Cycle World Race Watch

CYCLE WORLD RACE WATCH

Rainey wins Superbike title

Team Kawasaki's Wayne Rainey won the Superbike Championship with three back-to-back wins, wrapping up the title one race before the series ended. Rainey won at Brainerd, Minnesota and Kent, Washington, both times beating Honda’s Mike Baldwin in head-to-head racing. At Willow Springs, Rainey won both legs and Baldwin crashed, destroying his bike, injuring himself and tossing away any chance of winning the championship. With only one round and 20 points left in the series, Rainey led Baldwin by 25 points. Rainey won the championship on a Kawasaki GPz750 Superbike built by Kawasaki Motors Corp. under the direction of Rob Muzzy.

Americans sweep MX and Trophee des Nations

The U.S. team of Broc Glover (Yamaha), David Bailey (Honda), Jeff Ward (Kawasaki) and Mark Barnett (Suzuki) swept the 500cc Motocross des Nations and 250cc Trophee des Nations team races.

In Belgium for the Motocross des Nations, Glover won the first moto with Ward second, Belgium’s George Jobe (Suzuki) third and David Bailey fourth. Barnett lost several laps in the pits making suspension repairs.

Bailey won the second moto, with Belgium's Andre Vromans second, Barnett third and Ward fourth.

Glover finished 13th after being pushed into the banners by Eric Geboers (who eventually finished 16th) early in the moto and crashing while dicing for sixth later in the moto.

In Czechoslovakia for the 250cc Trophee des Nations, the U.S. team won again, led by Glover’s first in the first moto and third in the second moto. Barnett was third in the first moto (behind Glover and Jobe), with Bailey and Ward seventh and eighth. Geboers won the second moto with Ward second, Glover third, Barnett fourth and Bailey fifth to secure the U.S. team’s victory.

Mike Baldwin wins F-1 title

Honda’s Mike Baldwin defeated Canadian privateer Miles Baldwin to win the U.S. F-l road racing championship. The pair exchanged the points lead throughout the second half of the season, but in the end clear-cut victory belonged to Mike Baldwin.

Mike Baldwin won at Loudon on the works RS500 Honda V-Three, running away with the race after Wes Cooley crashed his Kawasaki. Miles Baldwin was second on his Yamaha TZ750, which he purchased used several years ago from Mike Baldwin.

Nick Richichi was third on the GS Performance-sponsored TZ750, with Canadian Art Robbins fourth on an eight-valve Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike, with Harry Klinzmann fifth on his Kawasaki ELR. Gregg Smrz was sixth on a TZ750.

Mike Baldwin crashed and broke his wrist when his RS500 seized going into the > chicane at Pocono. “It’s seized six times this year,” Baldwin said later. “I caught it five times, but this time I didn’t.”

With Mike Baldwin out of the race, Honda’s Fred Merkel led until his RS500

until his RS500 broke, and Miles Baldwin took over.

Late in the race Miles bike its brakes

and he crashed, letting Smrz and his Phil Flack-tuned, Surefire and Michelinsponsored TZ750 into the lead. Baldwin remounted in second place but slipped to third by the finish, behind Doug Brauneck on yet another privately-owned TZ750. The finish gave Miles Baldwin the points lead.

Laguna Seca saw U.S. Grand Prix stars Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Randy Mamola return to their home turf with state-ofthe-art machines, Roberts and Lawson on 680cc V-Four Yamahas and Mamola on a

500cc Square-Four Suzuki. (Honda refused to allow World Championship points leader Freddie Spencer to compete in the race, which is not part of the Grand Prix . circuit). Predictably, Roberts, Lawson and Mamola dominated the event, run in two legs.

Mamola won the first leg, beating Lawson as Roberts spectated—a chain adjuster broke on Roberts Yamaha at the start and allowed the rear wheel to cock in the swing arm. Mike Baldwin was third, far behind, riding in pain with a pin in his recently-broken wrist. Richichi passed Miles Baldwin in the last turn to finish fourth.

In the second leg Roberts and Lawson took off from Mamola, running back and forth until Lawson missed a gear, and, in jamming the transmission back into gear, broke one of his bike’s chain adjusters. Lawson’s chain derailed and Roberts cruised to the win ahead of Mamola. Behind came Mike Baldwin, with Miles Baldwin fourth and Richichi fifth.

Richichi had Miles Baldwin beaten in the second leg, but coasted out of the last turn to let Miles pass, by prior arrangement. The teamwork was meant to preserve Miles Baldwin’s championship points lead, and was a reaction to Honda’s attempt to stack the field by issuing RS500s to several riders, some of whom rode the bikes and some of whom refused.

At Sears Point, Mike Baldwin was beaten heads up by Kawasaki’s Cooley, with Merkel third and Smrz eighth. Miles Baldwin didn’t get any points—he crashed hard in practice the day before the race, and, too bruised to ride hard, pulled out after a few laps of his heat.

Cooley crashed in the rain at Brainerd, Minnesota, the final race, and Mike Baldwin won. Merkel was second, with Dave Busby and his aircooled, 350cc TZ250 Yamaha third. Miles Baldwin was seventh, and Mike Baldwin won the championship, with 92 points to Miles Baldwin’s 70 and Smrz’s 63.

Spencer wins All-Japan race

Afew 500cc road racing World Champion Freddie Spencer won the All-Japan Grand Prix, held at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka City, Japan. In winning the race, Spencer and his works RS500 took three sec. off the lap record.

Australian Rob Phillis rode a Moriwaki-framed, Moriwaki-tuned Kawasaki KZ1000 to victory in the Formula One class. Japan’s Kunihiro Mikami was second on a Moriwaki-framed Yoshimura Suzuki with Moriwaki Kawasakis ridden by local racers placing third, fourth and fifth.

Yamaha ’s 1984 TZ250 jnade its debut in the 250cc Formula Two race, ridden by Teruo Fukuda, and ran away. The new TZ, named the Phoenix, has a new chassis with altered geometry and new front forks with larger diameter tubes and a fork brace. Second went to a Moriwaki-tuned TZ250 ridden by H. Hiwatashi.

Honda’s RS250R was expected to debut at the race, but failed to show up after pre-race testing showed it to be seriously down on horsepower compared to standard TZ250s.

—Kengo Yagawa

Trett goes 200 mph

Elmer Trett of Oxford, Ohio became the first motorcyclist to reach 200 mph in the quarter mile during a sanctioned drag meet. Trett, who runs Trett Speed and Custom in

Millville, Ohio, went 201.34 mph during the NHRA Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Labor Day. Trett also set a new NMRA/ NHRA Top Fuel E.T. record of 7.16 sec. with his Kawasaki.

Beyond setting the E.T. record and topping 200, Trett won the race, beating Terry Vance in the final. Vance holeshot Trett and was several lengths ahead when his (Vance’s) Suzuki threw a connecting rod. In that final run, Trett needed to reach 199.34 to back up his 201.34 pass and set an official

record. But the clock showed 199.11 and Trett’s milestone didn’t make it into the record books.

The race was a few weeks more than one year after Vance became the first man to top 200 mph on a motorcycle. Vance’s pass was 6.98 sec. at 203.61 mph during a regularly-scheduled Wednesday grudge night at Orange County International Raceway in Irving, California. The pass, although recorded on certified clocks, didn’t qualify as a record because it wasn’t made during a sanctioned drag meet. ß)

Who is this man?

ne first reader to correctly identify this man and his significance in motorcycle racing will win an autographed photo of him, albeit in a better mood. The first reader to correctly state why this man is • frowning will win the original photo, but without an autograph.

All entries must be received by January 15, 1984. Send entries to Race Watch, Cycle World, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, Calif. 92663.