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/128110
AMA Chevy Trucks U .S . Superbi ke S eries Round 7 : New Hampshire In t e r n a tio n a l Speedway B y HEN NY R A Y A B RAMS PH OT OS BY BRI AN J. NELSO N L D OU ON,NH,JUNEI8 K awasak i's Er ic Bostrom he ld off the relentless p ressur e of Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin to win the postponed 78th Loudon Classic . a compell ing ra ce for the lead . but mostl y p rocessional a ffair fa r t h er back , held la te on a cloud less , sunny M onda y morning - a day after inclem ent weather forc ed a postponement of the race . Rain on Sunday forced the race to be held a day late . Sunday 's ra in was replaced by Monday's sun , the sk y a brilli ant , cloudless blue , the Supe rbike field losing a few of th e 750cc Super sport regulars who normally fill the field. Off th e start , Bostrom got t h e holeshot, but Mladin was right on him and pressi ng co nstan tly . Bo st rom ' s largest gap was 1.018 seconds on the ninth of 39 laps, with the gap mostly under a second . Mladin never gave u p , p assing Bo stro m b riefly o n the 29 th lap , but was un ab le to make it stick when they came up on a backIf it 's Monday, It must be Loudon. Eric Bostrom (32) led 99.9 percent of the Superbike National at New Hampshire International Speedway, held on Monday after rain postponed t h e race for a s ec o n d strai9ht season. Mat Mladln (1) pressured Bostrom the entire d istance, b ut couldn't fi nd a way pa st the Kaw asa k i rid e r. 6 .JUNE 27 . 200 1 • cu e • e n eVIl's marker. H e wou ldn 't get another c hance to make a ru n , an d a t the checkered flag it was Bostrom ov er Mladin by 1.036 seconds . " O n the last l a p . I was t h ink in g 'I've led 3 8 lap s, it 's to o late to give it up no w ,' " Bostrom sai d after his fi rst win of the season . " I was j ust trying to be p reci se and put th e bi ke w here I kn ew it wo uld be tou gh t o pass. Thi rty -n ine laps on a tight little race track like this is a big win for us . It had to be wearing on all of us .' "I was prett y comforta ble , it's j ust a ha rd tra ck to pass o n," Mladin said. " I thi nk I had the measure of Eric , I was j us t trying to pass him w ithou t do in g anything silly ." Yo shi m ura Suzuki' s Aaro n Yate s fin ished th ird , pass ing tea mmate Jamie Hack ing on the 13th lap and clea ri ng o ut . He'd fin ish about 24 sec o nds behi nd Mlad in with anothe r ·5 .5 on America n Honda 's Nicky Hayden , who finish ed fourth. Yates botched the start and never could catch up . " I prett y much blew t he start ," Yates sai d. "I've been havin g tro ub le starting the Superb ik e all year." By lead ing the most laps, Bostrom a dded an ex t ra point to th e 3 6 he wo n for the race. At the halfway po int in the 14 -race seaso n, Mladin holds a 30-point lead , 230 to 200 over B o st ro m . N icky Hay d en a nd sixthplace fin isher Do ug Chandler are tie d for th ird with 163 points .