Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Formula USA Superbike Series Round 1 : Daytona International Speedway Matt Wait stonned to victory in the Fonnula USA Superbike Series opener. series, was using the race as a tuneup. "That's the whole reason we were here today, this week," Connell said. "But today was the first time I got to ride. Before that, I had one day to ride on an out-of-the-crate bike." In the short amount of time he had to practice on Sunday morning, mostly in the wet, Connell said the Annandale team had made great strides. "The progress we've made is enormous, and I'm so happy; I'm over the moon," he said. "We've got a little bit of work to do with setup, but by the time it comes around next week, it's going to be good." Well behind Wood came Racerhouse.com's Andrew Nelson, the Honda-mounted Canadian making a [Victory Lane] again," he said. "That race was really good for us. We made a few changes to the suspension, and it obviously worked pretty good. That was my goal. Our goal was just to go out there and put in some good laps and try to beat my own race pace from the last race and just better it." The past few seasons have been turbulent and injury-filled for Wait. Concussions kept him out of a few races last year and ultimately cost him his job. Now that he's recovered, he's training harder than ever and plans to stay healthy, knowing full well he's running out of chances. "I really wanted to prove a point to everyone that I'm fully back," he said. "This gives me a lot of confidence going into next week." The better fight was the one for second, whittled down to three riders by the fifth lap after Arclight Suzuki's Michael Hannas dropped out. Then it was down to his teammate Scott Harwell, Annandale Racing's Craig Connell, making his debut on the new Honda CBR-600RR, and Jeff Wood on the Bettencourts' Suzuki GSXR600. The order was constantly changing, with Wood and Harwell swapping second and Connell a shadow fourth. Connell moved up to third on the eighth lap and was there when they entered the chicane the final time, Wood in fourth. The trio bobbed and weaved to the line, but the order didn't change, the three covered by .253 of a second. Harwell said the team could do more to the Superbike but went conservative, choosing a softer rain setup. "We knew when it dried out it would come back to it, and it did," with more ease, winning the Superbike race by 13.444 seconds in a race he led from the start. Befitting the faster motorcycles, Wait's winning average speed was 110.141 mph, above the 108.567 he'd averaged in winning the Sportbike race. But part of that can be attributed to the track. At the end of the day the 3.56-mile course was at its best, the surface dry and with some rubber laid down. In short, more like what it will be for the AMA race weekend, which was precisely the point. "Basically it was a test for next weekend," Wait said. "We made a little change in my suspension for the better, and we're going in the right direction for next weekend, for sure. So basically it was just get out there, get in the front and then run and see how big a gap I could get and see what kind of lap times I could get down to. I just wanted to better my times from the last race. "Just practice, practice, practice, that's what it was. These bikes are brand new, so we're just testing them right now. We're still working out some things and getting some settings right. It seems to be real comfortable right now." Wait said the track had a lot more grip and more surface temperature. "Entering, you could enter harder, carry more corner speed; you could trail brake harder," he said. "Grip coming out, you could get on earlier and not have to worry about the rear stepping out. All in all, it was a better race track." Wait's position was never challenged, and he was able to lap about 1.5 seconds faster than anyone else. "It feels good to be back up here 24 MARCH 12, 2003' .. U .. I I!! n e vw s Harwell said. "We've been behind the eight-ball all weekend long just chasing setup and that sort of thing, and it rained. I haven't got a lot of time on the bike since I broke my wrist. We just trying the best I could. I was getting in the lead draft and just kind of battling back and forth with the horsepower. " Connell made passes and time in turn one, putting it to the Michelin tires that he'd used for five years in Australia before using Pirellis and Dunlops the last three in the United States. "To be honest, the Michelin tires held on so well midcorner, I felt most comfortable that I could go in or go around any of the other guys," Connell said. "Those guys had top-end speed on me, but I could drive off the corner and get a fair jump on them. That's what made all the difference." What held him back was a wrong gearing choice. Connell said he was "pretty much the limiter for the whole length of the straight. That's life." Like Wait, Connell, who will be campaigning in the AMA Supersport charge from the 13th row of the second wave to fifth place. Along the way he passed No Limits Motorsports' Doug Chandler in his second race on the new Honda CBR600RR. Chandler just edged out 17year-old Canadian Chris Peris. eN Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Resulls: March Z, 2003 [Round 1 of 71 SQPERBIKE: 1. Mott Woil (Yom); 2. Scott H:Jrwell (Suz); 3. Crllig Connell (Suz); 4. Jeff Wood (Suz); 5. Andrew Nelson (Hon): 6. Doug Chandler (Hon); 7. Chris Pens (Hon); 8. Jason Curtis (Hon); 9. Jack Pfeifer (Suz); 10. Alex Barrera (Suz); It. Des Conboy (Suz); 12. Eric Spector (Suz): 13. Mike Himmelsbach (Suz); 14. Thad Halsmer (Yom); 15. Gus Holcomb (Suz); 16. Brent Bennett (Vern); 17. Nllte Kern (Suz); 16. Tomer Levy (Yam); 19. Barrett Long (Yam); 20. Brad William Graham (Hon); 21. Patrick Johnson (Yam); 22. Shawn Robert Hill (Yam); 23. Jeffrey Smalls (Yam); 24. Michael Fields (Kaw); 25. Bradley Justice (Han); 26. Darrin Klemens (Kaw); 27. Justin Long (Yam); 28. Darrin Mitchell (Suz); 29. Michael Hannas (Suz); 30. John Abell (Han); 31. Chris Peris (Han); 32. Shawn Scott (Kaw); 33. Tripp Nobles (Bue). Time: 17 min., 27.241 sec. Distance: 9 laps. 32.04 miles Average speed: 110.141 mph M.argin of vktory: 13.444 sec. Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Glenwood, Iowa, May 25 Round 3 - Loudon, New Hampshire, June 15 Scott Harwell (2) ended up second over Craig Connell (117) and Jeff Wood (9).