Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ R ADRACE AMAlCCS ERe Brakes Endurance Challenge: Round 7 0 ~ Team America takes Road America ~ ~ ~ By Henny Ray Abrams ELKHART LAKE, WI, JUNE 27 eam America's- Michael Barnes and Ray Yoder won the three-· hour EBC Endurance Challenge at Road America, their Honda CBR900 the best machine for the hard-braking, four-mile course that forced some of the top teams to make unscheduled pit stops for brake work.. "I really went out the third hour and hammered it," Barnes said. Added teammate Yoder, "This is my first time to ride this 900 and it sure is a sweet feeling." Barnes took over the lead in the final hour when race leader Christian Gardner ran the Gold Hill Racing Yamaha FZRIOOO out of gas on the front straightaway, forcing him to enter the pit lane from the pit exit. A sticking rear brake, which may have hurt gas mileage, was also fixed, and Linnley Clarke went out to finish second, 59.759 seconds back. Northstar Racing's Gary Lenzmeier and John Jacob teamed up to finish third, also on a Yamaha FZRlOOO. In winning their third race of the year, Team America completed 72 laps of the circuit that runs through the woods of Elkhart Lake, at an average speed of 95.387 mph. They moved into second place in the GTO champion- r ship with 118 points, three less than Fastline/MCM Racing. Fastline/MCM's Tommy Lynch made an unplanned stop to replace the front brake pads on the team's Suzuki GSXRlloo while in the lead in the last hour, losing several minutes in "the process and dropping them to seventh place. Defending National Champions Dutchman Racing were credited with a 17th-place finish, lead rider Andrew Stroud crashing in turn one in the first half hour after a steering damper failure. They remain third in the championship with 82 points. The GTU class was an even greater test of endurance, Hornblower Racing using a trio of Honda CBR600mounted Canadian riders to come out on top. Owen Weichel rode first, team owner Bill Hornblower second, and Jon Cornwell finished up to give Hornblower his first endurance win in eight years of competing in the AMA! CCS series. MalO Liberty IN ankai finished second after being forced to pit for brake pads w_hile in the lead in the third hour. Danny Walker and Doug Carmichael shared the riding on the Honda CBR600. Stephen Hansen and Pablo Real were third on the Team Hansen Yamaha FZR600. MalO Liberty/Nankai extended their championship points lead to 39, 104-65 over Hornblower Racing. T.B.R.Endurance, a non-finisher today, is third with 62. Among the non-finishers in GTU was Team Toomer, a rod bearing failing on the team's Yamaha FZR600 just 16 laps into the race while lead rider James Leslie held -a 50-second lead. Yoshimura Suzuki's Dave Sadowski used the endurance race to get some superbike testing done, lapping the field by the half hour 'mark be£o;e pulling off. The race was behind him, three teams neck and neck, one dropping out early. Dutchman Racing's Stroud, Fastline/MCM Racing's Lynch, and Gold Hill Racing's Gardner swapped positions for the first nine laps before Stroud crashed going into turn one on the 10th lap. "I had a problem with the steering damper that caused the bike to go all over the place until it put me over the bars," Stroud said. Lynch and Gardner were left to battle it out, with Team America's Barnes alone in third and Northwest Racing's Titian Bue fourth. The race was more like a sprint, the leaders side-by-side across the finish line at the one-hour mark, Gardner just in front, though he was thinking about the long haul. "I got a IO-second lead and backed off the pace. He (Lynch) caught and passed me. I can't see having to lead an endurance race the first hour. As long as you have the pack in sight," Gardner said. The top three teams all pitted just past the one-hour mark, Gold Hill's newly recruited Linnley Clarke replacing Gardner, Jeff Heino on for Lynch, and Ray Yoder taking the reins from Barnes. N2 Racing was running fourth, Mike Myers at the control, teaming with Nigel Gale with Northstar Racing's John Jacob running the early shift on the team's Yamaha FZRIOOO. At the halfway mark Gold Hill's Clarke still had the lead over Fastlinel MCM's Heino and the two teams pitted on the same lap. Both had about 15second pit stops and Gardner emerged from the pits still holding the lead, Lynch right on his tail. Heino said he felt he was "just not really riding that well. I'm just riding to finish," adding that he was beginning to experience brake problems. "Tommy's picking up the pace. We'll see how the brakes work out." Behind the leading pair, Yoder was third, and Gary Lenzmeier was on for Jacob putting Northstar fourth. The Professional rider depicted during dosed-course event. Do not attempt these maneuvers. Dress property for your ride with a helmet, eye protection, long-sleeved shirt, long trousers, gloves and boots. Yamaha and the Motorcyde safety Foundation encourage you to ride safely and respect the environment. For further information regarding the MSF rider course, please call HlOO·4474700. Do not drink and ride. It is illegal and dangerous. Spec~ications subject to change without notice. ©1992 Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (Cypress, CA 90630)

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