Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127992
AMAlSunoco Race Fuels Formula Xlreme Series, Round 3: Sears Point Raceway Hayden on a roll By Henny Ray Abrams SONOMA, CA, APR. 24 ears Point Raceway isn't the sort of track where you can rest, especially when someone's breathing down your neck. Erion Racing's Nicky Hayden won his second Sunoco Race Fuels Formula Xtreme race in a row, but Attack Performance' Mark Miller kept him honest. The Yamaha R-l-mounted Miller led the first four of 15 laps before Hayden made the decisive move that would put him in front for good. After watching Hayden try to disappear on the Honda CBR900RR, Miller turned up the wick and drew him in, hounding him right to the end but coming up just short. It took Hayden to tum his fastest lap - a 1:41.942, under his qualifying mark on the 13th tour to secure the win. Miller, who started from the pole with a qualifying time that was half a second better than Hayden's, turned his best of 1:41.914 on the ixth lap. "I was definitely feeling the pressure," Hayden said. '1 wanted to try to get away because J knew that traffic was going to be coming up, and 1 didn't want to have to take any big risks in tralfic. I just wanted to get a cushion. J think at the end I just upped the pace a little bit." Hayden won by 1.370 seconds, completing the IS-lap, 37.8-mile race in 25 minutes, 41.545 seconds at an average speed of 88.197 mph. Because the race was lengthened from 14 to 15 lap this year, the time and average speed are new race records. . '1 kind of got a slow start there at the begim1ing, just like I've been doing the last COli ple of races, and then 1 seen Mark (Miller) getting out front there," Hayden began, "and it looked like he was starting to get away, had a good pace going, a J knew I had to get up there. And 1 just got lip there with him, and' [ was able to get by him fairly quickly. And then I got out front and got some pretty good times and set a pretty good pace, and [ was actually surprised Mark came with me. And he ran a really strong race and stayed with me the whole time. There were a couple of areas that I thought I could ride a little better." Since switching from Michelins to DunIops this year, Miller's been a faster st,:!rter. The Dunlops allow you to go from lap one, and that's what Miller did. Miller said he "settled into the lead for I think about two or three, and then icky came by, and (I) thought I better get with the program, because it looked like he was going to go somewhere. 1 just slipped up with him and tried to stay on his backside for a while. It looked like we were doing a pretty good job. He started getting away just a little bit, and (I) kind of re-exerted myself and caught him back up, and near the end we were within two or three bike length . Then, in the last couple of la ps, we caught a couple of lappers rigTit in the esses coming down out of nine and lost about eight bike lengths there. Made up just a couple maybe on the last lap. [ know I was right on his rear wheel going into seven on the la~t lap, but I S G • a. four-leHer ""ord• IS CI!ftI For your nearest Arai dealer, call toll·free: 1-800-807-8358. For on Arci Sticker Pak and new 16-page, fulkolor Catalog of over 80 models and designs, send $4.00 in cosh or stomps ($5.00 U.S. Currency if outside U.S.) to: Arci Helmets, ltd., Dept. 8358, P.O. 80x 9485, Daytona, Fl 32120. www.draiamericas.com