Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(Thomas) Stevens. I was doing everything I could do." RACE TWO The "Do-Over" factor was firmly in place for many riders come a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon. 0 one, though, was more ready to have another shot than Gobert. He said after Saturday's race that to leave after being so c1ose·to winning would have been a bitter disappointment. With two races on the weekend, he didn't have to - and he didn't appear ready to be denied again. From the get-go it was Gobert, the Australian grabbing the lead from the start. He was trailed by DuHamel, a fast-starting Stevens, Chandler, Bostrom, Kipp, Mladin, Hacking, Harley-Davidson's Pascal Picotte and Oliver. Fast By Ferracci's Mike Hale, meanwhile, was already out of the race, having discovered something really important on the warmup lap: His front axle wasn't tight and it had started to work its way out of the front wheel. Although it was more bad luck in a season of bad luck for the Texan, he could consider himself lucky to have noticed the problem on the warmup lap rather than turn one at the start of the race. Defending AMA 750cc Supers port Champion Jason Pridmore also had a short day as he pulled the HyperCycle Suzu ki onto pit lane with a mechanical failure after ju t one lap. Back on track, this one was already beginning to look like a two-man race. Gobert led DuHamel, with Chandler moving into third place on the second lap. He looked comfortable there, but he apparently wa ·n't. By the 10th lap, Gobert and DuHamel had pulled clear and the race had begun to look a lot like Sa turday's race - without Bostrom, who was fourth and would eventually get by Chandler for third bul' was never a factor at the front. till, he'd broken his recent string of fourth-place finishes and upped the ante a bit with a pair of thirds on the weekend. "I'm happy," Bostrom said later. "The weekend's been good. [wanted to give it all I had in the second moto. Those guys (Cobert and DuHamel) ran real strong and Doug (Chandler) ran real strong, and I couldn't hang with the pace in the beginning. Toward the end, we started clicking off some good la ps and I caught up to Chandler. I was just happy to put it on the box. I saw the five-lap board and I wanted it pretty bad, so I just put my head down and took a few chances." DuHam,el's Honda had plenty of steam and he was able to pull alongside Gobert on the back straight. Gobert, though, had him covered on the brakes into the chicane and all everyone could do was wait until the end. Gobert would lead each and every lap across the start/finish line, but maybe DuHamel was just waiting for the end. '1 was following on purpose because Anthony was running a real decent pace," DuHamel explained later. "I didn't want to show him anything because there were a few places where I felt I was faster than he was. I was going beside him, trying to pressure him into making a mistake." Gobert, however, had other plans. This time, it was the Australian who woke up the more determined of the two, though in all fairness DuHamel never really got an opportunity'as the final lap approached. That final lap started with traffic just ahead of Gobert. The Aussie stuffed his Ducati by in turns one and two, put a few of the slower guys between himself and his pursuer, and that was all she wrote. The last-lap heroics of DuHamel simply weren't going to happen this time, though he never gave up. But Gobert had breathing room on the back straight and the mighty Honda couldn't catcl1 up. Gobert left his braking to the very last second, tossed the Ducati through the chicane, and barreled down the hill holding a line that may have prevented a DuHamel victory a day earlier. DuHamel, though, wasn't close enough to give it a go anyway, and this one belonged to Gobert a nd the Ducati. "Anthony (Gobert) rode a hell of a race," DuHamel said. "Even if tho e guys (the lappers) weren't there, it wasn't a sure thing that I was going to win this race, But I was going to give it a hell of a hot, th ugh. We came up short a bit. One of the slower riders blocked A first for Oliver Y amaha's Rich Oliver (right) hasn't had the best of times in his first full season back in the superbike class - a far cry from the four tOtally dominating seasons he just completed in the 250cc Grand Prix class. Still, Oliver has persevered, and at Road Atlanta that perseverance paid off as the 36-yearold Californian secu£ed the first pole position of his superbike career. With Saturday's qualifying session being canceled because of hl?

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