Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Former Competition Accessories Ducati Superbike rider Larry Pegram won an exhibition race put on by the SuperTT race series as part of the U.S. Hot Rod Monster Jam monster truck event at Edison Field in Anaheim, California on Saturday, January 12.

Pegram led his qualifying heat early on a White Brothers Honda CR450F prepared by Gary Jones, but Pegram was passed halfway through the heat by defending SuperTT Champion Rick Pearce when Pegram stalled his Honda in a slow, dirt-covered corner. Riding a modified Honda CR500, Pearce beat Pegram in the eight-lap heat. Pegram finished second, which resulted in a outside row one start for the main event.

Former 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz held the lead early in his heat race on a Yoshimura Suzuki DR-Z400 borrowed from American Suzuki’s test and development fleet. Schwantz’ highly-modified bike was attended to by no less than three current members of the Yoshimura Suzuki Superbike team including Jamie Hacking’s Crew Chief, Jerry Daggett.

Riding a Yamaha YZ426F that he had never seen before Saturday morning, Yamaha Superbike racer Anthony Gobert passed Schwantz on the inside of the quarter-mile track’s only dirt corner and went on to take the heat race win and pole position for the main event.

After two aborted starts, the 16-lap main event got underway in front of a small crowd of early-bird monster truck fans in the parking lot outside Edison Field. Pegram got the holeshot from the outside of row one and held the lead over the 16-entry field after one lap. Gobert and Schwantz quickly renewed their battle. Gobert and Schwantz banged bars through nearly every one of the track’s five turns and constantly challenged each other in full-lock-sideways braking battles for the hairpin at the end of the 70-mph back straight.

Near the halfway point of the race, Schwantz lost the front in the dirt turn while in second place in front of Gobert. Gobert momentarily ran up onto Schwantz’s Suzuki, pinning Schwantz underneath and allowing Pegram to extend his lead. Scuderia West’s Aaron Howe, riding a KTM 520, moved past the Gobert/Schwantz pile-up and into second, but Gobert quickly got around Schwantz and continued his race. Turning the fastest laps of the event, Gobert caught and passed Howe and closed in on Pegram, but Gobert ran out of time and had to settle for second place.

The SuperTT race at Edison Field in Anaheim, California drew many road racers. In addition to Pegram, Schwantz and Gobert, other competitors included Mark Miller, Roland Sands, Andre Castanos, Mark Foster and Jason Curtis. Nicky and Roger Lee Hayden also stopped by the event on their way to the Supercross race in San Diego later that same evening.

Miller won the Sportsman class heat race and final on a Honda CR500 with stock wheels and suspension. The Mini-Motard race, for 150cc four-stroke Singles, was won by Bob Cobb from Phelan, California on a Yamaha TT-R125 equipped with a RZ350 front wheel and brake system.

For more information on the SuperTT race series, go to www.supertt.com.