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/146670
. ' .' ~ R?ADRA~E Vanson/PM WERA National Endurance Series: Round 8 ~ back, as the team became the first ever to win the 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges four times. Team Suzuki wins 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges By Larry Bell GARRETTSVILLE, OH, JULY 11ยท12 , , Basically we went into the race and trIed to run our own race and not screw up. If we did that, we would be-in good shape," said a Team Suzuki Endurance spokesperson moments after the conclusion of his team's winning the 24th Annual 24 Hours of Nelson Ledges. He was right. With this win Team Suzuki Endurance etches its name in bold black caps in motorcycling's record books as the only team to ever win this gruelling race four times. In the process, team riders Kurt Hall, Michael Martin, Wes Cooley, Steve Patterson and Chuck Graves put together 920 near perfect laps on a twomile circuit which has been damned as difficult to go fast on:rough on tires and suspension and riders, and slippery when the least amounts of moisture appear in the forms of rain or fog. A small footnote will appear besides the win column which will say the team has also won three 24-hour events at Willow Springs for a total of seven 24-hour victories. ' Finishing second with 895 laps was last year's winner DAK Racing with riders Tom Wilson, Steve Heilman, 'Dea'n Hayes, Ralph Johnston, andJim Kusar bringing along the two-year-old technology of their well-used Suzuki GSXIIOO with a freshly rebuilt motor. The team has matured rapidly since last year's win and learned to perform urider the endurance clock's pressures and strategy. Manager Rod Kirian enlisted Nelson Ledges expert Ralph Johnston. He literally turned Johnston loose at night for three rides and let him put laps on all the teams who were trying to just survive. That's probably the best reason why they escaped unscathed in the darkness. Finishing third overall and first in Mediumweight Production was Team Pearls with 889 laps. This finish marks the first time these riders, Jim Roth, Anthony Barchetti, Marty Lentz; Darryl Saylor, Tim Taylor and Joe Maier, have been to the podium. Also this finish was especially sweet because the team DNF at the Grattan Six Hour, and was running a borrowed stock motor which they installed Friday morning. Pearls is quickly being recognized as a team which doesn't screw up and slowly' sneaks up in standings. For this weekend the only malfunction the team had was a faulty fuel line which ruptured, draining gasoline and forcing additional time in the pits. Heschimura Racing entered the Heavyweight Superbike class for the first time in years and finished fourth overall with 873 laps. Riders Fritz Kling, Chris Thomas, Andy Deatherage, Ron McGill, Steve Pinkley and Bill Wilke survived near insurmountable tire problems on a Honda CBR900RR, which chewed tires to the point where the team had bought every tire at the track which would fit. A late-race crash by McGill, which wasted various parts of the motorcycle, ended hopes of a topthree finish. Rounding out the top five with 'another strong performance was Virginia Breeze Racing. Riders Todd Dofflemeyer, Jay Bartlow, Charlie Safley, Jim Tribou, Taylor Massey, Chris Taylor and Scott Blow were running a rebuilt motor with a Bore Tech silicon carbide coating on the cylinders to help the Yamaha FZRIOOO run cooler and harder. Veteran Tribou, (the rest of the team were 24-hour virgins) went through the entire chassis and suspension to allow the team to push the envelope of speed for the Sunday sprint. What he didn't account for was the rear shock blowing out the seal in the 16th hour. Later he found the shock had not been Sent to be rebuilt and was still out of sorts from the last race. Motion System Racing, with the combined effort of some of Team Machine's most talented personnel, carded sixth overall and first in the Heavyweight Production -class just ahead of class leader Force Racing. Motion's riders Chris Hughes, Tony Rauseo, Mike Leslie, Dan Milieka, Bob Wrublevski and Mike Hughes, nursed a Honda CBR900RR that was hampered by tire availability and gear availability. The team lost three gears and had to finish their 857 laps with only third, fourth and fifth gears. Motion's good showing was a direct result of Forces' bad luck. Force's Tom Morgan crashed in the fourth hour by simply going too fast for the team's DOT tires. Reportedly he was turning laps times in the bracket of oneminute, II-seconds on the team's Yamaha FZRIOOO. By comparision Suzuki's Kurt Hall, on slicks, was running 1:12/1:13 on its Heavyweight Superbike.