Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series Round 12: Pikes Peak International Raceway Misfortune struck Sorensen hardest. The two-time defending class champion passed Oliver down the front stretch for the lead on the 21 st lap. It was short-lived. Sorensen got entangled with a group of lapped riders in the Carousel and ended up on the ground. From his second-place vantage point, Oliver saw it all. Oliver said it started in the previous corner when Fabweld's Greg Esser came together with another rider, throwing all three off their racing lines. "And when Chuckie [Sorensen] passed me, 1 guess Chuckie figured he really needed to go, and he went up through those guys as they were kind of coming back on all their lines they were kind of regrouping and they cut right across the track in front of him and took his front wheel out," Oliver said. "And he went right over the bars right through the windscreen, it was amazing. And his bike got kind of hooked up on the back of the other guy's bike and it sort of laid on the guy's seat and it was being dragged down the track and 1 was like 'Man, I hope this thing spits off the left, not to the right, where I'm going.'" Sorensen didn't blame Esser for the crash. "I was on a normal race line and thought I could get underneath him before he got there," Sorensen said. "I collected him. My front tire hit his rear tail section and wheel." Sorensen said that he should have gone around the outside of Esser. "I didn't expect him to come across that hard," he said. That settled the podium. Oliver won the 29-lap, 38-mile race in 27 minutes, 35.891 seconds at an average speed of 82.908 mph, not quite up to his record from 2000. PJl 's Michael Hannas won the battle for fourth over local rider Donald Hough, with another Coloradan, Ty David Piz, sixth. The top six were Yamaha-mounted. Esser won his battle, taking seventh from Mach 1 Motorsports' Jeffrey Leggitt, Colin Jensen, and Ed Sorbo. eN P1Iu1'. Puk 11Ilam8tI_1 ......y F-.tain, Collnde 1IeHIts: ....ust 21, 2001 I'\IlNA 250 GRAND PRIX: I. R;ch OUver (Vam); 2. Roland Sands (Vam); 3. Jimmy Filice (Vam); 4. Michael Hannas II (Vam); 5. Donald Hough (Yam); 6. Ty David Piz (Vam); 7. Greg Esser (Hon); 8. Jeffrey Leggitt (Hon); 9. Colin Jensen (Apr); 10. Edward Sorbo (Yam)' 11. Adrian Webb (Vern); 12. Cory Denton West (Vam); 13. Perry Melneciuc (Yam); 14. Roy De Groot (Yam); 15. T. Russell Strobridge am); 16. John France \Hon); 17. And~w Edwards ~ Yam): 18. William Whe lin (Yam); 19. Sean Wray Yam); 20. Charles Sorensen (Yam); 21. Simon umer (Yam); 22. Edwllrd Marchini (Yam). Time: 27 min., 35.891 sec. Distance: 29 IlIpS, 38 miles. Average speed: 82.908 mph. Margin of victory: 4.539 sec. MBNA 250 GRAND PRIX C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): I. Jimmy Filice (284/2); 2. Rich Oliver (270/6); 3. Michael Hannes II (225); 4. Perry Melneciue (20t); 5. Simon Turner (195); 6. Charles Sorensen (179); 7. Edwerd Sorbo \154); 8. Greg Esser (150); 9. Ty David Piz 148); o. John France (134); 11. Cory Denton West 132); 12. Chris Pyles (106); 13. Roland Sands 10511/; 14. Edward Marchini (95); 15. Williom Himme sbach (90); 16. Randy Renfrow (81); 17. Jeffrex leggitt (71); 18. Sean Wray (66); 19. Derek King (63); 20. Colin Jensen (61). 1 Upcoming Rounds: Round 10 - Rosamond, Califomia, September 16 Round 11 - Danville, Virginia, September 30 14 SEPTEMBER 5,2001 • cue Buell Pro Thunder: Round 8 STORV AND PHOTO BV HENNY RAV ABRAMS FOUNTAIN, CO, AUG 26 ealth was the deciding factor in the red-flag interrupted Buell Pro Thunder race at Pike's Peak International Raceway. Advance Motorsports' Jeffrey Nash was healthy again, after riding with a broken hand for three races, and he won, handily. Not so healthy was the machine of one-time race leader Tripp Nobles, whose Tilley's H-D/Buell inexplicably went on one cylinder as he was leading. He didn't finish. Munroe Motors' Tom Montano, the championship leader, did finish, though he had to nurse his ailing Ducati 748 around to sixth place after it stuck itself in fourth gear. Nobles' Tilley teammate Dave Estok was healthy of bike and body and finished second, 6.043 seconds behind Nash, with third going to Hal's Performance Buell's Mike Ciccotto, still bothered by a broken right hand and also hampered by a failing motorcycle. Even the final itself was damaged goods, red-flagged to a halt on the seventh of 29 laps. The race was gridded by the running order at the end of five laps and run to completion. At the end of the day, Nash had his second win of the season and had cut Montano's points lead to 24, though that number isn't absolute. Only the top 10 of 12 finishes will count toward the championship, so the mathematical possibilities are endless and will be up until the final checkered flag. Still, it's nice to have a podium finish to throw in the mix. "I'm healthy again after having to ride three races with a broken hand," Nash said about his recent form. "I'm like Mike [Ciccotto], we both had injuries and it's been really tough trying to combat that and ride at this level. I'm feeling really healthy again and back at a full training program." Nash's hand wasn't a problem at PPIR. He created his own problem by running too close to the leaders in the early going, the still air causing his Ducati to start to overheat. Nash dropped back to cool the bike down, then went after Nobles, who was in the lead, and was gaining on him when 'Nobles went out in a puff of smoke on the 21st lap. "It went on one cylinder: team owner Don Tilley said. "I had the plugs out and turned it over. I can't find nothing." From there it was smooth sailing for Nash to victory. H •• n ....... Defending Buell Pro Thunder Champion Jeffery Nash got his second win of the lfear at Pikes Peak, winning by OYer six seconds over Dave Estok. Estok was healthy but slow all weekend long, depending on the others to stay out front. "The only time I can go halfway fast is when I'm running behind these guys," Estok said. "We made a couple of changes during the red flag and it made it a lot better, it made my bike steer a little bit better and a little more confident throwing in. I just got a way better start that time too and started ahead of them and I just kept my momentum going. And Ciccotto was riding a real good race and you could see instantly when he had shifting because coming through turn one he was fast every single time until all of sudden he started drifting wide there, not being able to get his shift and that's when Tripp [Nobles] and I got past him." Nash passed Estok on the 19th lap and Estok quickly found out why. "When I tried to do his pace, I was coming too close to crashing, and that was my main thing, I wanted to be able to finish, especially on the box here: the second-place finisher said. Ciccotto had led the original start and was pulling away when the race was stopped. On the restart, reassumed the point again, only to lose it to Nobles on the 11th lap, though there were indications of trouble earlier. "About the third lap, my electric shifter broke, and that caused some problems with the wrist: he said. "Not having to shift is really nice for the wrist. I went ahead and just settled in behind them and tried to get a good rhythm going, working the throttle and shifting the bike. And it started running a little bit hot. I felt a lot of heat between my legs, and then I started getting some oil about six or seven laps from the end. I was going try to make a run at Dave [Estok], because I was able to stay right back from him just a little bit, but once the oil came I just backed it down and brought it home." Gem City Bone & Joint's Dr. Dave Kieffer got the better of a race-long fight with Motoworld of EI Cajon's . Ricky Lundgren in the fight for fourth. Kieffer, who held the spot for most of the race, but lost it on lap 20, retook it with a few laps to go. Sixth went to the disappointed Montano. The points leader said his gearbox stuck itself in fourth gear just before the red flag. During the red flag delay, he thought it might have been fixed, only for a recurrence on the first lap of the restart. "I was just circulating: he said. "It's a little difficult to ride when you can't downshift. I had to pull in the clutch to keep it running." P1Iu1'. Puk 11Iterutieu11lKew8Y FnlaID, CeIannIo Ilesalb: August 21, 2001 (Round 8 of 111 BOELL PRO THUNDER: I. Jefmy Nash (Due); 2. David Estok (Bue); 3. Mike Cieeotto (Bue); 4. David Kieffer (Due); 5. Ricky Lundgren (Due); 6. Thomas Montllno (Due); 7. Benjamin Fox (Due); 8. Mike Krynock (Due); 9. Charlie Hewett (Due); 10. Tom Chauncey (Due); 11. Celvin Sprenger (Due); 12. Peter Monson (Suz); 13. Dale Pestes (Due); 14. Tripp Nobles (Bue); 15. Charles Sipp (Bue); 16. Robert Bradlaw (Suz); 17. Tim Mitchell (Suz). lime: N/A due to red flag. Distance: 29 laps, 38 miles. Average speed: N/A due to red fleg. Margin of victory: 6.043 sec. B

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