In 1990 Suzuki Katana 600s weren’t exactly competitive against the Honda CBR600, Yamaha FZR600s or even the Kawasaki Ninja 600 for that matter. The little Katana was just a tiny bit under-powered, especially on a steaming hot day like this, but Suzuki was paying good money in WERA National Endurance races so teams raced them. This photo shows Kevin Fardoux racing the T-Storm Racing Suzuki GSX600F at Heartland Topeka during a SBS/Kerker WERA National Endurance Series race. Fardoux teamed with Dave Vaupel and Tim Lester to finished fourth that day in the Mediumweight Production class. It was a Honda CBR600 which won the class (Honda of Niles), but you’ve got to give it up for the guys on the wheezing Katanas, who would lose 10 to 15 bike lengths on the straights and ride the wheels off in the turns just to try to keep pace.
Kevin Fardoux racing the T-Storm Racing Suzuki GSX600F at Heartland Topeka during a SBS/Kerker WERA National Endurance Series race in July of 1990. The little Katanas were a bit under-powered, but Suzuki was paying good contingency money so the bikes got raced. (Larry Lawrence photo)
Rider Files 
You’re right Larry and I remember that weekend and racing Dave Devaux on my FZR 600. I won that weekend but he raced me hard on that Katana!
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Now THAT was a memorable weekend. Where to start? How about packing 7 adults, and my 3 month old son into a suburban, and cramming my single axle enclosed trailer to the roof with our gear. How about 3 tire blowouts on the trailer (overloaded a bit?) just on the way down. How about temps hovering between 100-110 all weekend. Camping with a newborn, in dangerous thunderstorms, with tornados near by. Heck, the race by comparison was rather uneventful.
We were pretty proud of that finish, as we were woefully outgunned by all the other teams. All of these Kanatunas (we actually had an OEM look logo made saying just that, on the sides of the bike), were overweight and underpowered. Our bike had the added benefit of a fueling issue, which manifested itself only as you rolled on the throttle in fast corners. As you fed in the gas, it would start to drive out, and then….BOGGGGG….and then come in again like you dumped the clutch at 8k. It made for a lively ride, and if the heat wasn’t enough to burn you out, the mental stress of riding that bike sure did. I was honored to ride with those guys. They were a great bunch of people, and always made it about the fun, even when you’re baking in 110 degree heat!
BTW, they talk about Blackhawk and Grattan not being safe tracks? Topeka was the worst I’ve ever been on. There were at least 4 spots on the track where a concrete wall awaited you if you ran off, and there were hardly any haybales at this race. The things we do when we’re young and stupid…
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Wow, what a trip Kevin. Thanks for filling in the details.
I was looking at the black mark on the right sleeve of your leathers. Must have been some close racing somewhere in spite of being an endurance race.
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I wish I could blame that black mark on something as noble as tight racing. The truth is far more embarrassing (and therefore more entertaining). John Waite, former racer and WERA official, loaned me an XT500 to race for the 1990 season. I had pulled an all-nighter prepping it for it’s first race at Grattan, and arrived on Friday for an open practice. There were only a few other bikes circulating out there, so it should have been a low risk proposition.
We were running Nattarg, which I was never quite in tune with. I was running through turn 4 (counted from the normal direction) on my first lap out, and closing on another rider quickly. I figured I’d slip up the inside of him going into 3, but had my head been clearer, I would have known that my line would be closed by the time I got there. I realized my mistake a nanosecond before I plowed into the other rider, nearly taking him down, and high-siding me over the top of him. The impact was one of the hardest I’ve ever experienced, despite the relatively modest speed. The bike was bent so badly, that it wouldn’t roll, so I was stuck in the middle of the track, waving to my wife in the pits for help. It only took her about 10 minutes to realize that was me sitting out there!
So, here’s the fun part. As you know, I was the Riders School instructor in the NC region, and the rider I plowed into? A student from my last class. He came around on the next lap and stopped, apologizing profusely for taking me out, and begging me not to take his license. Tempting to place the blame on someone so willing to accept it, but mea culpa, I fessed up that I was the idiot in that situation. I’ve crashed at 130 mph, and didn’t do as much damage to my leathers and bike as that stupid crash. The great thing, was the entire right side of my leathers had very noticeable black marks, so all weekend, everybody had to ask what happened. “Yes, thank you, I’m an idiot…..yes, I crashed into my student, thank you…..no, I’m fine thanks, just brainless….” Now that was a looooong weekend!
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Hee, hee, hee! Good on you Kevin for owning up and taking the blame. Hey, at least your students knew then that you were straight up and what you told them in class was true.
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