It started with a casual comment at the dinner table sometime in 1992. Nick Ienatsch was our guest that evening and somehow the subject of racing came up (imagine that). Nick had almost won the AMA 250 GP championship in 1991. But a late season crash while leading the series dashed his hopes for that number one plate. The aftertaste of a victory almost-at-hand was still on his tongue. And the lack of a sponsor and inability to contest the 1992 season still stuck in his craw.

"I’m an opportunity waiting to happen", he volunteered, apropos to nothing in particular. "Excuse me?", I said hoping I wouldn’t be expected to know what he was talking about. "Well, you know. I have a shot at the 250 championship...and I write about it in the largest all-streetbike magazine in the country..." "Hmm. You’ve got a point there", I say, feeling relieved that, not only do I have a grasp what he’s saying but understand the implications for a company willing to step up to the plate. "Man, I wish we could get involved in racing at that level. We’ve sponsored a number of teams on the national level with product. Maybe one day we could make the leap." "Maybe...", he said.

Be careful what you wish for...Wouldn’t you know. Nick and Steve Biganski went gunning for the title again in 1993. Yamaha had loaned them a TZ250, Laguna Seca was history, and Road Atlanta loomed ahead. And their entire race budget was spent. "Hey, we’re racers, not business men". In the meantime I’ve filed away the idea of our own roadrace team, bringing it out occasionally to give it a good mental massage. "Hey Nick", I say (we’re at dinner again). "Why don’t we start a road race team and call it Team Zero Gravity? We’ll get you through the rest of the season on a low key basis and see if it’s something we can handle." "Okay", came his unexpected reply. After all, I was just kidding. Right? Wrong. Next day I’m on the phone lining up chain, bodywork and airline tickets. My first race as a team manager was the Road Atlanta round of the 1993 AMA Superbike series. Hot and muggy, the Atlanta air was charged with race gas fumes and new possibilities. We’d bummed a ride for our bike and gear with Fastline Racing. And we’re a road race team! Team Zero Gravity. Let’s just get through this year and see if we can hang...

Zero Gravity Race Team 1993

 

New beginnings...our inaugural run was not to be a podium event. Jimmy Filice was to dominate, of course, our bike a bit sluggish with the jetting not quite there. Road Atlanta, lush and green, heavy with moist, hot air, earth the color of terra cotta--a perfect environment to initiate a new race team manager. I’d never heard the term "E-brake". But as the rental car spun seemingly out of control, me in the back seat thinking we’re all gonna die, Nick and Steve laughing their asses off...as Nick would say,"This is livin’".

I stayed home for the next three races, after all, our company was only in its fourth year and in need of constant attention. We bummed more rides for our equipment, Nick and Steve flying to the races. And an occasional local helper would help flesh out the team rostrum. Nick fought his way from fifth to third by the last race of the season. Sears Point was crucial. Can we hang on to third place? It was not a cinch by any means. But Nick road brilliantly finishing on the podium to clinch the national number three plate. We were ecstatic! And I was hooked. Hey, we need a new tent, and a better paint job for our bikes...and graphics. 1994 here we come.

Results:

Zero Gravity Race Team 1994

We’re beginning to look like a real race team. Shirts, caps, tent, "bold new graphics". And it looks like we may add a second rider. Chris Taylor had shown promise on the Southwest Motor Sports team for 1993. At 18 he looked to be following in the footsteps of Colin Edwards. Unfortunately, by the second race (Phoenix) he decided he wanted a team that wasn’t quite so "grass roots". So he moved on to Dutchman Racing. Such are the growing pains of a new team.

The season started off slow, Nick finishing sixth at Daytona, fifth at both Phoenix and Pomona and then fourth at Laguna Seca. But hey, we’re in third place in the points and only three points away from Chuck Sorensen then in second! Things aren’t all bad. In fact, we’re gunning for second! And for the next three races we finished on the podium, 2nd at Mid-Ohio, 2nd at Brainerd and 3rd at Sears Point. We’re pushing but we can’t seem to pass Sorensen in the points. He just seems to get faster each race. We’re down to the last race. Road Atlanta. If we finish ahead of Sorensen by two positions, we have second place for the season. But it wasn’t to be. Chuck ran a flawless race and finished 2nd to Nick’s 5th, Nick ending the season in 3rd behind team mates Rich Oliver and Chuck Sorensen (1st and 2nd respectively).

We gave it our best and came within points of second. It was a great season and we’d made a name for ourselves in racing. Nick wrote articles in the August and December ‘94 issues of Sport Rider Magazine. Now It’s time to plan for ‘95. More power, lighter components, more sponsorship...

Results:

Zero Gravity Race Team 1995

Sponsors seem to be more interested in us for some reason. Our biggest sponsor (besides Dunlop and Yamaha’s back-door help) was now Splitfire Sparkplugs. They’re riding high with success in Supercross, Drag Racing and now Road Racing. We’re featured in their magazine ads each month in several different publications. Hey, this is cool. Now where were we? Oh yes, racing...

In a press release dated February 27, 1995 Zero Gravity announced the signing of Nick Ienatsch to again contest the AMA 250 Grand Prix. As a footnote, the press release noted, "The team will unveil at the Daytona Race Zero Gravity’s new "Double Bubble" windscreen, an unusual looking windscreen designed to reduce frontal mass while providing enhanced aerodynamic flow over the rider’s helmet and shoulders." It must have worked because Nick’s trap speeds (160 mph) were fastest in the class. He finished fourth narrowly missing a trip to the podium. Pomona was even better with a second place finish.

The real excitement started at Laguna Seca. Nick crashed in turn 3 of the warm up lap! Somehow Nick and Steve were able to get the bike back to the pits and take advantage of a 20 minute rain delay. A half dozen mechanics and friends pitched in to repair the bike and we were back on the grid at the re-start of the race. And, incredibly, Nick finished on the podium in third place! What a high! Next three race finishes were 5th, 4th and 3rd at Mid Ohio, Road America, and Louden, respectively. And we’re in second place in front of Sorensen by 14 points.

After a 4th place finish at Brainerd, the real surprise came at the St. Louis round. A showdown between Jimmy Filice (entering competition late in the season) and Rich Oliver netted an Oliver crash in about the seventh lap of the race! And Nick’s fourth podium finish of the season (3rd place behind Filice and Sorensen’s, 1st and 2nd) put us well within striking distance of first place! But wait. Oliver received 15 points for that race even though he crashed! It seems there were fewer than usual entries and several crashes. And as luck would have it, Oliver was able to take advantage of the AMA point system. As it turned out, it wouldn’t have mattered. The last round, Sears Point, Oliver ran a flawless race and won easily. And Nick rode well enough to finish second in the points. What a year! Is a championship next...? 

Results:

Zero Gravity Race Team 1996

Ienatsch is now at a crossroad. We had fought hard in 1995 and came short of the championship. Nick’s position as top editor at Sport Rider Magazine had suffered because of the demands of racing. And Rich Oliver seemed unbeatable. Nick felt that if we had no chance at the championship then he should sit out the year and get his private and business life back in order. That left Team Zero Gravity without a rider.

They say nature abhors a vacuum. Next thing I know I receive a call from Martin Adams, owner of Commonwealth Racing and spokesman for the new Smokin’ Joe’s Honda racing team. We talk about sponsorship among other things. And then he adds, "We’ve got this new kid we’d like to develop but don’t have room for him on our team. Honda gave him a couple of bikes but I don’t see how he’s going to be able to race the full season." "Well," I say, putting two and two together, "we seem to be a team without a rider...And you’ve got a rider without a team..." "Uh-huh". A meeting was set up that same day with Honda’s Ray Plumb, Ben Bostrom and myself. We came to terms and started work the next day. Biganski was not interested in racing "street bikes" so the hunt was on for a new tuner.

For a while it was "the Ben and Glenn Show". We participated in several test sessions before the first race at Daytona and quite often found ourselves (Ben and me) doing most of the work. We tried out different tuners at each test in what I called "working interviews". And Ben spent countless hours setting up the second bike (the first had been set up by Honda the year before for John Kocinski to ride one race at Daytona. It sat out the season after that). Hiring a tuner is a tough proposition. It’s a marriage of personalities between rider and tuner. And it has to be right for things to work. Fortunately our "working interview" at Daytona paid off in the form of Mark Lucas, then ending his stint at Chafong racing. The race went okay considering Ben crashed in the rain and the entire event was postponed for a week due to monsoon conditions. Ben settled for 10th place as we re-grouped for the next race--and rest of the season.

Results - 600 Supersport: