Schlachter Wins Daytona 250 Race
Schlachter Wins Daytona 250 Race
DAYTONA '82
John Ulrich
The start was different, but the ending came right out of the 1981 World Championship season. Richard Schlachter lined up on the grid with the Bob MacLean TZ250J, worried because his new tires had only three laps of practice on them. Rain had eliminated other practice sessions, and AMA officials gave those precious three laps just before the start. His bike was jetted too rich, too, thanks to a last-minute weather change, and a headwind had come up on the fastest parts of the course. At least those things affected everybody.
Martin Wimmer came to Daytona from Germany, with support from that country’s Yamaha importer. Jimmy Filice had the backing of Yamaha Motors Corp. U.S. and the best instruction of Kenny Roberts. Sam McDonald rode out of his father’s Yamaha shop in Oklahoma, with his brother-and-former-racer Phil tuning and coaching.
Wimmer, Filice and McDonald fought for first off the line, Wimmer leading across the finish of Lap One, McDonald and Filice passing him and each other into Turn One, Filice crashing in Turn Two.
Schlachter languished in fifth, getting sideways on slippery tires, losing ground, certain the leaders were gone for good. Until the fifth lap, when his tires finally broke in and heated up, and Schlachter started making up ground. He caught Wimmer and McDonald. McDonald led into the chicane, hit a patch of loose straw from a haybale and bobbled, and Wimmer and Schlachter were past and gone.
It was just those two, then, Schlachter and Wimmer, just as it had been all year long at Grand Prix after Grand Prix, Wimmer usually winning the private battle but Schlachter finishing ahead at the final race.
They settled in, nose-to-tail, Wimmer behind lap after lap, waiting, waiting.
It came down to the last lap, and often the second man into the chicane can draft and slingshot past on the banking, winning.
“I knew I was getting a better drive out of the chicane,” said Schlachter later, “but we were real even. I thought at first that I could shake him, or at least I was going to try, but then I realized that I couldn’t. The last three or four laps I held back a little to see if he would take the initiative, to see if he would draft by. He got alongside a couple of times, but I could hold him at the finish. So I finally got my strategy together and said to myself, ‘Okay I’m going to take the last lap lead, and just drive as hard as 1 can.’ It worked.”
It was close, Schlachter ahead by less than two feet at the line, Wimmer drafting and pulling out just before the line, but not quite making up for Schlachter’s drive out of the chicane.
McDonald was third, alone. Tony Head was fourth, on a Rotax-based Waddon from England, also alone, broken away from a terrific multi-rider battle that had six and seven men abreast on the banking, riders passing three and four others entering Turn One, riders going from 10th to fourth to 12th all in one lap. Alan Labrosse of Canada and John Glover of California pulled ahead of the bunch after Head, having their own private tussle, Labrosse setting up Glover and finishing fifth with an oh-so-smooth pass.
Results 1. Richard Schlachter Yamaha 2. Martin Wimmer Yamaha 3. Sam McDonald Yamaha 4. Tony Head Waddon 5. Alan Labrosse Yamaha 6. John Glover Yamaha 7. Jurgen Schmid Yamaha 8. Don Greene Yamaha 9. Craig Morris Yamaha 10. Hugh Humble Yamaha
