Aksland, Schlacter And Spencer Win At Loudon 750 National
AKSLAND, SCHLACTER AND SPENCER WIN AT LOUDON 750 NATIONAL
Skip Aksland won the Winston Pro Series AMA National 750cc road race at Loudon, N.H., overcoming 100° temperatures and very slippery track conditions. Finishing behind Aksland were Richard Schlacter, Gene Romero and Dale Singleton, all on Yamahas.
Romero led the start from Aksland, Mike Baldwin, Ted Boody, Singleton. Bruce Paterson and pole-sitter Schlacter. Bv the third lap. Romero, Aksland and Baldwin opened a slight gap on Singleton and Schlacter. Boody and Paterson dropped into a side-by-side fairing banging duel for sixth place which ended on lap 10 when both riders fell and were injured. Aksland took over the lead on lap 14 and held it until the race was red-flagged on lap 32 when Mike Cone hit the wall by the start-finish line. Baldwin had been using every inch of the road trying to stay w ith the leaders on his underpowered KR750 Kawasaki, but on lap 17 he crashed spectacularly at Corner 3. putting the bike into the pond and breaking one of his legs. Schlacter, whose bike was vibrating so badly that his hands were going to sleep, passed Singleton who was having clutch problems, and then inherited second place when Romero’s ignition went awry. He then began to close the distance on Aksland but the race ended with Cone's crash. Since all of the track’s ambulances were in use and with most of the riders exhausted from sliding the 750s around on the melted track surface, the officials decided not to restart.
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750 National Results
SUPERBIKE PRODUCTION
Richard Schlacter won the Superhike Production event at the Loudon National aboard George Vincensi's Desmo Ducati in another red-flag shortened race. He finished less than a second in front of an unhappy Mike Baldwin (Kawasaki Mtrs. KZ1000) who had been waiting for a late opportunity to pass. Wes Cooley (Yoshimura R&D GS1000 Suzuki) was third and Freddie Spencer riding Reno Leoni's Ducati fourth. Cooley, who had tire problems all weekend, looked ready to do his disappearing act at the start, but after two laps his tires began to slide again. He was quickly passed by Steve McLaughlin (Racecrafters KZ1000) and Baldwin who fought for the lead until lap 1 1 when McLaughlin crashed into the back of a slower rider startled into his path as Baldwin went by.
Schlacter. meanwhile, spent the first two laps in seventh place. He began picking off the riders in front of him until he caught Baldwin on lap 13. Using the superior braking ability of the Ducati. he passed Baldw in on lap 15 and held him off to the finish.
Daytona Superbike winner Ron Pierce broke a crankshaft during Saturday's practice and started the race dead last. The Ybshimura team was extremely short of spares because much of its parts were still on the way back from the Bol d'Or endurance race in France. The shortage meant that Dave Emde didn't have a bike to ride and it also meant that Pierce’s crank would be replaced with a stocker. Even though down on power. Pierce passed 16 bikes in the first six turns and went on to finish eighth.
Superbike Results
250 EXPERT
Freddie Spencer seemed to have a horsepower edge on everyone as he motored to a comfortable win in the Lightweight Expert race on the Howard Racing/ Erv Kanemoto Yimaha. Mike Baldw in on a KR250 Kawasaki kept Spencer in sight until he fell on a patch of oil which also claimed four other riders. Baldwin remounted in fifth place but quickly made up the three places and finished second.
250 Expert Results
