IIIIItcIIIng ",-,Da'IIId••• XRTTs,.,." Sprtnpt 11In ..... began with a duel between Alex McLean, on a '39 Norton, and Ralph Auer, on a '39 BMW. Auer got to the front on the second lap and eventually opened up a gap of several seconds, but then McLean moved to the lead on the fourth of six laps and was never again challenged. Will Harding finished a lonely third on his '36 Indian hand-shifter. The 200s featured a tight lead battle between Mike Parker and Butch Sprain, until Sprain fell in the notorious "Keyhole" turn, and Parker cruised his Honda to the win. Race two, combining Battle Of The Twins Formula One and Three, was red-flagged twice due to crashes, the second involving several machines in ......... rIIIers P8t MOOIMY (i) and Dean De St. Croix (72lQ spilt wins in the 500ce Premier elan in Lexington, Ohio. turn one. Officials postponed this one for several races to give the competitors time to regroup, and when they did take to the track again, it was an excellent contest in Formula One between Honda RC51 rider Jonathan Hord and Aprilia pilot David Podolsky. The race went to Hord. Meanwhile, Suzuki jockey Danny Tackett dis- was a well-liked three-time AHRMA National Champion in the Sportsman 350cc and Sportsman 500cc classes. ROUND 13 The 13-race program began on Saturday with a combined Pre- 1940/200cc Grand Prix event. The Pre- 1940 race 38 &' nevvs (308, ...... ln 7SOcc til"" 1IId.()hlo Sports c..'C'IIIII'''' tanced himself from the rest of the Formula Three field. The next race put two different eras of 250cc machines on the grid together: Formula 250cc and 250cc GP. In Formula 250cc, Craig Breckon rode a Can-Am to a clear win over class champ Jerry Herman. In the GP race, Bultaco-mounted Jim Neuenburg and Philip Turkington chased the '66 Aermachi of David Roper but couldn't catch him. McLean and Auer squared off again in race four's Class C division, again with McLean's Norton having the advantage over Auer's BMW. Not far back was Indian rider Harding, who captured the Class C Handshift class. Two other classes ran at the same time, with Honda rider Steven Hurley taking Historic Production Lightweight and Yamaha rider Neil Pooler notching the Vintage Superbike Lightweight win. The Sportsman 350cc/Formula 125cc race featured a pair of close contests for class wins. In the Sportsman portion, Honda riders Tim Kinsey and Wes Orloff battled back and forth for the lead, with Kinsey out front when it counted most. Third across the line was class champ Steve Brown, on another Honda. Greg Steinbeck, Turkington and Martin Yannerilla ran together at the front of the Formula 125cc pack in a Honda trio all race long, with Turkington slipping past Steinbeck on lap five and hanging on for a close win. The 500cc Premier event was another barn-burner, involving a trio of Manx Nortons ridden by Roper, Pat Mooney and Dean De St. Croix. Roper spent the first four laps with the other two attached to his rear tire, but then De St. Croix put a move on Roper coming out of the Esses to take the lead and stay there. Class champ Mooney ended up third. On the track at the same time were the modern Production Singles. In this one, T. Bruce Brown, on his MZ Skorpion, gradually pulled away from a close group consisting of Marty Stalnaker, Trent Thomas and Bob Robbins. Race seven featured another pair of battles for the lead in the two classes, Sportsman 500cc and Formula 500cc. In the Sportsman portion, Auer, on his BMW, spent all but the last lap narrowly in front of Todd Narduzzi, but then Narduzzi put his Honda in front to take the checkers. Third was BSA rider Don Jagger, ahead of a good race for fourth that went to Stanley Lipert, over Andrew Cowell. Yamaha rider Christopher Spargo led the first half of the Formula 500cc race, hounded by David Crussell on his Kawasaki triple. Then Crussell got past and seemed to creep away, only to have Spargo erase the gap on the final lap. At the finish, it was Crussell by a mere bikelength. Race 10 put four classes on the line at once - Super Mono 2, BEARS, and Vintage Superbike Heavyweight and Middleweight. Two-time Grand National Champion Gary Nixon made an appearance on an M3 Racing Honda in the Superbike Heavyweight division, squeakin,g past Billing Addington for the win. The Middleweight win went to Guzzi-mounted Andrew Murray after some tight racing with Thomas Marquardt, and Joyce kept his Triumph in front of Peter Hurst in BEARS. It was back and forth in Super Mono 2, with Mark Hatten's BBM crossing the line ahead of Randy Grove. The Vintage 750s were up next, and this was the battle between the Harley XRs of Springsteen and Joyce. While Springer held the point position all race, Joyce was there to keep him from relaxing. Not far back in third was Yamaha rider John Ellis, trailed by a good race for fourth that went to Jon Schultz, over fellow H -D pilot Keith Campbell and BMW-mounted Glenn Campbell. In Sportsman 750cc, Yamaha rider David Temple had no problem taking the win over Murray. Another anticipated battle between De St. Croix and Roper failed to materialize after Roper's Honda failed to leave the grid under its own power in the 350cc GP contest. As a result, the Canadian rode his Ducati to a big margin over Turkington. Nortons were