Local hero Scott Zampach leads Tripp Nobles and Nigel Gale in the 1991 Road America Harley-Davidson 883 road race. Zampach went on to win the race. He edge Nobles that year for to win the championship. (Larry Lawrence photo)

The Harley-Davidson Twin Sports Series rolled home to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in June of 1991. Appropriately it was home state hero Scott Zampach, also known a the Z-Man, who won a hard-fought Twin Sports race over Georgian Tripp Nobles and former Twin Sports Champ Nigel Gale. It was the second win of the year for the Milwaukee racer who rode for Don Tilley. In the Twin Sports series points chase, Zampach closed to within two points of Nobles after Elkhart Lake. Z-Man went on to win the ’91 series by just four points over Nobles.

At the time Zampach was one of a new breed of Harley 883 racers. The Z-Man was a former AMA 600 Supersport Champion, and winner of numerous Suzuki National Cup Series races. Zampach, like many top-notch roadracers, joined the ranks of Harley Twin Sport competitors. According to Zampach, the reason many of the best up-and-coming racer switched to the series was money. Harley-Davidson dealers were starting the boom of the ‘90s and had plenty of money to support riders.

Tilley’s Harley-Davidson of Statesville, North Carolina was Zampach’s sponsor. That was a trend in the series. An enthusiast H-D shop backing a fast racer who didn’t necessarily live anywhere near the shop. Examples of that arrangement included Macon, Georgia’s Nobles being sponsored by Bartel’s Performance Products of Culver City, California and Chattanooga rider Kevin Rentzell backed by a Maryland dealer.

From the start at Road America that year it became a three-way battle between Zampach, Nobles and Gale. Zampach led most of the first three laps with Nobles and Gale swapping second back and forth. With two laps to go the two Bartel’s Harley-Davidson riders got around Zampach. The Z-Man stayed in the draft. On the final lap Zampach called on his ample experience at Road America to move into the lead on the back section of the course.

Normally being in front before heading on to the front straight is usually not a desirable position to be in on the 883’s. Fortunately for Zampach his Harley had just enough power to hold off Nobles by four-tenths of a second at the line. Gale was a very close third.

“I told those guys at Loudon that they might as well not think about winning at Elkhart,” said a jubilant Zampach. “This is my track and I really want to win this series so I can tell my grandkids about it someday.”