Cooley Wins Charlotte Superbike After Freddie Crashes

COOLEY WINS CHARLOTTE SUPERBIKE AFTER FREDDIE CRASHES

Reigning Superbike Production Champion Wes Cooley put the Yoshirnura/Vetter Suzuki GS1000 into first place at the Charlotte Superbike Production race, taking the lead after Freddie Spencer crashed on the banking.

Spencer’s fall came when his Honda CB750F-based racer threw a connecting rod through the engine cases and lubricated the rear tire on a fast part of the steeply-banked track. Spencer was leading at the time.

The engine in Spencer’s bike was newly-rebuilt and had not been broken-in sufficiently before the start of the race. As a result, a connecting rod bearing seized, and the rod itself broke and pitched through the crankcases. Honda mechanics immediately concocted various coverup stories to disguise the major engine failure, including tales of tire problems and cracked oil filter housings.

With Spencer out of the race, Cooley won by a healthy margin over Kawasaki’s Eddie Lawson and David Aldana. Berliner Motor Corp.’s Jimmy Adamo from Long Island, New York was fourth on a Reno Leoni-tuned Ducati, passing Team Honda’s Ron Pierce near the end of the event.

The finishing order boosted Eddie Lawson into the Superbike Championship points lead, with 36 points to Cooley’s 34 and Pierce’s 33.

Doug Brauneck won the 250cc Expert race. There was no Formula One race at Charlotte.

SUPERBIKE RESULTS