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Testing At Laguna Seca Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster would also surpass Aaron Gobert, who sat out Wednesday after a hard fall on Tuesday afternoon. "We just put a new tire in," Aaron Gobert said. "' don't even know what it was. That was probably half the reason why I went down the road. I wasn't right up on the specs on the tire." Aaron Gobert did two laps on the tire, got it to race temperature, then picked up the pace in turn four on the third lap. Cresting the hill approaching the Corkscrew, the front end of Aaron Gobert's R-6 got light. When the front tire came down, it violently and suddenly spit him down. "I come over and I think the first time it hit, instead of locking and gripping again, it just I n went out from under me," e said. "I was just heading down t e track. I was actually just sliding and I was thinking this is never going to end. Like I hadn't even hardly t uched the brakes when I crashed. I s flat out, just sideways." Aaron Gobert sustained a sprained left ankle and had a headache. "The doctor wanted hilT\ to stay off of it, and he took the doctor's advice," Yamaha's Halverson said. Third fastest Buckmaster said he, too, was working out front-end kinks. "I'm mainly just workin with the front, just trying to get a jt of feedback from the front," he said of his brand new R-6. "We seem to be suffering a little bit with a bi ofi)atte. Especially on the flat corners, like three and four. If we can get that handied, that'd be good. I think we're all sort of stuck in a little bit of the same thing." "Laguna is one of the biggest tracks for us for front-end chatter, especially on the 600s," Bruce TransJ · port a t Ion G roup 's a k e Z em k e con- was the end of his 600 testing. He jumped on the new CBR954RR, but was stopped by an electrical problem early in his run. Hale ended the weekend with a nasty crash on Wednesday. His second fastest time held up. "We're still shaking down the new bike, so there's a few things we ave to do to get it dialed in h!,!re, so we're just kind of doing that an feeling our way," Hale said before hIS crash. "It's definitely different. I don't have a lot (Above) Aaron GoIHitt was quick until a crash sidelined hlnl: The Australian suffered a sprain left ankle and a headache when he rashed at speed entering the Corks w. (Left) Kawasaki's T min)' Hayden emerged as the fa.st of the 800cc Supersport riders I attendance. ~ere of time on the 929 either. For me, we from the Suzuki t the Kawasaki, have the one 954, so J'm kind of getMeiring was adjusting well. ting it dialed in, getting up to speed." "It's quite a bit different," he said. Hale's Erion Racing teammate "This bike handles lot better. AnyRoger Lee Hayden crashed seconds thing you can think f this bike, han!I er In same flUl !IS ffiiTe.-s,;ef.-,*",.o1 ny-wa every way better. ting back his 600 progress after only The power's a lot easier to ride. It's a five laps. Roger Lee joined the 600 lot smoother, so you can get on the riders with front chatter problems, gas a little bit earlier and I kee something unique to his CBR929RR. catdimg myse getting on tne gas a "My front is chattering real bad," little too early. It's pretty easy to ride. he said. "I didn't know if that was Yo ve just got to be on top of it, because Dunlop made us a bigger tire you e got to really push it. One of and I didn't know if that's what was these times I'm going to figure out how to do that." causing it. Nobody else was having curred. "It's always been a prolllJ=Io..~.JJIl..e...l!= pl:.Q:/>~e the superbi ., b h ere every tIme we ve een here." guys. We're trying to get that sorted Zemke had a motor problem on out _ the front chatter. We had front his Honda F4i, so he spent most of his time on the Formula Xtreme Honda CBR929RR. "We were trying to concentra e on the big bike, but it's so cold out there and it's really hard on the Formula Xtreme bike because they have so much torque that they want to spin the tire, and with it as cold out as it is, it's really hard to find traction right now," he said. Still, he ended up the fastest of the Formula Xtreme riders. "I know that I couldn't get the drives that I was wanting out of the cor· ners. I was spinning up pretty much out of every corner on the big bike." Erion Racing's Mike Hale was back in Monterey for the first time in years, but not having much fun. On Tuesday, he spun out his Honda F4i after hitting some fluid on the track. That 18 FEBRUARY 6, 2002· eye Bruce Transportation Group's Alex obert was also on a different bike for his return to Laguna Seca. The last time he was it was on an Aprilia RSV-250. is time he had a Honda CBR929RR nd an F4i. II lip here, you've just got to relax on the bike and just flow with the circuit," Alex Gobert said. "You can't really just hold it on and go crazy around here or your time will slow up. Anthony has told me to relax and get flowing and try to get out of the comers good, so that's what I've been doing." Gobert was among the front-end chatterers on his 600, but the big bike was stable. "On the 929, on the Formula Xtreme bike, you just tip it in and just grips," he said. "It just grips everywhere." CN !aDUIUI Seca RacewBY January Zl-Z3, zaoz SUPERBIKE: 1. Anthony Go rt (1 :25.550): 2. Nicky Hayden (1 :25.655): 3 Kurtis Roberts (1:26.090): 4. Eric Bostrom (I: .312): 5. Mi9uel DuHamel (1:26.915). 600cc SUPERSPORT: 1. om my Hayden (1:29.268):2. Anthony Gobert (1:~.535): 3. Domon Buckmaster (1:29.684); 4. Aaron Obbert (1:30.023): ger Lee Hoyden 5. Joke Zemke (1:30.524): 6. (1:30.992): 7. Tony Meiring (I 1.335): 8. Ale. Gobert (1:31.400): 9. Mike Hole (1gZ.352). FORMULA XTREME: 1. Joke zemke (1 :27.330): 2. Mike Hole (I :27.923): 3. ~~er Lee Hoyden (1 :29.477): 4. Alex Gobert (I :29.bU?)' tires with a lot of laps on it and we changed, thinking that would help." Mazda Raceway has been good to Tony Meiring. The newest Kawasaki rider earned his first AMA podium during the July race. Having switched (Above) Jake Zemke lapped faster at Laguna seca on his Formula Xtreme bike than anyone else has ever mustered In the class. (Left) New daddy Damon Buckmaster showed that fatherhood hasn't slowed him. • ... n _"!Ii