Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

i B ï S ؛ i3 ؛ O ctober 21, 1992 æ ï COLLEGE STATION, TX,OCT.ll T hwarted in two previous champi onship battles, Scott Russell wasn't to be denied the most prestigious title in AMA road racing in attempt number three. The Muzzy Kawasaki mounted Georgian raced like a champi on from the start at Texas World Speedway, holding off a determined Doug Polen in a race strikingly familiar to early season Russell vs. Polen battles. In the end, though, it was Russell edg ing the Texan by a scant 0.005-of-a-sec- ond to earn his first ever AMA Superbike National Championship. And what of the man with the best chance of topping Russell going into fhe ninth and final round of the champi onship, Jamie James? Four points behind with only Texas World left to run, James suffered through a rather 6 dismal day. The man who topped ROADRACE AMA National Championship^uperbike Series: Final round Scott Russell (17) won his first AMA Superbike National Championship. Thomas Stevens (1) held off Mike Smith to finish third at Texas World Speedway. Russell, Russell, Russell! By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams Russell in 1989 by only a handful of points to earn his first and only Superbike title, was running in a battle for sixth place when his front tire went flat on the 16th lap. James and his Vance & Hines Yamaha rejoined the pack two laps later, but his gallant effort only resulted in a 17th place finish, and zero points. Muzzy Kawasaki's Thomas Stevens gained the most on James poor luck, as he jumped to second in the champi onship with his third-place finish. Stevens, the man who pulled the rug out from under Russell in last year's cham pionship, put in one of his finest perfor mances of the season in Texas. The Floridian battled back from a lackluster beginning in today's National, only weeks after suffering a broken collar bone, and worked his way up to third place behind his teammate Russell and Fast By Ferracci's Polen, giving him sec ond in the title chase and making it a 1-2 sweep for Rob Muzzy's Kawasaki team. Camel Honda's Mike Smith was impressive in his return to racing after breaking a leg in the Loudon National back in June. The Georgian raced to the finish with Stevens and Two Brothers Racing's Freddie Spencer, with Smith edging Spencer for fourth place. Picotte ended his first full season of AMA racing with a sixth-place finish while Team Mirage's Dale Quarterley again main tained his spot as the AMA's premier privateer with a seventh place finish - earning himself seventh in the champi onship, behind six factory-backed rid ers. Camel Honda's Tom Kipp, Gold Hill's Christian Gardner and Craig Gleason rounded out the top 10 finish ers. When the final points were tallied, Russell had a 20-point cushion over Stevens, 122-102. Polen was a close third, despite missing two rounds while trying to defend his World Superbike Championship, with 100 points. James and Pascal Picotte, sixth today, rounded out the top five in the championship with 98 and 89 points, respectively. The race itself was one of the finest of the season, with Russell and Polen locked together for the entire 33 laps of the 1.8-mile road circuit. Though Polen never led, he pressured Russell through out, with the decisive move coming in lapped traffic on the 31st lap. It was then that Russell dove up the inside of Christian Gardner in turn seven, leaving Polen to trail the slower Yamaha rider through the right-left combination of turns seven and eight, and allowing Russell to gain the breathing room need ed to hold on for the win a lap later. Polen did manage to fight back, but his final run to the flag came up inches short. Racing for the win and nothing else, Russell left his crew chief Rob Muzzy and others somewhat perplexed as to why he was risking the championship with this all-or-nothing battle with Polen. James, after all, was two laps behind, and the championship was now Russell's to lose. "I didn't care (about James being out of the race)," Russell said in a post-race press conference. "I wasn't looking at my pit board. When I looked back early in the race I saw Doug (Polen) and I saw Smith (Mike) and I didn't see a Yamaha. At that point, I knew I just wanted to win the race. I thought Doug was sizing me up and I expected him to try it in turn one. I wasn't going to lay down if he came by - I was prepared if he did come by to try something back." Somewhat irresponsible considering the circumstances, and his self pro claimed "tight-rope walk" with the edge of the track while blitzing past lapped riders late in the race, but who can argue with success. Like Muzzy said later: "It's a great story now, but what if..." Ifs and buts aside, at the finish it was Russell by 0.005 of-a-second after aver aging 94.969 mph in completing the race in 37 minutes, 31.673 seconds in front of a crowd estimated at 14,500, up consid erably since the May 31 event where most in attendance came disguised as empty seats. Russell earned $4600 of the $25,000 Superbike purse for his efforts. Unlike May's rain-sodden, much- delayed National at Texas World Speedway, this one started under bril liant sunshine with temperatures hover ing in the 80-degree mark. At the drop of the flag it was Smith leading the way into turn one on the bright yellow Camel-backed Honda RC30, followed closely by the lime-green Kawasaki of Russell. Smith, Polen, Quarterley, Spencer, James, and Picotte followed in an eight-rider pack on the opening lap. Pole-sitter Russell didn't hesitate in moving to the front as both he and Smith moved by Kipp on the second lap, and those two quickly put a slight gap on the others, who were getting held up somewhat by Kipp. The Ohioan was starting his from grace, hampered severely by an ill-carbureting RC30; and he would eventually drop to eighth by the end of the race. "Today, it was down on power and just wouldn't respond," Kipp said of his RC30. "It was very difficult to ride, especially on a slippery track like this. I don't know if it was rich or if it just got hot." On the fourth lap Polen shot by Kipp and immediately moved behind Smith, who was still hanging on to the rear wheel of Russell's Kawasaki. James, meanwhile, had passed Spencer and was lying fifth, his championship hopes dwindling as he struggled to keep pace. Both James and Spencer also charged by Kipp, moving into fourth and fifth, respectively. Spencer, though, hadn't completely given up on the idea of run ning with the top three and a lap later he moved around James and started a charge to catch the leading trio. Polen passed Smith for the first time on the seventh lap, but Smith was back into second place two laps later. Russell, meanwhile, had the determined look of a champion in the making as he started to pull clear. This didn't go unnoticed by Polen, who went back around Smith and started his surge to keep the Georgian in sight. By the 15th lap, Russell led Polen by 1.3 seconds. Smith was third, but was being harassed by Spencer and now Stevens, who had come from ninth on the opening lap in what was likely his final ride aboard the Muzzy Kawasaki as a factory Suzuki ride in 1993 appears certain. The championship became Russell's on the 16th lap as James circulated slow ly with a flat front tire. He pitted for a new one and rejoined the race two laps later, riding hard and sliding both wheels in a desperate attempt at scoring points. The only question now was whether or not Russell would bow to Polen's pressure, considering James' demise. The answer was a firm - no way - as Russell held his ground despite the relentless attack of the World Superbike Champion. Polen was on Russell as the two encountered lapped traffic on the 28th lap, with Russell getting held up by Craig Gleason momentarily before mov ing by. Polen, too, was balked by Gleason: "I had to pass him on the out side, in the marbles," Polen said. The clincher came on the 31st lap, with Russell barging up the inside of Gardner in turn seven. "That was the icing on the cake," Russell said later. "I needed that to hold him (Polen) off. I was a little bit surprised that he (Polen) was so close, but I was riding so tense." Polen tried again, on the final lap, but to no avail. "I ended up third in the champi onship, so that's my consolation," Polen said. "It was only six or eight inches, but it turned out in his favor and that's the way it goes. I caught up to a lapped guy (Gardner) and had to make that up on the last lap. Another lap would have been interesting." Polen used a harder compound rear Dunlop tire than Russell, and it may have made the difference: "He could get off that last comer real well," Polen said. "I was a nervous wreck," Russell said. "I got out in the lead and ran my own race. I was thinking about things that could happen and it affected my riding - but I crossed the finish line first.

• Cover