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/128121
Formula USA Lockhart-Phillips Unlimited Superbike Series Round 4: Pocono Raceway Warm and humid conditions persisted for the bigger-money round, Superbike race two, with Acree into first from the start with a more determined Higbee in tow, this dynamic duo soon pulling clear of Himmelsbach. Higbee briefly drafted into the lead on lap five, but Acree immediately repassed, the pair dropping their lap times to near qualifying pace while slicing through traffic. Higbee was less than a second back with three laps to go, but he wound up four seconds in arrears of victor Acree at the finish of 18 laps. STORY AND PHOTOS BY COLIN FRASER LONG POND, PA, AGO. 26 rclight Suzuki team leader Lee Acree had a faultless weekend of Formula USA competition at the Toyota Trucks-backed Pocono event. Acree started from pole in both Sportbike and the featured Superbike events, and then took the middleweight round as well as both legs of the big-bike class. In scoring the rare triple Sunday success, Acree moved into the overall series points lead from Millennium Suzuki's Shawn Higbee, Acree's toughest competition at Pocono. In the opening 18-lap Superbike race around Pocono's unusual 2.5mile, II-turn, inside-the-tri-oval layout, Acree followed Higbee from the start but pushed past on lap three. Acree then took control, Higbee fighting hard with Acree's teammate, Brian Parriott, for third. Parriott departed the second-placed scrap with a low-speed slide out on lap 13. Parriott's fall left Higbee safe in second ahead of the charging Blackman Aprilia of first-year big-bike rider Michael Himmelsbach. Running in fourth, Eric Wood crashed his Suzuki spectacularly when the transmission jumped out of gear on lap 14, ending the race early with the red flag. Although motionless for a long time, Wood was eventually able to get to his feet, although he didn't compete in the second race. A 54 SEPTEMBER 12, 2001 • c: U c: Lee Acree was dominant in the Pocono round of the Fonnula USA Series, winning both races In the Unlimited Superblke Series. Back-of-the-grid-starter Parriott worked his way through the field to hunt down Himmelsbach late in the race, the second Arclight rider getting past the twin to snare the final rostrum placing. All the credit for Acree's success was diverted to his team, the victor saying, "my bike is just about unbeatable, the whole shooting match was just phenomenal. These Metzler tires T...,...., are amazing, they kept me in front of Higbee, and we were running some fast laps there at the end." Acree turned the fastest laps of the race with some mid 1:40s with Higbee close behind. This compares well to Acree's pole effort of 1:39.6, with Acree only rider all weekend to officially break the 1:40 barrier. The Formula USA Superbike record remains at 1:39.1, a time set by the Ducati of Larry Pegram in qualifying last August. The racer expected to grab pole, based on practice times at the twinsuited track, was Blackman Aprilia's Tray Batey. But Batey crashed in qualifying, though he was still able to start second with a time of 1:40.3. Higbee and Parriott completed the front row. In the opening race, the man widely expected to give Aprilia their first series podium result retired from the front group at the end of lap one with undiagnosed engine noises. His young teammate, Himmelsbach, instead climbed Pocono's huge NASCAR winner's stand post-race after a smart ride to third. Batey switched to his spare 1000cc 60degree V-twin for Superbike race two and worked his way to an eventual sixth from the back of the grid. The points leader going into the second half of the Formula USA tour, Australian Ducati rider Craig Connell, had a weekend in northeast Pennsyl- off"'" C2J pulls In the tI....... with mecINInIc" troubles while his Mike .lhlilllalelNlc:la (1041. ChartH Chouinard (221) and Eric Wood (4) . - p ...... • • nlll __