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/127739
Round. 7: Laguna Seca Raceway By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams and Kinney Jones MONTEREY, CA ,JUtY23 altzing Matilda was the song of the day at Laguna Seca Raceway, with Australians Anthony Gobert and Troy Corser swapping 1-2 finishes in the first-ever World Superbike Championship round on the picturesque Monterey Peninsula. The pair of young Aussies were simply dominant, with each taking a tum at one-upping the other in the two races. Race one was the better of the two with Muzzy Kawasaki's Gobert thwarting Corser's last-lap pass attempt to win his first race of the season by a scant 0.340 second. In the second of the two 29-lap races, Corser and his Promotor Ducati moved past his countryman much earlier, making it stick to eventually win by some six seconds. Making things even more enticing were the performances of t)\e two Smokin' Joe's Racing Honda RC45s - rid!=!? den stunningly in both races by Miguel ..." DuHamel and Mike Hale. The two AMA ~ regulars and World Superbike debutantes not only gave North American N race fans something to cheer for, but they also raised worldwide opinion of the counterpart AMA Superbike Series. the two Aus::s DuHamel battled withfirst race before tralians for most of the finally settling into a comfortable third place in the latter stages of the race. In the second leg, the French Canadian W .... ~ « 6 struggled to find traction but still finished an honorable fourth against the world's best. His place at the front in race two was upheld by his teammate Hale. The young Texan - after qualifying on the front rowwent straight to the front at the start of the second race and he led the World for three laps. Soon Corser and Gobert went through, but Hale was plenty good enough to finish third - taking a podium finish in a World Championship event in what was only his 11th career superbike outing. To say Hale made an impression on the World Superbike establishment would be an understatement. While World Champion Carl Fogarty departed Laguna Seca still shaking his head, it could have been much worse for the Brit. Despite never finding a setup he felt comfortable with, Fogarty managed to salvage fifth- and seventh-place finishes from the two races - and he actually stretched his championship points lead from 114 points to 116. If it is rare to gain points on your rivals by finishing fifth and seventh, it's even rarer that Castrol Honda's Aaron Slight leaves a race with only seven points to show for his efforts. For while Fogarty struggled to come to grips with Laguna Seca, his performance was dazzling when compared to his championship-rival Slight. The New Zealander (Above) Anthony Gobert and Troy Corser spent most of the American round of the World Superblke series together. The pelr of Australians spilt wins in the two races. (Left) Corser celebrates his race two victory at Laguna Sees with a stand-up wheel.. on the Promotor Ouest!.