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/128104
A MAICh e vy T r-ucks U . S . S u p e r-b ik e Ser-ies Rou n d :2: S e a r-s Point Racew a y Nicky Hayden (691 went around the outside of Mat Mladln (11 In the first comer to lead the way In the AMAIChevy Trucks U.s. Superbike National at Sears Point Raceway. B Y P AU L C A RRUT HERS P HOTOS BY H EN NY R A Y A B RAMS SONOMA CA, MAY 6 , /i!}. Ithough it m ay be a tad early to state that the pairing of Anthony Gobert and Tea m Ya ma ha is a match made in heaven , it ce rta inly can be said that the men in blu e certainl y need Gobert as mu ch as Gober t needs them . Perhaps e ven more. Eithe r way , together they celeb rated a stellar day for both rider a nd tea m as they do minated in every facet on a specta c ul ar d a y of raci ng at Sears Po int Racewa y. Gobert rode his Yama ha R6 to vic to ry in Su n d a y m o rn in g ' s 60 0cc Supe rspo rt final a nd then followed that up with a thrilli ng victory over Am e rica n Honda's Nicky Hayden in the Superb ike National. The w in marked the end of a long drought for the mu ch -ma ligned Yamaha Superbike team , ending a streak that dates ba ck to Scott Russell 's vict ory in th e Da yto na 200 in 1998. If yo u take n awa y Russell's two Ya maha victo ries in the Da ytona 200 in '9 7 a nd ' 98, you ha ve to remember ba c k to the day s of Co lin Edwards to recall an aftemoon as good as this on e for the Yamaha squad. Ironica lly, Ya m ah a's la s t non-Russe ll vi c t ory c a me a t Sea rs Point in August of 1994, whe n Edw a rds captured the win . But tha t was not on ly eons ago , it was with a very different Yamaha team than the one that fin all y met with su ccess today. This win also marked th e RTs first AMA Superbike victory. If it was a day that brought tears of joy to the Yamaha te am, then it was also a special day for Gob ert , the man h imself also need ing a boost to his on-again , off-again racing career. On this da y, th e Australian showed that Yamaha 's g a m b le in s igning h im co uld ve ry we ll end up pa ying big dividends - for both parties. Althou gh he en ded the day in the medica l cente r with a n intraveno us dr ip to co unte r se ve re dehydratio n, Gobert could n't co ntain his joy for a jo b well don e. "I wa s d igg ing s o deep to win , ma in ly fo r the gu ys . " Gobert sa id after his ninth ca ree r AMA Superbike Nat ional victory . "I wanted to win for them as m u c h as m yse lf. It j us t turned o ut g reat. He [Hayden) wa s outdr iving me a little bit out of the last corne r. When he went a round th e outs ide of me and I got on the power and it come around and I could hear him right there, the pressure was on. Fortunately, I won. It would've been a bummer to go tha t far for that hard to lose it on the last corner. I' m so happy with myself. I'm just so happy. I'm k ind of proud of myself. I've worked so hard and trained so hard for th is year. Everyth ing's sta rting to come tog eth er. I'm really happy right now. " No matter how you looked at It, this one w as all about Anthony Go bert (1 6) va . Nicky Hayden (6 9) . The pair were d ominant and It came down to a f rantic last-lap b attle, w ith Gobert ultimately taking the v ictory. n e vv s Thanks to Hayden , Go bert knows that he earned this one. The young Kentuckian rebounded well after looking rather dismal on Friday , a situation that was understandable given the fact that th is was his first-ever Superbike Nationa l at Sears Po in t. Understandable , but not forgivable at least in Hayden 's mind. But again he p rov e d that you ca n never really co unt him out. He worked hard over the course of the weekend, spending more time in front o f the co m p uter screen than ev e r before , and he and his crew came up with something that worked . On Saturda y, Ha yden wa s much improv ed. Come Sund a y a nd he was the man to bea t. G obert and Ha y d e n en de d up be ing in a class by the m selves in this o ne . Hayden ra c ed a way right from t h e start , but Gob e rt c h a s e d h im down . The two squ abbled o ver the lead fo r the duration , w ith Gobe rt finally getting the victory - though not without a last -lap , last-corne r attempt by Hayden. At the finish line, Gobert took the victory by just .104 of a second - his gamble of us ing a soft-compound rear Dunlo p pa ying off. Behind those two c a m e another battle , this one comprising the two Yo s hi m u ra Suzuk is of Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin, "T h e Mummy Returns " Honda of Miguel DuHamel, the Yoshimura S uzuk i of Jamie Hackin g a n d t he Kawasaki of Er ic Bostrom . That battle wa s ultimate ly pa red dow n to jus t two : Yates a nd Mlad in. In the end, Yates got the better of his injured teamm ate , with the inju re d Mladin j us t r u nning out of e nergy after relying on upper-body strength onl y to manhandle his GSX-R750 . Then came Hack ing - at least on the track. The newest member of the Yosh t e a m, howe v e r . was later do ck ed a lap by the AMA . He 'd