Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Briefly... Isle of Man TT Wrap-up Sam Halbert (Rot) won the Open Pro A T he Isle of Man TT week wrapped up on june II with Adrian Archibald taking victory in the Senior TT on his Suzuki GSXRI000, ending john McGuinness' hopes of becoming the first rider to win five races in one week at the TT. Shrugging aside his earlier frustrations of his Yamaha breaking down in the 600cc main event at round four of Gene Romero's Wes t Coast Flat Track Series, at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, California, on June 12. Jethro Halbert (Hon) was second, and Kenny Carlotta (Yam) was third . Rick Hocking (Yam) won the Open Vintage A main event. Jennaine Bacosa (Hon) won the Top Gun 4S0 A main event. Robert Hansen (fri ) won the Classic Twins A main Production race , McGuinness set a furious pace on the opening lap of the Senior TT, grabbing an I I-second advantage with an opening lap of 127.19 mph and then doubling that as he headed for the half-distance pit-stops for both fuel and tires. Archibald, however, was hanging in, havIng taken second place from Honda-mounted Ian Lougher, but by Glen Helen on the third lap , everything had changed . McGuinness was touring, and he finally pulled off at Kirk Michael with clutch problems . Archibald, last year's winner, was ahead on the TAS Suzuki and battling to end a lean week on high note. Lougher looked strong in second place, but as he negotiated Ramsey Hairpin for the third time, the Honda stopped with electrica l problems. That moved Kiwi Bruce Anstey and his Suzuki into second place with local fireman Paul Hunt third, though shortly afterward he would also stop with clutch problems. "That was a good end to what has been a tricky week for me," said Archibald, who also earned a bonus of £ I0,000 ($18 , 126) and the joey Dunlop Trophy as the best-placed rider over the TTF I and Senior races, in event. Teammates Opie Cayl or and Lee Acree will not be able to compete at round seven of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Series at Brainerd International Raceway, june 25-27, due to a lack of available resources, according to a release from the team. Engine failures at the last two rounds of the series have depleted the team's inventory of resources, forcing the team to make the tough decision to miss the Brainerd round and focus on the upcoming AMNWorid Superbike event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, After Laguna Seca, the series moves back East for the final three rounds of the series, which the team will attend, according to the release. McGuinness ended up finishing 17 seconds ahead of Anstey, with Yamahamounted jason Griffiths third, a further 22 seconds back . Anstey, meanwhile, also broke lap and race records as he convincingly won the delayed 1000cc Production race , the Kiwi headed off a determined challenge from a team release. He finished half a second clear of Anstey and enjoyed his ride: "The bike never missed a beat - it was good, enjoyable, though it was unfortunate for john , but that is the sort of thing that happens here." Anstey ended up second with Suzuki -mounted Gary Carswell third. Ryan Farquhar rode his Kawasaki to his maiden triumph on the Island in the 600cc Production TT, ending a problematic week of machine and fuel problems for the young Ulsterman. McGuinness had set the early pace, nosing his Yamaha into a slender one-second lead as they reached Ramsey on the first lap, but Farquhar had overhauled that to grab the lead on the descent of the mountain. Farquhar took charge of the action with a second lap at 118.94 mph, which, as he pitted for fuel, gave him a five-second advantage. However, his hard-charging riding was not matched by the pit-stop and as he rejoined, McGuinness, having a quick stop, was back in front - by four seconds. Farquhar was having none of it, and as they reached Glen Helen for the final time, he was on level tenms and then pulled away. McGuinness was experiencing problems, riding with a broken steering damper and hangingon as best he could, but he had to concede second to Anstey, who put on a charge to finish just two seconds down to Farquhar. WERA National Challenge Series racer Brandon Parrish won the STARMotorcycle School 600cc Superstock Novice event at the WERA Cycle jam at Virginia International Raceway on May 23. In doing so , Parrish won the opportunity to attend a 2004 STAR School free of charge, and he has chosen to attend the upcoming school at Barber Motorsports Park, August 30-31 , to get instruction from JasonPridmore and the McGuinness. "Perfect," said Farquhar. "It takes a bit of sinking In that I've won - I had a few slides on the opening lap, then lost time in the pits, but after running out of fuel in the junior race, it was case of better safe that sorry. After the disasters of the three races, this is superb." Earlier in the week, McGuinness won his third race - the 600cc Junior TT - in lap- and race record-breaking speeds. "I had decided to get out there and go as hard as I could. Ride like a startled hare and try to get the job done in the first two laps," McGuinness explained, though he admitted he had been shaken by an inddent on the first lap. He was charging into Union Mills just seconds after Honda's Ian Lougher had crashed. "I saw the aftenmath of what must have been a fairly big crash, on a fast part of the course, and that really shook me up - It was scary and frightening, but then I saw Ian getting up onto his feet to walk away, so I got my head down and concentrated." "The bike was spluttering along at Signpost, and it cut going into Governor's; I punched the electric starter to keep it going and then kept shaking the bike to ease it into the pits," McGuinness explained of an early problem with his Yamaha. Anstey had none of those problems, and as he left from his fuel stop, his lead had stretched to 14 seconds. He maintained the pace, taking his third success on the Island by some 18 seconds: "It was really enjoyable. I was a bit nervous 'till got out there, but then the bike was so nice to ride, and it was problem free." Third place went to his McGuinness' Yamaha teammate Griffiths, with Lougher bring ing his Honda home in fourth. Maria Costello, though failing to finish because of a machine problem on her second lap, achieved her ambition of becoming the fastest lady rider in the history of the event - her first lap, on a Suzuki GSX-R7S0, came at an average speed of 114.73 mph and some six seconds inside the previous best set seven years ago by Sandra Barnett. www.cy clenews.com STARSchool staff. ''I'm pumped that I won the STARSchool with Jason Pridmore," said Parrish , a 22-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky. "Their instruction will help me get to the ne xt level. I just started road racing in july of 2003 . Before that, I motocrossed for six years. My goal is to win some championships this year at the GNF, and I think t hat going to the school at Barber is going to be a big help ." Motocross Mariketing USA has announced the release of the summer 2004 issue of the Motocross Resource Guide . This semiannual publication is des igned as a finger-tip reference for a wide variety of motocross information, according to the publishers. Rick Witt, president of Motocross Marketing USA, had these comments about this inaugural issue. "Fourteen months ago this was just an idea sketched out on some napkins in Temecula [California). Now, with this first issue, we have a product we think appeals to a broad spectrum of motocross enthusiasts. We want this to be a truly unique publication. This is not a magaz ine. The guide is designed to be a complement to the exceptional weekly, monthly and event publications already available within the sport of motocross. There are 60 sections and 331 pages of motocross infonmation, only. Ideally, our goal is to use this guide to do what our company name says. market motocross in the USA " The Motocross Resource Guide is available for $24 .95 from Motocross MarCon tinued on e og e 7 CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 23, 2004 5

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