Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

A MA C hevy T r u c k s U. S . S u p e r b ik e Championship b a c k (co m pared to S z oke w hose H a r le y comes in a lar ge semi ) , Jac o bi used t he r a in a s t he g r e at equa li ze r an d h e p osted a n i m p r e s s i v e 10th pla c e fini sh. G obert's v ic t ory wa s the 10 t h AMA Sup erbik e w in of h is c a reer, t y ing him w ith Mike Baldwin for ninth o n the all - eN t im e li st. RoadAmerica Elkhart la ke, Wisconsin Results: June 9-10, 2001 M ig uel Du Ha m e l (2 :09 . 138 ) ; 6 . E ric Bo st rom (2:09.187); 7. Kurtis Roberts (2;09.290); 8. Nicky Hoyden (2:09.990); 9. Tommy Hoyden (2;10.389); 10. Andreas Meklou (2;10.786); 11. Lorry Pegrom (2:10.788); 12. Doug Chan dler (2:11.013); 13. Steve Ropp (2;11.132); 14. Pesce! Picotte (2;12.070); 15. Mike Smith (2:12.600); 16. Jordon Szoke (2;13.546); 17. Jimmy Moore (2 ;14.930) ; 18. Ben Spies (2;16.625); 19. Richord Alexonder Jr. (2:16.565); 20 . Vincent Haskovec (2 :17 .430); 21. Ma uro Cereda (2:18.083); 22. Tony Meiring (2;18.107) 23. Andrew ; ( 2 : 18 .4 9 2 ) ; 2 4. Smith (H-D); 15. Pascal Pico (H-D); 16. Jordon tte Szoke ( H-D); 17 . Andrew Deatherage (S uz); 18. Mauro Cereda (S uz); 19. Rich Conice lti (S uz) ; 20. John Jacobi (SUl) : 21. Greg Frye r (Yam) ; 22 . Dean Mizdal (S uz); 23 . Scott Herm ersm ann (S uz); 24 . Jeffrey Purk (Suz) ; 25 . Rendel l Mennenga (Suz); 26 . Brett Boyd (SU1) ; 27. .Ieson Knupp (Vom); 28. Richard Shaw (Suz); 29. Roger Hendricks (Suz); 30. Brett Roy (SU1); 31. Alon Schmidt (SU 32. Scott 1); Gooch (S UI ) ; 33 . M ik e W Zl lsh (Yam) ; 3 4 . James Doerfler (SUl); 35. Chu Allen (SUl). ck TIme : 34 min.. 54.573 sec. D istance: 16 laps. 60 miles Average speed: 110 .0 78 m ph Margin of victory: 1.8 56 sec. RACE lWO: 1. Anthony Gobert (Vom); 2. Miguel SUPERBIKE QUALlFVING: I. Mot Mlodin (2:09.068); 2. Anthony Gobert (2:09.089); 3. Aaron Vote, (2;09.098); 4. Jomie Hocking (2:09.100); 5. D e a the r a ge Chandler (Ka w); 11. Larry Pegram (Duc) ; 12. Steve Rapp ( Duc); 13 . Kurtis Roberts ( Hon) ; 14 . M ike Rich Co nicell i (2:18.751); 25. John Jocobi (2:18.783); 26. Greg Fryer (2;18.958); 27. Anthony Lupo (2;19.163); 28. Randall Mennenga ( 2 : 19 .523); 29 . Alan Sch m idt (2;19.561); 30. Scott Hermersmonn (2;19.905); 31. Jeffrey Purk (2:20 .2 11 ) ; 32 . Ja mes D oe r fle r (2;20.258); 33. Scott Gooch (2:20.458); 34. Deon Mado] (2:20.897); 35. Bre Boyd (2: 22.204); 36. tt Rick Show (2; 23.007); 37. Chuck Allen (2: 23.021); 38. Rodger Hendricks (2; 23.535); 39. Brett Roy (2; 23.638); 40. Joson Knupp (2: 23.700); 41. Mike Welsh (2: 23.991); 42. Eric Dooyemo (2: 24.683); DuHame l (Hon) ; 3 . N icky Hayden (Hon); 4 . Andreas Meklau (Duc); 5 . Eric Bostrom (Ka w) ; 6 . Tomm y Hayden (Yam); 7 . MZltMilldin (Suz); 8. Jordan Szoke (H- D) ; 9. Doug Chandler ( Ka w}: 10 . John Jacobi (S uz); 1 1. A ndrew D eat herag e (S uz ); 12. Roger Hendrick s (Suz); 13 . Dean Mizdal (Suz) ; 14 . Alan Schm idt (Suz) ; 15. Brett Ray ( Suz); 16. Brett Boyd (S uz); 17 . M ike Smith (H- D) ; ' 18 . Richar d Shaw (SUl); 19. Jeffrey Purk (SUl); 20. Aoron Votes (SUl); 21. Jam ie Hacking (Suz): 22 . Greg Fryer (Yam); 23 . Mik e Wa lsh (Yam) ; 24 . Mauro Cereda (S uz); 25 . Larry Pe gram ( Duc) ; 26 . Stev e Rapp ( Duc ); 27 . Kurtis Roberts (Hon); 28 . Randall Mennenga (Suz) ; 29 . Pascal Picotte (H -D) . lime: n/a due to red flag Distance: 16 laps . 60 miles Averag e speed: nfa due to red flag Margin of victory: 5.6 sec. AMA SUPERBIKE NATIONAL C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 6 or 14 rounds): 1. Ma t Mladin ( 198/ 3 wins); 2. Eric Bostrom (163); 3. Tommy Hoyden (139); 4. Doug Chandler (138); 5. Nicky Hoyden (136); 6. (TIE) Anthony Gobert ( 126/2 wins)/ Aaron Yates ( 126 ): 8 . Ja mie Hacking (1 20/1 win) : 9. Kurtis Roberts (11 4) ; 10. Miguel DuHamel (1 13); 11. Lorry Pegrom ( 112); 12. (TIE) Steve Ropp/Michoel Smith (100); 14. Jordon Sz oke (94); 43 . Chris Voelker (2: 24 .935 ): 44 . Jason Damico (2 : 15. And reas Mek lau (83 ); t6. Mauro Cereda ( 70); 17. An drew Deatherage (6 7) : 18 . Pascal Picotte (60); 19. John Jaco bi (48) ; 20 . John Ashmead (44) . Gobert (Ya m ) ; 3 . Ja mie Ha ck ing (S ua) : 4. E ric Bostrom (Kaw) ; 5 . Nick y Hayden ( Hon); 6 . Aaron Yates ( Su::); 7. To m my Hayden (Ya m) ; 8 . Miguel DuHamel (Hon); 9 . Andreas Meklau (Duc); to. Doug Upcoming Rounds Round 7 - Loudo n, New Hampsh ire , June 17 Round 8 - Monterey, Californ ia, July 7 25.868). RACE ONE; 1. Mot Mlodin (SU 2. Anthony 1); Crashes were frequent OCCUrTences in the wet round. Here Jamie Hacking pic ks up what's le ft of his crash ed Suzuki . no comparison. "Today I pushed pretty hard until about five laps to go whe n I had four and a half seco nds." Miadin said. - I just played it out from there. In '97 I was riding one of those V-twins and anyti me yo u're riding a V-twi n 1000 it' s going to make your life a lot easier on the fast track like this. That was a pretty easy victo ry. I think Anthony [Gobert] can speak for that. They're fast and if you've got a fast guy riding a fast motorbi ke. it' s going to be a lot easier. In '97 I sort of played around until there was five laps to go . then I put my head down and won by a few seco nds." BRIEFLY••• Ro a d A meric a paid a $60.000 purse for the tw o Superbike Nationals. wit h the winners set to take home $4 000 from each of the two races. The winner of the 250cc Grand Prix class. Rich Ol iver , earned $3000 and th e Form ula Xtre me cl ass winner. Damon Buckmaster. earned $1800 for his effort s. M ladin said there we re more tire c hoic e s than normal at Road Tom Kipp las t rode a racing motorcycle in the firs t week of Oct ober in 2000. Eight months - and a few hours on an RM250 America and he picked the right one to win Saturday 's National. " I think there was probably four cho ices. tw o compounds . but probably four choices." Mladin explained. -There was a couple of thin-gauged ones and some standard ones . I think mo st of us used thin-gauged ones. Lap times. I don't think there's much in it. but we think the thin-gauged ones are a bit safer. Butl don't think anybody did enough laps on the any of them to really know if the standard tire wa s safe or not. We'lI stick with that . though from the forecast. we could be going to knobbies." motocrosser - later the O hioan was back in action at Road Arnerlca , racing as a replacement rider for the injured Ja son Pridmore on the Att ack Suzuki GSX-R1000 and GSX-R600. " It feels way too much like wo rk at this point." Kipp said with a smile on Saturday morninq after completing his Formula Xtreme practice session. " I don't feel rusty when things are right. With the 600 . nght away it felt like I'd never stepped off it. But we're having a number of problems with the big bike - computer problems ... just a little bit of everyth ing. Yesterday in qualifying it felt good . but we backed up today and now we have to go back to what we had in qualifyi ng. With a bike with that much horsepower. step one is gelling com forta ble . It' s fast. but it doesn 't acce lera te like a Superbike. It' s making a lot of horsepo we r and it feels like it's just gett ing starte d whe n you get to tum one. In a lot of ways . the Ferracci Ducati felt like that. " Despite the fact that he was fifth in Formula Xtreme and in the to p 15 in the highly competitive 600 cc Supersport class, Kipp was a bit disappointed in his performance. "I' m disappointed in myself." Kipp said. " I thought I wo uld come here and... well. I think if things come around and go right we can win things. I might have come in here with a little bit of unrealistic expectations." In additio n to ret urning to racing . Kipp will also go back to school in the fall . The 1999 AMA 750 cc Su per sp ort C hampion is in the process of selling his piston-sleevtnq business and will att end a Christian Uberal Art s school near his home to study theology. " It' s a four- to five-year program." Kipp said. - I too k a class a year ago and I really enjoyed it. I've been out of school for a long time. but I'm pretty exci1ed about it. I will want to race for a few more seasons if I can get a good program toqether.- Kipp finished fifth in the Formula Xtrem e final and 12t h in 600cc Supersport. Comp etition Acce ssori es Ducatis Larry Pegram underwen t surgery on both fo rearms tw o and a half weeks ago and on Friday he put the arms to the test for the first time. " It ain' t right yet and I don't know if it will work or not." Pegram said of the surgery he underwent to both arms in an effort to alleviate arm pump. a procedure that Dr. Arthu r Ting performed. cutting the sack that surrounds the forea rm muscles. "He knew I was going to do it. " Pegram said when asked if he was attem pting to come back too soon. "He said four weeks and it's bee n two and a half we eks. It' s just sore right now and I'm a lillie wea k · I'm a litt le te ntative everyw here . On my left arm. the sti tche s [which are under the skinl keep bust;ng open. I'm just trying to keep it together but it' s not worki ng." Following Saturday' s first Superbike race, in which he finished l l th. Pegram said: " My arms are hurting. The pain is affecting my performance and I'm feeling a lillie weak. It affec ts me most when I'm changing direction. I had a terrible start . which didn't help the situatio n. and I was losing draft throughout the race. No matter how hard I pushed I coul dn't catc h anyo ne in front of me. It was a lonely end to the race. W e're going to work on the bike's steering. see if we can't improve it's handling. and see how things go tomorrow . " Stayi ng perfect. Although it will be difficult. you won't find many willing to bet against Mat M la din earning pole position at each and every race this year. So far. he's perfect. "There's always a possibility. but we're all only human and we all make mistakes. Fortunately. so far with most of my laps I haven' t made too many mistakes. Obviously. I've made less than most people during the qualifying laps - but wit h eight more poles to get. it's not really Add ing to the Ducati woes of late was the fact that S teve Ra pp co uldn' t do any bett er th an 12t h on Saturday. his pro gre ss thwarted by an off -track excursion. -I was pushing hard through so met hing I' m thinking about. It w ould be nice because it's an extra eight points or whatever . " a taller screen - but so far none have worked . We 'll spend tonight Mladin was asked to co mpare his vict ory on Sat urday to his victory on the Fast By Ferracci Ducati in 1997. He said ther e was Two of the three races held on Saturday featured higher avera ge speeds than the year before. Mat Mladin averaged 109.999 12 J UNE 20, 2001 • cu e I e n e vv the entire race, " says Rapp. "There's bee n a persistent problem since we started qualifying yes terday . W e've been studying the com pute r read-outs trying to find where we 're losing time. W e have tried a few different things - changing the pads. swapping to looking for the solution. so tomorrow will be bett er.- s mph compared to Nicky Hayden's 109.566 in last year' s Superbike National. and Damon Buckmaster averaged 108.400 mph in wi nning t he Formu la Xt re me final co mpare d to 108 .059 mph turned in iast year by race winner Kurti s Robert s. With many of the big-name stars no longer competing in 750cc Supersport . the avera ge speed in th at race w as slowe r than last yea r' s wi th Ji mmy Moore averaging 105.503 mph compared to Buckmaster' s 105 .759 mph average set a year ago . Quot e of the weekend went to M ike Smith after he'd crashed the fac tory H·D on the w arm -u p lap o f Su nday 's Sup erb ike National. - I was go;ng down the back straightaway and there was this b;g old puddle.- Smith said to announcer Richard Chambers. " I hit that rascal and was doi ng about 130 mph on my back . I thought. ·Well. that' s a race I don't have to do.' and then myoid pig started calling me ." Smith remounted . rode back to the pits . his crew made repairs and he finished 17th in the National. Aaron Yates was to the point when he spoke of his crash in Sunday' s wet National. " It sucked." Yates said. - I was just riding around you know . It spun like hell of the start . My bike never really had any gr ip on t he rear. I think this frame wa s too sti ff . It wouldn 't squat. it wo uld just spin out. I was straiqht up and down when I fell. It just kicked sideway s and spit me off." Nicky Hayden was grate ful to his crew afte r they had to get things right on the RC51 after he crashed on Sunday during the AM A's two -lap practice session prior to the we t National. "Those guys work really hard.- Hayden said. "Those guys never give up on me - even when I do a lot of stu pid st uff. They just fix me another bike and let me try again. I learned a lot today and have some stuff to add to the notebook. Anthon y Gobert gives a lot of credit to his mot ocross background for his prowess as a wet -weather rider. "I've been riding motocross since I was a young kid and I kind of enjoy riding in the wet more than I do the dry." Gobert satd, " I just feel really comfortable. One of my first Superbike races was in the we t and I was running up there with the guys and in the dry I was eighth. I knew then I wo uld be good in the wet. " Gobert was some what fo rt unate on Sunday that Dunlop tire technician J im A llen talked him out of using an inte rmediate tire in the we t conditions. "I was lucky. We were going to put intermediates on and Jim Allen talked me out of it. - Gobert said. To wh ich M iguel DuHamel replied. "That's it - Jim Allen is off the Christmas list. " In the dry. M igu el D uHa mel cont inues to struggle to find the right setup on his Honda RCS1. "Whe n the tires are new. it' s not too bad." DuHamel said. " But when the tire gets greasy . where normally I go pretty good . I just can't keep the pace and I went backwards. I'm just having a bit of trouble communicating. "

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