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/142443
(Top) Eddie Lawson turned in a f lawless ride en ro ute to w inni ng his fourth Superbike race of the year . (A bove) M ike Baldwin. here trailing teammate Steve Wise in a heat. f in ished second . AMA Superbike Championship Series: Round 6 Lawson flawless at Laguna By Dale Brown Photos by Mark Kariya and Lori Tyson MONTEREY, CA, J U L Y 10 " I t was real nice," grinned Kawasaki's Eddie Lawson from the top spot on the winner's rostrum. Prior to his appearance there, Lawson led every lap of the 50-mile Superbike 8 final, averaging 96.862 mph. Team Honda 's Mike Baldwin ran a ll the ,way in th e runner-up slot to wind up th at way in the fin a l ta lly. Yoshi mura/ Suzuki teamm at es Wes Cooley a nd Da ve Aldana traded th ir d spot back I " and forth through most 01 the race before Cooley took advantage of lapped traffic to secure the position. Honda's Roberto Pietri finished fifth , followed by top privateer Harry Klinzmann, Mike Spencer, Jon Woo, Rich Chambers and Wayne Ra iney. Ra iney, the Loudon winner, fell on the third lap and rejoined the race a lap down. For Freddie Spencer, making his . second Superbike start of the year on the heels of his Belgia n GP win, it was a frustrating day. He had his heat race virtually in the bag when his motor exploded as he passed the white fla g. In the final he went from the last row to ninth in one lap. bu t only went a couple more before retiring with fuel li ne troubles. H o nda teammate Steve Wise had even a worse day . Wise was also leading his heat with less than a lap to go, but crashed whe n he missed a shift going into downhill turn eight. His body demo lished ' the haybales, althoug h he wa s unhurt. In the final he retired with an oil lea k on the same i lap as Spencer_ , . I ' I oJ , I 'J I • I - - Two five lapheats were run to set grid positions. In the fir st, Spencer led Lawson by a steady margin laps 1'-4, but a thick, expensive cloud emerged from his engine as he crossed the start/finish line and he coasted to a halt. Lawson took th e win ' over P ietri, Klinzmann (Kaw) and Thad Wolff (Suz). The second heat had Wise leading Ba ld win until he crashed , a llo wing Ba ld win to win over Ra in ey, Aldana and Cooley. In fifth was a ne w entry in the Superbike class, a Vance & Hines-prepped Suzuki Katana ridden by Mike Spencer. When they gridded for the final Lawson had the pole, but it was Pietri who led out of the gate. Lawson passed him in turn three and led at the concl usion of the lap , followed by Baldwin, Pietri and Aldana. Lawson had already stretched o ut a healthy margin on lap one, and h e continued to do the same on the next lap. Aldana had nailed Pietri for third, and they were followed by Cooley, Rainey, Freddie Spencer (who started on the last row and had advanced to ninth in one lap), Wolff and Klinzmann. Rainey saw his chances for a top placing disappear the following lap. "I was following Freddie, " said Rainey later, " a nd I fell coming out of the corkscrew. I don't know what happened. " Rainey picked up the bike, and with the help of a turn worker, got it back in the race. But he was a lap down, albeit in the middle of the front running order. At the end of the same lap, both Spencer and Wise pulled into the pits, out of the race. By the IO-lap marker Lawson had about seven seconds on Baldwin, who had a similar margin on the battle for third between Aldana and Cooley. Fifth was a three rider battle between Pietri, Klinzmann and Wolff. Joining them for the battle was Rainey , again , down a lap. For the next 10 laps, the order remained relatively constant. The first major change occurred three laps from the finish when Wolff dropped out of the battle with a blown engine. .Lawson lapped up through fifth place by the time he took the checkered flag. Baldwin had a close call on the last lap when one of two riders h e was lapping ran into his rear tire going into turn nine. Baldwin didn 't go down; th e lappee did. Cooley triumphed in his battle for third, finishing ahead of Aldana, Pietr i, Racecrafters' Klinzmann and Spencer. Woo was eighth ahead of Chambers and Rainey. "I'd like to thank Kawasaki, and especially Rob Muzzy a nd Ken Funkhouser. I think we had a litt le more power and the bike handled better," said Lawson after the victory champagne no longer filled the air. In the p its after the race, Baldwin was somewhat quieter. "It was a decision made on Thursday to put all of our effort into the Formula O ne bike, and conseq uentl y we didn't have time to get the Superbike dialed in. We had to guess a little on gearing and carburetion. and at this competitive level, you can't get away with it. Still. it was a matter of priorities, and I'm sure everyone will abide by the decision." • Results SUPERBIKE FINAL: 1. Eddie Lawso n (Kaw); 2. M ike Baldwin (Han); 3. Wes Cooley (Suz); 4. Dave Aldana (Suz); 5. Roberto Pietr i (Han); 6. Harry Kl inzmann (Kaw); 7 . Mike Spencer (Suz); B. Jo n Woo (Kaw); 9. Rich Chambe rs (Kaw); 10. Way ne Rainey (Kaw); 11. David Cheek (Suz); 12. Carry Andrew (Kaw ); 13. Cla ude Hislop ; 14. Kerry Bryant (Kaw) . TIME: 30 :36 .0 12. AVG. SPEED: 96 .B62 mph . SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINT STANDINGS: 1. Eddie Lawson (105); 2. Wayne Rainey (74); 3. (TIE)Mike BaldwinlWes Cooley (62); 5. Roberto Pietri (54); 6. Thad Wolff (47 ); 7. Steve W ise (40); B. Harry Kl inzmann (38); 9 . Rich ha mbe(,, (35 ; l P~R u,sty .S~arp· l2,l ~ 1 : ~ J ( . .c.