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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/146689
he still crossed the line with better than a
lo-second cushion.
"With two laps to go the motor. started
making not a good sound:' Harrington
said after winning his third race in a row.
"I prayed it would. make it to the finish.
Right after 1 crossed the line, I shut it off,
and 1haven't heard it since. It spun a bearing, I think."
Again Gibbs took second, this time racing against the Yamaha TZ250 of Chris
Taylor much of the race, conceding second at one point near·mid-race. Taylor
could draft Gibbs, but couldn't get by,
then suffered machine problems with a
few laps to go which, combined with
heavy traffic, allowed Gibbs to pull away.
"1 think the silencer came loose and I
lost some power," Taylor said. "I got
caught up in some lapped traffic and
didn't get through them too well. "
Fourth place was a three-rider fight for
much of the race, David Estok taking it at
the line from Chris Heine. Mike Murphy,
who was fourth with two laps to go,
ended up sixth on the Mid American
Roadracing Honda.
Harrington's next race would be the
Amateur Solo GTO, immediately following the Expert Solo GTU, and he needed
the time to race prep his Honda CBR600
Supersport machine. He got something of
a break when a red flag halted the Expert
race for about 20 minutes, allowing him to
bring a fresh, though underpowered,
machine to the line.
"We put slicks on different wheels for
the Supersport bike and they scrubbed in
pretty good," Harrington said. But
Harrington did admit he was a bit awed
by the machine Gibbs brought to the line:
"I saw Scott Russell actually polishing the
windscreen (of his championship-winning
Kawasaki) and push-starting it."
But if Harrington was intimidated, he
didn't show it, streaking into tum one in
second place and taking the point coming
out of the International Horseshoe. His .
lead was over two seconds at the end of
the first of 14 laps, and up to seven a lap
later. Again, the race was his and his alone
and at the end the margin of victory
would be exactly 35 seconds. His average
lap time was 2.5 seconds faster than that
of the second place rider, Chris Taylor.
Taylor put his TZ250 into second on
the second lap and pulled away to beat
third-placed Suzuki GSXR750 mounted
David Estok to the line by about 10 seconds. Estok, in turn, had about eight seconds on Gibbs, with Anthony Fania Jr.
fifth on a Kawasaki ZX7R750.
"1 was staying as tight to the bike as I
could," Harrington said .after setting the
record for most wins in a day. "1 was trying to make up whatever time I could to
make up for the power disadvantage."
His success continued in the Amateur
Lightweight Supertwins contest, the first
race run on an overcast Saturday afternoon. Starting in the second wave, behind
the Expert Lightweight Supertwins,
Harrington separated himself from his
peers and went after the professionals. He
was up to seventh by the end of the first of .
seven laps, gaining two spots on the next
go-around. By the end of the third lap he
was up to third overall behind teammate
Dr. Bob Meister and Robert Torset, leaving the amateurs well behind. But a'
remote reservoir on his rear shock came
. loose, hindering his pursuit of Torset and
guarant~ing that third overall was as far
as he'd get. Still, he easily won his class,
tying Colin Edwards' record of a year ago.
"1 wasn't sure whether I should pit or
not," he said a~ter realizing his mechanical
gremlins. "I've got three more races. I
hope I can set a record."
He had to wait a little over an hour,
but in his very next race, the record was
his.
"Based on the other races, 1 thought
this one might not be that tough,"
Harrington said after capturing the
Floridian Donald Jacks (59) won the Expert Unlimited GP class, topping Christian G~er (hidden) and Robert Meister (1).
Amateur Middleweight GP win. "But it
was."
After getting away third, Harrington
crossed the finish line in second place
after the first lap, Chris Taylor in the lead
aboard his TZ250, Harrington's Honda
CBR600 unable to match the two-stroke's
top speed on the banking.
Harrington took the lead on the second
lap, Taylor hanging tough for a few more
laps until he was able to lose Taylor in
traffic. By the fourth lap he began to
increase his advantage, gaining more on
the fifth, the edge up to over 4.5 seconds
when the white flag waved. At the end,
the margin was 8.179 seconds.
"Taylor was really strong on his
Yamaha," Harrington said after his sixth
win. "He caught up to me pretty quick
aI\d hung right on. When he was leading
and we were on the banking, he had
power on me. I could stay in his draft, but
I couldn't pass him. 1 guess I got away
from him when we got into traffic in the
infield. This is the best race - for the first
three laps - that I've had all weekend."
Taylor would come back later in the
day and win the Amateur Lightweight
GP, easily besting Mike Glover ahd
Charles Satcher. All were Yamaha TZmounted.
Gibbs and David Estok hooked up in
the Amateur Heavyweight Superbike
race, the pair swapping the lead the first
two laps before Gibbs used his power
advantage to puU away on the banking..
By the third lap he had close to a threesecond edge, which wouldn't increase
dramatically, but still ~ave him a 4.816
second cushion at the end of the seven-lap
race.
Second went to Estok on the Jim
Walker Honda-Yamaha-Suzuki GSXR750
with Anthony Fania Jr. third on a
Kawasaki ZX7R 'backed by Action
Machines & Garden State Eq. Fania Jr; .
started the final lap in fifth, but moved up
to fourth when Chris Heine crashed. He
moved up to third making better use of
traffic than Honda CBR600-mounted
Mike Murphy, who finished fourth.
In the Amateur Heavyweight.
Supersport, Gibbs used the displacement
advantage of his Kawasaki 750 to take an
early lead, a lead which evaporated by the
third lap when Todd Harrington closed
up on him.
Harrington stayed close, never getting
by, but never far behind, until the sixth
lap when he was fouled by a backmarker
on a waving yellow in the International
Horseshoe on the final lap. The advantage
was enough to let Gi~bs slip away and
win his second race by 3.159 seconds.
"We finally got the best of Todd,"
Gibbs said.' "Now he knows how it feels
to be out-horsepowered. It's great to win
two championships. We've got one more
race. It'll be another battle with Todd and
David Estok."
And that it was.
Tripp Nobles (4) won the Unlimited Supersport race when Rick Kirk (21) was
disqualified for using an ignition rotor from a Honda CBR600 on his CBR900. .
The three riders, Gibbs, Estok, and
Harrington, each took turns leading the
first lap, a taste of what the race would be.
Again on the second lap, the leaders
changed with Gibbs leading out of the chicane and Harrington leading into turn
one, surviving an attack in the second
horseshoe from Estok.
"Estok came right in and jammed me
in the horseshoe on the second lap. Then
he gave me the finger," Harrington said.
Harrington held ·the lead a while
longer, Gibbs, though, would not be
denied, taking the lead on the banking on
the fourth lap, Harrington back in front,
then Estok moving past Gibbs and .into
third. But on the fifth lap, the race was
effectively deCided, Harrington losing the
front end in the dogleg and tumbling into
the infield.
"1 got tired and made a mistake. I went
into the kink too fast. I would rather have
had that race first. It was pretty hairy. We
all had advantagesover each other on different parts of the track. Gibbs had a little
power, I was better in the infield, and
Estok was better on the brakes. "
The race was among three riders,
Gibbs leading at the end of the fifth and
sixth lap, Estok making his way back to
the front after going off on the grass to
avoid Harrington, Mid American
Roadracing's Mike Murphy chasing
Gibbs, but getting caught by Estok.
Estok took the lead on the final lap,
Gibbs taking it back and holding the win
to the line, Murphy about a second back
in third.
"That was the most intense race I've
been in since I was racing motocross.
There was a lot of banging going on,"
Gibbs said. "Estok is a very aggressive
rider when it comes to braking. I started
taking it easy after Estok ran off the track.
Then, I looked back and saw a bike catching me and then I saw Estok was back on
and rolling, too. I had to wick it back up.
Three championships isn't too bad, but it's
not what I wanted."
Of his two wins, Meister's victory in
the Expert Heavyweight Supertwins was
the easier once GiaCaMoto's Jimmy
Adamo dropped out. Up to that point,
Meister was struggling to keep pace, but a
few seconds behind with the race half run.
"He was hauling, and pushing me
right along, as well," Meister said.
But an ignition problem sidelined the
Ducati 888 rider and the win, by a healthy
margin over H-D-mounted Nigel Gale,
Was Meister's.
Gale got the best of an intense threerider fight with Pete Johnson getting third
on a Moto-Guzzi 920 and Kiyo Watanabe
fourth on a Honda Hawk 750.
Back out on his Honda Hawk 750 for
the Expert Lightweight Supertwins race,
Meister was untouchable, building up an
early lead and winning: from the front.
By the second of seven laps he had
close to 10 seconds stretching it even more
before backing off to win by ov~r 14.
Robert Torset was alone in second with
James McNulty an unchallenged third.
"1 just tried to run a smooth race the
whole time," Meister said.
Gold Hill Racing's Christian Gardner
wanted to get some time on his endurance
bike before Sunday's three-hour race, so
he entered the Expert Solo GTO, starting
from the 10th lap.
By the end of the first lap he was in
third place behind Jamie Bowman and Dr.
Bob Meister, Meister also gaining practice
time on his endl.lrance bike.
Gardner took the lead on the second
lap on the banl