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RACE WATCH
It’s Springer...again
More than just going round and round, the 1995 AMA Grand National Championship dirt-track series is taking the form of a three-way dogfight. And right in the thick of things is none other than three-time champion Jay Springsteen.
Approaching the series’ halfway point, the 38-year-old former champ, number two on the all-time GNC win list, sat third in points (behind Scott Parker and Rich King) and had an overwhelming lead in the 883 National Championship standings after winning six of eight races on the Sportsterbased machines.
Springsteen summed up his newfound competitiveness thusly, “After a grueling divorce that sapped much of my energy and drive, my heart is more into it now. I'm having fun with lots of neat people, and doing really well. I think I've got the hoys nervous!"
Scott Russell, GP star
America's new brightest hope in the grand prix arena, Scott Russell, is gaining speed and confidence on the ex-Schwantz Lucky Strike Suzuki RGv5()().
Before his second race on the machine. the Dutch GP. Russell said, “I'm pushing the bike harder and harder, and I'm getting a good feel for it.” After experiencing braking problems that took him from the sixth qualifying position to a miserable 12th place in the race, a disappointed Russell said, “It’s hard enough when the brakes are working. Mine were okay in some places, but at the end of the back straight, the lever was coming back to the bar. I was running wide everywhere.”
Kevin Schwantz commented from trackside, “He uses the brakes differently from me. I would grab them really hard, but he brings them in slower...Until he and the braking people find the right (pad, disc and shroud) combination for his style, he’ll find it difficult.”
After qualifying seventh for the French GP, round eight of the 14-round series, Russell said, “I felt good enough that I’d decided to stop going so carefully and start taking risks.” With that said, Russell performed another of his patented Daytona “crash and go” routines while trying to find a way around GP regular Alex Barros. After remounting to take sixth place, Russell said, “I wasn’t hurt and the bike wasn’t damaged, so I got going right away.”
At the British GP, Russell qualified on the front row, but didn’t make the start after colliding with a rider during morning warm-up. He suffered a concussion, as well as broken bones in his right foot and left wrist, but is expected to be healed in time for the Czech GP.
McGrath the outdoorsman
As if taking his third straight supercross title wasn’t enough, Jeremy McGrath continues to dominate the outdoor 250cc motocross series with consistency. By winning a moto at all but one race so far, he leads Team Yamaha’s Jeff Emig by 13 points at mid-season. Before this year, McGrath was known only as a supercross technician. Team Honda Manager Wess McCoy attributes his star’s success to “well-balanced riding, an exerciseand-nutrition program, killer focus and a 13-pound reduction of kbaby fat’.”
Modern medicine & MX
In other outdoor news, Honda’s Doug Henry suffered a crushed LÍ vertebra after landing from a jump at the Budds Creek round. Teammate Jeremy McGrath described Henry’s failed flight as the longest and highest leap he’d ever seen. At George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., Henry underwent a radical surgical procedure in which a bone graft taken from his hip was inserted into a titanium cage bolted to his T12 and L2 vertebra. In time, this setup should take the place of his crushed vertebra. According to Henry’s wife Stacey, his recovery will take between six and nine months.
Kipp keeps points
After he was cited for riding a nonhomologated 1996 YZF750 in this year’s 750 supersport series, Yamaha’s Tom Kipp appealed the AMA’s decision to disallow his accumulated points-no small matter, as Kipp was leading the series at that point. The appeals board found Kipp to be riding in “good faith with no performance advantage” due to the larger radiator of the ’96 model. His points were reinstated, though he was fined $5000. It also recommended that the AMA modify the homologation process.
Deaths in the family
Team Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Donald Jacks and long-time dirt-tracker Rodney Farris lost their lives in separate incidents recently. Jacks, 25, the 1992 WERA Formula USA Champion and holder of nine AMA/CCS titles, died when the RF900 he was riding near his home in St. Cloud, Florida, struck a bicycle on June 24.
Team Manager Don Sakakura said Jacks was regaining his confidence in the past few races after a pair of injury-and-crash-riddled seasons. Jacks was sixth in Superbike points and fifth in 750 supersport at the time of this tragedy.
“Donald became an integral part of our operation in the three years he spent with the team. This whole thing was a total shock. He had a great attitude and was showing real promise,” said Sakakura.
The racing community suffered another loss when Rodney Farris sustained fatal injuries in a racing accident at the Du Quoin Mile on July 2. According to AMA Dirt Track Manager Bruce Bober, who viewed videotape footage of the incident, Farris, 32, of Winchester, Virginia, winner of his heat race earlier in the evening, lost control of his Harley XR750 on lap 18 of the main event, fell and was hit by a competitor’s machine.
After 13 years of professional dirttrack racing, the good-natured Farris will be missed by all, especially his lifelong friend and tuner Eddie Adkins. Of Farris’ final race day Adkins said, “He was really pumped for Du Quoin because a lot of his friends came to see him race. I’ve seen him feeling good before, but never as intense as he was that day, I know he was very happy. He went out of the world with a smile-doing what he liked to do-and doing it well.” □
