Winchester Rifles to the Front

Texan Wesley Winchester (No. 27) leads the field going into turn one on his Suzuki GSXR750 at the start of the WERA B Superbike final during the 1987 Grand National Final at Road Atlanta. Winchester’s Suzuki was at a bit of a disadvantage in the Superbike race since it was essentially a production bike with a pipe. Kurt Hall (No. 2) quickly took over the lead on the Human Race Team Yamaha FZR750, chased by Greg Tysor (No. 67), whose Suzuki GSXR750 was mounted with Continental TKV DOT-approved tires. Kevin Rentzell, who stalled on the start, charged through the field to win the race over Hall. Bruce Nield, racing an ex-Doug Chandler Honda VF750 Superbike, took third, ahead of Winchester and Jeff Harder, who rounded out the top five.  Tysor, who finished second on the track, was docked a lap for doing a drag-race style burnout on the starting grid.

Texan Wesley Winchester (No. 27) leads the field going into turn one on his Suzuki GSXR750 at the start of the WERA B Superbike final during the 1987 Grand National Final at Road Atlanta. Also visible in this photo are Kurt Hall (No. 2), Jeff Harder (No. 105), Graham James and Eric Moe (directly behind Harder), Tony Rauseo (No. 607), Greg Tysor (No. 67), Cam Roos (No. 312), Fritz Kling (behind Roos) and Robby Braunscheidel (No. 261). Kevin Rentzell stalled his bike at the start, but charged through the field to win. (Larry Lawrence photo)

Texan Wesley Winchester (No. 27) leads the field going into turn one on his Suzuki GSXR750 at the start of the WERA B Superbike final during the 1987 Grand National Final at Road Atlanta. Also visible in this photo are Kurt Hall (No. 2), Jeff Harder (No. 105), Graham James and Eric Moe (directly behind Harder), Tony Rauseo (No. 607), Greg Tysor (No. 67), Cam Roos (No. 312), Fritz Kling (behind Roos) and Robby Braunscheidel (No. 261). Kevin Rentzell stalled his bike at the start, but charged through the field to win. (Larry Lawrence photo)