Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIChevy Trucks U. S. Superbike Series Round 12: Pikes Peak International Raceway By Doug Chandler pressured him throughout. MJadin would end up suffering from a lack of rear-wheel grip, and would fade to an eventual fourth, giving up valuable championship points to his title-chase rival Bostrom. The Kawasaki factory rider hung on Hayden's rear wheel for the duration, but could never make inroads into the youngster's stronghold on the lead. The gap between the two would vary, but it was never more than just a few seconds, depending on how they fared in traffic on the tight and twisty Pikes Peak layout. Bostrom never gave up the chase and he was just 1.05 seconds behind at the checkered flag. Right behind Bostrom 'came his teammate Chandler, in easily his best performance of the season. Chandler was a factor throughout the race, passing Mladin to move into third PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOS BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS FOUNTAIN, CO, AUG. 26 Hayden lost a teammate 11 )l and friend on Saturday night. On Sunday he paid his friend WilJ Davis the ultimate racing tribute, doing a backward lap of Pikes Peak International Raceway just moments after winning his third-straight AMA Superbike National on a day of conflicting emotions for the 20-year-old. "He was a teammate of mine and you'll never meet a nicer guy than him," Hayden said of Davis.•Just last weekend at a dirt track he let me use his bike. That says a lot right there. It's a bummer. He's such a nice guy, and I feel sorry for his wife and son. I guess you've got to know going in that that stuff can happen. I want to dedicate this race to him and his family. He will definitely be missed." Davis' death at the Sedalia Half Mile in Missouri on Saturday night marred an otherwise splendid weekend of racing at Pikes Peak, but Hayden was able to persevere through the myriad of emotions to win his third successive AMA Superbike National. The factory Honda rider was fast from the moment they wheeled his RC51 out of the truck, earning his first-ever Superbike pole position on Saturday afternoon (see qualifying sidebar) and setting himself up as the pre-race favorite for the National. Then he did the expected. He was strong from the start, following early leader Mat Mladin for the first 10 laps before out-braking the Australian into the turn-three hairpin on the 11th lap to take the lead. From there he was never headed, though first MJadin and then Kawasaki's Eric Bostrom and 1M icky 6 SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 • cue (Top) Mat Mladln (1) got the earty jump in the Superbike race at Pikes Peak. Here he leads Nicky Hayden (69), Eric Bostrom (behind Hayden) and Doug Chandler (10). (Right) Hayden (69) leads Mladin (1), Bostrom (hidden), and Chandler (10) after working his way around early leader Mladin. I e n e _ s place on the 21 st of 48 laps. He stayed with Bostrom, and at times seemed as though he could have possibly passed his teammate. That wouldn't have been good for Bostrom's title hopes, however, and Chandler sat in third place, happy to be back in the thick of things again at the front of a Superbike National. Mladin was fourth, milking his way to the finish line with a tire he wasn't certain could go the distance. Although, he could do nothing but watch as Bostrom pulled away in his pursuit of Hayden, the Australian still goes into the final two rounds with a 15-point cushion, 359-344, as things are starting to heat up at the top of the points standings. Hayden's latest victory puts him third in the series standings with 303 points. Although Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts looked to have a stranglehold on fifth place for most of tlie race, even gaining a bit here and there on Mladin at one point, the position ended up going to HMC Ducati's Steve Rapp. Roberts was forced to slow at the end of the race, his rear tire failing him. That allowed Rapp to move around the Honda and into fifth place. Yoshimura Suzuki's Jamie Hacking also moved by Roberts, though the Californian was able to repass him on the final lap to secure sixth place. Hacking held on for seventh. Behind that battle came a lonely Miguel DuHamel on the third factory Honda RC51. DuHamel had been with the Rapp/Hacking battle early on, but he faded off the pace to finish a solitary eighth. Yoshimura Suzuki's Aaron Yates, like his teammate Mladin, also suffered with grip problems and he barely held off Yamaha's Tommy Hayden for ninth place. Tenth went to Competition Accessories Ducati's Larry Pegram, with the Ohioan getting the better of Harley-Davidson's Pascal Picotte after their near race-long struggle. HMC Ducati's Andy Meklau finished a lap behind Hayden in 13th place. Ditto for the final factory rider, Harley-Davidson's Mike Smith in 14th. The top privateer was Czaia [,. Gallagher's Mauro Cereda on his Suzuki GSX-R750. The race began with Mladin leading Hayden and Bostrom into turn one. Hayden was in a hurry and he shot past the Australian heading into the hairpin on the first lap, only to . have Mladin dive back into the lead in turn four. Then things settled down, though it didn't take long for Mladin to know that things weren't all that they seemed at the front. He did a good job of faking it though, leading for the first 10 laps before Hayden came past heading into the hairpin. Still, he hung on, struggling with grip problems for as long as he could. On the 16th lap, Bostrom came past heading into the

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