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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127934
ROAD RACE AMAIMBNA SUPERBIKE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Round 2: Daytona International Speedway By Paul Carruthers Photos By Henny Ray Abrams and Kinney Jones DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MAR. 8 or nearly 67 miles, the Daytona 200 resembled a race. For the remaining 133 miles, it was nothing more than playtime for Scott Russell as he partied his way to an unprecedented fifth Daytona 200 victory. As always, Russell was simply masterful at Daytona International Speedway. For nearly 19 laps, the factory Yamaha rider battled with American Honda's Miguel DuHamel. Then DuHamel crash~ in the chicane. End of race, start of party. From there it was time to playas Russell wheelied and waved his way to victory, further adding to the legend of Mr. Daytona. By the end of the race, Russell had lapped all the way through eighth place. "They're all good," Russell said of his fifth win in 11 tries. '1t's sweet to be able to win down here at the World Center of Racing, and to do it again for Yamaha. It's pretty nice, and I hope this momentum will go with me to Europe like we thought it would last year. We just take it one race at a'time and this race is behind us now. For Yamaha U.s. it's a big press push on this race, so it was a good thing for us to win the race. They put a lot of emphasis on the Daytona 200 - everybody does - and I had a great time with you guys here this year. I look forward to coming back again next 00 year." 0\ The win was Yamaha's 18th in the ~ Daytona 200" more than any other manufacturer. A crowd estimated at 40,000 watched the proceedings. Muzzy Kawasaki's Doug Chandler ended the day in second place, some 7.5 ~ seconds behind - but it might as well "':::' hav.e been 60 seconds. Other than ..,::; DuHamel, no one had a chance to stay with Russell. And DuHamel's efforts to do so ended up costing him dearly as he -5 6 failed to score any points and has already virtually eliminated himself from contention in the AMA/MB A Superbike National Championship. Third place went to Yamaha's Jamie Hacking after a poignant ride in what waS his first-ever Daytona 200. If Hacking's fifth place in the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway was impressive, then this effort was simply stunning. In fact, the South Carolinian did what no other true Daytona 200 rookie had ever done - he finished in Victory Lan.e. Naturally, he was giddy after the race, and rightly so. "This is as good as sitting right there," Hacking said, pointing to Russell's spot in the postrace press conference. "I feel awesome just sitting here with these guys. We've got a champion over here (Chandler), a multiple champion right here (Russell). He's awesome - Daytona champion, five times. What else can you ask for? I feel like I'm sittingon top of the world right now." Behind Hacking came Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin. Though the Australian was never a factor in the race, he was steady and he did what he set out to do: He earned heaps of points and left the Speedway with a share of the championship point lead. Compare that to last year's result, and it's easy to see why Mladin was thrilled with the outcome. Last year, Mladin failed to score a point here, and it was that more than anything that cost him a legitimate shot at the Superbike crown. American Honda's Ben Bostrom was a steady fifth. His confidence waning from two crashes during practice, the young Californian was admittedly careful as he mostly tiptoed his way around for 200 miles. (Top) Miguel DuHamel (1) grabbed the lead at the start of the Daytona 200, followed by Scott Russell (4), Doug Chandler (partially hidden), Anthony Gobert (95) and the rest of the pack. (Above) Russell and DuHamel fought it out at the front until DuHamel crashed in the chicane prior to the first pit stop. Brave Aaron Yates rode the Yoshimura Suzuki to sixth place - with a broken jaw. Yates was injured in a bar fight early during Bike Week (see Briefly...) and rode with a plated and wired-shut jaw. Not a bad effort. Then came Tom Kipp on the Fast By Ferracci Ducati. Despite troubles with the rear hub on the Ducati that caused the chain to tighten and diminish the rear-suspension travel, Kipp managed to finish seventh.