Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ ROADRACE AMAlCCS Endurance Challenge Series: Final round ~ Fastline/MCM Racing (25) grabs the lead over Team America (9) and Dutchman Racing (I) at the start of the endurance race. • WIns one By Henny Ray Abrams · DAYTONA BEACH, FL, OCT 18 t took an entire season, but Dutchman Racing finally won their first 3-Hour EBC Endurance Challenge, taking the series' final round at Daytona International Speedway. Team regular Scott Zarnpach teamed up with enlistee John Choate aboard the team's Suzuki GSXR1100 to win the race of attrition by over a lap and a half. The win moved the defending National Champions into second place in the final series standings. "We've struggled at times this year," Dutchman team manager Dave Schlosser said. "We've had some problems. Here, Scott Zampach rode the · wheels off the bike. John did a goodjob and we carne up with a big win." "1 was pumped from winning the Harley-Davidson Twin Sports Championship earlier," Zampach said. "This has been a pretty stressful two weeks, especially going into the Texas race down on points and coming out of it on top." The Dutchman team completed 87 laps of the 3.56-mile course at an average speed of 103.048 mph and won by three minutes, 34.505 seconds. Second overall, and first in the GTU ·class went to Yamaha of Leesburg, the team adding a third rider 'during the race to run away with their first win of the year. Glenn Barry rode the first stint on the team's Kawasaki ZX6, bikebuilder Jon Roberts took the second shift, with Team America's Mike Barnes finishing the race. Barnes was available after the Team America entry was disqualified for refueling outside of the pit area:. "This is a great way to end up the season," Roberts said. "1 really want to thank Brett Singer, who bo~ght Yamaha of Leesburg (Florida). He got the team together. This Kawasaki is the same one we won the GTU championship on in I 10 '91: It was built by Rob Muzzy. We formed a new team for this year, but ran into some troubles and if it wasn't for Brett we wouldn't be racing. He took a pretty good gamble getting into the racing end of things." Second GTO, and third overall; went to N2 Racing/National Car Rental, Jim Sabin riding most of the way, Mike Myers taking the middle shift aboard . the team's Honda CBR900RR. A lap down in third was T.B.R.Racing, Jamie Bowman deciding at the last minute to race his Honda CBR900RR Supersport machine and asking Danny Roberts along for the ride. IRC Racing's Larry Goldstein and Glenn Szarek paired up for a second place finish aboard a Yamaha FZR600 in the GTU class, a lap ahead of Hornblower Racing's Bill Hornblower and Jon Cornwell on a Honda CBR600. The final point standings in GTO have Fastline/MCM the winner with 154 to Dutchman's 134. Team America ended up third with 131. Fastline/MCM was leading the race when they were forced to pit with a burnt clutch one lap into Jeff Heino's second shift. The clutch was replaced and the team finished 37th. Another top team that ran into trouble was Gold Hill Racing. Christian Gardner had the team's Yamaha FZR1000 in second place when he pitted with a WObble that he thought was tirerelated. The team started on a Dunlop, pitted once to put a different Dunlop on, then switched to a soft compound Michelin. That seemed to take most of the wobble out, but, by then, the team was well out of the running. Fritz Kling went out after yet another tire change, for another Michelin, but was forced out with electrical troubles. The final GTU tally has Moto Liberty/Nankai the champion with 137 points, 24 better than Hornblower Racing. IRC Racing moved up to third in class with 83 points. Moto Liberty /Nankai's Danny Walker and Doug Carmichael were dominant today, running away with the race until the bike sputtered to a halt with Carmichael aboard just before the two-hour mark. The team's Honda CBR600 was brought back to the pits in a recovery truck and, surprisingly, started right up when Walker hit the starter button. After refueling Walker went out to a sixth place finish. GTO Showers had been forecast for Sunday afternoon, but the three-hour race was wj'lved off under warm and mostly sunny skies, with only scattered clouds. Gold Hill's Gardner led the 63-bike pack through the first lap, Dutchman's Zampach taking the lead on the second . lap to begin a long stretch at the front. Gold Hill was second until the seventh lap when Gardner pulled in for the first of his·tire changes handing second place to Fastline/MCM's Tommy Lynch, pitted against Northstar Racing's John Jacob in the fight for second. Team Magic's Eric Moe w.as an early fourth ahead of GiaCaMoto's Jimmy Adamo and T.B.R.Racing's Jamie Bowman. "We don't know what it was," Gardner said. "It's definitely something in the tires. We tried Dunlop and we tried Michelin. The Michelin took a lot of the wobble out. Unfortunately, we have a soft compound Michelin so we'll only go one take of gas and shred it apart like we did in March." Adamo slowed soon after, giving up his spot to Bowman who was past Moe on the 12th lap to take over fourth. At the half-hour mark it was Dutchman leading Fastline/MCM, with Northstar Racing third, T.B.R.Racing fourth, and Team Magic fifth. The second half-hour is when the "first rider changes would begin, mostly aro\.!nd the 45-minute mark Lynch gave up the controls to Jeff Heino, Jacob handed off to Gary Lenzmeier, Bill Beech took over the Team Magic bike from Moe. Bowman stayed on the T.B.R. entry, but was in for a gas stop, the first of four. "We couldn't make it on three pit stops. We're not getting good fuel mileage," T.B.R.'s Roberts said. "We're getting forty minutes to a tank. It's Jamie's Supersport bike we're running and it doesn't have a big tank We're running a rear slick, and a Dunlop DOT front." . More teams changed riders near the end of the first hour, Mike Myers taking over the N2 Racing/National Car Rental Honda CBR900RR from Jim Sabin. Fritz . Kling replaced Christian Gardner on the Gold Hill bike, and Nigel Gale took over for John Condron on the Keystone Racing Suzuki GSXRllOO. Dutchman's Zampach came in right on the hour, changed both tires, and handed over to John Choate. Choate exited the pits just as Jeff Heino flew past going into tum . one to take over the lead. "It couldn't have gone better," Zampach said. "The bike's set up so well that I can run up on the banking with one hand on the bar and do wheelies in the infield. The wind's really a factor. It starts blowing you all .over the place. You have to...adjust your line and riding style every inch of the way." "1 was just staying on his tail," Jacob said of his first-hour scrap with Lynch. "He had a little better pull off the corners, we were about equal on top end." At the one-hour mark, the top three teams were only about five seconds apart, Dutchman leading Fastline/MCM, with Northstar third and Keystone fourth, Gale riding with a broken windshield that Condron had forgotten to fix at the rider change. "It happened on the fourth lap. A gust picked up from behind me and spread it apart," Condron said. "On the straight it almost goes flat to the tank. "It's not hooking up real good," Condron said of the team's Suzuki. "We just want to stay in front. We're n'ot looking to win it, we just want to finish. I'd like to get on the podium once this year." Just before the halfway point three of the top teams were beset by misfortune, all knocked out of a competitive finish. First, Team America was disqualified for refueling on the track while running in sixth place. And a few minutes later, Gary Lenzmeier pl:'shed the Northstar Yamaha in after falling in a left-hander. The crew replaced the footpeg and shifter and it was sent back out only to complete a few more laps. Then, just five minutes before the 90-minute mark, Fritz Kling parked the Gold Hill Yamaha for good with electrical troubles. The halfway mark would bring more rider changes, Lynch getting back on for Heino after a rear tire change and replacement of front brake pads. The Fastline/MCM Suzuki was having carburetion problems which tuner Jeff Stern put to the density of the air. '~We had the carbs dialed up on Friday" when it was warmer. "This front has something to do with it. We've lost a lot of top end punch," Stern said. . "It's really slick out there," Heino said after completing. his first shift. "The wind's really bad going onto the baI].king. Some guy blew a motor right in front of me going into the chic.ane and I couldn't see the chicane." Fastline/MCM!s Heino had been leading, but Choate took over just

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