Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series Rounds 2/3: California Speedway We went backwards," Gobert (I :25.970); 4. Kenny Roberts (I :26.045); 5. Eric Bostrom (I :26.259); 6. Lcrry Pegram (1 :26.308); 7. Miguel DuHamel (I :26.405); 8. Ben Bostrom (I :26.496); 9. Jimmy Moore (1 :28.717); 10. Shown Higbee (1:28.738); 11. Chris Caylor (I :28.752): 12. Joson Pridmore (I :28.970): 13. Michcel Barnes (1:29.041); 14. Jordan Szoke (1:29.206); 15. Geoff May (1:29.430); 16. Josh Hayes (1:29.688); 17. Jacob Holden (1:29.717); 18. Vincent Hllskovec (1:29.722); 19. John Haner (1:30.058): 20. John Dugan (1:30.098): 21. Chris Ulnch (1:30.125): 22. Andy Deatherage (1:30.255); 23. Steve Crevier (1 :30.288): 24. James Randolph (I :30.354); 25. Jeremy Toye (I :30.381); 26. Matthew Furtek (1 :30.640): 27. Mark Ledesmc (I :30.666); 28. Robert Christman (1 :30.823); 29. Francis Martin (I :30.824); 30. Jack Pfieffer (1:30,824): 31. Scott Jensen (1:30.824): 32, Mike Ciccotto (1:30.916); 33. Alan Schmidt (1:31.034); 34. Clint McBain (1:31.233); 35. Brian livengood (1:31.359); 36. Rich Conicelli (1:31.432); 37. Jeff Williams (1 :31.866); 38. Brian Stokes (I :32.118); 39. James Compton (I :32.130); 40. Rob Mesa (1:32.172); 41. Dean Mi,dal (1:32.246); 42. Marco Martine' (I :32.344): 43. Troy Green (I :32.405): 44. Thomas Montano (1 :32.438); 45. Kim Nakashima Ben Bostrom said. "We were a lot slower than yesterday, so that's kind of a bummer. We just gambled with the bike to try and keep up with Mat [Mladin]. Merlyn [Plumlee] and I talked about a few things and tried it, and it was worse. At the start of the race I was like, 'Oh, my God, what do we do?' I knew in the first corner. Than it was like, thank God for the red flag, but we didn't have time to change because it was a pretty massive change. We were slow today holy cow. It's a bummer, but it happens." (1 :32.468). SUPERBIKE RACE 1: Mat Mladin (Su,); 2. Aaron Yates (SUI); 3. Ben Bostrom (Hon); 4. Eric Bostrom (Kaw); 5. Miguel DuHamel (Hon); 6. Kurtis Roberts (Hon); 7. Larry Pegram (Due); 8. Jason Pridmore (SUI); 9. Steve Crevier (SUI); 10. Shawn Higbee (SUI); II. Vincent Haskovec (SUI); 12. Andy Deetherage (SUI); 13. Michael Barnes (SUI): 14. Brian Uvengood (Suz); 15. Scott Jensen (SUI): 16. Jeremy Toye (Suz); 17. Jack Pfeifer (SUI); 18. Clint McBain (Suz); 19. Thomas Montana (Suz); 20. Mike Ciccotto (Suz); 21. Alan Schmidt (Suz); 22. Dean Mizdal (Suz); 23. Robert Christman (Suz); 24. Morco Martinez (Suz); 25. Rich Conicelli (Suz); 26. Jeff Williams (Suz); 27. James Compton (Suz); 28. Frencis Martin (Suz); 29. John Dugan (Suz); 30. Jordan Szoke (Suz); 31. Troy Green (Yam); 32. Kim Nakashima (Suz); 33. James Randolph (Suz); 34. Geoff May (Suz); 35. Anthony Gobert (Duc); 36. Jllcob Holden (Suz). Time: 40 min.. 28.318 sec. Distance: 28 ~ps. 64.4 miles Average speed: 95.5 mph Margin of victory: 14.965 sec. SUPERBIKE RACE 2: I. Mat Mladin (Su,); 2. Behind Ben Bostrom came Gobert, complaining again about his lack of fitness. He's hoping for better things now that he can begin training in earnest again. The battle of the privateers in this one when to Corona Extra Suzuki's Jordan Szoke, the Canadian finishing eighth. Higbee and Deatherage rounded out the top 10 finishers. eN California Speedway Fontana, California Results: April 5-&, 2003 [Round V31 SUPERB IKE QUALIFYING: I. Mat Mladin (I :25.123): 2, Aaron Yotes (1 :25.679); 3. Anthony BRIEFLY••• After Friday's qualifying session. there was a flare·up in the press conference between Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin and Kurtis Roberts that had many in attendance scratching their heads· until it was learned that the two had an on-track altercation and Mladin actually approached Roberts and crew on Pit Lane. According to Mladin, the feud goes back to round one at Daytona. "Kurtis decided at Daytona that this was going to go on. - Mladin said. - He did to me exactly what I did to [Ben] Bostrom in '99 [at Pikes Peak!. and I got hammered over it. You know what. I figure that's racing and it's cool. So I left it alone. Then in the first session here he was getting in front of me. and another time he sees me and drops it down right in front of me. right after he let Eric Bostrom go by. The bottom line is. he is just trying to screw with me - plain and simple. I tried to talk to him. and he just calls me every name under the sun. He's just one of those guys who talks and doesn't back it up. He talks the talk and doesn't walk the walk. Until he actually walks the walk. he's just a twit." Kurtis Roberts denies that Mladin has approached him. -There's about as much truth to that as the other stuff he claims, - Roberts said. "I was fastest at Daytona from the get-go. and he was always trying to follow me. It started there. He got all pissed off because I went out after him in qualifying. but I didn't go out like he did. He wants to compare it to his move with [Ben] Bostrom where he purposely was out on the track and they radioed to him to slow down and hold him up. That wasn't racing. I went out behind Mat because he'd been following me all weekend. I thought. .Okay. if you want to go faster then I'll just follow ya. And I'll go faster. too.' But he didn't want to go faster. and he didn't want to do a lap. There's no comparison between the two. It's a joke. Who knows what he's thinking? I don't try to block him. I don't give a s%$# about Mat Mladin or any other guy out here. I'm not going to try to block anybody because it just comes back to you. He's just trying to get into my head or to start something, but he's not going to be able to. Because I don't care.Multitime Canadian Superbike National ChampIon and 1998 AMA 600cc Supersport Champion Steve Crevier was riding his Team Diablo Suzukis at California Speedway. using the track time to test for the upcoming Canadian Championships. "The bikes are new. and they just need the setup time. - Crevier said after Friday moming's practice session. -I'm in the way a little bit out there. The new gixxer [Suzuki GSX-R1000] is pretty neat. but I can't come off the turns very well. I just want to get some good base settings, and if I'm over two seconds off the pace. then I'll sit out. We Just want to get it going as good as I can. You can't run a bike up there [CanadaJ until April or May. You can test and test. but you learn a lot more when the flag drops. I have a lot of faith in this approach. All we need are some team shirts and a little better organization. and we'lI be fine. - Crevier ended up racing. finishing a respectable ninth in the first race and 12th in the second. The Canadian series is set to begin in mid·May. Australian Marty Craggill returned to the racetrack at California Speedway after being forced to miss Daytona when he underwent neck surgery on February 22, "The guy did an amazing job," Craggill said on Friday. "I put up with a lot of pain for a lot of years. and I didn't need to. I was always a bit afraid because it was neck surgery, - It was at a test at Laguna Seca that Craggill learned he finally needed to take action. -I went to test at Laguna Seca, did six laps and my left arm went to sleep," the Bruce Transportation Group rider said. "I couldn't ride, I went and saw the surgeon. and he was a bike rider so he just said. 'Let's do it straight away and you'll be right for Fontana.''' As it turns out. the doctor was right. "I feel good." Craggill said. "I'm a little rusty because I really haven't been on the bike since August. It was a good thing I got to ride yesterday." Craggill ended up third in the Formula Xtreme final and 13th in the 600cc Supersport race. Defending Formula Xtreme Champion .Jason Pridmore didn't have a good weekend at California Speedway. though it was almost much worse. On Friday. Pridmore was at the racetrack. but his Attack Suzukis didn't make it. as the team was still working on getting them together. On Saturday. he had his bikes. but there was plenty of work left to do. "We got to the track this morning. and the team had the bike on the dyno at 5:30 this morning," Pridmore explained. -They got to the track at 24 APRIL 16, 2003' eye I e n e vv s Eric Bostrom (Kaw); 3. Miguel DuHamel (Hon); 4. Aaron Yates (Suz); 5. Kurtis Roberts (Hon); 6. Ben Bostrom (Hon); 7. Anthony Gobert (Duc); 8. Jordan S'oke (Su,); 9. Shown Higbee (Su,): 10. Andy Deatherage (Suz); 11. Vincent Hllskovec (SUl): 12. Steve Crevier (Suz); 13. Geoff MllY (Suz); 14. Scott Jensen (Suz); 15. Chris Ceylor (Suz); 16. John Duglln (Suz); 17. Jeremy Toye (Suz); 18. Rich Conicelli (Suz); 19. Jack Pfiefer (SUl); 20. Allin Schmidt (Suz); 21. Mllrco Martinez (Suz); 22. Dean Mizdlll (Suz); 23. Larry Pegrllm (Due); 24. Kim Nllkashima (Suz); 25. Brian Livengood (Suz); 26. Mike Ciecotto (Suz); 27. Clint MeBein (SUl); 28. Thomas Montano (Suz); 29. James Randolph (Suz); 30. Robert Christman (Suz); 31. Mike Bames (Suz); 32. Jeff Williams (Suz). Time: 1 hour. 1 min.. 8.928 sec. Distance: 28 laps, 64.4 miles Average speed: 63.2 mph Margin of victory: 6.373 sec. AlitA SUPERBIKE NATIONAL C'sHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 16 rounds): 1. Met Mladin (100/2 wins); 2. Miguel DuHamel (92/1 win): 3. Ben Miguel DuHamel (17) had a decent weekend, highlighted with his third" place finish on Sunday. Here he chases down Gobert (16) while holding off Ben Bostrom (hidden). Bostrom (87); 4. Aaron Yates (86); 5. Eric Bostrom (85): 6. Kurtis Roberts (80); 7. Shawn Higbee (64); 8. Andy Deather"ge (60); 9. Vincent Haskovec (55); 10. Larry Pegram (51); 11. Joson Pridmore (45): 12. Jack Pfeifer (42); 13. Steve Crevier (41); 14. Mieheel Bames (40); 15. Scott Jensen (31). Upcoming Rounds Rounds 4/5 - Sonoma, California, May 3-4 Rounds 617 - Braselton, Georgia, May 16-17 about 7:30. and we went out in the first practice at 8:30. Right now the bike just doesn't feel like my bike. and that's the worst part about it. It feels like someone else's bike. Once we get some more laps on the bike. I'll feel better. We did the Superbike race. and that seemed better. To be honest. this whole weekend is a test for me. That's the attitude I have to have because you can lose championships real quick if you do something stupid. Richard Stamboli stayed up for basically three straight days. and the rest of the guys - they've been working really hard. We didn't get our bike until the week before Daytona. When that happens and you get stuff so late. it's hard to put a competitive bike on the track. Then of course there are mixups with parts and not getting stuff on time. There's a number of things you have to do to get these bikes together. and we just didn't have ours together.Although it currently dominates AMA Superbike racing. Dunlop isn't going to get caught sleeping when Michelin makes its expected return to the series in 2004. The British/Japanese tire makers are already in preparation for the competition to come, What that means to the current Dunlop users in the series is stepped-up support. with key figures such as Dave Watkins heading stateside periodically to assist Jim Allen, It also means better tires, "We're right in line with what we're using in World Superbike." Dunlop's Jim Allen said. "We're building tires right now for Sears Point. Road Atlanta, Elkhart and Brainerd. They'lI be in limited quantity. but they are World Superbike tires. We'll also have people like Mark Sears and Dave £Watkinsl coming over from time to time. Michelin is a real capable company. and they've been looking and sniffing at this series for years. It's been an artificial situation for a long time. Although they've been around here and there. they [Michelin] pulled out in ·91. It's our job to show people that we can do it. and we are doing it." As far as Allen. and Dunlop. are con· cerned AMA Superbike racing is a big priority. -AMA Superbike racing is pretty damn good, and we can learn a lot here. - said Allen. After the first of two AMA Superbike Nationals. AMA road race manager Ron Barrick explained the rule that led to Eric Bostrom's being penalized 10 seconds. a decision that cost the Kawasaki rider third place. -In qualifying, if a rider cuts the course. we discount his lap time. and that's erased from their qualifying results. - Barrick explained. "But in the race. cutting the course can lead to an advantage. and we addressed it in the riders' meeting that it would be a 10-second time penalty. The observers were stationed at several areas around the track. and that was called in on lap 16 - from tum one." Bostrom and his team didn't appeal the decision. saying there wasn't much to gain from it. On Sunday. the penalties were handed out in droves for chicane cutting. The rap sheet reads like this: John Dugan. Jeremy Toye. Dean Mizdal. Steve Crevier. Brian Livengood. Larry Pegram. Kim Nakashima. Kurtis Roberts. Chris Caylor and Ben Bostrom. All were given 10-second penalties. The fact that the AMA doesn't use aggregate scoring came up again in Sunday's Superbike National. Although he was leading eventual winner Mat Mladin by some seven seconds when the red Rag came out, Kurtis Roberts wouldn't have that advantage when the race was restarted. "Unfortunately. we have lap timers. but we don't do aggregate time. which makes no sense to me . especially at a place like this." Roberts said. "When Mat [Mladinl pulled into Pit Lane for his stop-and·go. he was ahead of me and [Aaronl Yates. He made up ground on the track. If we didn't have the red flag ... I was just pacing myself. I could have gone faster, but there wasn't a need to, Until there are a real set of rules like the GPs. things like this are going to happen. It all comes around and goes around. Hopefully. we get a lucky break with a red flag - we haven't yet. but..." Miguel DuHamel had a big moment late in the second Superbike National. -I was attacking, and there must be a seam or something," DuHamel explained. "The front end just locked up on me. and I was on my knee. It was the longest front-end slide I've ever had in my entire life." .Jamie Hacking and his wife Rachel were involved in a one-car accident while leaving California Speedway on Saturday night. Hacking's car struck a metal parking lot gate. causing damage to his front windshield. interior and left-side back window. The Hackings. however, were not injured. Speedway personnel are reviewing the accident. according to Speedway officials.

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