Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127588
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AM=A/CCS Harle -Davidson TwinS
The rid ers took the gri d under dark
but slowly clearing sk ies. Turkington
served notice immediately that he was
very serious by getting a great start,
almost jumping the gun as he launched
from the second row and holeshot the
entire field . He powered into Brainerd's
turn one, but So hwa and his Muzzy
Kawasaki drafted ahead to lead the pack
into tum two, the second of Brainerd's
very high-speed comers.
Pridmore took the lead on lap five,
drafting by the leaders, but he knew he
wouldn't be able to hold it . "I'm on a
year-old bike where these other guys are
on new equipment. Jake, my mechanic,
checked my compression the other day
and it's so low, it's almost embarrassing."
Sohwa had smoked by into the lead
by the race's halfway point and he tried
his best to br ea k the d raft by weaving
down the front st ra ig h t. Fritz Kling,
Prid more' s teammat e, work ed the pack
ha rd on the brakes in each comer, inching his way to the front. Rothman drafted to the front go ing into turn one onl y
- to be passed by Tu rkington, who would
hold the lead un til the checkers .
Rothm an lost the draft by lap 13 and
faded to an even tua l fifth-p lace fin ish.
Kling continued to att ack on the brakes,
going by Sohwa in turn 10 only to be
passed on the straight. Tu rkington came
u p on so me ba ckmar ker s and pitsid e
pund its thou ght he migh t run into p roblems negotiating traffic. It was not to be
as he was balked only fo r a m oment
before blasting to victory.
.
The pa ck behind Turkington began
to s tri ng out as t h e la ps ran d own.
So h w a knew i t w as tim e to make a
move, and he tr ied valia ntly to o u tbrake his way forward. Pridmore realized this and on the final lap he braked
ea rly in the fin al corn er to d eceive
Sohwa. Sohw a braked, too, squaring the
comer off, but Pridmore swung wide to
fend off the Japanese rider to the line to
take second.
" My lap times were all ver y close,
very consisten t. I knew I had to mak e a
break and I did. Traffic wasn 't really a
problem," said winner Turkingto n.
And what of the 750cc Su p ersport
champ ions hip that he now com ma nds
by a 22-point margin ? " I wasn 't reall y
thin king o f any cha mp io ns hi p, w ell,
may be on the last la p b ut not before
that. I have always wo n races, never
really won a cham pionship an d winning
races is what fuels me. I guess once I d o
win a cha mpionship that'll change."
Prid mo re cut the fas tes t la p of the
race on lap th ree, a 1:45.66, but once he
lost the d raft for a moment his fate was
sea led. "I wan ted to win th is one again
like I had last yea r, bu t my bike is just
too slow. Maybe Mid -Ohio ."
When third place finisher Sohwa was
asked in the w inner's circle by announcer Richard Cha mbers if he thought Jason
Pridmore was a masterful rid er on the
brakes he sai d, wi th a h int of a nger in
his voice, "No!" Prid more bea med.
COl
Res ults
7SOccS5 ANAL: 1. Britt Turkington (Suz); 2. Jason
Pridmore (Kaw); 3. Takahiro Soh wa (Kaw); 4. Fritz
Kling (Ka w); 5. Ge ral d Rot hman Jr. (5uz); 6. James
Leslie (Suz) ; 7. Jam es Rand o lp h (5uz); 8. Ma rk McDaniel
(Suz); 9. Ray Yode r Jr. (Suz); 10. Michael Ruehle (Kaw) ;
I I. Shawn Higbee (Kaw); 12. Dea n Mi zd al (Ka w); 13.
Anthony Lu po (Suz); 14. Robert Meister (Suz); IS. Dave
Rosno (Ho n); 16. James Mil roy Jr. (5uz); 17. Hika r u
Miy agi (Hen ): 18. Roger Hen d ricks (5uz) ; 19. Ard en
Friesen (Yam ); 20. Keith Dier kes (K.1.w)
Ti me: 28 m in .•38.483 sec .
Distance : 16 lap s, 48 mil es .
Ave rage Speed: 100.420 mph,
Ma rg in of Victo ry: 0.685 sec.
75O