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/128629
• 3rd Annua l B u e ll O ld H ighw a y 40 Moto r c y c le Day s Donner S ki R anc h McAllist er and Roy Camphouse. Rid i n g a Singl e , Paul H art p osted a 2.32 . 8 8 , fo llowed b y C asey Yarro w an d Br o k McAll i ster. Th e Vi ntage classes sa w Peter H ipp take the 3 50 with a 2 .52.68 , w ith E r ic Lew is a n d Sc ott M ill er close behind, while in t he 500 c c Pa u l Shoen ( 2 .4 3 . 5 4 ) and Rober Worrell posted fi rst and se c ond, respectiv el y , and finally Mik e Simning toppin g the 750 s with a 2 .4 6. 7 6 E .T. The S ide c a r class had a go od turnout and was be ste d by Rick Murry and pas s en g er a boar d a BMW (2.35. 5 3) , foll owed by t he teams of Wade Boyd and Greg Robe rts . Mark " J aw s" Ing alls reta in ed the T h e Buell Ba ttle Tw in Trophy by winni ng again wit h a ti me o f 2.26 .0 2 a n d J o r d y Hendly and Lance Say lor round ed o ut t he to p-th ree Buells . Mea nwhile , in front of t he Lo d g e , the Super IT cou rse of the day be fore was taken down , and in its pl ac e t he Batt le T rax course w as se t u p. Battle Trax is a motorcycl e skills cou rse se t up gymkhana styl e where t he p art ic i pants race against the clock . Anyone win in P r o Mo difi e d 0-600cc and Brandon Wh itlock posted two thirds (Pro Modified 60 I -Open and Pro Mod 0-600cc) a nd a second ( 7 0 1- 0 p e n Exhibition). Brandon ' s brother Travis took home three second -place tro -: with a motorcycle was eligible to enter and, judging from the 100-plus e nt ri es, it was a p opu lar event. On the big d i rt hill , the Pro H ill cli m b classes ran from early morning until a lmost da rk . When the dust ( and there was pl enty o f it) had sett led , Dusty Beer had w ins in t h ree classes ph ies (250 Modified, Pro Mod ified 601-0pen and 0-700cc E xh ib it ion ) . Over 40 went to Darre l H o lmqu i st , Russel McCoy and Jeff Barger. In the over 50 c la s s , Lefty F r en c h topped De nnis Schinkle with George Sauer in third . Ge orge's third was enough to ( 2 5 0 c c Modified , Pr o Modified 601 Open and 0 -700cc Exhibition) as well as a second in Pr o Mod 0-600cc and c linc h t he number- one plat e f or th ird in 7 01 - 0 p en E xhibit ion and , in th e p r o c es s , successfully de fe nded 2000 , his fift h . George h ad a bi rthday th e wee k befo re ; h e ' s 80 years hi s numb er - on e sta nding fr om t he ye a r be fo re. K ell y Braswell t o o k t he young . eN The Super TT Am erican Racing Series (STTARS) m ade the thir d stop of its four -round Nati onal Points Series here in the thin air at the scenic Donner Ski Ranch. Situated on the sum mit of Donner Pass on Old Highway 40 above Truckee, Californ ia, this course was no doubt at the highest altitude of any stop on the tou r. This was the second year for the Super TT at this venue, and the spectators could not have been more pleased. The course consisted of 9 turns , starti ng and finishing in the parking lot of the lodge. With four of the turns on pavement, four on the dirt, and another at the transition from pavement to dirt. it was laid out so that spectators could watch from the comfort of the Lodge deck, or get down alongside the course for a closer view. The "Old Highway 40 Straight" and "Condo Curve" , a sweeping uphill, right-hander saw the faster riders hitting speeds in the 75 -mph range. Th ere was no shortage of brak esliding, as eviden ced by the tire smoke as the faster riders backed it into the paved corners; nor was there any shortage of lead changes as they tried to keep their machin es upright th rough the twisty downh ill tums in the dirt on ' Sayler's Slide." It wasn't; unu sual to see the freight trai n go up and around Condo Curve only to emerge on the dirt section with a new leader. All of this added up to some pretty exciting racing for riders and fans alike . Racing was organized into four classes. Lightweight and Midd leweight classes were bikes up to J 25cc (2 -stroke) and 250cc (4 -stroke) res pectively with modifications allowe d like in the Premier class. The Sportsm an Class is popular for it's low-cost bik e setup, requiring a 21" front wheel, full-travel suspension and the rider 's choice of tires (usually k nobbies, dual sport or dirt track) . The Prem ier Class is the top class of the series, allo wing open displace ment and unlimited modifications . Many of the top Premier riders are on bikes with Superm otard- style setups (17" wheels and road race tires and brak es). Super TT action got underway in the mornin g with heat racing in each of the four classes. The six-lap Premier heat got off with a first-turn crash that rearranged the front group. Rick Pearce eme rged the leader but fell in the dirt at "Powerpole,' handing the lead to Don Canet. Don didn' t hold it for long as he got nudged off the line near the end of the dirt section. losing several places. Don would later get caught in a logjam of fallen bikes and would drop to the back of the field . Th e Premi er 15-lap Main was a tale of fortun es and mi sfortun es. Casey Yarrow set the pace when he put his Yamaha out in front on the first lap only to fall in turn three. Paul Hart follo wed suit on the followin g lap. Canet avoided the trouble spots, steering his big Husqvarn a around A.J . Herrera and Carl Blake and had his sights set on Don Howard. But Blak e tuck ed the front end of his 600cc Husaberg, crashing in Condo Curve and bringing out the red flag. Since 8 of 12 laps had been comp leted, the race was deemed to be final. 50 A UGUST 30, 2 000 ' cue I (Above) The many spe cta t ors on ha nd were able t o watch Ba ttle Tra x comfortably f rom the de ck of the lodge . (Below) Don How a rd wheelies down th e front straight on his w ay to w inn ing th e Pre mie r SuperTT M ain. e n e vv s M ark "J aws" Inga lls successfully defe nds hi s Buell Battle 2win Championship w ith another f irst-pla c e f in ish .