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ROAD RACE AMA/lfBNA SUPERBIKE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Round 6&7: Road Atlanta • By Paul Carruthers Photos by Henny Ray Abrams n 6 BRASELTON, GA, MAY 30-31 ne race featured what may have been the boldest last-lap pass in ~ AMA Superbike history. The second race was equally as scintillating, sans the last-lap pass. Both races featured two men in a take-no-prisoners frame of mind - fortunately, both of them left Road Atlanta with victories. Vance & Hines Ducati's Anthony Gobert and American Honda's Miguel DuHamel split hard-fought victories as the extensively reworked Road Atlanta played host to the first-ever AMA Superbike ational doubleheader. It was also the first AMA race at the Georgian facility since the season ended there in 1994. In the end, though, it was Gobert who left Georgia with the title of "Big Kahuna," a trip to Hawaii and the overall victory in the Dunlop Big Kahu- . na National. Running near qualifying speeds on race rubber for nearly all of what amounted to 50 total laps, both men proved that neither come up short in the Kahuna department. Indeed, if bravado is what you were looking for, you didn't have to look any further than DuHamel and Gobert on this weekend Saturday's final may not have been the greatest AMA Superbike National ever, but few have been decided in a bolder manner. If a rider exits from under the turn 11 bridge with the lead at Road Atlanta, 99.9 percent of the time he's going to hold it. The area from turn 11 to turn 12 is a fast run down a steep hill, followed up by a fast right-hander, at the exit of which lies the finish line. Lead out of 11 and you win. Well, unless Miguel DuHamel is behind you and he just happened to pick today to wake up in an "I won't be denied" mood. Such' was the case in Saturday afternoon's race. Gobert led out of 11, but DuHamel grabbed a handful of throttle, painted a pretty little black stripe down the hill wi th his rear tire, plunked the Honda down underneath Gobert on the entrance to turn 12, and slid it across the line to victory. Not enough drama? Okay, throw in the fact that third-placed Ben Bostrom was equally as close behind Gobert as the threesome crossed the finish line and you might start to understand. But it gets better, aT worse if you're Bostrom, because he ran wide on the exit, hit the red Georgia mud and crashed at over 100 mph. A few minutes later, battered, bruised and 'winded, Bostrom took his place in a superbike winner's circle for the first time in his young career,. covered in mud and looking more motocrosser than road racer. Sunday's National certainly couldn't top that one, but it came close. Very close. The only difference was that Gobert and DuHamel did this one by themselves, with Bostrom crossing the line several seconds later. And this time Gobert had the perfect final lap, put . some lapped riders between himself and DuHamel, and protected the inside line on the run down the hill - winning the race, a bowl of fruit symbolic of his upcoming free trip to Hawaii, and the title "Big Kahuna." DuHamel wasn't close enough to do much about it on the last lap, but he was there the rest of the time, pressuring Gobert for the entire distance and making sure that the Australian earned everything he got. Again, Bostrom was third in what was the most successful weekend of his career. If two career-best third-place superbike finishes weren't enough, Bostrom also won the first 600cc Supersport race of his career. Looking at the two races from an overall perspective, Muzzy Kawasaki's Doug Chandler ended up fourth best after the two days of racing. Chandler chose the wrong rear tire on Saturday and finished fifth, made some setu p changes and ran third for most of Sun- Miguel DuHamel (17) led the way in the first of two AMA Superbike Nationals at Road Atlanta on saturday. Doug Chandler (1), Mat Mladin (66) and Anthony Gobert (95) gave chase. The two-race format seemed popular with race fans as large crowds attended on both days. day's race until being passed on the final lap by Bostrom. Fifth overall went to Yamaha's Jamie Hacking. The youngster ended up seventh on Saturday after a horrible start, and fifth on Sunday after another dismal launch from the start line. He managed to better the performance of his teammate Rich Oliver, but only just. Oliver's successful weekend began with his first-ever superbike pole, and he followed that up with a fourth-place finish on Saturday. On Sunday, Oliver struggled a bit and ended up ninth. Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates returned to action after a long layoff from a broken wrist, and the Georgian turned in a 9-6 tally in the two races, besting Fast By Ferracci Ducati's Tom Kipp's 8-7 and teammate Mat Mlamn's 6-10. . Vance & Hines Ducati's Thomas Stevens was also back after missing two races with a broken collarbone, and 'he