Wet Mix at Mid-O

• Larry Lawrence
Wes Cooley leads the pack at a wet Mid-Ohio in 1984. (Larry Lawrence photo)

On a wet, and very slick Mid-Ohio, Wes Cooley, riding a Honda RS500 GP bike, leads Randy Renfrow (96) on another RS, Jimmy Adamo (26) on a Cagiva, Doug Chandler (10) on a Honda V-Four Superbike, Rich Oliver (27) on an old-school un-faired Kawasaki Superbike, Sam McDonald (29), Ricky Orlando (12) and Terry Hampton (72), all riding Honda VF750 Superbikes. (Larry Lawrence photo)

In the last couple of years of AMA Formula One during the mid-1980s, a lot of Superbike riders entered in this class to double dip, so to speak, to make a little extra purse money. It was cool to see GP bikes mixing it up with Superbikes. At times the Superbike guys did surprisingly well against the F1 machines.

I found this unidentified 3×5 print in an old shoe box. I believe this is a photo from the AMA Formula One race at Mid-Ohio in 1984 showing the mix of GP and Superbike machines.

6 thoughts on “Wet Mix at Mid-O”

  2. Don’t forget #77 (upper left hand corner), Bubba Shobert, who went on to win this, his first AMA National road race against all the other professional road racers.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Didn’t both Doug & Bubba win wet races on Honda V-4’s at Mid-Ohio? I was thinking that both got their ‘Grand-Slam’s’ there.

    Brian, did Bubba win both the F-1 race and the Superbike race that weekend, or am I remembering all of this wrong?

    Like

    Reply

  4. Wayne, from the looks of that bike, i would say yes, for sure. You can tell by the silver outline. Maybe Larry has some official word. Seeing the 26 & the 96 side by side like this raises the hair on my head, i have to say. Wow….

    Like

    Reply

  6. My first GNF was 84, was entered in F1 because I qualified, with no chance of doing well. I believe the 2nd lap I came around the last right hander leading to the back straightaway and there”s Jimmy mis-shifting the 500 Cagiva. I”m approaching on my GPZ 750 and can see the two stroke puff”s of smoke for every shift Jimmy tried, 3 or 4 times, just as I get alongside him he gets that sucker in gear and just rockets away. I will never forget that acceleration. A tip of the old helmet to all that raced those 2 stroke screamers.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment