Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

ROAD RACE AMMIBNA SUPERB/KE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP me wide.·ile looked' ov~f';t me, but, hey, he was slacking off. I gave him a bunt and after that he took off and got away." Hacking wasn't the only one who was dropping off the pace. Chandler was also having some problems and he was forced to back it down - or at least not turn it up to the point the top four were willing to turn it. "I think we outtricked ourselves," Chandler said. "We're trying a brake that works the rear as well. But five or six laps into it, the frent brake fades and the rear gets more powerful. Then it starts backing into the corners. The thing works really good when it's right because it settles the bike going into corners. I'm a trail-braker and when it starts giving the rear too much power, it comes around and I don't like it. " So with Chandler and Hacking not able -to match the hot pace at the front, the race came down to just four. And then three when Yates, too, lost the draft. "Once I got by Doug (Chandler), I went a little wide in turn five and it's really slick out there," Yates said. '1 had to go real slow and I lost the draft. After that I tried like hell and tried too hard. I just rode my ass off. 1 can only imagine how fast I'd go on a Honda or a Ducati." Any of the three - DuHamel, Gobert or Bostrom - could have won this one. Bostrom, though, got caught a bit in traffic one lap from the end, and he had to rip off the fastest lap of the race just to stay close at the finish. He'd been making up most of his ground in tum five. "Turn five kinda owed me one after Yoshimura Suzuki's Steve Crevier leads Harley-.Davidson's Thomas Wilson. Crevier finished ninth and Wilson .1Oth. that because the 600 race was a bit tough," Bostrom said. '1 like that turn and both of these guys (Gobert and DuHamel) were getting in there real hot. I don't know if I had that much of an advantage on 'em, but I've always liked the brakes and that's all. The Honda was running super and 1 believe the bike should have won the race today. 1 just made a couple of mistakes and these guys outsmarted me on the last lap. Hey, it's one of the things I learn and we'll get'em next time. "1 had a little bit in reserve," Bostrom said of his late-race charge. ~'I was following these guys and seeing where I was faster than them and where DuHamel gets his first B 8 lieve it or not, American Honda's Miguel DuHamel's pole position at Road America was his first of the season - this despite the fact that the French Canadian had won four of the seven rounds coming into Road America. He earned the pole by setting a new lap record on Friday afternoon, a 2:11.024 time that he or anybody else couldn't match come Saturday. Using all of his Honda RC45's power, DuHamel blistered the 4-mile course and he gave a lot of credit to his motorcycle. "J'd like to point out that it's Honda Motur Corporation and it's served its name really well here at Road America," DuHamel said. "The bike is really good. The bike is fast. You've still got to hit your lines .and get that bike around the race track and there's still the job to do, but it kinda helps with that bike." DuHamel's quick laps were littered with off-track excursions as he battled to get the most out of the soft tires on the fast and daunting Road America layout. Two laps, or eight miles, is simply too much for the ultra-soft tires. -On the last Jap the thing is pretty greasy on the right side, so you can't get a drive," DuHamel explained. -ne tire almost makes it two full laps, but the carousel kills it. Then you go through the kink, and that doesn't beJp it, and you're hoping it's cooled off.. Then Canada Comer - that's it. That's the last it has. Then you go UJIder !be bridge and the thing is just swapping. You can't get a drive 10 save your life. I went off in !be kink OIl the dirt, came bd 011 the trac:k and did an 11.0. I'm thinking, 'I'm pretty sure if I stayed on the tIack it would be faster.' But we'll _ find out beca.- I messed up again today when I _ doing my fIift.~ As for Sunday's 1'lI"e, DuHamel expected a chaI1enge. -Vou can't expect 10 have an easy race out here with this level of competitlon." DuHamel said. "With the drafting, for sure the race is going 10 be tight. There's going 10 be a bunch of guys up there - four or five guys, six guys. I think irs going 10 be another bam-bumer.One of those expected to be up there was Vance '" Hines Ducali's An.thony Gobert. The Australian was fast in his first visit to Road America, and he probably could have gone quicker if not for an electrical problem with the Ducali in the 6naJ stages of the final session. Prior to that, Gobert managed to do a 2:11.ll63 - using race tires. -ne only thing that's let me down a lot of times is the they were faster than me. We just kinda seesawed because everybody had their fast spots. I just put my head down on the last lap and thought, 'Ah, we'll catch the e guys.' But these guys picked it up too and it just made for a tough race and I didn't close the gap to 'em. They just rode good, that's all. [ finished third." The race was decided on the final lap, and it ended with Gobert on top barely.. DuHamel was disappointed and felt he'd let his team down by not win- ning. "It was really a good race," DuHamel said. "We just got second by that much. I didn't have too much problems with lapped riders. I don't know about Anthony or Ben, but I got through them real clean. It didn't playa part in my race as far as me getting second. I don't know if it helped me, but I don't think it hindered me. The bike worked great and there' nothing I can complain about besides getting second to Anthony. "Anthony was getting good cornering speed and stuff. I didn't feel good in a couple of corners. I was just so slow. I think I could pull on him in a couple of places, but then I would just lose it all in a couple of corners. That was basicallyit. Anthony rode really hard and he put it where he needs to be and he won the machine," Gobert said. "Unfortunately, it let me down again th.e most stupid moves. For sure, if it comes down to the last lap, today in qualifying. The bike seems to either run good or it I'm going to be ticking it in and it'll probably be down in tum stops. I n,ean it's still not as fast as the Honda, but with the five - all out of control. We're struggling a little bit ",~th race Ducali power you seem to be able to use it good off the turns. it tires and stuff, but I'd like to think that we'll be there tomorrow. seems to make it pretty even, but today my bike... As soon as I Maybe we can get on the back of them in the draft and hang started q\l3lifying, then it started g ing slow. By the time every- with 'em," When asked where he was making up for the speed deficit, one got the qualifiers on, it was like someone had a rope behind my back, dragging it back. The guys said it's got the same elec- MIadin said: "It must be in the corners. If it's not on the trical problem as before. I'm a bit disappointed in my machine. straights, then it must be in the corners. We've got our bike working pretty well. I've struggled with the entry to the corI'm sick of it Jetting me down. "It's the same pr.oblem we had at Sears Point as well. We ners and the middle of the comers this weekend. Basically, I seem to have more mechanical problems when we have the bike think I'm pushing in there a little bit too hard. You can never running good, so it's starting to get beyond frustrating - I want push too hard, but sometimes you can. I'm overlaying a little to hit somebody. It's killing me. 1 started off all right, but bit of the telemetry between Aaron (Yates) and myself and I'm halfway through the session I could feel it binding up. I did an getting into most of the comers 70 or 80 feet deeper. That's the problem with the front end. It's something that I've always 11 flat on a race tire, so my actual qualifying lime was on a race tire. That's why I thought I had an easy 10 '" in me, maybe a done and it's something that I'm trying to fix, because I get in low 10. I went out with the qualifying tire and when 1 went but I'm a bit slow getting out. I've always had this problem of down the back straightaway it started going. 'ooooh, whoooo.' I thinking I need to make it aD up, so I try and make it up on the felt like coming in, but J wanted to beat Miguel (DuHamel) so brakes. But there's only so far you can go before you actually bad, I stayed out there. Unfortunately, I could only do an 11.2 - I slow yourself down, and at the moment I'm slowing myself did two 11.25 on the thing. I thought it was going to lock up on down. "Before some of you guys go imd start printing how I'm me at the end of the front straight. There's a lot of frustration that is building up, so I need to get out there tomorrow and whining about how fast some of the bikes are, I'm honestly not unleash it." trying to say that. Obviously, Miguel's motorcycle is very fast, American Honda's Ben Bostrom jumped up to the third- butl've seen him keep up with a lot of these guys on a Harleyquickest time on Saturday, thanks to some changes his team Davidson in '94 at Brainerd. I think if he had a slow motorcycle, made on Friday night. By the end of the session, Bostrom had he'd still be pushing the shit out of it anyway. I'm going 10 have c1icked off a 2:11.158 to put the second Honda RC45 on the front a big hook out there tomorIOW." row. Behind Mladin.1o heed row two was his teammate Yates. -ne gearing was a little bit off yesterday,- Bostrom - The Georgian lapped at 2:11.812 to bold off the advances of explained. '1t just came together today. Merlyn (Plumlee) and Vance '" Hines Ducati's Thomas Stevens, the last man in the Davey (Jones) did an awesome job on the transmission last 2:11s at 2:11.823. The two faclIory Yuuhas of Jamie Haddng night. The bike was just tal easy 10 ride. There's no re8l pr0b- (2:12.277) and Rich ~ (2:J2.388) fi1Ied !be second row of the lem with !be hand (that he injured in his Road Atlanta crash grid. two weeb ago). I get up in the morning and it's a bit SOft!, but Row three was led by the Harley-Davidson VIUOOO of on the tIack you don't feel anything. I think it'll just come down Thomas Wilson Jr. Wilson maDBged 10 best defending AMA to who makes the smartest last-lap passes. A bit of power is Superbike Champion Doug Chandler, who seemed to be struggoing to be in play coming up the bill and a good drive coming gling all weekend. Chandler was 10tI\ fastest at 2:12.727, weJI out of the last corner. And who can save their tires." over a second slower than DuHameL Fast By Ferraro's Tom Still down on top speed - aetuaIIy some 5 mph down - Mat Kipp and Harley-Davidson's Pascal Picotte made up the rest of Mladin stiIJ managed to put the Yoshimura Suzuki on the front the thin:l row. row via his 2:11.325. He did so with aggressive riding and very "We made some chaDges last nlght and it seemed pretty hard braking. good this morning,- Chandler said. -HopefuDy, it'll be good for "Basically, at this race track he's got about a 6-mph edge the race. The last three races, it's been mainly chassis. We've over us; Mladin said. "It's a little bit of a struggle and it's going always had a really good bike for the lace distance, but the last to be a stn1ggIe tomorrow, I think. All I'm hoping for is 10 be couple of races it's been good at the start - but I haven't been there on the last lap. It's funny that Ben (Bostrom) said that able 10 maintain the times. I just can't get it to hook up and whoever is going to win is the one who makes the smart move drive off the romers. That seems 110 be the biggest problem right on the last lap - I think it's going 10 be the person who makes now for us."

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