Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/385219
IN THE WIND P26 were really close. My speed through the previous corner was a bit faster than his, and then I was along the side of his bike. I thought my bike had better stick and grip, or I am going to launch myself over the top to the moon. Luckily for me it held and I took the win in that one, making up for the first race when I threw it up the road. I had even decided that third place then was better than a crash." The opening race, run in wet conditions, brought early misery for title contender Josh Brookes. The Milwaukee Yamaha rider failed to exit the pit lane before it closed for the sighting lap, which demoted him down the order to start from the back row of the grid. His disappointment was compounded even more by a crash on the opening lap and he was then excluded for re-joining the race after crashing. Byrne had forged clear but it was Tyco Suzuki's Josh Waters who was closing in, and the Aus- sie took the lead into the second half of the race. Kiyonari moved into second, but Byrne tumbled into the gravel and out of third place, handing the final podium position to his teammate Stuart Easton. Byrne rescued the situation with his second race victory, though his lead was cut in half by Kiyonari, the Japanese rider trailing now by just 12 points. Brookes suffered a DNF in race two with a clutch problem that dropped him to third in the over- all standings with his teammate Tommy Bridewell closing to within five points after a return to the podium with a third-place finish. Californian John Hopkins didn't finish race one, but ended up fifth in race two on his Tyco Suzuki. Meanwhile, James Rispoli fin- ished on the podium for the first time in his British Supersport career, the series rookie ending up second behind Alastair See- ley after a close battle with Luke Jones. "That feels amazing and now this will be a good evening and it has given me confidence for to- morrow's race," Rispoli said on Saturday. In Sunday's wet race, Rispoli ended up 12 th on the Team Traction Control Yamaha. TOBC RACING OWNER AND MOTHER DIES IN PLANE CRASH T OBC Racing owner and racer Jon Couch and his mother, Frances Couch, were killed in a plane crash at Virginia International Raceway on Friday, September 19. The accident happened just five days after Couch's rider Hayden Gillim won the AMA Pro SuperSport Cham- pionship at New Jersey Motors- ports Park. The crash happened as the Championship Cup Series (CCS) Fall CycleFest of Speed motorcycle road racing was set to kick off. Couch, 46, was piloting the single-engine propeller plane, a T-28C Trojan Navy trainer, ac- cording to media reports. His mother, Frances Gene Couch, 72, was a passenger and was also killed. No one was hurt on the ground. The track was closed temporarily as investigators worked at the crash site. Work- ers had to cut through a thicket TOBC Racing owner and racer Jon Couch (left) was killed last week in a plane crash less than a week after his rider Hayden Gillim (center) and crew chief Rick Matheny (right) won the AMA Supersport title. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN J. NELSON