Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

The Erion Honda rider, who'd suffered a DNF in his previous race at Laguna Seca, decided he'd had enough of bad starts. "This year I've been kind of getting a slow start and working my way up, and today 1 thought 1 might try something a little bit different," said Hayden. "1 got a pretty good tart and the first few laps 1 got going pretty good. My CBR900 was so fast. J mean, on the back straightaway I wasn't even drafting these guys - I was just running by them." After getting the jump on the field, Hayden immediately motored away, un threa tened to the end on his way to a record win. His new record time of 21 minutes, 45.117 seconds, at an average speed of 105.095 mph, was about 10 seconds faster than the mark set by Eric Bostrom last year. Hayden's margin of victory was 4.041 seconds. The next three to cross the line were also from the south, Chickasaw, Alabama's Grant Lopez edging his Valvoline EMGO Suzuki teammate Josh Hayes, of G1.!liport, Mississippi, in a close race for second. Hayes said he came into the race suffering from a cold and wasn't at full strength. "I was really tired from about the midway point on," Hayes said. It was Lopez's first career AMA podium. Asheville, North Carolina's Steve Grigg put the Grigg ElectricCompany Muzzy Raptor 850 in fourth, some distance back. Sixth through ninth were all Yamahas - Graves Motorsports' Chuck Graves leading teammate Takahito Mori, the pair well in front of Attack Performance Yamaha's Mark Miller, who'd run as high as second with two laps to go before falling and then remounting to take seventh. Vincent Haskovec made his debut on the Dutchman Racing Yamaha and finished eighth. The roster of nonfinishers included championship leader Kurtis Roberts. The Erion Racing rider ran second early on before running into electrical problems. The misfire caused him to fall back to eighth. Unhappy with the spot, Roberts was trying to make up ground on the final lap when he crashed in turn 10. Despite crashing, Roberts still finished 14th and pocketed 17 poin ts. After five of 11 races, Roberts leads Lopez by 25 points, 151-126, with the rest in close formation. Mark Miller is tied with Hayden at 123, with Hayes back at 119. The race for the win was over on the first lap. Hayden was flying and gone and had nearly three seconds on the fourth lap. From there it was just a question of how much he'd win by. He was never challenged. The race for second was more interesting. There was a different rider in the spot each of the first three laps and four different riders would hold the place position. Early on, there was a five-rider string that took several laps to sort itself out. Halfway in, Hayes was in second; then Miller took the spot on lap nine as Hayes tired, holding it until he was passed by Lopez on the 14th lap. Miller was still hard on the gas when he fell in turn seven, getting up to finish seventh. "There's a big hole back there in turn seven and he found it," said Hayes, who was following him at the time. "And I guess at a good time for me and a bad time for him." Lopez beat Hayes to the line, with Grigg well alone in fourth. "Through the esses, I was bouncing from curb to =b," Hayes said. '1 was riding by Braille. Again, we're pretty happy to get on the box." Then came Graves and Mori, the pair Eric Wood (36) won his firstever AMA race when he ended up on top of the Pro Thunder final. Dave Estok (2) and Shawn Higbee (3) race Wood to tum one at the start of the final. having swapped spots right to the final lap, when Graves got the better of the pair to take fifth. Mori was a close sixth. The third member of the team, Paul Harrell, had an engine problem that nearly caused him to crash in turn two. He pulled off while in fifth place on the 11th lap. Vincent Haskovec was by himself in eighth, a was Rad Greaves in ninth. The Dega Racing rider was giving his Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 its maiden voyage. Honda Canada's Jordan Szoke, who rode briefly for Eraldo Ferracci's Fast By CN Ferracci team last year, was 10th. Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia Results: June 5, 1999 (Round 5 of 12) SUNOCO RACE FUELS FORMULA XTREME, 1. Nicky Hayden (Han); 2. Grant Lopez (5uz); 3. Joshua Hayes (Suz); 4. Steve Grfgg (Kaw)i 5, Chuck Graves (Yam); 6. Takahito Morl (Yam); 7. Mark Miller (Yam); 8. Vincent Haskovec (Yam); 9. Rad Greaves (5uz); 10. Jordan Szoke (Hon); 11. Clint Brotz (Yam); 12. Scott Carpenter (Yom); 13. Jnm4.'S Doerfler (Suz); 14. Kurtis Roberts (H.on); 15. Randall Mennenga (Suz); 16. Johnny Rock Page (Yam); 17. Gregory White (Suz); 18. Billy Ethridge (Kaw); 19. Devin Battley (Yam); 20. Paul Harrell (Yam); 21. Mark Junge (Kaw); 22.. Chad Simons (Suz); 23. David Roy (Due). Time: 2] min., 45.117 sec. Distance: 15 laps, 37.8 miles Average speed: 105.095 mph Margin of victory: 4.041 sec. SUNOCO RACE FUELS FORMULA XTREME CSH[I' POINT STANDINGS (After 5 of U rounds): 1. Kurtis Roberts (1S1/2 wins); 2. Grant Lopez (126); 3. (TIE) icky Hayden (3)/Mark Miller (I23); 5. Joshua Hayes (119); 6. Steve Grigg (109); 7. Rad Greaves (91); 8. Takahito Mori (90); 9. Mike Sullivan (89); 10. Paul Harren (88); 11. (TIE) Cory Call/Chris Voelker (80); 13. (TIE) Jeff Hagan/AI Salaverna (64); 1S. Omt Brotz (61); 16. Jeff Short (53); 17. Chuck Graves (51); 18. Devin Battley (46); 19. Johnny Rock Page (45); 20. Gregory White (42). Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 12 Round 7 - Loudon, New Hampshire, June 19 AMAIProgressive Insurance Pro Thunder Round 6: Road Atlanta Wood's first By Henny Ray Abrams BRASELTON, GA, JUNE 6 gardleSs of which one won, of the two riders with a reasonable hot at winning the Progressive Insurance Pro Thunder race late on a warm Sunday afternoon at Road ~ Atlanta, it was certain that a first-time victor would emerge. either Penguin Road Racing School's Eric Wood nor HMC Racing's Shawn Conrad had ever won an AMA race, but that would have to change. Just who would get their first win wasn't decided until the final lap. The Ducati 780-mounted Wood and Conrad, on a Ducati 748, along with the Buells of Tilley's H-D's Shawn Higbee and Motorcycle Online Da vid Estok jetted away from the 22-rider field at the start - the q)J.artet eminently faster than the rest. For a few la ps they stuck together but soon they began to spread out, and then came the onset of the inevitable attrition, which would eventually decimate the class like a plague. Estok never came around to com. plete the ninth lap. In the press room there was some gallows humor that his Buell had been recalled in the middle of the race, a reference to the recen t recall of every Buell motorcycle. The truth was that it a transmission problem that had cropped up a few laps earlier. When he made his premature exit, Estok was just off the back of the leaders - Wood and Conrad - with Higbee well back and off the pace. When Estok, left, that gave Higbee a very secure but very lonely third. He'd finish about 30 seconds behind the leaders. "I've got to be happy with that today," Higbee said. "The Tilley Buell ran great today. I was a little bit off-key myself and had some brake troubles and other problems, but overall I was real happy to finish third out there. I've got to put a big hand out for Don Tilley. The motor ran great in just a really tough environment. 1I Wood had the green Ducati in front until Conrad came by in turn one to start the 12th lap. He held it for two more, with Wood making his assault on the backstretch on the final lap. Using the power of the Ducati, Wood motored by into the chicane, and then held off Cpnrad's charge in the final few turns to the finish. "We ran into a little bit of slower traffic," Conrad explained about the last lap. "Going into seven on the last lap, I tucked my front end and 1 ran wide onto the rumble strips. He was right there and he late-braked me into 10, I believe it is, and we both ran a little wide and we were fighting position over the hill and he got it, so my hat's off to him. But that's the greatest second place I've ever had. It's a lot of fun." Wood said that he'd started to fade a bit at the halfway point. '1 was trying to tail him. I was going to tuck in behind him. I knew we were going to come into traffic. I'm going to try to be opportunistic," he said. "The last lap I closed right up on him at the end of that back straightaway and we caught a draft and it was just who's going to brake last. 1 stuffed up the inside. We both kind of lost it, but I held the inside' line - it was on the hill. Ii you're going around me, you're going around the outside, and we pulled it off." By finishing in front of Higbee, Conrad stretched his championship lead. With Road Atlanta marking the halfway point in the season, Conrad leads Higbee, 179-158. Billy Graef, ninth today, is third on 50 points. Fourth on the day went to Silverman Racing Mu eum's Jeffrey Nash on a Ducati 944. Nash was alone, as was the fifth-place finisher, Pat's Auto Sales' Bimota 985-mounted Pat Mooney. Next came a pair of Ducati 748s, the first belonging to Freeohio Motorsports' James Lickwar, the second to Tom Hull. Michael Gage was eighth on his Dunbar Euro-Sports Triumph, with Graef ninth and Thomas Fournier 10th on a ar Ducati out of Dunbar Euro-Sports. Road Atlanta Brase"on, Georgia Results: June 6, 1999 (Round 6 of 12) PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE PRO THUNDER: 1. Eric Wood (Due); 2. Shawn Conrad (Due); 3. Shawn Higbee (Bue); 4. Jeffrey ash (Due); 5. Pat Mooney (Bim); 6. James Lickwar (Tri); 7. Tom HuH (Duc); 8. Michael Gage (Tri); 9. Billy Graef (Sue); 10. Thomas Fournier (Duc); 11. John Long (Due); 12. Robert Gonzales (Due); 13. Cory Call (Due); 14. Andrew Davis (Due): 15. Christopher Boy (Lav); 16. Robert Robbms (Due); 17. David Estok (Bue); 18. Fred Stucky (Due); 19. Brian Honeycutt (Hue); 20. Richie Morris (Bue). Time: 22 min., 45.300 sec. Distance: 15 laps, 37.8 miles Average speed: 100.461 mph Margin of victory: 0.340 sec. PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE PRO THUNDER C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 6 of 12 rounds): 1. Shawn ""Conrad (179); 2. Shawn Higbee (58); 3. Billy Graef (150); 4. Cory Call (146); S. James Liekwar (141); 6. Tom Hull (126); 7. BU! St. John (121); 8. Tho",as Montano (114); 9. Jeffrey Nash (96); 10. Christopher Boy (94); 11. Michael Gage (90); 12. Richie Morris (82); 13. Gaym Slabber! (80); 14. Robert Gonzales (73): 1S. David Estok (69); 16. Chris LaCruze (59); 17. Tom Chauncey 11 (Sl); 18. Richard Haas (49); 19. (TIE) Tho",as Fournier/David White (47). Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 13 Round 8 - Loudon, New Hampshire, June 20 15

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