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R0AD RACE wERAProseries: Round5 n L{ d a H laJ E CN O) O) qj C\ a a,l Fritz Kling (31) was unstoppable in the Formula USA race at Indianapolis Raceway Park; it was his first F-USA win. INDIANAPOUS,IN,AUG.9 1fr pportunity knocked for Fritz Kling I I at the Indianapolis Raceway Park Lf round of the VTERA Formula USA Series as Gold Hill Racing supplied him with every necessity needed for his F- USA debut - including a fiercely fast OW01-framed, Yamaha FZR1000-pow- ered motorrycle. Kling did not disappoint - he won r .' both legs, and in doing so, decimated lZ the outright track record, formerly held by Scott Russell, by over a second and a half. Kling's new record stands at a for- midable one-minute, 35.3Gseconds. . Since Kling was not pre-entered, he was only eligible, as per WERA rules, tor 50'/" of the $5000 winner's share of the $12650 purse. Michael Martin and his "Methanol Monster" Valvoline Suzuki took second to Kling in the first leg, and nipped at Kling's heels in the second, tie-breaking leg but couldn't make the winning and settled for second overall - his such finish of the season. ; Pass third Martin's Valvoline teammate Donald facks tallied three-four finishes in the dual leg feature to secure third overall. But more importantly for facks, the co- point leaders entering the Indianapolis Raceway Park round, Valvoline's Chuck Graves and Lee's Cycle/Pure Power!/Air Tech's Lee Shierts, finished sixth and 10th respectively, and handed the points lead to facks - who has eamed a total of 70 points, compared to Graves' 6, and Shierts' 62. Martin lies a close fourth with 59 points. Fourth overall, and top two-stroke honors, went to Southwest Motorsports' Chris D'Aluisio, with one-time team- mate Robbie Petersen (filling in for an absent-in-Japan Colin Edwards) taking fifth overall on a similar Southwest Yamaha TZ25O. From the very onset of racing activi- ties, Kling was setting the pace. In Friday's timed qualifying, Kling imme- diately captured the pole with a 1:37.08, a bit off Russell's old lap record (1:39.6, set in 1990). "I have a lot of experience at this track, and know how to get around quickly," said Kling of his pole-setting run. "And it's (the bike) better than expected. I didn't know how fast I could go on it - I've never ridden the OW01/F2R1000 Gold Hill bike before - but I hit every corner right, it handled really well and I got the pole." But this was the most competitive field in F-USA competition this season, and the Southwest Motorsports team was claiming Indianapolis as a track well suited to their little TZ250s. And Southwest's D'Aluisio backed up those words by placing himself second on the grid, less than a half second behind Kling. Petersen was hot on D'Aluisio's heels, and filled out the front row of WERA's three-two grid formation. Dave Schlosser had brought a pair of speedy Dutchman Racing GSXR1100s to contest this round of WERA competition - one each for part-time Britten and 500cc GP rider Andrew Stroud and Scott Zampach. Shoud placed fourth in quali- Chris D'Aluisio (2) was equally impressive in the F.II class; here he leads Robbie Petersen (16) and the rest of the pack; D'Aluisio also finished lourth in F'USA. Kling,D'Aluisio conquer Indy By Brent Plummer fy g - heading up the second row - and Zampach struggled to 12th. What about the Valvoline Suzuki rid- ers of facks, Martin, and co-points leader Graves? They were a bit rusty in Friday's qualifying. "I \arasn't up to speed yet (in qualify- ing)," explained Graves. "After a month and a half off between Formula (USA) rounds, while everyone else (the top qualifiers) was racing last week at Mid- Ohio." Consequentlp the Valvoline rid- ers were off a bit in qualifying all float- ing around the latter half of the top 10. Scott Gray put his ex-Muzzy Kawasaki superbike in sixth, right behind the second Gold Hill Yamaha, ridden by Christian Gardner. Grair would only complete four laps of the first leg, and did not start the second. And while everything was going Kling's way, co-points Lee Shierts couldn't have had a worse weekend. "First thing, in the fourth practice session - right after I had got the bike working well with the new Dunlop tires - the crank cracked and spun a main bearing. I always replace cranks after each race, and they should last a whole weekend with no problem. I came around tum four, and it sounded like it had an exhaust leak, so I immediately shut it off. That night, I tore the motor down at a friend's place, and found out that the engine cases were ruined, and I had to find another motor. Then, on top of that, I got food poisoning Friday night, didn't sleep all weekend, couldn't eat, and had extreme chills." Shierts failed to qualify, and had to start at the back of the full field, on the 22nd row. Defending F-USA champion Rich Oliver made his return to WERA com- petition at Indy, but without the 350cc kitted T2250, which he described as a "nightmare" of problems. Oliver quali- fied on the fifth row, and looked set to challenge for the lead. And so the stage was set for a viciously competitive F-USA race. The Valvoline riders knew Shierts would be riding the relatively slow Moto Sport Endurance bike, and they could motor away from him at will. Graves was determined to "just stay ahead of him (jacks)" and retain the points lead. Martin did not want to be denied his first win, Jacks saw the championship lead within his grasp, and D'Aluisio wanted an upset win. Kling had a plan too: "Get to the first comer and see what happens. I'm too tired from yesterday's endurance race to worry..." F.USA The riders voted to reinstate flags, not lights, as the starting method of choice, and when the green flag made its first move, the racers were off. Stroud got to turn one first, with Kling impa- tiently dogging the Dutchman rider. Gardner followed on another Gold Hill bike, with Graves in fourth. Kling wasted no time dispatching Stroud back to second as he took the lead at the exit of tum one with a killer drive, and out-motored Shoud towards tdm two. Stroud held on to second until the beginning of the second lap, when a determined Graves passed on the brakes entering tum one. But Graves' hold on second was as fleeting as Stroud's had been; Martin was on the move, trying to catch Kling before he could make a breakaway. Come lap four, Kling, Martin, and Graves were the lead trio, with Kling opening up a five or sixbike length lead. "I've been getting a lot of (criticism) from Tom (Houseworth) and everybody about my starts," said normally mild- starting Jacks, who got away from the grid in a respectable fifth, and had moved up one spotby the fourth lap. tu.4 *l 'r:& Wffi ru # ,W # ff, ,&" dbs.-.a.--. t',tr.