Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

about me. I got the worst start ever. I wheeJied like three times, it was just a horrible start. And I've been getting good starts on the Suzukis, but that was horrible. [really, really had like the first 10 !o 15 laps, I wasn't fluid. I was having problems with the tire when (it was) at its best grip, I didn't take advantage of that. I ran a 501 Dunlop. It was working good to the halfway point and then my chassis setup - I started spinning too much. (Larry) Pegram, 1 held him up and held him up and then he got away and then I caught them up, I started clicking and caught them up and then I took Russell and Pegram and Picotte, but I really think I plugged those guys up and they were hot on me and 1 felt them there the whole time." Picotte would settle in a close eighth, less than a tenth of a second in front of Fast By Ferracci's Pegram and about two-. tenths on Yosh's Pridmore. "1 was racing with all the old men," Pegram said. "I felt the rookie in the '82 race or something. I had Pascal and Scott and Crevier. 1 was the only guy under 30 in the group. We had a pretty good race. It seemed like who'd ever get in front out of the three of us, we'd catch a lapper and all three of us would go by that guy when we caught the lapper. I was happy with my race. I honestly thought we'd do a lot better from the times I was running. Everybody just kind of stepped it up a little bit because they were all running lIs as well. [ thought if I go out there and run mid-lIs, I'd finish top-five. I went out there and did what [ wanted and still finished ninth. I'm happy with how I rode, just not happy with the finish." CIII New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire Results: June 20, 1999 (Round 9 of 13) SIBK QUALIFYING, 1. Anthony Gobert (1,10.178): 2. Doug Chandl.,. (UO.l85); 3. Ben Bostrom 0,10.208); 4. Jam;e Hacking 0:10.611); 5. Aaron Vates 0:10.699); 6. Eric Bostrom 0:10.738); 7. Mat MJ.din 0:10.740); 8. Jason . Pridmore 0,10.924); 9. Pascal P;cotte (Ul.I99); 10. Scott Russell (U 1247); 11. Steve (U 1.505); 12 Sieve Rapp 0,11.519); 13. Larry Pegram 0,11.883); 14. Steve Grigg (U2.792); 15. Grant Lopez 0:13.836); 16. James Cre"'" Ran-dolph 0:14.234); 17. Damon Buckmaster 0:14.271); lB. Charles Chouinard 0:14.328); 19. Jake Zemke (U4.401); 20. Tom K;pp (U4.421); 21. Rad Greaves 0,14.455); 22. Richard Alexand.,. Jr. 0:14.602); 23. John Han.,. (U5.031); 24. Jimmy Moore 0'15.221); 25. Jarme Bowman (U5.230); 26. Rug.,. Lee Hayden 0:15.293); 27. Dean M;zdal (U5.349); 28. Mario DuHamel 0 :15.973); 29. Brett Metzler 0,16.350); 30. Jason Parker 0:16.485); 31. Chris Rankin 0'16.765); 32. Shane Gonyea (1,16.785); 33. Vincent Haskovec (1:16.897); 34. Thomas Fornier (1,16.997); 35. Da\"d Duprey 0,17.660). S/BK NAT'L: 1. Doug Chandler (Knw); 2. Ben Bostrom (Duc); 3. Anthony Cobert (Due); 4. Mat Mlndin (Suz); 5. Jamie Hacking (Yam); 6. Eric Bostrom (Han); 7. Steve Crevier (Suz); 8. Pascal Picotte (H-D); 9. Larry Pegram (Due); 10. Jason Pridmore (5uz); 11. Scott Russell (H-D); 12 Steve Rap? (Suz); 13. Jamie Bowman (Suz); 14James Randolph (Suz); 15. Jimmy Moore (Suz); 16. Charles Chouinard (Suz); 17. Steve Grigg (Kaw); 18. Mario DuHamel (Suz); 19. Dean Mizclal (Suz); ZO. Shane Gonyea (Suz); 21. Chris Rankin (Suz); 22. Brett Metzl.,. (Suz); 23. Da\rid Duprey (Suz); 24. Jason Parker (Suz). Time: 46 min., '12.tnl sec. D;slan"'" 39 bps, 62 miles Average speed: 80.731 mph Margin of victory: 6JXJ2. sec. AMA SUPER81KE NATIO AL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 13 rounds): Mal other race tracks, you can see there's problems. you don't even have to be a racer. But they're trying to fix it and they've said today that the race track will be fixed next year... AMA road race manager Ron Barrick was right in the middie of the track debate, as he has been since assuming the job. He agreed with rider rep Tom Kipp that not absolutely everything that was agreed had been done. "As an example, the curbing on rider's left at tum eight. where the trees were removed and the gravel trap was added, there's a curb there that almost acts as a retaining wall for dirt. Because the curbs are quite high here and the dirt comes up to the top of them, someone decided that they shouldn't remove those (because) then they would have all those dirt problems washing across the track, should they have rain. So, I think that they'll be willing to remove that curb once some method of drainage is conceived to prevent the dirt from just washing down' across the race track." Barrick felt that some of the riders' negative reactions were due to their being misinformed about what was going to be done. And there' were certain things which the track said couldn't be done. "and one of those was the wall that comes 90 degrees to the edge of tum three, the outside of turn three. One story I'd h'eard some time ago was that NASCAR required that there be a certain gap, .and anything that was bigger than that gap had to have a solid board piece to con· nect the temporary barrier to. What we're now going to propose is that the gap be sbifted to the left, essentially. if you're looking at an on-track point. It gives us that room on the outside that we need and then there's a big boulder behind that that would have to go and there'd be a little bit of grading to create a bit of runoff there." Barrick wouldn't guarantee that more work would be done, but said he would make recommendations to the Bahre family, the track's owners, about barriers that could be used to improve safety. One of the track changes involves changin9 tum to. "There was a discussior\ about instead of sweeping through tum 10 like you do now. you WQuid tum right much harder, stay on the speedway itself, then adding some pavement in that area to make a proper tum out of it. if you wiU, and then Ihat ,!"ould lead them right into turn 11. But I just had a talk with Mat Mladin 20 to 30 minutes ago and he felt that if we could do some more protection in the tum·two exit area along the wall, there, get rid of that tum·three wall problem, and change the course in the tum-l 0 area, that the place would be a considerable improvement." As for replacing rider rep Tom Kipp. who resigned at Loudon, Barrick said they still had Randy Renfrow and Doug Chandler on the advi· sory committee but would be looking fo add another rider. One benefiCIary of the track changes was Grant Lopez. The Valvoline EMGO Suzuki rider had a·transmission problem that caused him to crash in the Formula Xtreme final. The crash came in turn eight. one of the areas which had been improved by the removal of trees and the moving of a wall - changes made at Tom Kipp's insistence. ;' Had he been on the old 'line with the old wall. it would've been. very serious," Ron Barrick said. As it was, .Lopez walked away. Erion Racing's Kurtis Roberts has been tabbed as an alternate rider by Honda for the Suzuka 8 Hours and was due to test the RC45 soon' after Loudon. three days of testing were planned, June 27-29, for Roberts, who's never ridden an RC45 and never raced on Michelin tires. His time at Suzuka has also been limited. When he Iaced the Aprilia RSV250 in the 250cc World Champi- (Above) HarleyDavidson's Pascal Picotte leads Scott Russell and Larry Pegram during the National. Picotte ended up eighth, Pegram was ninth and Russell faded to an 11th-place finish. (Right) Jamie Hacking finished fifth on the factory Yamaha, despite riding with some injuries from a crash on Saturday. Mladin (269/1 win); 2. (TIE) Ben Bostrom! Anthony Gobert (264/5); 4. Doug Chandler (214/]); 5. Larry Pegram (210/1); 6. JartUe Hacking (I85); 7. Aaron Vates (I84); 8. Jason Pridmore (180); 9. S'eve Rapp (166); 10. Eric Bostrom (164); 11. Steve Crevie.r (148); 12. Rich Oliver (142); 13. Miguel DuHamel (141/1); 14. Mario DuHamel (127); 15. Matt Wait (124); 16. Pascal Picotte (11 I); 17. James Randolph (I06); 18. Dean Mizdal (m; 19. Jarme Bowman (J7); ZO. Scott Russell (76). Upcoming Rounds: Round 10 - Lexington, Ohio, July 18 Round 11 - Brainerd, Minnesota, August 1 onship in 1997, Roberts got in very little track time. "In four hours " bike is off sometimes. Ifs going to take time to get it right. I know and the race, I think I did a total of 16 laps," Roberts said. As for what I' can do. here; there's no question I can win here. I wanted to his dirt track caeeer, it's currently on hold. Roberts bas been gi~en bring that positive attitude to this rac.e,'to the team this weekend. an Expert dirt track license. but not a Grand National ChampiIt's here. If we're going to win on Sunday, we're going to have to onship license. In order to earn that. he has to earn 50 'points in make some dam big changes." any of the other Pro dirt track classes. the 600cc Nationals. the' Hot Shoe Nationals, the TTs, or the Harley-Davidson 883s. There After finishing 23rd. three laps down, in the MBNA Superbike was also a chance he'd race in Canada. The hurdle now is getting race, Barefoot Performance's David Duprey claimed the Honda to allow him to race. -We were going to do Springfield on Showa front forks off of the Yoshimura Suzukr GSX·R750 of the 883. but they didn't want me to. and that's understandable. I fourth-place finisher Mat Mladin. Duprey claimed the forks for the have the 900 (Formula Xtreme) title to think about" Roberts said. AMA mandated price of $5500, a bargain for units which were val· If ne does race a 600 or ;3n 883, it would be O'n Rod Lake ued at anywhere from $18.000 to $35,000, depending on wbo machines. The 750 would come from the TCR stable. you asked. -The AMA came over here, - said Reg O'Rourke, Mladin's r;rew chief. - tt went over like a lead balloon. We rolled Fast By Ferracci's Eraldo Ferracci said that Matt Wait. who was the b;ke over to tech and they pulled the forks off. The guy said Injured at Elkhart Lake, will be fit for Mid-Ohio. the next round of he was just doing it for the financial reward." O'Rourke was one the series. July 17-18. Ferracci said his injuries were initially exagof two people who were present when the transaction was made gerated. "He has a couple of broken ribs and a chipped numberwho said Duprey's motives were more for profit 'than ·competltive· five vertebra," Ferraccl said. "There was a little bit of Drain ness. Duprey allegedly tried.to immediately sell the forks back to swelling, Qut he's fine now. We talk every day." Ferracci said the Suzuki, btlt was rebuffed. crash came at a time when Wait was just beginning to get up to speed on the Ducati at Elkhart Lake after an impressive ride at In winning his first race in over two years, Muzzy Kawasaki's Road Atlanta. "He was again good. He was set to get a little more Doug Chandler pocketed $10.500 from the $65,000 MBNA respect." Ferracci said. The FBF team won't be competing at the Superbike purse. Vance & Hines Ducati's Ben Bostrom earned $7000 for finishing second, with V&H's Anthony Gobert earning July II World Superbike race at laguna Seca. "I'm going to Italy for a couple of weeks," said Ferracci, who has a house in $4500 for taking third. The total purse for the 76th annual Loudon Bologna. "There's all kinds of business. I'm going to go pick Classic was $1 13,000. around Ducati. " Fast By Ferracci's Larry Pegram figures he's through the worst Yamaha's Rich Oliver will also be back for Mid·Ohio, according part of his seairon. "I just have ·trouble getting fast at this place, " to Yamaha's Tom Halverson. Halverson said that Ol"'er had sucPegram said of Loudon. "Sears (PoinU and here are probably my cessful surgery on both breaks in his right arm. one above and two worst tracks all year and the next four races are my best four one below the elbow. A plate was put in the forearm and the tracks all year. especially the last three. I really feel like from here humerus (upper arm) bone was wired together. "The arm's out we can win the last four races. I'm really looking forward to already mobile. I'm pretty confident he'll be back for Mid·Ohio. He the last four. " said he'd be back for World Superbike. but we didn't enter him," Halverson said. Yamaha's Jamie Hacking will race the World The Yoshimura Suzuki team has joined the Muzzy Kawasaki and Superbike and AMA Pro t10nda Oils 600cc Supersport classes at Fast By Ferracci teams on the sidelines for the World SuperLaguna Seca. bike race at Laguna Seca. There was a false perception that the Yosh team had been excluded because the number of American Harley-Davidson's Scott Russell more or less guaranteed a win entries had been exceeded, but that wasn't the case, according to at Loudon after last week's race at Road America. Once he got AMA road race manager Ron 'Barrick. "We. by the current rules, here, he changed his tune. "The bike isn't working as good as I can ,put up three riders, that are basically considered confirmed had hoped it would," he said, "Last week I felt if we had straightentries, and then SBK and FIM jointly can choose another three away speed that I could have won the race. I hoped when we riders to add to the group of permanently contracted s~perbike unloaded here that the bike was the same - and be that good. But riders," Barrick said. "We've got right now Anthony Gobert, Ben racing is never that easy and the bike isn't the same. We've been Bostrom, Eric Bostrom, Jamie Hacking. and my understanding is spending a lot of time working on he bike. The team just hasn't that M;ke Sm;th is looking to get a ride on Honda of Switzerland's come together, we haven't gelled. It's taking us longer every RC45, who I understand has been participating. I will tell you, in weekend to get where we need to be. That's going to have to the past there have been restrictions as well as how many we change if we ever want to win any races. We've got relatively could put up as entries and they allowed that to be exceeded inexperienced people workin.9 on the team. We're not looking at because by the time they get to the point of the Laguna round, it's guys with 10, 12, 15 years' background, we're looking at guys balfway through their season, (and) some of the contracted riders with four, five years or less. It's a struggle every weekend to get are out injured or whatever. They have added more entries. I where we want to be. I guess after working with some of the guess you'd have to ask Suzuki why they didn't enter. It's nol teams I have that I'm used to more. We aren't getting the maxi· because we're full up." Mladin, for one, was disappointed that he mum track time that we need. The bottom line is that we're wouldn't'be racing at Laguna. "It would've been good to get up behind the eight ball, but. still. we're doing pretty good." As for there and be able to go against (Pier-Francesco) Chili and maybe his chances in Loudon. Russell said the track was not a Harley· learn a bit of stuff off of him. aad something that might help us for the rest of our championship," Mladin said. But instead. -It'll give style track. 'It's a Kawasaki race track. period. We're down on speed, we're down on driving off the comers, the steering of the me a few more days to go motocrossing and have a bit of fun." 11

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