Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rick Kirk (21) leads Thomas Wilson (37) and Larry Locklear (280) in the Honda CBR900 Challenge Final; Kirk won the race, topping Wilson and Jamie Bowman. Scott Zampach (1) finished second behind Richard Koehler (5) in the TwinSports final, but still managed to win the AMA/CCS TwinSports Championship. fourth row was making up time on the leaders closing up on them as they went up on the west banking. Kirk ble~ past Locklear, then past Wilson to take the lead.. "They spread out at one time in the turn and I went through thiS huge hole," Kirk said. The second lap ended with Kirk in front trailed closely by Locklear, Wilson, and Jamie Bowman. Further back Competition Cycles John Choate and Heino Bros. Racing's Jeff Heino contested fifth, with Danny Roberts back to seventh. Wilson moved into second with a pass in the west end horseshoe, then Locklear was dropped to fourth on the west banking, the trio fighting for second swapping places constantly as Kirk began to ease away. Regardless of where he was when he crossed the line, Wilson was always able to pick up a spot braking in the International Horseshoe. "His (Locklear's) comer speed was not that fast through there. He was killing me on top end. I had to find a way to get through the infield," Wilson said. By the end of the fourth lap Kirk had about a second lead, Bowman, Wilson Locklear following. Fifth, sixth, and seventh going to Choate, Roberts, and Billy Eisenacher and spreading out. Kirk continued to pull away at the halfway point, Locklear, Wilson, and Bowman three abreast at the crossed flags. "1 put my head down mid-race and tried to get away," Kirk said. His lead was almost 2.5 sec;onds on the sixth lap and continued to grow to the end. The fight would be for second and it . would go down to the flag. At the end of the sixth lap it was Wilson, Locklear, Bowman, Bowman 'moving up the next lap to third, then back to fourth to end the seventh as Locklear moved up to second. It was obvious that it would come down to the last lap and at Daytona that means being in the right place coming out of the chicane. Locklear drafted past Wilson going into the chicane, Bowman third, the order not changing as they exited. They came around the east banking a few lengths apart, both Wilson and Bewman drafting past Locklear at the line in a photo finish for second. "They really put it to me a couple of times in the draft," Wilson said after taking second place and the $3000 check that went with it. "1 pretty much had planned that. way on the last lap. I was passing in turns one and three and finally got past in the west end horsehoe. He (Locklear) w:ent high then down low. I could feel Bowman behind me as soon as we came off the banking I came past him. I was worried. I think it was real close at the line. About half a bike length," Wilson, who'd only raced here once before as a Novice, added. "1 dhn't think you. can get a better finish line that that," third-placed Bowman, (From left to right) Jamie Bowman, Rick Kirk and Thomas Wilson celebrate their top three finishes in the Honda race; Kirk pocketed $5000 for his victory. $2000 richer, said. ''The draft was going to make the difference. E,:erybody was riding real close." . Locklear took fourth with Choate taking over fifth on the third lap and holding it to the end. Heino moved into sixth by passing Roberts in the International Horseshoe on the ninth lap, Roberts end(N ing seventh. Results HON CBR900 CHALLENGE: I. Rick Kirk (Hon); 2. Thomas Wilson (Hon); 3. Jamie Bowman (Hon); 4. Larry Locklear (Hon); 5. John Choatf (Hon); 6. Jeffrey Heino (Hon); 7. Danny Roberts (Hon); 8. Billy Fisenacher (Hon); 9. Kevin Hunt (Hon); 10. Robert Meister (Hon); II. Anthony Weadon (Hon); 12. Damon earr (Hon); 13. Brok McAllister (Hon); 14. Laney Cobb (Hon); 15. Scou Blow (Hon); 16. Anthony Johnson (Hon); 17. Edward Borowy (Hon); 18. Kenneth Fahy (Hon); 19. Jimmy Shelton (Hem); 20. Steven Pinkley (Hon). AMAICCS Twin Sports Championship: Final round Zampach Twin Sports champ again By Henny Ray Abrams DAYIDNA BEACH, FL, ocr. 18 or the second year in a row, the Harley-Davidson TwinSports title was decided in the final race,' and for the second year in a row it went to Tilley's HD's Scott Zampach. The Milwaukee resident finished second to Suburban Motors H-D's Richard Koehler in the seve~-lap race, but it was good enough to give him the title, his only challenger, Bartel's HD's Nigel Gale, finishing third with suspension troubles. The final tally has Zampach the winner with 162, Gale second with 154, and Chuck Blackmon, a DNF today, third with F 103. Zampach also won the U.S.Twin Sports race run on Saturday, that time beating Gale and Blackmon to the line. "That was one heck of a race," Zampach said after finishing .038 of-a-second behind Koehler at the end of the seven lap, 25-mile race. "Any time you 'have a six-rider pack, you'~ glad to be in the winner's circle." In winning for the first time in the Twin Sports Series, Koehler averaged 23.397 mph in completing the race in 16minutes, .547 seconds. He also picked up a $500 check from the Florida HarleyDavidson Dealers Association for the win. The 27 riders were greeted by a warm, sunny, and windy Sunday afternoon, the 15 mph front-straight tail wind strong enough to cause riders to change their gearing. Conversely, they were running head on into a similar gale on the back stretch. Zampach led the pack through turn one, Chuck Blackmon taking over the lead on the backstraight, Zampach back in front out of the chicane. Because of the wind, all of the riders chose to ride low on the banking to avoid buffeting. . Across the stripe the first time it was Zampach barely the leader of a six-rider pack, the next lap the leader was too close to call. The third lap had Jeff Heino in the lead on the second Tilley's H-D entry, Blackmon second ahead of ZaIripach, Koehler, Gale, and H-D of Jamestown's Shawn Higbee. . Later, Gale would say that his rear suspension wasn't working and that he was .fighting it the entire race. Blackmon became yet another race leader, slipping under Heino in the. West Horseshoe and holding the lead to the line, though by inches, Heino taking over the lead out of the first tum, Blackmon into the lead with a late-braking maneuver in the International Horseshoe. But on that same fifth lap, a crash in the dogleg left, caused Heino to take evasive action, and put him out of the race. The race to the line would be four riders and the competition wasn't diminished. K~er led the end of the fifth lap, but by the first horseshoe was pushed back to fourth, Higbee in the lead for a while, Zampach taking it out of the chicane, Higbee the leader at the line. The last lap as described by Koehler: "Coming into turn one we were six - abreast. I tuCked in and mellowed out to get through. Ten (Higbee) was in front of me in the infield and on the banking I drafted him then one (Zampach) drafted past me at a blistering pace. I rnaintjlined the difference and we were even on the tri-oval I could stay with him to the finish line. " Zampach was second by .038 of-a-second, Gale third after sliding out of the International Horseshoe, his rear shocks fading, with Higbee fourth. Dirt-tracker Mike Hale was a distant ' fifth on a Bartels' H-D Sportster, ~ith veteran Roger Reiman taking sixth late in the race from Chuck Downie. ."1 had to work hard all year to get to o this position," Koehler, whose previous best finish was a third, said. "It was just amazing being so close to each other,. drafting up and down the banking. It was just a mattter of where the cards fall being in that last bunch. " "I've ridden all the series and there's nothing that compares to this," an excited Zampach said before describing his race strategy. "1 had to think about the long term goal of beating Nigel. " Gale, who announced that 1993 would be his final year of racing, said, "1 messed up on the setup and I was sliding all over the place. The shocks weren't working. Each time coming off the tum, I'd lose these guys. It started sliding on the warmup lap. It hasn't happened before. " As for the finish, Gale admitted he wasn't sure what the order was. "ActualIy, I thought Shawn (Higbee) got it. I don't know. I hope they know better than me." Saturday's U.S. TwinSports race was a preview of the championship finale, the competition just as intense, the finish only slightly more decisive. . Gale led the Harley freight train.at the end of the first of seven laps, Zampach right behind him, four riders fighting for second, soon to move to the fight·for first. The second lap saw Zampach in front, the third had Heino in front, a lead he kept for a couple more before being challenged at the finish line by Zampach at the end of the sixth lap. 'But Heino's chances for a win ended when he overshot the west horseshoe on the seventh and final lap making it a three . rider run to the flag, Zampach taking the win from Gale and Blackmon. Koehler was 13 seconds back in fourth with Higbee right behind and Gale sixth. (N Results H·D TW/SPRT: I. Richard Koehler (H-D); 2: Scott Zampach (H-D);~. Nigel Gale (H-D); 4. Shawn Higbee (H-D); 5. Mike }lale (H-D); 6. Roger Reiman (H-D): 7. Chuck Downie (H-D); 8. Thomas Lechner (H-D); 9. Tony Montenfgro (H-D); 10. JeH Johnson (H-D); 11. John Long (H-D); 12. Gary Stas (H-D); 13. John Costa (H-D); 14. Jerry Wallace (H-D); 15. ]. Richard Clutts (H-D); 16. Richie Morris (H-D); 17. William Beesch (H-D): 18. Dennis Fortenbaugh (H-D); 19. Lester Metzler (H-D); 20. Lawrence Wolfel (H-D). 9

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