Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

there, Eric was going to try me anyway. It seems like the last two years here, once or twice on both days we've done that same thing in that last corner. I mean, I know two or three times we've done it. I got in there really deep, and I didn't know if he was going to go inside or outside. As soon as I saw him go, I just tried to get a good drive and get back around him. I'm just happy to get the win. It's awesome to get another win. To win them both here at Atlanta is just great. I mean, this place is kind of special to me. It's like my home track. This is like the first-ever big race I went to when I was a kid." Bostrom was pleased, hopeful that this would be the beginning of a good run for him and his team. "It was a good time, n Bostrom said. "It was the most fun I've had all year, actually. I hope this is kind of a turning point for our team. We've kind of had a problem all year. I can't really seem to get the bike to stay on the ground. It seems like it's floating around the racetra~k. It seemed a little better this afternoon. So maybe that's a glimpse into where we need to go. I'm pretty excited about it. Certainly, Nick did a great job, and Miguel as well. I was kind of panicking there in middle because Miguel was right behind me, and Nick was making a good run. He got a little bit ahead of me in traffic, and then he kind of got blocked a bit, and they were kind of seesawing around, and I was thinking, 'Oh, man, I've got to get in front of these guys, they've been Winning all the races.' So I just kept trying, and it looked like in the end both Nick and I were struggling around for grip a little. And then I was so relieved when I saw my pit board and it said, like, plus three or something. So I knew I had a little cushion on Miguel, and it was a pretty comfortable feeling. Fontana, California, on April 7 The Californian has been undergoIng serious amounts of therapy In preparation for his return. BRIEFLY••• Yamaha's Anthony Gobert was released from Northeast Georgia Reg,onal MedICal Center on Fnday aftemoon after doctors put a splint on hiS broken leg. Gobert broke his right ~bula. the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. as a result of a crash dunng the first Superbike qualifying session at Road Atlanta Gobert fell In tum four. sliding. feet first. under the Air Fence and Into the hay bales on the outside of the tum. He was transported to the hospital. where doctors treated and released him "If s broken pretty clean all the way through. about three Inches up from the foot. - Gobert's crew chief Tom Halverson said. "He's been released from the hospital. He has it elevated in a splint.' Halverson said that Gobert would probably fly home on Saturday and VISit Dr Arthur Ting. the San FranCISCo Bay Area surgeon. on Monday. May 20. to "get nng's necommendation to see where to go.' Halverson said that doctors In Georgia couldn't set the break In a cast because the ~bula is surrounded by muscle. "There's going to be a lot of swelling in the next couple of days. After a couple of days. when the swelling's down. he' II ITingJ go In and see what to do with it." The Injury put Gobert out of the Big Kahuna Nationals. as well as a planned test at Road Amenca on Tuesday and Wednesday. May 21-22. As to whether or not he'd be fit for the next round of the AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superblke Championship at Pike's Peak International Raceway in two weeks. Halverson said it was too soon to know. "It's definitely too early." he said. "'I don't know what Ting's going to do with it. Ifs almost close enough together that it could heal naturally. " II's been a particularly rough year for the Gobert family. Anthony was Invoived in a crash with brother Aaron In the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race at Daytona. Anthony suffered minor injuries. but Aaron's Injuries were severe. He's still recovering and hiS retum to racing is some time off. For the time being. the youngest Gobert. Alex. will fly the family flag at the races. campaigning the Bruce Transportation Group Hondas in the Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes. Corona Extra EBSCO Media Suzuki" s Steve Rapp pulled out of the Big Kahuna Nationals WIth continued pain In hiS broken ribs. "I'm not ndlng at all." Rapp said. "The team doesn't want me to. They'd rather have me heal. There's no POint In running around." Rapp said he rode In considerable pain in the Friday moming Formula Xtreme practice. "The whole session. I hurt the whole time." he said. Before the aftemoon qualifying session. Rapp stretched and warmed up and thought he might be able to persevere. But the aftemoon session was cut short by a transmission problem "It just seemed like both of us were sliding around a lot. That put things on a more level playing field for me. Then, on the last lap, I had a great drive out of the back chicane, and I was able to use the draft, and Nick did a great job braking into the last turn. I just figured, 'Well, I'll go for it anyway.' But I was kind of inside in the marbles and I was sliding the front end around like crazy, and I'm like, 'Man, I'm not going to stop, and if I do, I'm too close to the inside - I'm not going to be able to make this corner anyway,' because I was like basically on the inside paint line. We were able to get stopped, but we didn't make the corner, so he was able to get back by us. n Beyond Bostrom and Hayden, the other real battle on the track was between Parriott and DiSalvo for seventh. That spot went to DiSalvo on the final lap. In his Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Rapp broke the nbs In a motocross accident Just before the Sears Point national. a little more than two weeks ago. The next race IS at Pike's Peak International Raceway in two weeks. Rapp's participation is up In the air "II's only two weeks away." Rapp said. "I want to be okay, but honestly I don't know." Despite a few high-profile crashes. Sears Point was the first time that Rapp had m,ssed a race because of injury. The only time Rapp might have missed a race was at Sears Point in 2000 when he rode the Vance & Hines Ducati with dislocated bones In his hand. That was the year that water seeped up through the track In tum one and the race was canceled. Enon RaCing's Kurtis Roberts, meanwhile, Will likely make his return to racing at the Pike's Peak round of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S, Superbike Series on June 2, according to American Honda team manager Chuck Miller. "' He was on the fence about trying to race here."' Miller said today at Road Atlanta. "He's deCided to take another week. I'm sure he'll be at Pike's." Roberts suffered a senous knee injury during a qualifying crash in the second round of the series at California Speedway In HMC Ducati"s Doug Chandler missed Saturday's AMA Superbike National after crashing on Saturday morning during qualifying and Injuring his thumb, foot and hlp. On Sunday morning, Chandler took part In practice, but decided he couldn't ride in Sunday's race either. "I was really happy With the bike's setup and handling In the qualifying session," said Chandler. "We were on a new tire and I was trying to do a good lap I got a good dnve up the hill and got through the kink, but I must have been carrying more speed than I normally would have. which IS a shame because I already had It in the back of my mind not to mess with that comer. But I was already going through there too fast. and the back let go. There's no room for efTor [in tum three]. and I'd already backed it off a notch, but it obviously wasn't enough. Of all the points to hurt. these are the worst ones Your right hand is your throttle and brake. I can't lift my leg on the shifter and it's difficult to move around properly on the bike, so rt's best to leave it for this race and get ready for Colorado. " Mat Mladin is at a ioss to explain what's happened to his Suzuki GSX-R750. Although he knows the others have stepped it up, there's still really no reason why he should be slower here than he was a year ago. "I'm not too sure what they're up to," Mladin said when asked what Suzuki's response has been to his problems. "I know they're trying to keep Kenny Roberts [JuniorJ happy. That's what everyone seems to be saying. That's certainly what it seems like at the moment. We certainly. with that new bike, we've taken a step backwards from what we were last year. All of us are struggling on the bike. It seems that certain places it affects some riders more than It affects others, just depending on the racetrack. But like I said, I'm Just nding as hard as I can, but I'm Just hanging onto It. It's been a battle - it's been a struggle all year. for sure. And the bike's running pretty good. Motorwise, it's running pretty good. We've made some big improvements with stuff at Yosh, essentially getting some more air into it and getting the thing to run a bit better. But things certainly aren't going as good as what they need to be goong. We're Just a iong way off - a long way. I mean, we're dOing okay here, but we should because last year we had time on everybody here.• On the other end of the spectrum are Nicky Hayden and his Honda RC51. Both are flawiess at the moment. Hayden, though, discounts the whole twin vs. four theory, Instead getting right to the heart of the matter. "Our bikes were just real fast today." Hayden said after Saturday's win. "I don't know if it's so much because it's a twin or... I don't think that's really the case. I think It's more just being the Honda is why it's that much faster.' The AMA took a bealing over track-safety Issues at Sears Point. the top three Superblke qualifiers all stndent In their advocacy. At Road Atlanta. Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree put it in perspective, at the same time taking a backhanded swipe at other sanctioning bodies like WERA and Formula USA. where Acree also races. "My hat's off to the AMA." Acree said. "They really took their time and made sure that it was gOing to be safe for us. The rider safety seems to be one of the top things on their list. From a nder's standpoint. I really appreciate it. Sometimes we've ridden In some questionable situations at other events with other sanctions, and the AMA has really been real careful to make sure we're safe." Several of the top teams are slated to test at Road America this week. though not as many as originally thought. Yoshimura Suzuki, Kawasaki (sans Eric Bostrom who is jetting off to World Superbikes in Silverstone, England) and Yamaha (with their only healthy rider, Damon Buckmaster) will test at the four-mile racetrack in WisconSIn. "I didn't know if I was going to be able to pull that one off, n DiSalvo said. "He had a pretty good gap. I pulled out a last-lap flier." I:N Road Atlanta Braselton, &eorgia Results: May 1B-19, 2002 SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING: 1. Nicky Hayden (1,23.287): 2. Mat Mladin (1,23.463): 3. Eric Bostrom (1,23.567): 4. Anthony Gobert (1,23.674): 5. Aaron Yates (1 :23. 750); 6. Miguel DuHamel (1,23.991): 7. Doug Chandler (1,24.215): 8. Pascal PIcotte (1,24.684): 9. Jamie Hacking (1,24.684): 10. Chris (lIrich (1,27.206): II. Brian Parriott (1,27.276): t 2. Chris Caylor (I :27.346); 13 Lee Acree (1,27.431): 14. Ri<:h Conicelli (1,27.516): 15. Adam Fergusson (1,27.522): t6. Jimmy Moore (1,27.552): 17. Jason DiSalvo (1:27.572); 18. Larry Pegram (1,28.382): 19. Brian Uven900d (128.526): 20. Vincent HllSkovec (I :28.685); 21 Michael Slimes (1,28.826): 22. Ty Howard (1,29072): 23. Andy Deatherage (1,29.161): 24. Brian Gibbs (1,29.282): 25. Scott Harwell (1 :29.381); 26. Robert Jensen (1,29.430): 27. Doug Duane (1,29.493): 28. Scott Carpenter (I :29.543): 29. Mark Crozier (1,29.739): 30. John Dugan (1,29.845): 31 Christopher S. Rankin (1,29.872): 32. Geoff May (L29.89B): 33. Marco Martinez (I :30.032); 34. Chris Rankin (UO.112): 35. Pedro Valiente (UO.345): 36. Scott Jensen (1,30.388): 37. Shane Clarke (1,30.563): 38, Jacob Holden (1,30.627): 39. Alan Schmidt (UO,657): 40. Michael Fitzpatrick (1,30.698): 41. DeliO Mizdal (1 :30.742); 42. Robert Christman (1,30.833): 43. James Compton (1,30.988): 44. Justin Blake (1 :30.992): 45. Giovanni Rojas (U1.157): 46. Chuck Ailen (UI.323): 47. James Doerfler (1,31.454): 48. Jeffrey Purk (1,31.494): 49. The purse at the Big Kahuna Nationals was $105,000, with $73,000 of that going to the two Superbike Nationals. Each of the two Superbike races paid $4000 to win with Nicky Hayden taking home $8000. Second place in each race paid $3000. In addition to the money, Hayden was presented with a carbon-fiber EPX mountain bike worth $2800. Scott Russell will return to battle brother-In-law Mike Smith and his former team owner Mitch Hansen at Road Amenca. HMC Ducatl's Doug Chandler might even joon the fray. But it won't be on the four-mile road course. Instead, the nders will spar in Supermotard races held from Thursday through Sunday on a 40-foot wide. one-mile asphalt course on the outSide of Road America's turn seven. Russell will be riding a Husqvarna 610 SMR, Smith a Husqvarna TE 570, and Hansen a factory 570 SMRR. Why does the boss get the good bike? "Because I need all the help 1 can get." Hansen said. Hansen IS a regular at the Road America supermotard and he has the scar~ to prove it. Three weeks ago, he crashed twice, the second one cracking ribs and a shoulder blade. "I still can't sleep on Ill¥ nght side." Hansen said. Hansen normally races with the number four, but he was willing to give it up for Russell. changing to the number 10. Now that Chandler may ride, on Thursday and Friday only. Hansen may have to look for another number. More information can be found at www.superbikers2.com. After winning on Sunday, Nicky Hayden talked about hiS first trip to Road Atlanta. "I'd been to Daytona a few times as a kid. but my parents, or my dad, brought us here," Hayden said. "We'd been flat tracking and kind of wanted to go road racing. so he brought us down here for the GNF one weekend, and we watched it, and that's kind of like when we decided to go road racing. Actually right down here we stopped and got our picture with Scott Russell and some people. And then from there, we decided to make the switch and come try this. And that's it. " Valvoline EMGO SuzukI's Josh Hayes is hoping to return to action at Road America. Hayes. who suffered senous hand injuries at California Speedway in April, had the pins taken out of his ring finger last week. "It will be two more weeks on the thumb." Hayes said. "I've been getting the flexibility back to grip the bar.' Attack Suzuki's Jason Pridmore and teammate Ben Spies had rough outings In the Formula Xtreme race. First Pndmore was docked a stop-and-go penalty for Jumping the start. which he disputed. but the AMA insisted was valid. Then the motor In his Suzuki GSX-R 1000 blew on the back straight. Bruce Transportation Group's Jake Zemke was leading. with Spies second, when both crashed in Pridmore's oil, bringing out a red flag. Because they were deemed to have caused the red flag. they were put to the back of the grid, a decision which infunated Pndmore. The level of ire was raised when the initial gnd was faulty. "Then they get us all re-gndded and the grid's totally wrong I think. They get us to the start line and then they realize. oh. maybe we did screw up. What kind of organization is that? In all I think It'S Just a big joke. The whole organization is just a big joke." Spies and Pridmore's bikes, both of which had extensive damage, were fixed in time for the re-start. Spies ~nished fifth, Pridmore seventh. Asked how the AMA responded, Pridmore said: "There's no sense talking to them because it doesn't matter, it doesn't mggin' matter. I've got the best team in the paddock. They fixed two bikes that weren't in any way in good shape. It's just too bad that we don't even have an organization that's even a good club level organization run our events. It's just really sad. I'll probably get in trouble, but it just doesn't matter to me. We're out there risking our lives and we have people looking after us who can't look after anybody. They can't even look after themselves. The racing is just not a fair deal. You can't get a fair deal.' cue I e n e _ s MAY 29, 2002 13

• Cover