Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Round B: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course STORY AND PHOTO BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS LEXINGTON, OH, JULY 28 hi1 s it was last season, the Lockhart~ Phillips USA Formula Xtreme title will again be decided in the final round this year, the showdown at Virginia International Speedway being set up by Damon Buckmaster's strategic win late on a muggy Sunday afternoon at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Buckmaster knew where the points were. He earned the first point when he took the pole position. He earned another when he passed leader Jake Zemke, of the Bruce Transportation Group Honda team, on the eighth of 16 laps, ensuring that he'd earn another point if he held on to win, which he did, somewhat handily, 2.476 seconds in reserve. The total gave him 246 points, including a class-high four wins, crucial as a potential tie-breaker. Zemke, who fell to fourth with an intermittent misfire, fell to second with 244 points, and only one win. Attack Suzuki's Jason Pridmore, second at Mid-Ohio, goes to Virginia in third with 241 points and two wins. Three brands, three riders. "It's going to be winner-take-all," Zemke said. Buckmaster took the drama out of the race by the halfway point. Methodically stalking Zemke, the Australian made his move on the eighth lap entering turn six. "I tried to pass him once going into turn six and I couldn't make it stick, unfortunately, and so I thought I'd just maybe try the next lap in exactly the same spot. I felt that I could probably do it there the easiest," Buckmaster said. "Once I got in front, I just kept my head down and kept my head on my lap timer and just did consistent times the rest of the race. We managed to pull away from the guys, and when that happens, it's a little bit of fortune involved." Part of the good fortune came from Zemke. In Saturday qualifying, his Honda CBR954RR had developed a strange ailment, hesitating when leaned over and on the gas. The team changed everything for Sunday's warm-up, but to no avail. "We chased it and chased and made a bunch of changes to the thing this morning and couldn't find it," Zemke worried. "I'm sure the boys will get it fixed." Just not in time. From the front, he'd controlled the pace but knew the inevitable was coming. Hoping to get the point for leading the most laps, he was disappointed when Buckmaster passed him on the eighth lap. '" was kind of bummed out about that," he said. Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster scored his fourth win of the season, but he will have to battle It out with Jake Zemke and Jason Pridmore at VIR in two weeks for the tiUe. From that point on, he lost two more spots, settling into fourth about a second behind Corona Extra/EBSCO Media Suzuki's Adam Fergusson at the end. Fergusson fought over second with Pridmore for most of the race, holding the spot as late as lap 10, when he was right on Buckmaster's tail. Buckmaster was consistent and pulled away, and Fergusson began to have tire problems. On the 12th lap, Pridmore came by and that settled the podium. Pridmore said that toward the end of the race, once they got by Zemke, he could see Fergusson struggling with traction, "and he had a couple of slides and again, I think he knew I was back there and trying to win a championship too. I think, like I said, his tire was going off, just like mine. Mine went off pretty early. Damon just set a really fast pace. So I was able to get by Adam and bring it home in second." Fergusson wouldn't admit playing the loyal soldier and slowing down for fellow Suzuki rider, and championship contender, Pridmore, but he was glad that Pridmore finished ahead of him, sort of. "Basically, there were places that Jason was quicker than I was and there was places where I was quicker than what Jason was, but we just c u e ' ... couldn't capitalize on each other," Fergusson, who admitted he'd overused his rear tire, said. "I know Jason's in the hunt for the championship, so it's probably a good thing that he finished in front of me. I'm not saying that I let him by or whether I didn't let him, but it's a good thing that Jason finished in front of me. And he's still in the hunt for the championship. But, man I really wanted to win that race." His consolation was a second podium finish - he was third in the Superstock race as well - his best AMA weekend ever. Second to fourth were covered by just over 1.2 seconds, with a gap of nearly seven to Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Josh Hayes. Hayes got the better of a fight with teammate Marty Craggill, who was sixth, and Corona Extra EBSCO Media Suzuki's Steve Rapp, in seventh. Among the non-finishers was Erion Honda's Roger Lee Hayden. Hayden had been running near the front for the first six laps before developing an oil leak. "I figured we had a good run at n e _ os • AUGUST 7,2002 19

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