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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(-26.8 seconds), Mladin (-38 seconds) and Spies (-44 seconds). Things were starting to look very Daytona 200-like as things started to spread out. By this point, Gobert was out of the race, his Ducati having suffered an engine failure. On the 26th lap, Kurtis - who was fifth - wicked it up with a 1:50.680 to gain a full second on DuHamel. DuHamel led Ben by 4.2 seconds, Yates by 6.4 seconds, Eric by 7.8 and then Kurtis, 11.1 seconds behind. Yates was on the move by the halfway mark and sat right on Ben's tailpipes after lapping in the 1:50s while the others did 1:51 s. Eric held down fourth, but he was being caught by Kurtis, who was also ripping off laps in the 1:50s. Kurtis was now 9.5 seconds behind and was well clear of Mladin, whose hopes for a third Daytona 200 victory seemed to be dashed. The Australian now trailed DuHamel by a whopping 49 seconds. To add further misery to Mladin's day, his rookie teammate passed him on the 31 st lap to take over sixth place. After 32 laps, things started to get tight at the top again. DuHamel was just 1.7 seconds ahead of Yates, 2.5 ahead of Ben and 4.2 ahead of the charging Kurtis. This was getting good again. A lap later, it all changed again: Yates took the lead, with Ben second and DuHamel dropping to third. And Kurtis was right there, gaining ground in every corner, and just 1.7 seconds behind the new leader Yates. Eric, meanwhile, while a solid fifth, was losing ground to the lead quartet. In turn one on the 36th lap, Kurtis went by Ben to take over second after having disposed of DuHamel on the run around the banking. At the end of that lap, Yates led Kurtis by 1.2 seconds, with the two other factory Hondas right on Kurtis' tail. Ninth-placed Pegram had his second and final stop on the 36th lap, the Ohioan already a lap behind the leaders. After a lot of hard work and fast laps, Kurtis took the lead at the end of the 37th lap, passing Yates on the tri-oval run to the finish line. DuHamel held third with Ben taking to Pit Road for a final time. Yates, however, was having none of it, the two fighting traction to change spots at least twice on the 38th lap. The on-track fight didn't last long, as Kurtis entered the pits at the end of the 38th lap. The following lap saw Yates, DuHamel and Eric take to Pit Lane for fuel and tires. By the end of the 40th lap, the top men had pitted, and it all sorted itself out with Kurtis leading Ben by 1.7 seconds. Yates was third, 2.7 seconds behind, with DuHamel 4.7 seconds behind. It looked as though it would come down to those four, as Eric was fifth, but 17.6 seconds behind. The gritty DuHamel was on a charge, closing to within 2.2 seconds of Kurtis as he ripped off a 1:50.220 E CASTROL GRAND PRIX AT VIRGINIA CIT PRE-ENTRY Opens March 19:':'_ Closes April 16th Pre-Entry determines start position. Start will be 10 riders per row eve seconds. All pre-entries must be postmarked no earlier than March 19 no later then April 16" . Live Auction for"OO" will be held be ore the start of each da Pre-Entry Post Entry FEES $40 MRANN or $45 Non-MRANN $45 MRANN or $ 50 Non-MRANN $5 of each entry goes to the Land Action Fund Pro Challenge By MxSales.com The MxSales.com Pro Challenge will be a cas paying class Purse will be $1000 plus 50% entry payback! Pre and Post Entry 80 )'lRANN or $85 Non-MRANN ales.com The Dirliest Lodging Site on the Webl --------------- Gold Hill Hotel (775) 847-0111 www.goldhillhoteJ.nel Virgina City RV Park (775) 847-0999 www.vcrvpark.com For Additional lodging infonnarion sec www.virginiacitv-nyorg RACE SCHEDULE SIGN-UPS! REGISTRATION Friday, April 25 5·9pm Delta Saloon SalUrdlly, April 26 6~:30am Novice Sign-up (Start Area) 4~pm Ponderosa Saloon Pee-Wee/Mini - 1 Hr. before race Sunday, April 27 6~:30am (Start Area) Watch the first pre-entries drawn! March 27tla at the Ponderosa saIoon Pee·Wee Race Sat. 9·9:30am Novice Race Sat. 10am·12: 30pm Mini Bike Race Sat. 2:30·3:30pm Pro Challenge/Expert/Amateur Race Sun 10am 1:30pm TO RECEIVE AN ENTRY On the web - www.vcgp.com Call Nick at (775) 847-5224 or Email -nickfain@aol.com ~mPMT~.Tanl~mT~.~~t-M-I.~.... VCMC, PO BOX 1082 , VIRGINIA CITY, NV 89440 , WWW.vcgp.com.nickfain@aol.coml • • • OTHER VENDORS ~~...-.-.... (SII~1I5~