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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127386
eRGAD RACE AMA Circle Bell Pro Twins GPIIGP2 Championship:Round2
e
Winner Tripp Nobles (4) tak es a pee k at Ni gel Ga le (2) in the Twin Sport race.
Doug Polen (23) beat Jimmy Adamo (26) in the rain-sodden Pro T wins race.
Polen sloshes towin at Loudon
By Paul Carruthers
Photos by Henny Ray Abrams
LOUDON, NH, JUNE 1
6
a st By Ferracci 's Doug Polen
survived both the elements and the
persisten cy of Jimmy Ada mo to
keep his perfect Pro Twins GPI record
intac t with a vi cto ry a t the New
H am pshire International Speedway.
P ol en a n d Ad amo , aboard the
G ia.G a.Moto-backed Ducati , battled
th ro ughout th e ra ce, with Adamo
stalking, yet never leadi ng, the Texan.
In the end, Polen topped Ada mo by
less than half a second after the two
splashed their way around the 1.6-mile
race track for 40 miles. Third place in
GPI wen t to Nigel Gale aboard the
Bartel s ' H arley-D a vidson , w i th
Du ca ti-rnou nted Pabl o Real a n d ,
Warren Ell io tt ro undi ng o ut the to p
five finish ers.
T he GP2 portion of th e race was
won in impressive fashion by Polen 's
Fast By Ferracci teammate Stephen
Matthews. Matthews put the Ducati up
to th ird overall after starting in the
second wave. ' Robert ' Meister's Honda
was the second GP2 bike across the
line , ahead of Doug P hill ips' H onda .
The race got underway in a dri zzle
and on a wet trac k. With both Polen
and Adamo's Du catis fitted wi th full
rain tires, the pair shot ahead of the
field immedia tely. Bu t Polen wasn' t
going to leave Adamo beh ind. The
New York er p ut in a determ ined ride
to sta y in th e T exan 's shadow for the
en tire race , losing time in traffic, but
making it bac k up when the track in
front of him cleared. Polen tu rned lap s
iri the I:34s and I:33s ear ly on with
the pace q uicken ing to 1:31s la te in
the race.
Ada mo coul d n ' t get by at the flag,
F
I
10
and Polen won h is second successive
Pro T wins GPI event, ho ldi ng the
cham pio n shi p poin t le ad with a
perfect 40. Adamo, a non finis her at
Daytona, mo ved to th ird in th e standi n gs with 17 points, five b ehind
Elliott's 22.
Matthews, coming from the second
wave, was way out of the top 10 at
the end of first lap, but by lap three
he was up to fifth. On th e fourth lap
he was fourth and by the sixth la p he
was th ird and well dear of his
pursuers.
Matthews moved into a tie for fourth
in the standings with Daytona winner
Craig Sh ambau gh, who cras hed o ut of
today's race.
" This was my first time riding the
Du cat i in the rai n," Po len said after
. the race. " It was good to get th e
experience before we race the superbike
in the rain. The track was slick in
p laces, bu t it was slick for everybody."
Adamo had h is best ride of the young
season o n h is Du ca ti which now
feat ures an alu minum fram e: " Back
toward th e end, I go t stu ck in traffic, "
-Ada rno said. "Then th er e wasn't
enough time. It feels pretty good. I'm
happy we finished." Adamo thanked
sponsors Arai, F&L Fuel and Tsubaki.
It took Gale a moment lo nger to get
to the winner's circle after the race,
because he wasn 't sure he belo nged
there. " I did n 't th in k I'd done that
well ," the Harley-mounted rider said.
" We only decided to do this race at
the last minute."
CN
Results
P RO TWINS GPI: I. Doug Polen (Due);2. j immy
Adamo (Due); 3. Nigel Gale (H·D); 4. Pabl o Real
(Due); 5. warren Elliott (Due); 6. Devin Battley
(Due); 7. Gr