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AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series Round 12: Pikes Peak International Raceway laps that he would probably be coming. That tire was really good. I ran 55s the whole race, I think only one lap I did a 56." It had been a tough night and day for the youngster, an emotional rollercoaster. He paid tribute to a fallen teammate by riding backward on the racetrack. "I've seen the NASCAR guys do it and we all did it for Toby [Jorgensen, a young dirt tracker who was killed two years agoJ. I just thought it would be a cool thing to do." Now that he's carrying some serious momentum, Hayden may be a difficult man to beat in the final two races. "To get three wins in a row, get a pole... it's awesome really," Hayden said. "Once you get momentum on your side, it's unbelievable. A lot of it is mental. Once you get things going, it's a lot better to be on that end of the court than the other." Bostrom did everything he could to put a stop to the Hayden streak, but he came up short and was naturally disappointed. "I definitely tried to put in a big charge near the end because I knew throughout the race that I didn't have that much to give," Bostrom said. "Toward the end, I thought, 'Okay, I'm going for it.' I blew one [tum one] really bad. I was able to make up a little time on the entry there, but it got the better of me. I kept trying to charge, but basically I couldn't hit my marks quite good enough to chase down a tough leader." Bostrom had earlier won a long, intense 600cc Supersport final. And it may have taken its toll on him. "Obviously, it's nice to make points, but we're not on top of the box and I think to win the championship I had to try and win these last three races and I failed in my try today," Bostrom said. "The 600 race was a long race and it took a little bit out of me and you can't afford to give nothing, especially with these guys being tough competitors. Nicky did a great job riding a mature race and, of course, Doug welcome back to the podium, man. It feels good. It was a long race." For Chandler it was a much-welcomed return to the podium. It had been since Daytona in March of 2000 since the three-time AMA Superbike Champion had been in the top three, and he was enjoying the return. "These guys are doing a really good job and they've definitely stepped up the pace," Chandler said. "I was doubting myself on if I was going to be able to make it back and get up there and race with these guys. It feels good to get back up there in the thick of things. I really enjoyed that race. I had some troubles and I was really happy to get through it and get back up here on the podium." Chandler downplayed the fact that many thought he might have been 8 SEPTEMBER 5, 2001 • cue able to make a move on his teammate Bostrom at some point in the race. "I was comfortable with that pace," Chandler explained. "I thought about making a charge, but it didn't look like anyone was going anywhere. I figured I'd just sit back and take it as it came. They kind of got away and it didn't work out. All in all, I was pretty happy with the bike and everything we did. The guys did a good job and gave me a good bike." Fifth for the majority of the race, Roberts ran into tire problems late that forced him to drop behind Rapp and into an eventual sixth. It was Rapp's best finish of the season. "I didn't know if I'd make it," said Rapp, referring to his last-lap overtaking move. "I was watching the pit board carefully and I knew if I was going to get another place it would come right down to the wire. Luckily, I got a good drive out of turn three and passed both Hacking and Roberts. The new race 501 tire helped a lot - it was definitely the best we've run all season. The start wasn't what I'd hoped for, though. The gearing we chose for the race wasn't the best for a good start and it took a while to get going. Traffic slowed me up for the first part, but once I got clear I was lapping at the same times as the front-runners. This race has been a big improvement." Roberts followed Rapp after a hectic final lap with Hacking. "The tire started hopping off the ground with 14 laps to go," Roberts said. "I had to let him [Mladin] go. With eight laps to go, I had six seconds on those guys and I knew it wasn't going to be enough. I couldn't even turn it into the corners - I couldn't do anything." Hacking came very close to putting Roberts another spot back, but he came up short at the finish line after the two tussled on the final lap. "It went fairly good," Hacking said. "In the beginning I was too conservative. I babied it too much and they gapped me. I missed a lot of practice time this weekend and I jus~ had to ride it and it was out of control a good bit. Halfway through, I just started spinning it, but I got screwed by lappers big time. [Steve] Rapp got back by me alld I saw Kurtis [Roberts] coming back. On the last lap, Kurtis lost the rear and we all had to let off. Kurtis went wide and I went underneath him, but he got back underneath m·e. I tried to set him up in the last corner, but he turned it back on me and we hit. That was it." Then came a lonely DuHamel, followed by Yates - the Georgian suffering along the way in what was his comeback ride from injury. His injury, though, wasn't his problem. "I ran a different tire than what we'd practiced with," Yates said. The tire was the one used by the majority of the front-runners, but Yates didn't have his' GSX-R750 set up for that tire., and it cost him. eN • • n e vv s Pu. Pi... Inwuti.ulllKe-.y FDlIDlaia, ColD. . . llnults: "gust 21, 2111 sOPERBIKE QOALIFYING: I. Nicky Hayden (Hon): 2. Eric Bostrom (Kaw); 3. Doug Chandler (Kaw): 4. Mat Mladin (sUl): 5. Steve Rapp (Due); 6. Kurtis Roberts (Hon); 7. Jamie Hacking (Suz); 8. Miguel Duhamel (Hon); 9. Aaron Yates (Suz); 10. Tommy Hayden (Yam); 11. Larry Pegram (Due): 12. Pascal PIcotte (H·D): 13. Andreas Meklau (Due); 14. MIchael Smith (H-D); 15. Mauro Cereda (suz); 16. Mike Sullivan (Suz); 17. Tony M.eiring (Suz); 18. Dean Mizdal (Suz); 19. John Dugan (Suz); 20. Anthony Lupo (SUl); 21. Andrew Deatherage (SUl); 22. Alan Schmidt (Suz): 23. Greg Fryer (Yam): 24. Jason Swan (5uz); 25. Scott Jensen (SUl); 26. Chris OIrich (SUl): 27. Ricky Orlando (SUl): 28. Eric Erling Haugo (SUl). Tune: 44 min., 30.595 sec. Distance: 48lap5, 63.8 miles Av=lge speed: 85.087 mph Margin of victory: 1.055 sec. AMA sOPERBIKE NATIONAL C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 12 of 14 rounds): I. Mal Mladin (359/4 wins); 2. Eric Bostrom (344/2); 3. Nicky Hayden (303/3); 4. Doug Chandler (292); 5. Miguel DuHamel (274); 6. Tommy Hayden (270); 7. Jamie Hacking (267/1): 8. Steve Rapp (246); 9. Kurtis Roberts (224); 10. Andreas Meklau (211): 11. Mike Smith (205); 12. Larry Pegram (199): 13. Aaron Yates (177); 14. Jordan Szoke (170); 15. Pascal Picotte (153); 16. (TIE) Mauro Ceredll/Andrew Deatherage (.145); 18. Anthony Gobert (126/1 win); 19. Dean Mizdal (108); 20. Tony Meiring (100). Upcoming Rounds Round 13 - Rosamond, Califomia, September 16 Round 14 • Danville, Virginia, September 30 lRIght) Miguel DuHamel battled Rapp earty in the race but faded back to a lonely eighth at the finish on the factory Honda. (Below) Competition Accessories Ducatl's Larry Pegram 172) leads Hartey Davidson's Pascal Picotte 121). They finished In this order down In 11th and 12th places, respectively. (Top) Like his Yoshimura teammates, Aaron Yates 120) struggled with tire and set-up problems on his Supertllke all weekend. Here he fights to keep Yamaha's Tommy Hayden 122) behind him. Yates finished ninth, with Hayden finishing 10th. IAbove) Nicky Hayden celebrates his third win In succession, and continues to hold onto third In the points battle behind Bostrom and Mladln.