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/128320
AHRMA Pro-Flo/Progressive Susp Historic Cup Road Race Series n the ra cing world the name Talladega br ings up images of a highbanked NASCAR sup e rspeedw ay, but hidden away in the rural farm land of Alabama is a nine-turn 1.35mile roa d course called Talladega Grand Prix Raceway. AHRMAdescended on this tight , grippy racew ay just three w eeks after the wide-o pe n space s of Dayto na fo r ro unds fou r and five of the Pro FlolProgressive Suspension Historic Cup Road Race Series. Clear skies, warm temperatures and a clean racetrack greeted the racers on day o ne of the two-day, two-ro und event. The Pre -1940 class raced first. Will Harding grabbed the holeshot on his Indian hardtail and never looked back, opening a huge gap. Doc Batsleer, also on an Indian, nabbed second position, with Norbert Nickel's BMW in a distant third. Nickel closed the gap throu ghout the race and squee zed past Batsleer on the last lap. Harding was able to repeat his win on Sunday to take first place in the series points race . Chuck Cam pbell o n his Yamaha TZ grabbed the holeshot in Super Mono w ith Tim Youngblood hot on his tail. Although Y oungblood was racing in Battle of Twins Two-Stroke, the race on the track was very co mpetitive . As the y com pleted the first lap, Youngblood squeezed past Campbell before several bikes came I together, bringing out the red flag. On the restart, Campbell resumed his position at the front , with Youngblood and Brian Sawyer close behind him. Youngblood ran wide, letting Sawyer take over second place . Youngblood put his head down and caught Sawyer on lap three. He continued to turn the fastest lap times in the second wave of bikes, but Campbell was the first across the line in the second wave . Campbell came away with maximum points in the Super Mono class, and Youngblood left with maximum points in Batt le of Twins Two-Stroke. The next big battle was in Sound of Singles Two-Stroke. Scott Smallwood grabbe d the lead early while Kevin Brown and Bill Doran, both on Hondas, ran second and third. In the first lap several riders tangled, leading to another red flag. At the restart Smallwoo d grabbed the holeshot again on his '98 Honda. He continued to set fast lap times to put his Honda RS on to p of the box. Doran and Brown continued to battle over the next two podium positions. Brown stretched out a lead until lap four, whe n Doran started reel him in. On lap six Doran slipped by, but Brown kept the pressu re on Doran . Brown was not able to get past him and finished third . Spo rtsman 500 was the next class to take the track. Andrew Cowell 's Triumph took the lead, leaving Brid Cavene y and 40 APRil 21, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 4 Tim Lile to work their way up through the field to take second and third . On lap six, Cowell felt a Wiggle out of his rear tire in turn three. He looked down to see that it was going flat. His race was finished, leaving the win to Caveney on a BSA. Lile took over second, while Myron Clary slotted his BSA into third . Lining up of the Manxs could only mean one thing: 500 Premier was taking the track. As the green flag dropped, Dave Roper grabbed first position with Ron Melton on his tail. Melton stayed on Roper 's tail, ready to take advantage of any mistakes, but it was not meant to be . He started to lose compression on lap two and had to pull up on lap three, which left Roper in front to take the win comfortably. Keith Williams brought his Petty-framed Manx in second place. David Temple, on his '72 Yamaha, and Andrew Murray on a , '74 Triumph, set the pace for the Sportsman 750 at the start. Lile was bringing up the last podium position, but lap two he ed to dro h Anniversary