Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

trying to catch up to Dave [Estok]," Montano said. Montano beat Conrad by about half a second. The next rider across was Motoworld of EI Cajon's Ricky Lundgren about a minute later. Montano's teammate, Charlie Hewett, was next followed by Ciccotto, who lost ground to Montano in the championship. With five rounds remaining, Montano leads Ciccotto, 184-154, with Nash now in third at 153. I:N Colonel's Bninenllntemational Raceway Bninenl, Minnnota Results: July 29, 2001 (Round IJ BUELL PRO THUNDER: 1. David Estok (Bue); 2. Jeffrey Nash (Duc); 3. Thomas Montano (Duc); 4. Shllwn Conrad (Duc); 5 Ricky Lundgren (Duc); 6. Charlie Hewett (Duc); 7. Mike Ciccotto (Bue); 8. David Kieffer (Duc); 9. Michael Kahlstorf (Duc); 10, Tim Mitchell (SUI); II. Peter Monson (Suz); 12. Peter Bohlig (Su,); 13. Michael Handegard (Suz); 14. Dean Mi,dal (Due); IS. Tripp Nobles (Bue); 16. Mike Krynock (Due). TIme: 22 min., 48.969 sec. Distance: 13 laps, 39 miles. Average speed: 102.559 mph. Margin of victory: 1.274 sec. BUELL PRO THUNDER C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 6 of I I rounds): 1. Thomas Montano (184); 2. Mike Ciccotto (154); 3. Jeffrey Nash (153); 4. David Estok (135); 5. Charlie Hewett (104); 6. Mike Krynock (102); 7. Dean Mizdal (99); 8. Tripp Nobles (77); 9. Ricky Lundgren (70); 10. David Kieffer (67); 11. John Dugan (51); 12. Thomas Fournier (49); 13. Richard Haas (42); 14. (TIE) Michael Barnes/Michael Hardin (39); 16. Eric Wood (38); 17. Michael Mondo (34); 18. Michael Ellsworth (32); 19. Shawn Conrad (27); 20. (TIE) Robert Nigl/Zoran Vujasinovic (26). Upcoming Rounds: Round 7 - Summit Point, West Virginia, August 5 Round 8 - Fountain, Colorado, August 26 AMAILockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtrame Series Round 7: Colonels Brainerd International Raceway Bv HENNV RAV ABRAMS PHOTO BV BRIAN J. NELSON BRAINERD, MN, JULY 27 rion Honda's Jake Zemke stole the victory from Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's John Hopkins with a crafty move in the final tum of the LockhartPhillips USA Formula Xtreme race at the Colonel's Brainerd International Raceway, and then beat Hopkins in a drag race to the flag to win his first race of the year by .087 of a secQ,nd. It was the second time in three races that Hopkins had been beaten in the final corner, but Zemke thougtjt Hopkins did everything right. "He rode a perfect race," Zemke said of Hopkins, who led 10 of the 13 laps. Hopkins' mistake was taking a more inside line in the final right-hand corner, a defensive maneuver that didn't work out. "When you're leading, that's what you have to do, you have to protect the inside," Zemke said. "Luckily, at this racetrack, the comer really opens up on the exit so I was able to get around the outside of him and carry a little bit more momentum." "I knew he was there because he had actually came by me in the chicane," Hopkins said. "Even if he did come up the inside I still would have protected because I was seeing plus zero on my board the whole time." Hopkins' consolation was that he was able to cut into the championship points lead held by Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster, seventh today with set-up problems that caused his rear tire to suffer. Seven races into the 10-race season, Buckmaster leads Hopkins, 216-203. "It ain't over, that's for sure," Buckmaster said. "We just have to work harder. ' E Grant Lopez, who passed Buckmaster on the penultimate lap, is third at 175. Rain washed out Friday qualifying, which meant everyone had a little less set-up time. It also meant the grid was determined by championship standings. For riders not in the championship, the positions were determined by the date of entry. That a Honda was at the front of the pack was something of a revelation. Neither the Erion Hondas, nor the Bruce Transportation Group Hondas have been much of a presence or threat this year. That they'd emerge at " track with a horsepower-sapping straightaway was a surprise, to say the least. Zemke credited his crew. "If you watch footage from the start of the season to now the bikes are 100 times better than what we started the season with," he said. "This win, it definitely has to go to the crew. They've just been working and working nonstop to put the best machine that they can underneath us." Though his Honda has evolved, Zemke still didn't have the power of Hopkins' Suzuki GSX-RI000, but he compensated. "I couldn't even draft him," Zemke said. "I couldn't even hold the draft on him going down straightaway. What he was making up I could get back in the infield, usually." That's how the race went. Hopkins led off the start with Buckmaster an early second before his inexorable march backward landed him in seventh. "We just missed the set-up," Buckmaster said. Rain on Friday cancelled Formula Xtreme qualifying, which put a premium on track time. On Saturday morning Buckmaster blew an engine in practice, further cutting into his devel- Jake Zemke stole the Fonnula Xtreme victory from John Hopkins, passing the young Californian in the final comer. It was the second time in three races that Hopkins has been passed in the last tum. opment time. By the fourth or fifth lap, Buckmaster knew he was in trouble. "I just had no grip," he said. "I almost highsided in tum one." With the set-up off, the rear tire was taking the abuse and suffering. At high-speed tracks like Brainerd and Road America, Dunlop offers special rear tires with a thinner center segment to reduce heat. There can be a tradeoff in side grip, though most riders don't experience that. Buckmaster, however, felt they didn't work at Brainerd. "I don't think they're worth running," he said. With Buckmaster soon to be out of the picture it was Zemke who slotted in behind Hopkins, taking over the lead on the seventh lap and holding it across the stripe for the eighth. On the straights, Zemke was getting killed, but working hard to make it back in the infield. Bruce Transportation Group's Josh Hayes moved his Honda CBR-929RR up to Zemke and Hopkins, the trio well clear of Buckmaster, who found himself in the clutch of Attack Suzuki's Tom Kipp and Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Aaron Gobert. Hopkins seemed to h"ve a slight gap on the 1Oth lap when Zemke and Hayes slowed each other down. Hayes thought he'd be there at the end, "And then Jake [Zemke] made a little mistake and the two of us kind of knocked off the back of John and then we started chipping our way back up to him and in the process of that I kind of messed up my own race. I made a mistake myself and got knocked off the back of Jake." Hayes third was secure, which was a pleasant surprise given how his weekend and race had begun. "We had some brake problems earlier in the week and right before the race made some changes to the brake system and we were kind of panicking, we didn't know if we were going to have any," Hayes said. "So the first two laps were kind of tentative, trying to be a little careful." The lever eventually came back to the grip, but Hayes controlled it, though at a pace half a second a lap slower than he'd run last year. That left it to Hopkins and Zemke. On the final lap Zemke made a run on Hopkins and passed him, knowing he'd overrun the exit, but intent on letting III U III I e Hopkins know he was there. It worked. Hopkins knew where Zemke was and protected the inside line in the final comer. The inside line is slightly slower and the difference hurt Hopkins drive to the flag, the win going to Zemke. "By passing him on the last lap there before the bus stop I knew I was in too deep and he was going to come right back by me but I wanted to show him that wheel so he knew that I was there so he would protect the inside," Zemke said. The strategy worked and the win, Zemke's and Honda's first of the year, was complete. Hopkins, though disappointed, saw the big picture. "I'd rather have a championship over a win," he said. Hayes was third, then came Kipp, who said he missed on his set-up and spent the first half of the race trying to figure out how to get around problem areas. Kipp had tried" practice start at the end of the Friday's pr"ctice session, so when he went out for Saturday's practice he had clutch problems. That meant he didn't have time to test his race set-up. What he discovered in the race was ttjat he was having a hard time carrying speed into the corners. "When I was on my own and I cpuld ride my own lines, I could ride real quick," Kipp said. "Going off-line, that's when I had problems. Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Aaron Gobert was only two-tenths behind Kipp with Grant Lopez seventh and Buckmaster in his wake. I:N Colonel's lrainenllntemati_llIlIceway Brainerd. Minn_ Results: July 2&, 2001 (Round 1 of 10J LOCKAART-PHIWPS USA FORMULA XTREME: I. Jake Zemke (Han); 2. John Hopkins (Suz); 3. Josh Hayes (Hon); 4. Tom Kipp (Suz); 5. Aaron Gobert (Yam); 6. Gr1lnt Lopez (SIJZ); 7. Damon Buckmaster (Varn); 8. Mark Milier (Han); 9. Frank Trombino (Vam); 10. Andrew Deatherage (Suz); 11. Mauro Cereda (Suz); 12. Steve Johnson (Apr); 13. Brian Boyd (Yam); 14. Ken Krebs (Suz); 15. Erick Handegard (Ka....); 16. Christopber Monge (Suz); 17. Ricky Lundgren (Due); 18. Chad Jensen (Su,); 19. Jeffrey Nash (Due); 20. Roger Lee Hayden (Han); 2 I. Thomas Montano (Due); 22. Eric Erling Haugo (Su,); 23. Shane Fletcher (Yam); 24. Charlie Hewett (Due). Time: 21 min.• 32.080 sec. Distance: 13 laps, 39 miles. Average speed: 108.663 mph. Margin of victory: 0.087 sec. LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (Afler 7 of 10 ro~nds): 1. Damon Buckmaster (216/2 willS); 2. Johp Hopkins (203/2); 3. Grant Lope, (175); 4. (TIE) Jo,~ Hayes/Jake Zemke (I68/l); 6. Aaron Gobert (158); 7. Mark Miller (138); 8. Roger Lee Hay~en (133); 9. Tom Kipp (92/1): 10. ~ich Aiexander (71);! 1. Chris Voelker (55); 12. Ch~ck Allen (54); 13. Jamie n,ompscn (52); 14. Jarn~s i30nner (45); 15. Andrew Deatherage (44); 16. Robert Mesa (42); 17. Owen Richey (39): 18. (TIE) Kim Nakashima/Jason Pridmore/Michaei Rawlings (37/1). Upcoming Rounds: Round 8 - Fountain, Colorado, August 25 Round 9 - Rosamond, Califomia, Seplember 15 n e _ & • AUGUST a. 2001 21

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