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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127832
ROAD RACE SUNOCO RACE FUELS FORMULA USA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Pridmore didn't know he was going to ride until the Thursday before the race he didn't feel entirely comfortable with the risk associated in trying to run Adams down and so he settled into a lonely second after the restart of the redflag-interrupted first race and ran in the runner-up spot for the dura tion of the second. Before the red flag in the first race, Graves' Motorsports' Chuck Graves looked to have a solid lock on second place, with Pridmore no threat from behind and Adams well clear ahead. The red flag, however, changed everything. Graves would stall his bike on the line, lucky to not be hit as the rest of the pack charged around him and thus ended his charge for a good finish in race one. Graves returned for race two to battle with Team Labelle's Dave Sadowski for third after starting 12th on the grid. In year's past, if Willow Springs had been Las Vegas, CBR900RR-mounted Sadowski would have been in hock to his eyeballs with the luck he had - three mechanical DNFs in four starts. And while he didn't strike it big this time around, at least the bellhops won't be keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't skip out on his hotel bill anymore. Sadowski finished a solid fourth and third in the two races. Sadowski was forced to contend with By Mark Hoyer Photos by Ko Kagiya . ROSAMOND, CA, MAR 16 n much the same fashion that Doug Chandler dominated round one of the Sunoco Race Fuels Formula USA Series at Daytona International Speedway, Whittier, California's Curtis Adams rode with apparent ease to double wins at the Michelin F-USA California Championship at Willow Springs after qualifying on pole. And he did Chandler one better by leading the pack across the' stripe every lap instead of most, and did so on a non-factorybacked Suzuki GSXRllOO, not a full-factory Muzzy Raptor big-bore. In his own words, his rides were "absolutely flawless." The 6-foot-6 Willow Springs regular holds the current lap record at 1:22.43, and though neither his qualifying effort nor his race pace got very close to that even after sneaking in during the redflagged final qualifying session for a soft-compound tire - it was enough to see him win by comfortable margins in both races. "You know, when you're out in the lead like that you're just concerned about everything," Adams said. "Is the back tire okay, is the motor okay, what was that noise? You just try your best to stay calm and stay focused on what you're doing and follow through. We didn't want to overextend ourselves and try to do anything silly or courageous or anything. We just rode a really smooth race and once we got out ITont we just left it there. It was perfect." A conservative second place both t'-. times out came in the form of surprise F0\ USA competitor Jason Pridmore, the ~ . current points leader in the AMA 750cc .Supersport series. On this day Pridmore would park his 750cc mount in favor of a Cary Andrews-built GSXR1100. ''I'm strictly here to have a good . time, just ride a big bike and have fun and not get hurt," Pridmore said before the race. "My main focus is AMA, so wherever we finish, we finish." With his limited time on the bike - (Top) Curtis Adams (45) leads Chuck Graves (34), Tray Batey (1), Dave sadowski (25) and the rest at the start of race one. (Above) Graves (34) can be seen pushing his bike after stalling on the restart of the red-flagged first race. Graves finished with a 12-4 tally. (BeloW) Adams (45) passes lapped rider Devin Battley (85). Adams led every lap of both races. the same riders in his bid for the podium both times, Team Valvoline Suzuki's Tray Batey, Grigg Kawasaki's Steve Grigg and local talent Paul Mumford Jr. with all three in the mix at one time or another, Most impressive of these was 75Occmounted Grigg, placing third with a dramatic pass near the end of race one and returning for a solid seventh in race two, in only his fourili-ever professional race. Mumford, too, impressed by riding his Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Modified Production 750cc Kawasaki to seventh and sixth. GSXRllOO-mounted Batey carded a pair of fifths and was satisfied simply to have made progress with his ride over the weekend, though he admitted he would have liked more. "As long as I'm making progress, even if it's unrelated as to how I'm finishing, as long as I'm making progress as far as what I'm doing with the bike and the race track I'm pretty ha ppy because it means we're doing something pOSitive," Batey said. "Of course, you like to get up there in the top three." Sadowski's solid showing sees him leave Willow Springs with the series points lead on 116 points, while Dutch- .