Edwards Seeks Superbike Edge at Laguna Seca

U.S. motorcycle riders have won five of the seven world Superbike championships since the formation of the series in 1988, so it seemed logical to have one round of the 12-race series in this country.

What happened?

The 1993 champion, Scott Russell of Macon, Ga., switched to Grand Prix bikes in midseason. The 1991-92 champion, Doug Polen of Denton, Tex., was dropped by the Honda team, and Fred Merkel, the 1988-89 champion from Stockton, tired of racing around the world and came home to compete in the national Superbike series.

That left Colin Edwards II, a 21-year-old rookie rider from Conroe, Tex., as the lone American in the world Superbike series. Round 7 is Sunday at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey.

Edwards, saddled with an underpowered four-stroke Yamaha against the quicker Ducatis and Hondas, is 10th. His best finishes have been a third and fifth at Monza and fifth at Hockenheim, Germany. Two races, scored separately, are held at each event.

“I expected more of myself, but things have probably been happening the way they should happen,” Edwards said during a stopover in Los Angeles. “We don’t have the best bike or the best tires, but as a team we’re all learning together.

“I’m looking forward to Laguna Seca because I’ve raced there three times and this should give me a bit of advantage over the foreign riders, but truthfully, the track is made for the Ducatis. It’s a fun track, tricky in places, but acceleration is more important than horsepower and that’s where the Ducatis shine.”

Ducati riders, who have the advantage of a lighter twin-cylinder machine, claim five of the first six positions after six races, headed by defending world champion Carl Fogarty of Great Britain. Aaron Slight of New Zealand, on a four-cylinder Honda, is a distant second behind Fogarty, with Troy Corser of Australia and three Italians next, all on Ducatis.

Edwards finished third in an American Motorcyclist Assn. 250cc road race at Laguna Seca in 1992, the year he won the national championship. In 1993, he finished fourth in a national Superbike race behind Russell, Polen and Miguel Duhamel of Canada. Last year, in a similar race, he crashed.

“It was quite an awakening when I went to my first world Superbike race,” Edwards said. “I couldn’t believe how quickly they got up to speed. In the AMA, riders take it easy in the first [practice] session and work their way up to speed, but not these guys. They’re all hauling as soon as they hit the track.”

In addition to the regular riders on the world circuit, about a dozen others from the AMA series will fill out the field. Among them is Freddie Spencer, a former world Grand Prix champion from Shreveport, La., who has switched to Superbikes.

After winning three of the last four AMA Superbike races last year, Edwards planned to run another season with the Vance & Hines Yamaha team before he received a call from the Yamaha factory to ride the world circuit.

“I knew I was pretty young, but I wanted to get my foot in the door, learn the European tracks and get some experience, so I accepted their offer,” he said. “Down the road, I want to ride a 500cc Grand Prix bike, hopefully for Wayne Rainey, but in the meantime I can learn a lot on a Superbike.”

Superbike racing, which began in the United States in the late 1970s, is a spinoff from Grand Prix racing. The difference is that the GPs are prototypes, built solely for racing, while the Superbikes are modified versions of high-performance street machines. They are heavier than GP bikes and do not corner or accelerate as well, but from the grandstands it’s difficult to tell one from the other.

Laguna Seca was host to the U.S. round of the world GP series from 1988 to 1994, but this year switched to Superbikes. There will be no GP in the United States this year.

Several motorcycle publications have reported that Edwards tested a GP bike in Europe, but the slender Texan insists that it is not true.

“I visited Kenny [Roberts] and Rainey at their place in Spain, but I never put a leg up on a Grand Prix bike,” Edwards said. “One of these days I hope to, but for now I’m going to give 150% to the race Sunday in Laguna Seca.”

Motor Racing Notes

MIDGETS--Billy Boat will be going for a record eighth consecutive victory Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway in the U.S. Auto Club’s western regional race. Boat’s seventh victory last week at Ventura tied him with A.J. Foyt and Bill Vukovich III in all-time USAC main event victories in a row. It also gave the Phoenix driver a 76-point lead over veteran Hank Butcher of San Leandro, Calif.

STOCK CARS--Cajon Speedway will hold double points races Saturday night as part of its Winston Racing Series schedule. . . . Ventura Raceway will feature the Coors Light series Friday night with street, pony and mini-stocks.

POWERBOATS--Chip Hanauer returned after a two-race absence to drive Miss Budweiser to victory in the Texas Hydrofest unlimited hydroplane race last Sunday at Lewisville Lake. The win thwarted the hopes of Mark Tate, in Smokin’ Joe’s, of winning his third race in a row in the Hooters series. Tate finished second to retain the driver’s lead after six of 10 races.

MISCELLANY--Open wheel IMCA cars will race Saturday night at Ventura Raceway, sharing the program with California Legend cars and pony stocks. . . . The Vintage Auto Racing Assn. will bring road racing back to the Pomona Fairgrounds this weekend, but the event is not open to spectators. . . . Speedway bikes will race Friday night at Glen Helen Speedway in San Bernardino and Saturday night at Speedway USA in Victorville along with Harley-Davidson street machines.