Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

IMES Breaking Through lll fru:lT.',ltrJff jffi iilr'il: I? a""a or lne woao was aDour ro rno out. I U'**;i,:i".] ::fr "iiil :H'*:1 Pro points, became one of the select few in AMA racing history to complete the elusive Grand Slam the year before, winning career nationals on a mile, half-mile, TT short track and finally a road race. ln June of 1990, Chandler was well on his way to earning the first of three AMA Superbike Championships. The likable rider from Salinas, California, might have gone on to a long and record-breakin3 career in AMA Superbike, but breakthrough wins in World Superbike that year aboard Rob Muzry Kawasaki Superbikes forever changed the course of his racing life. On June 10, 1990, the Diesel Jeans World Superbike Championship made a visit to Brainerd lnternational Raceway in Minnesota. Many of the AMAS top Superbike riders were giyen wild-card entries to go against the best Superbike racers in the wodd; riders such as Fred Merkel, Raymond Roche, Stephane lYertens, Terry Rymer: Rob McElnea, Fabrizio Pirovano and Davide Tardozzi. Chandler and his fellow Americans proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Superbike racing in the United States was world class. Chandler made American pride swell at Brainerd when he won the pole by qualiring at a record l:42.158 (105.719 mph) on his Hrzzy Kawasaki ZX-7. fuid he wasn't alone, as American riders dominated qualifiing by grabbing seven of the rop l0 spots, ln addition to Chandler, those riderc included Wodd Superbike-regu- lar Fred Merkel (second) and AMA Superbike riders Scotr Russell (fourth), David Sadowski (fifth), Jamiejames (sixth), Thonus Stevens (eight), and Randy Renfrow ( lfth). Rob Muzzy had to be delighted in knowing that he and his crew were building the fastest Superbike in the world. When asked if that was the case, Muzzy just Srinned and said, "We're doing all right," The Brainerd race almost didn't go off. Newly paved sections hadn't cured, and with near-re€ord heat, the asphalt began to come apart. Brainerd officials dealt with the problem in a heads-up manner. Special sealant was flown in from lowa and the highlight of the Saturday evening before the race was watching the pilot make a pinpoint landing on the BIR front straightaway with less than l0 feet of space to spare from either winStip to the walls. Workers put in some heavy-duty overtime applying the sealant to the recently repaved turns late Saturday and early Sunday. After a poor start in Sunday's first leg, Chandler made his way to the front of the field by midrace - much to the delight of the estimated 40,000 partisan spectators. He draft- ed by Merkel and Roche at the end ofthe nearb/ mile-long front straight and immediately started pufting some distance an the field. Late in the race, Chandler pushed his lead to over two seconds (which was light-years in World Superbike racing that season) ahead of a charging f4ertens and Roche, and it looked as if the American would walk awa/ to his flrst international win- But it wasn't to be. Unfortunately, an oil leak had developed on Chandler's Kawasaki and his rear tire was beinS sprinkled with the oily mist. That slowed Chandler's pace by three seconds, and Roche and Mertens zipped past. Mertens, on a Belgium Honda RC30, passed Roche's factory Ducati on the flnal lap, while Chandler limped home to third in spite of the issues with his bike. Under a relentless sun, the tarmac heated up in the second leg and those resudaced corners went soft again, making for some spectacular slides coming out of the corners. And, in turn, Chandler's flat-track experience began to pay off "lt felt a lot like a dirt-track surface,'' Chandler explained. "The fairly long wheel base of the Kawasaki made it easy for me to stay on the gas and get the back end kicked out pretty far. Only once did I get it a little too sideways. lwas looking back behind me in a turn to see where l'4ertens was and I wasn't paying much atten- tion, 8ot hard on the gas and was almost star- ing l''lertens in the face with the bike com- pletely crossed up." Up front in the second leg, Rymer was riding the wheels off his Lo€tite Yamaha. The Brit was braking extremely late for the turns. giving the appearance of riding with reckless abandon. With five laps to go, Chandler caught and drafted into the lead past Rymer on BIR's long front straight- The next lap Mertens did the same to Rymer to take over second. While he was in the pack, Chandler's bike began ro overheat. "l think it was because my radiators weren t getting enough air, because I was always behind someone. As soon as I got out front, the engine cooled of[" Chandler went on to win by 2.6 seconds over Mertens, earning the biggest road-race win of his career up to that point. He was greeted by a cheering mob at the winner's podium, and stood proud at the playing of the national anthem. After his first intemational yictory Chandler went back to racing AMA Superbike that summer where he clicked off four straight wins to take a large lead in the championship. Reports 96 JUNE 28,2006 . CYCLE NEWS Bv hnrv LawRENcr I , . ,c l-) 9 .{ J, \ I d ,L*, N began filtering back from Europe that Chandler's Brainerd domination was being explained away as a com- bination of him having a home-tlack advantage and because of the poor conditions of BIR s racing surface. So during another off weekend in late August, Muzzy and Chandler decided to go to the Japanese round of World Superbike Championship in Sugo. They were out to prove that their U.S. victory wasn't a fluke. Having never been to the track, Chandler was on his way to learning the tricky circuir when he crashed in qualifying- Despite that, he still managed to qualify his Kawasaki second to Roche and the factory Ducati. ln the first leg Chandler was moving up in the lead group and appeared to be ready to challenge for victory when the red flag came out after Japanese series-regular Doug Polen crashed hard. That left Chandler in a frus- trating third. By the second race Chandler and his crew had Sugo dialed. This time he was determined not to let a red flag decide the race. Chandler nailed the start, took the lead and stretched it to nearly five seconds after just eight laps. He backed it off a bit in the second half of the race Eo preserve hrs brakes, but there was never a question as to who would win the race. The Brainerd and Sugo vicrories served as a launching pad for Chandler He was in high demand and it put him into a position of havinS to decide where to go. "Kawasaki really wanted myself and Rob [Hurzy] to do World Superbike," Chandler remembers. 'And then Kenny [Roberts] came with his GP offer. I look back on it and figure lmight have been able to win the World Superbike Championship in I 99 I , but like I told Kawasaki then. a MotocP offer may only come along once in a Iife- time and when it's rhere, you'd better take it." So Chandler turned his back on a much better shot at a world title to pursue motorcycle road racing at it high- est level. After riding in the GPs for four seasons, Chandler returned to America and eventually won two more AMA Superbike tirles with lGwasaki. To this day he looks back with a lot of satisfaction on his 1990 World Superbike victories. ''I already knew AMA Superbike racing was on par with World Superbike.'' he said. "l think my wins at Brainerd and Sugo really helped the rest of the world see that." Cl{ ! n ) a

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