Team Oliver Yamaha's Rich Oliver ran away from the field and collected the first two victories of the Formula USA season this weekend at Willow Springs International Raceway. Oliver's 250cc machine seemed to be the underdog in a field of liter-sized monsters, but the light-weight machine clearly had an advantage in cornering speed, an important aspect at Willow.
Team Graves Motorsports/Motorcycle Online rider Chuck Graves had a race-long battle with Valvoline Suzuki's Tray Batey in round one with Batey nipping Graves at the end. After being gridded on the front row for the second round with a crucial tire change, Graves holeshot the field and led for the opening laps before Oliver's nimble TZ250 got by in the tight turn three area. Graves went on to defeat Batey for second place. Graves' teammate, Eastern fastguy Glenn Szarek, had a tough time getting his bike's power to the ground in round one, being visibly sideways in many of Willow Springs' high speed corners. After a tire change, Szarek was much more comfortable with both his bike and the fast Willow Springs raceway, finishing fourth in the second race.
Kevin Murray topped the field in the NASB International Grand Prix. In the Speed Triple Challenge, Scott Zampach triumphed over his spec-class competitors. The NASB series moves on to its second stop at Daytona International Speedway in two weeks.
1. Rich Oliver, Fresno, Calif., Yamaha 250, avg speed: 107.275* 2. Tray Batey, Gallatin, Tenn., Suzuki 1100 3. Curtis Adams, Whittier, Calif., Suzuki 1100 4. Chuck Graves, Van Nuys, Calif., Suzuki 1100 5. Fritz Kling, Lansing, Mich., Yamaha 1000 6. David Stanton, Pleasant Hill, Calif., Suzuki 1100 7. Chris Taylor, Blacksburg, Va., Honda 900 8. Peter Christensen, Oxnard, Calif., Suzuki 1100 9. Glenn Szarek, Baltimore, Md., Suzuki 1100 10. Lance Holst, Los Angeles, Calif., Yamaha 1000 11. Roland Sands, Paramount, Calif., Yamaha 250 12. Mark Miller, Long Beach, Calif., Suzuki 750 13. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki 1100 14. Chris Voelker, Bradley, Calif., Honda 900 15. Benjamin Welch, San Diego, Calif., Yamaha 1000 16. Doug Polen, Corinth, Texas, Suzuki 750 17. Jeffrey Stern, West Hills, Calif., Kawasaki 750 18. Jason Fraser, Kirkland, Wash., Honda 900 19. Jason Paden, Vacaville, Calif., Yamaha 250 20. James Randolph, Santa Rosa, Calif., Suzuki 750 21. Ray Yoder, Merrllville, Ind., Yamaha 1000 22. Scott Zampach, West Bend, Wisc., Triumph 900 23. Matt Wait, Lodi, Calif., Honda 600 24. Clinton Whitehouse, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha 250 25. Michael Fitzpatrick, Columbia, Md., Yamaha 750 26. Joe Pittman, Oak Harbor, Wash., Kawasaki 750 27. Shane Turpin, Salt Lake City, Utah, Ducati 955 28. Andy Deatherage, Cleveland, Ohio, Kawasaki 750 29. John Hilton, Dana Point, Calif., Honda 900 30. Todd Harrington, St. Charles, Ill., Kawasaki 750 31. Jerry Evans, Taft, Calif., Yamaha 750 32. Michael Sidwell, Winter Haven, Fla., Kawasaki 750 33. William Beck, Simi Valley, Calif., Suzuki 1100 34. Christopher Rankin, Austin, Texas, Kawasaki 600 35. Douglas Newhouse, Bakersfield, Calif., Honda 900 36. Sean Sidwell, Winter Haven, Fla., Kawasaki 750 37. James Wells, PAFB, Fla., Suzuki 750 38. Jason Roth, Dublin, Calif., Yamaha 250 39. Brian Gibson, Holland, Mich., Honda 900 40. Walt Dorsch, Montrose, Calif., Suzuki 1100 41. Paul Harrell, Canyon Country, Calif., Yamaha 750 42. David Sadowski, Jefferson, Ga., Honda 900 * -- new track record
1. Rich Oliver, Fresno, Calif., Yamaha 250, avg.speed: 107.206 2. Chuck Graves, Van Nuys, Calif., Suzuki 1100 3. Tray Batey, Gallatin, Tenn., Suzuki 1100 4. Glenn Szarek, Baltimore, Md., Suzuki 1100 5. David Stanton, Pleasant Hill, Calif., Suzuki 1100 6. Peter Christensen, Oxnard, Calif., Suzuki 1100 7. Curtis Adams, Whittier, Calif., Suzuki 1100 8. Roland Sands, Paramount, Calif., Yamaha 250 9. Lance Holst, Los Angeles, Calif., Yamaha 1000 10. Mark Miller, Long Beach, Calif., Suzuki 750 11. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki 1100 12. Chris Voelker, Bradley, Calif., Honda 900 13. Jason Fraser, Kirkland, Wash., Honda 900 14. Jeffrey Stern, West Hills, Calif., Kawasaki 750 15. Jason Paden, Vacaville, Calif., Yamaha 250 16. Ray Yoder, Merrllville, Ind., Yamaha 1000 17. James Randolph, Santa Rosa, Calif., Suzuki 750 18. Shane Turpin, Salt Lake City, Utah, Ducati 955 19. Scott Zampach, West Bend, Wisc., Triumph 900 20. Joe Pittman, Oak Harbor, Wash., Kawasaki 750 21. Matt Wait, Lodi, Calif., Honda 600 22. Andy Deatherage, Cleveland, Ohio, Kawasaki 750 23. Michael Fitzpatrick, Columbia, Md., Yamaha 750 24. Clinton Whitehouse, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha 250 25. Brian Gibson, Holland, Mich., Honda 900 26. Todd Harrington, St. Charles, Ill., Kawasaki 750 27. Michael Sidwell, Winter Haven, Fla., Kawasaki 750 28. John Hilton, Dana Point, Calif., Honda 900 29. Sean Sidwell, Winter Haven, Fla., Kawasaki 750 30. James Wells, PAFB, Fla., Suzuki 750 31. Chris Taylor, Blacksburg, Va., Honda 900 32. Douglas Newhouse, Bakersfield, Calif., Honda 900 33. Fritz Kling, Lansing, Mich., Yamaha 1000 34. Benjamin Welch, San Diego, Calif., Yamaha 1000 35. David Sadowski, Jefferson, Ga., Honda 900 36. Paul Harrell, Canyon Country, Calif., Yamaha 750 Official Points Standings 1. Rich Oliver 70 (2 wins) 2. Tray Batey 62 3. Chuck Graves 60 4. Curtis Adams 54 5. David Stanton 51 6. Glenn Szarek 50 7. Peter Christensen 48 8. Roland Sands 43 9. Lance Holst 43 10. Mark Miller 40 11. Michael Barnes 38 12. Chris Voelker 36 13. Jason Fraser 31 14. Jeffrey Stern 31 15. Jason Paden 28 16. Fritz Kling 26 17. Ray Yoder 25 18. James Randolph 25 19. Chris Taylor 24 20. Scott Zampach 21 21. Matt Wait 18 22. Shane Turpin 17 23. Joe Pittman 16 24. Ben Welch 16 25. Doug Polen 15
1. Kevin Murray, Vista, Calif., Honda 125, avg. speed: 98.546 2. Masahiro Iizuka, Carrollton, Texas, Honda 125 3. Wesley Totsubo, La Mirada, Calif., Honda 125 4. Vicky Jackson-Bell, Laguna Niguel, Calif., Honda 125 5. Joji Tokumoto, Fallbrook, Calif., Honda 125 6. Chris Ulrich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Yamaha 125 7. Rolando Quintero, Los Angeles, Calif., Honda 125 8. Carlos Neves, San Francisco, Calif., Honda 125 9. Frank Pate, Carrollton, Texas, Honda 125 10. Joel Hermoso, Long Beach, Calif., Yamaha 125 11. Thomas Dorsey, Redwood City, Calif., Honda 125 12. Jeff Cardarelle, Vista, Calif., Honda 125 13. Nobi Iso, Tigard, Ore., Honda 125 14. Sharyn Namnath, Santa Barbara, Calif., Honda 125 15. Roland Sands, Paramount, Calif., Honda 125 16. John Ulrich, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Honda 125 17. Craig Avery, Livermore, Calif., Honda 125 18. Bruce Lind, Snohomish, Wash., Yamaha 125 19. Russell Tuck, Hermosa Beach, Calif., Honda 125 20. Evan Kay, San Francisco, Calif., Honda 125
1. Scott Zampach, West Bend, Wisc., Triumph 900, avg.speed: 98.491 2. Tripp Nobles, Macon, Ga., Triumph 900 3. David McGrath, Canton, N.C., Triumph 900 4. James Hanrahan, Northville, Mich., Triumph 900 5. Benjamin Welch, San Diego, Calif., Triumph 900 6. Lance Holst, Los Angeles, Calif., Triumph 900 7. Kevin Johnson, East Palo Alto, Calif., Triumph 900 8. William White, Lombard, Ill., Triumph 900 9. Rick Kirk, Claremore, Okla., Triumph 900 10. Michael Fitzpatrick, Columbia, Md., Triumph 900 11. Shawn Conrad, Brown Deer, Wisc., Triumph 900 12. John Scheehser, Chicopee, Mass., Triumph 900 13. Michael Gage, Peekskill, N.Y., Triumph 900 14. Roger Heemsbergen, Chandler, Ariz., Triumph 900 15. Devin Battley, Rockville, Md., Triumph 900