Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

closer than I thought they wer e," Smith conceded. "Miguel had just pulled out a little. He was just riding better today." For Ste vens, th e trip to victory lane was especially sweet after a trying 1995 cam paign aboard the Yosh imu ra Suzuki. "It's really good to be bac k in th e w inner' s ci rcl e," the n at ive Flo ridian said . "Last yea r was really tough. I think we 're ba ck and I thin k the Kink o ' s Kaw asaki 's working real good. We just ne ed to work a little bit h arder so w e can win one of th ese things ins tead of finishing thi rd . This is the start of a new beginning for me." DuHamel, the career leader in 600cc Sup e r sport w ins w ith 24, le ad s th e championship tabl e with 36 points (he was awarded an extra point for leadin g the mo st lap s) after the first of 10 races . Smith is second at 32, with Stevens third with 30. Fiv e rid ers co n tested fifth over th e four-lap d istance, with Erion Racing's Doug T ol and takin g th e s p o t in his AMA d ebut for th e H onda -equipped team in his first 600cc Supersport race in fiv e y ea rs . N e xt w a s Sm okin ' Joe ' s Honda's Steve Crevier, also in his AMA d ebut for a n ew team, and not h appy with his race pe rforma nce, H onda Austria's Ch risti an Zwedom was seventh, thinking w ron gly that the two race finishes would be com bine d , and jus t a hea d of Mo to Libe r ty ' s Hond a -mounted t e a m mates, Jamie Bowman and Gerald Rothman Jr. Ben Bostrom co m p le te d th e top 10 in his inaugural rid e aboard the Zero Gravity Honda. What there is to re port on the first p art of the race up to the red flag is th at DuH amel was virtually untouchable. Afte r qualifying on the pole with a lap of 1:57.393, well ahead of second-fastest Br ig u e t ' s 1:58 .6 18, DuHamel was u nquestionably the man to beat and, on this day, no one would . On his first flying lap he ran an unofficia l lap 1:58.10, a ti m e none co u ld m a tch in qu ali fyin g . Ru n nin g at that p a ce and b etter, DuHamel clicked off the la p s, build ing up a se co n d a lap righ t up to the red flag . "That was the plan, to get out front and try to m a ke a br eak for it," DuHamel said. "We had a good cushion on them for the whole weekend, or two weeks now. We felt pretty confident we could d o that so I w ent out there and pulled the lead up to 10 seconds and was just cruising around. I could see that Mike Smith and Yves Briguet w ere ha ving a good battle ba ck there (for sec.ond and third)." . That was the pair fighting for second, neither holding much of an edge, their personal battl e taking them well clear of th e lonel y Stevens in fourth . Stevens, who'd qualified on the fourth row, had blazed through the field and b roken free o f Christian Zw edorn, Steve Cr evi er, and Jamie Bowman on the 14th lap only to see the red flag fly a lap later when Nel son Cardoso crashed in tum on e. The restart was nearly a replay of the earlier race, though DuHamel took a lap to get to th e front before clearing out posthaste. Stevens wa s able to take advantage of the renewed Smith-Briguet duel to join the fight for the final podium spots. Smith led the fina l lap wi th . Bri guet d ivi ng p ast iri tu rn one, w ith Stev ens a close ' th ird . The ord er rema ined unchan ged for the ru n to and through th e ch ican e, and th at' s w he n th e drafting began to count. "Fortuna tely for me, Briguet caught up to Mi ke because Mike' s b ik e was running real well," Stevens said. "They w e re runn ing rea l well . They s tarte d (Right) Miguel DuHamel wa s simply dominant at Daytona. Now he has to walt to see If his victory will withstand a protest filed by the Muzzy Kawasaki team. (Left) Mike Smith (68) and Yves Brlguet (87) battled th rou gh out the first part of the red-flag interrupted race. In the end it was Smith finishing second with Steve ns third and Briguet fourth. racing and that slowed them down a little bit. That allowed me to catch up . At that point it wa s a tw o-man draft (with Smith) and 1 figured that wa s thebest 1 was gonna get. Mike had a littl e bit of steam, both of them were rid ing good and I just snu ck in ther e for third." After getting nudged back to fourth, Briguet agreed with Stevens view of the race. " I think w e h eld each other up some so that the number -t w o b ik e (Stevens ) was able to move in. It w as close at the end, but when tw o bik es work together' agains t one the rider on the lone bike is at a definite disadvantage." As for Briguet's strategy, th e Sw iss rider felt hamstrun g. "I had no ch oice but to pa ss Mike Smith on the fina l lap. I knew I would pave trouble holding him off if 1 was in front. We were about the same on all the track. " As close as the fight for second was, the spat over fifth was even closer . Four rid ers moved back and fourth in a pack, the final run to the flag from the chica ne again d eter min in g the finishing order. Former World Endura nce Ch am p ion Toland go t the nod , wi th Crev ier sixth, then Zw edom and Bowman. "Of course, I wouId really like to be ' w here th o se o ther three guys (Du Hamel, Smith, Stevens ) are right now, but I'm h appy,". Toland 'sai d . "It' s all in th e st art , If yo u can get a good start on the first lap, you can en d u p wi th a good finis h." " On the restart 1 got caught up in a lot of traffic," Crevier said. "But 1 think 1 wou ld h a ve finish ed abou t th e sa me p lace eith er w ay . Th e bik e is running well . I'm just not real sa tisfied wi th the way 1 rode." (::\ Dayt ona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Results: March 10-16, 1996 P RO HO NDA OI LS 600cc S UPERS PORT Q UALIFYING, 1. Migu el Du Ha mel (1:57.393); 2. Yves Bnguet (1:58.618); 3. Steve Crevier (1:58.945); 4. Doug To land (1.s9 .465); 5. Owen Wrichel (1.s9.6-l2); 6. Ken Me lvill e (1 :59.758); 7. Ja mie Bow man (1:59. 918 ); 8. Jason Fraser (2:00.064); 9. Mike Sm ith (2:00.148); 10. Jason Prid more (2 :00.150); 11. Thor v al d Sa eby (2 ,00 .272); 12. Eric Wood (2:00 .471); 13 . Geral d Roth man Jr . (2:00 .475) ; H . Ch ri s tia n Zwedo r n (2:00 .559); 15. Ben Bostrom (2:00 .684); 16. Tho mas Stevens (2:00 .759) ; 17. M ich a e l Luke.(2:00.992); 18 . Jam es Bronson (2:01.406); 19. Ma tt Wait (2:01.459); 20. Brian Pa rriott (2:01.523); 21. Je ff Willi ams (2:01.824); 22. Kevin Rentzell (2:02.045); 23. Jan Hanson (2:02.801); 24. Jim Les ter (2;03.265); 25. Sha ne Cla rke (2:O3:673); 26. Dusti n Spe rb e r (2:03 .772); 27 . Aki ha ru Shigeno (2:03.990); 28. Nelson Ca rdoso (2:04.101); 29. Mat hew Gu ide ra (2:04.108); 30. Mic ha el Co nlon Jr. (2:04.444); 3 1. N igel Ro b in s on (2:04.519); 32. Jo h n Sc heehser (2 ;04.588); 33 . C hris t op h e r Ran kin (2 ;04 .620 ); 34 . Reu ben Fra nk en fie ld. (2:0 4. 688 ); 35 . Barry He n son (2 :04 .7 19); 36 . Rich a r d Gloc k (2 :05 .04 5) ; 37 . Ro b M a th e ws (2:05.385); 38. r a t Moon e y (2:05 .557); 39 . Monte Nicho ls (2:05.716); 40. Sea n Go ff (2:05.818); 41. Rich Th orw aldson (2:05.843); 42. Erik Sch na cke nberg (2,05.995) ; 43. Jeffr ey Curti s (2 :06.069); 44 . Mike Cald er on (2:06.171); 45. Eric Krupp (2:06.205); 46. Ty Howard (2:06.351); 47. Dan Fisch er (2:06.754); 48. John Blesse d (2:06.808 ); 49. Micah Stev enson (2:06.832); SO . Ku rt Mill er (2:07.271); Sl. Rkk Maron (2:07.296 ); 52. Sco tt Landis (2:07.399); 53. Jean -Pau l Tache (2;07.434); 5 4 . Ste v e Blackburn (2 :07 .464 ); 55 . Roman Frias (2:07.532); 56. Jami e Worthington (2:07.555); 57. Victor Brag a (2:07 .571); 58. Roy Richardson (2:0 7.779); 59. C a r lo s Fa b ian (2 :08 .047); 60 . David M c Ph e r s o n (1: 08.069); 61. Josh Graham (2:08.097); 62. John 5ch roht " (2 ;08 .152); 63. Egon H esse Lantigu a (2 ,08 .757); 64 . Harold Wmkl es (2:08.765); 65. Rod Borsch e (2.'09.243); 66 . Ez zo Ferra ra (2:09 .473 ); 67. Gordon Lu nde Jr . (2:09.616); 68. Kevi n Ca rlin (2:11.678); 69. Rob Lewis (2 :12 .90 4); 70. H arold H ;IIard (2 :13 .140) ; 71. Kurt Ma rm or (2:13.553); 72. Ru sse ll Sampson (2:14.517); 73. Sh a wn Blac kburn (2:16.891) ; 74. M a rshall Dunaway (2;19.432). . PRO HONDA OILS 600cc SUPERSPORT, 1. M ig u e l D u H am e l (Ho n) ; 2. Mi k e Sm it h (Kaw); 3. Thomas Stevens (Kaw); 4. Yves Briguet (Hon ); 5. Dou g To la n d (Hon); 6. Steve Crevie r (Hon) ; 7. Christian Zwedorn (Han); 8. Ja m ie Bow ma n (Han); 9. Geral d Rothman Jr . (Han); 10. Ben Bostrom (Han); 11. Matt Wait (Han); 12. Eri c Wood (Kaw); 13 . Je ff Witliams (Hon) ; 14. Jason Pridmore (Ka w ); 15 . Ch ris topher Ra nk in (Kaw); 16. Th omas Monta no (Ho n) ; 17. Ro b Ma th e w s (Ka w) ; 18. Jim Les ter (Hon) ; 19. Matthew Guidera (Hon ); ZO. Shane Cla rke (Kaw); 21. Scott Land is (Kaw) ; 22. Richard Glock (Hon); 23. John BIes S«! (Ka w); 24. j ean-Pau l Tache (Hon); 25. Josh Grah am (Kaw); 26. Rich Tho rwaldson (Hon); '17 Gordon Lunde Jr. (Kaw) ; • . 28. Pat Mooney (}(aw) ; 29. Harold Winkles (Ho n); 30. Rod Borsche (Hon); 31. Jami e worthington (Hon ); 32. Rick Maron (Kaw); 33. Jon Schroht (Hon); 34. Mi ke Calde ron (Hon); 35. David McPherson (Kaw); 36. Barry Henso n (Kaw); 37. Russell Sa mpson (Kawj: 38. Eric Schnacke nbe rg (Hon); 39. Nelson Cardoso (Han); 40. Micha el Conl on Jr. (Hon); 41. Ken Mel ville (Hon); 42. Ja me s Bronson (Kaw); 43 . Du s tin Sperber (Ho n) ; 44 -, Owen Weichel (Kaw). Time: N I A due to red flag Distance: 18 laps. 64.1 mil es . Ave rag e speed: Nt A d ue to red flag M.trgin of victory: 3.654 sec. PRO HONDA O ILS 600 « SU P ERS P O Rl' CH AM PIO N SH IP PO INT ST AN DI N G S (Af te r one of 10 races): 1. 1. Mi gue l DuHamel (36/1 win ); 2. Mike Smith (32); 3. Thomas Stev ens (30); 4. Yve s Brigwet (28); 5. Doug Toland (26); 6. Stev e Crevier (25); 7. Christian Zwe dorn (24'); 8. Jami e Bo wm an (2 3); 9. Gera ld Rothman Jr . (22); 10. Ben Bostro m (21); 11. Matt W ait (20); 12. Eric Wood (19); 13. jdfWilIiam s (18); 14. Jason Pridmore (17); 15. Christo pher Rankin (16); 16. Thomas Montano (15); 17. Rob Mathe ws (14); 18. Jim Lester (13); 19. Matthe w Guidera (12); 20. Sha ne Cla rke (11 ); 21. Sco tt Land is (10 ); 22 . Ric hard Glock (9 ); 23 . John Blessed (8); 24. Jean-Paul Tache (7); 25. Josh Graham (6); 26. Rich Th orw aldson (5); 27. Gordon Lu nd e Jr. (4); 28. Pat Mooney (3); 29. Harold Winkles (2); 30. Rod Borsche (I); Upcoming rounds: , Round 2 • Pomona, Califomla, April 21 Round 3 - Monterey, Califomla, April 28

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