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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Championship Cup Series Round 1 : Daytona International Speedway out when I came here last October. This bike is great." Brian was equally unstoppable in the Amateur Unlimited Supersport race. He pulled the holeshot when the Amateur wave left the grid behind the Experts, and it took him only two laps to start passing some of the Experts. Loikits Technologies' David Loikits, mounted on a GSX-R1000, could not stay with the 750-mounted Brian, who built a lead over 10 seconds by lap three. Loikits trailed in second, with Henry Chin of Vernon Hills, Illinois, finishing third after a brief battle with Bankston. Brian's luck ran out in the Amateur Heavyweight Superbike event, however. He appeared to be pulling clear of Riviera Country Club's Willam Meyers II, but then Brian crashed out in the infield dogleg, and Meyers inherited the lead. "He was hot," Meyers said of Brian afterward. "I think the front end let go on him." Meyers had already put 1.5 seconds on second-placed David Sadusky, and he continued to stretch that to over five seconds en route to the win. Christopher Bankston overcame a high-speed wobble out of the International Horseshoe on the final lap to give Sadusky a fight for second place, but Sadusky was able to hold him off. Meyers' win was his third of the weekend, his first coming in the 30minute Acropovic GTU Amateur on Friday, where he battled with Darren Mulvaney and Donny Kelley. Mulvaney and Meyers were tied together for the first several laps. Meyers was able to get good runs down the back straightaway, while Mulvaney appeared to be stronger in the infield section. But then Meyers turned the tables on Mulvaney, passing him in the infield and then using lappers to put distance on Mulvaney. Meyers went on to win by a margin of several seconds. Kelley, meanwhile, just barely beat Florida rider Rey De La Sierra to the stripe for third. Meyers also won Friday's Amateur Middleweight Supersport sprint. De La Sierra finished second in that race, with Dafan Zhang finishing third. In Saturday's Amateur Sportbike race, the Team Pro-Motion-backed Zhang led Force 2 Racing's Stuart Vernon, Jimenez and TMZ/Julian Racing's Laz Diaz, the trio distancing itself from the rest of the pack early. Jimenez quickly worked into second place then challenged Zhang for the lead as they exited the International Horseshoe on lap two. Zhang held off that challenge, only to succumb to another through the West Banking. Jimenez ran away and hid, winning the race by over five seconds. Zhang wound up in a dice with Diaz, the latter holding second place on the last over the similarly-mounted Canadian Sandy Hoce in Saturday's Expert Lightweight GP. Jerry won by 18.610 seconds, with Hoce in front of 2wf.com's Alex Ferreira, a multirace Amateur winner here last fall. "I set out to win today because it's my 30th time here," Jerry said. "This old fart is 56 years old and still having a good time." He had another good time in the Expert Lightweight Superbike, though he had to work for it. Two races earlier a brief shower doused the track. The rain lingered slightly, but the track wasn't ever completely wet, and Jerry chose to run slicks. Second at the start, Jerry used the power of his Ducati Supermono to blow by the early leader Darren Danilowicz (Suzuki SV-650) as they hit the West Banking. The pattern would be repeated lap after lap, Jerry sometimes leading in the infield but always able to power out at some point on the West Banking. On the final lap, Jerry held the lead until he ran slightly wide in the West Horseshoe, allowing Alex Ferreira into the lead with Cyco Cycle's Derek Keyes lurking with intent. Like Danilowicz, they were aboard Suzuki SV-650s. Jerry took the lead on the back straight and had the juice to beat back his challengers at the flag, but just barely. Keyes and Ferreira were a close second and third, Keyes making the pass on the final lap. "It was raining in a few spots across the track," Jerry said. "The Ducati had the legs going across the banking. These kids were hard chargers." AMATEUR Brian Shaw got a clean run off the grid from his pole position in Saturday's Heavyweight Supersport feature, leading David Sadusky of Marlton, New Jersey, who came from the inside of row two. Then came a fourrider pack that included Team Broken Back's James Stanley, Floridians Albert Reyes and Hector Jimenez, and RRR Cycles' Christopher Bankston. The field began to string out quickly, and 15 were able to remain within striking distance of Brian for only about a lap and a half. Brian and his Suzuki GSX-R750 continued to make time almost everywhere on the track, buildjng a lead of 7.06 seconds by the time they hit the infield on lap three. That advantage would swell to over 14 seconds at the finish. Sadusky held on for second place, with Stanley holding on for third place. "I never expected to get first in the Heavyweight Superport, but this is awesome," Brian said. "This place is so fast, so fun. Even in the rain [yesterday] it was great. \ had a good teacher. Rick Shaw really helped me 28 MARCH 12, 2003' eye I e n • vv s lap before Zhang was able to slingshot past him at the finish line to take it away. Thanks to its eligibility for a number of classes, Suzuki's SV650 has proved to be a popular choice for CCS racing. This was especially evident in the Amateur Lightweight Grand Prix feature, in which the top eight finishers were aboard the Vtwin-motored SVs. After an openinglap red flag that was necessitated when Doug Burton crashed in the International Horseshoe, Russ Bolle took the lead off the grid, only to run wide in the International Horseshoe on lap one. Temple, Georgia's Jesse Nunn assumed the point for two laps, with Mills on Nunn's tail. Mills made a pass for the lead on the superspeedway, with the two riders pulling clear of third-placed Thomas Williams. Mills held off Nunn for the victory. It appeared as though I&E Homes' Mulvaney would have an easy time in winning the Amateur Middleweight Superbike feature, but East Vernon, Pennsylvania's Emery Annen made a race of it in the late going. Annen passed second-placed Kelley in the dogleg on lap four and then whittled away at Mulvaney's advantage, pulling in right behind Mulvaney in the infield on the last lap. Annen then grabbed the lead as the pair headed into the chicane for the final time, but Mulvaney was able to use the draft to retake the point before they hit the finish line. "I saw him [Annen] come up on me coming out of NASCAR two," Mulvaney said. "\ thought, 'Holy smokes, where did he come from?' Then he got me in the chicane, and I said, 'Well, I'll just relax and see if I can draft him.''' Annen was comfortably ahead of third-placed Kelley. Kelley would go on to score a victory in the Amateur Middleweight Grand Prix, the final race of the after- Mike Ciccotto (13) leads Steve Rapp (Sx) and Scott Greenwood (hidden) early in the Expert Heavyweight Supersport race. Ciccotto won. noon. Mulvaney held the early lead, with Kelley second, John Bush of Sagamore Hills, Ohio, third, and Zhang and Jimenez rounding out the top five. Kelley caught Mulvaney in the in the International Horseshoe on lap four, and the two swapped the positions while racing back to the stripe. Kelley chose to let Mulvaney lead through the chicane on the final lap then set him up for the slingshot pass. "I just stayed behind him and tried to keep with him the whole time," Kelley said. "It seemed like he might have had a little faster bike down the stretch and on the superspeedway, but every lap I just tried to reel him in in the infield. Once I got behind him, I didn't want him to know I was there." Mulvaney said he didn't know. "He snuck up on me," Mulvaney said. "That might be an '01 or an '02. I'm a little down on power with this '98. But it was fun. I didn't know anyone was around me. I was looking around, and I didn't see anything." Reyes of Orlando had a good dice going with early leader Richard Eanes in the Amateur SuperTwins race. Reyes passed Eanes, who stayed close until a brief rain shower slowed Eanes. Reyes went on to win easily, with David Lloyd finishing second and Bill Davenport third. eN Daytona Internationa' Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Results: February l8-March 1, lDD3 (Reund 11 EX GTO: 'I. Michael Barnes (Suz); 2. Brian Stokes (Suz); 3. Eric Wood (Suz); 4. John McGarity (Suz); 5. Jeffrey Smalls (Suz). Dist2lnce: 6 laps, 21.36 miles AM GTO: 1. Brion Show (SUl): 2. Bill Cord (Vom): 3. David Loikits (Suz): 4. Henry Chin (SU2): 5. Donny Kelley (Hon). Time: 26 min., 40.030 sec. Distance: 12 laps, 42.72 miles Average speed: 96.118 mph Margin of victory: 44.650 sec. EX GT LIGHTS: I. Kyle Ray (SU2): 2. Ale. Ferreira (Suz); 3. Darren Danilowicz (Suz): 4. Matthew Eaton (Suz); 5. Brian McClain (Suz). Time: 25 min., 10.900 sec.