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/128146
third of the missile RC51 riders, DuHamel. Then came Gobert with a gap back to the gaggle of Hacking, Yates and Bostrom. Some 11 seconds behind Roberts, who led the seventh lap, was Picotte - thankful to have a chance to change rear tires. "It seems like we're having a bit of a problem with rear traction," Picotte said during the break. "Now we can try a different rear tire." Behind the factory men came a massive gap, despite the fact that the race had barely gotten its heart rate up, The intra-team Hooters Suzuki battle between Barnes and Pegram, with Eric Wood closing in, was already over 30 seconds behind the leader, shoWing that the leaders would likely end up lapping well into the top 10. The fastest lap in the first portion of the race was turned in by Hayden a 1:49.933! But the red flag was a distraction, he would say later. "I hate red flags in a big race like this because you're all pumped up ready to go," Hayden said later. "To have to stop was no good." When things got restarted, it was again Gobert heading the pack into (Above) Hayden (69) and Roberts (80) battled earty in the race before Roberts' tire delaminated, forcln9 him to rtde back to the pits on the 9rass. (Right) Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates (20) and Jamie Hacking battled earty, but it was Hacking who, late in the race, ran down Gobert and stole second place at the checkered flag. Yates brought It home fourth. properly. The bike lacked feel from the front all week and it didn't improve in the 200, with Bostrom left chasing the front for virtually 200 miles. He was frustrated at not doing better, but felt fortunate to be leaving a track he cares very little for with some points. Roberts was fortunate to leave with sixth-place points after his rear Dunlop tire destroyed itself on the 24th of 57 laps, coming apart for good as he approached the chicane. The youngest of the Roberts clan got the bike onto the grass and motocrossed his way back to the pits, where a new tire was fitted. From there, he was never a factor, lucky that there weren't more factory riders in the field to knock him farther down the results. The third of the Honda men wasn't as fortunate, with DuHamel going out on the 10th lap after his RC51 suffered what one team member called, "a catastrophic engine failure." And it was also another miserable day for Ducati at Daytona, with Pascal Picotte suffering a transmission failure that led to his ultimate demise on the 20th lap. But perhaps the most dismal of them all had to be the defending Daytona 200 and .defending three-time AM;' 'Su'perbik-e" C'hampion Mat Mladin. The Australian crashed in practice on Friday morning, injuring his left elbow bad enough that he couldn't race (see sidebar). And on top of that, Sunday was Mladin's 30th birthday - one he will remember for all the wrong reasons. Privateers filled the top 10 as the factory teams cut back in 2002, with Woody's Service's Suzuki GSX-R750mounted Andy Deatherage finishing seventh - two laps behind Hayden. With his seventh-place finish, Deatherage became the highest finishing privateer in the Daytona 200 since Dale Quarterley finished seventh in 1993. HSA of Sanford-backed Brian Livengood was eighth, three laps down, lln(j ahead of HSA's ·R·i~h~Conic~lIi and Coiorado Power 'Sports' Ricky Orlando - all Suzuki GSXR750-mounted. The 61 st running of the Daytona 200 started under brilliant blue skies with temperatures in the mid-70s and it was the injured Gobert leading the way into the left-hand turn one to get things well and truly started. Or so we thought. Although the red flag brought a stoppage to the race after just seven laps, a few things were already clear: the Hondas had a clear advantage, Gobert is one tough guy, and there would be a lot of lapped traffic. By the time the red flag was thrown after a crash in turn six left the Air Fence partially deflated, Hayden and Roberts had shown they were the ones to beat as both had • " 1 .;ppulled clear by -1:2 seconds over the cue I e turn one, with Roberts tucked in behind, DuHamel and Hayden in tow. The Honda freight train quickly shot past Gobert once they got on the banking. The order at the end of the first lap (actually, lap seven) read: Roberts, DuHamel, Gobert, Hayden, Hacking, Picotte, Yates, Bostrom and Barnes. Shortly thereafter, Pegram was out of the picture, the front axle nut coming off of his GSX-R750. The next to go was DuHamel, his RC51 coasting into turn one as the leaders started the 10th lap - the victim of an engine failure. The top three - Roberts, Gobert and Hayden - pulled clear of the pursuing pack, but by the 13th lap it was clear the Hondas haq too .m~ch for t'he Yil-mahil:'a·na the Australian' n e 'IV so • MARCH 20, 2002 9