Sears Point Winston Pro Series Road Race

Sears Point Winston Pro Series Road Race

Kenny Roberts Proves That Bigger Isn't Always Better

Kent Peterson

Kenny Roberts had just come in from Practice on Friday afternoon before the Sears Point AMA National road race, his times a comfortable 2 sec. under those of his nearest competitor. After exchanging his racing gear for a pair of shorts and sunglasses, Roberts strolled over to where tuner Kel Carruthers was going over his YZR500 Yamaha.

“Kel, I think we should change to the ‘C’ second gear.”

“Well, make up your mind now',” said Carruthers. “I don't want to tear it down and then have to put it back the way it is now again if you’re not sure.” Carruthers was hoping to get back to the motel pool and escape the 95° heat. Nothing was said for perhaps a minute while Roberts stared at the ground, his right hand twitching slightly as he mentally went through his gear changes. Finally he looked up at Carruthers, smiled, and said, “Yeah, let's use the ‘C’ second.”

“Oh. you bastard!” replied Carruthers as he set to work.

It’s nice to watch someone like Kenny Roberts who’s the best in his profession. Disregarding for a moment the obvious advantage of factory backing and superior support personnel, it’s interesting to watch him make the equipment suit him. Everything is aimed toward that end. whether it ^be changing internal gear ratios, adjusting the suspension to the track conditions or picking the right tires. As the complete professional he manipulates every area within his power to make sure the machine meshes with his riding style in the manner that gives the best results. And Roberts produces results, even when he’s on vacation. as at Sears Point.

^ Pre-race publicity would have led one to believe that KR was racing under a huge handicap. All of the hype indicated that Roberts would have to ride the wheels oft' of the 500 to be able to stay w ith the 750s, when in fact the 80 lb. weight advantage of the 500 made it much more maneuverable around the rolling, twisty circuit. The 750s figured to have better punch coming out of the corners but the hot slippery track surface narrowed traction to a fine line bordered on one side by heart-stopping rear wheel slides and on the other by having the front wheel 3 ft. in the air. It looked more like the kind of situation w here someone "with Roberts’ feel for tires would excel. In addition, two of KR’s toughest competitors didn't make it to Sears Point. Last year’s Sears winner. Mike Baldwin, was still recovering from injuries suffered at Loudon, and Dale Singleton chose to run in the Swiss F750 round instead.

>• There were afew people around to try to spoil Roberts' homecoming. Foremost among these was Loudon winner Skip Aksland. Skipper needed all of the Winston Pro Series points he could muster at Sears because his dirt track program hadn’t been doing as well as he had hoped. ^Perhaps just as important was his desire to beat KR in a straight battle and shed himself of his “protege” title.

Besides Aksland, Roberts’ biggest challenges would probably come from the ever-quick Gene Romero, New' Englander Rich Schlacter, and Sears Point ace Harry Klinzmann.

Practice was relatively uneventful, as most riders sought the right combination of gearing and tires to cope w ith the hot temperatures and bumpy, slippery track. Roberts was easily fastest, getting down to mid 1:46s—not near the record but about 1.5 to 2 sec. quicker than anyone else. Aksland was playing musical wheels and tires, searching for the right set-up. Skip’s brother/tuner Bud Aksland had already changed to stock pipes and cylinders on their PJ 1 Lubricants-sponsored bike in an attempt to make it easier to ride. As Skip explained. “There are few places here where the bike is straight when you gas it. so extra horsepower doesn't really help.”

Romero, Schlacter and Klinzmann all worked their times down in 1:47-1:48 range by Saturday afternoon. Several riders were caught out by the slippery surface, among them Dave Schlosser, Wes Cooley and Canadian Miles Baldwin. Miles at least was cheerful, observing that. “I seized yesterday and crashed today (Saturday) so race day should be alright. At least I fell in the grass and didn’t mess up my new leathers!”

The heat races were watched w ith interest because everyone wanted to see just how fast Roberts would go. The first heat saw Klinzmann and Aksland break away quickly from Dave Emde. Mike Cone and Gill Martin. Bruce Hammer had been on the front row but stopped to fix a flat tire on the warm-up lap and restarted half a lap down. Cory Ruppelt ended his weekend early by throwing his bike down the road and injuring his shoulder. Up front Aksland’s bike seemed to have a horsepower edge but Klinzmann was riding harder and braking better. On the last lap Skipper really gassed it and simultaneously Harry got into a tank-slapper that made him realize a safe second was the w isest choice. Emde was third and Martin finished fourth.

In the second heat Gene Romero got rolling first, shadowed by Schlacter and Roberts. On the third lap KR took Schlacter in Turn 10 and went underneath Romero in the Turn 11 hairpin. Roberts wheelied out of 11 and went on to win by about 6 sec. Both Schlacter and Romero felt they could stay closer in the final.

The final wasn’t far away because the AMA pushed the 750 National forward to the first event of the afternoon. This distressed no one except Mike Cone who had blown a crank in heat one and was working feverishly to rebuild his motor. He finished in time but after seven laps it began to run on three cylinders so he stopped.

Romero once again led on his Imperial Spas-sponsored, Don Vesco-owned bike, followed by Cooley, Aksland. Roberts, Mark Jones, Emde and Schlacter. At Turn 2, Jones had unloaded in spectacular fashion scattering his bike and the following riders, but fortunately not himself. Chief benefactor of the crash was Bruce Hammer, who found himself in sixth place after starting at the back. His delight was shortlived. however, as the bike seized on lap three. Klinzmann also had no time to enjoy his fifth place because his electrics went south on lap two.

Romero, Roberts and Aksland steadily opened up distance on Cooley. Wes tried to stay with the leaders but when he really started motoring the bike would wobble. He suspected that the frame may have been tweaked in his practice crash.

Romero had decided to try to keep Roberts at bay by blocking his line and then using the 750’s torque to outrun him out of the corners. Roberts got past several times in the first 10 laps but Romero always led past the start-finish line, after viciously outbraking Roberts at Turn 11. Finally, on lap 12, Roberts took the lead and held it, dropping from 1:47 lap times down to 1:45s and motoring away to w in by 14 sec. Aksland also passed Romero, scraping him oft'in traffic on lap 13. and beat him to the finish by 3 sec.

But where was everyone else? Schlacter, angry after bogging on the start, w^as even angrier to find that he had to go motocrossing on his Sky Cycles/self-sponsored bike in order to avoid the Jones accident. He worked his way from last to fifth place by lap 6. On lap 8, he and Gill Martin, 29, who had hitched on behind, passed Cooley into fourth and fifth, but the lead trio was long gone. He and Martin, a self-sponsored rider from San Diego mounted on a modified TZ-750A, fought for fourth until Martin had a big moment coming out of Turn 1 1. The rear end slid, he caught it, and then the front wheel headed for the sky. The fairing bubble struck his helmet as the bike came up. knocking his glasses off’, so he continued at a much reduced pace. Cooley finished sixth ahead oí Emde, David Garoutte. John Bettencourt and Miles Baldwin.

Roberts said afterward that he had to ride hard to win, but once past Romero had no problems. Obviously true, because Roberts spent the last four laps doing wheelies for the crowd, at times bringing the wheel down and leaning into the cor-

ner all in one motion.

It’s nice to w'atch a professional.