Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Round 3: Infineon Raceway SONOMA, CA, MAY 4 he Pro Honda Oils Supers port class got an infusion of interest and new technology when three of the four Japanese manufacturers brought out new 600cc Supersport models for the 2003 season. Only Suzuki stood pat. It will take several more races before a definitive answer can be given as to who's superior. Honda won the first race, in the capable hands of Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts, with Yamaha's Jamie Hacking second and American Honda's Miguel DuHamel third. Since then it's been all Yamaha, Hacking sweeping both races in California, with Yamahas finishing second both times, Aaron Gobert at California Raceway and Damon Buckmaster today at Infineon Raceway. Erion Honda's Jake Zemke was third today. It adds up to Yamaha taking the top three spots in the championship, led by Hacking with 106 points, to Buckmaster's 85, and 80 for Gobert, sixth today after making a bad choice on the front tire. Because he'd come to Sonoma leading the points standings, Hacking had the pole position, which was invaluable. "It's a hard place to pass, with the racing lines getting so narrow like they are," Hacking said. "With the track getting so bumpy, you've got to be on the racing line. You get off of it, I mean you're risking yourself a fall." DuHamel would learn that the hard way. Hacking and Buckmaster got out front early, DuHamel sticking with them for a number of laps before they edged away on about lap five of 17. Then it was the Yamahas going head to head for the duration, Buckmaster thinking he had a chance to pass, but never strong enough to make the attempt. "It's really difficult to pass someone that's just as fast as you and on the same machinery as well," Buckmaster said. "We had our bike set up a fair bit different, and it seemed like he could pull a lot on me coming off the turns, and it seemed like I could gain on him going into turns. Essentially it's tough to pass when it's like that. If we were a little closer, it would have been easier. "I felt as though the only place I could get him was on the brakes somewhere," Buckmaster continued. "Turn 11, I was thinking about it for a while, about five laps. I probably could have got him there. It was tough because he'd get a good run off the new chicane, drive really well; I could close the gap on the brakes, but I couldn't essentially make the pass, and time went away." Hacking wasn't so sure that Buckmaster could make the pass and rode that way, never protecting his line, always going for the fastest way through a corner. "I never started defending the line, and that's maybe why he thought he could get underneath me," Hacking said. "A lot of places here you can easily fall just trying to jam it up underneath somebody. Second for him is good, and first is better for me. He rode really well. He probably thought he was going to try me a couple of times. He was so close a couple of times I could hear him really well. I was aware he was there, but as soon as wanting to pass me, I was going to let him go; I wasn't going to challenge him. There's no point in both of us taking each other out with any stupid moves. The opportunity was there for him to pass me. I don't think I ever blocked my line. Just that thing, take that risk, take that risk of falling here, and it's not worth it." The margin of victory was a mere .410 seconds after 17 laps, 37.4 miles of racing. Hacking averaged 91.1 mph, running the race in 28 minutes, 13.260 seconds, both new records for the reconfigured track layout. Zemke had to work his way to the front from the second row. He was part of a group contesting fourth, then third, when DuHamel fell into their clutches. Zemke made the pass on the 16th lap, and DuHamel, just a few turns from the end, highsided in a big way, nearly taking out Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies and breaking his left clavicle. "The tight chicane, right when he went to flick it into 10, it looked like he grabbed third gear, and the thing spit him off hard," said Spies, who would go on to finish fourth. "I actually whacked myself pretty bad because I had to hit the brake lever to make it turn so I wouldn't hit him. When I got by him, I guess it messed Tommy (Hayden) up because he faded back. I'm lucky not to be involved in that because that was 18 MAY 14, 2003' co Y n STORY AND PHOTOS BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS T co I e e _ s really big." Crew chief Al Luddington explained that DuHamel was trying to close up on Zemke so he could make a pass in the final turn, "and the rear started coming around on him, and he got off in the marbles, and that was that. "We're using a different setup on the 600," Ludington said. "The two biggest problems we've been having with the competition is transitional behavior and off the comer drive. So we've been addressing the transitional behavior, and to do that, by necesSity, you've got to make the bike a little lighter, and the fact that we had no practice time and today is the first time that he's worn out a tire on that bike contributed to that problem." Luddington said that DuHamel was taken to Sonoma Valley Hospital where he was diagnosed with a bro- my The 6~cc Supersport race was a battle between Yamaha teammates Jamie Hacking (2) and Damon Buckmaster (6). Hacking topped Buckmaster, while Miguel DuHamel (17) crashed out of the race on the final lap. ken left collarbone. DuHamel was scheduled to see noted motorsports surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting the day after the race. Luddington said that, knowing the resilient French-Canadian, he'd be ready to race at Road Atlanta in two weeks' time. DuHamel's sudden exit gave Zemke a secure third. Zemke explained that his early drive was dulled with what he thought was a rear tire problem. The rear was sliding around, but then it came in, and he was able to run down DuHamel when he made a small mistake exiting the turn six Carousel. Own Race ~~ Tommy Hayden @@ Aaron Gobert 5th Hayden was frustrated by not being quite fast enough to catch and pass the front runners after a slow start. "I kind of started eighth, so I knew it would be a little bit tough," Hayden said. "Got off, and J felt all right, not great. I didn't really feel that special anywhere. Just tried to ride hard the whole time. Was in a little pack there, and got by a couple of guys, (Aaron) Gobert and two other guys. Had a podium right there in front of me, but wasn't quite good enough to get by those guys today. A little bit frustrating. Expected to do better here today. I had a few places where they were faster than me, the Carousel, then the esses, two of the places I could pass, I was suffering in the comers before that, so it made a little bit tough." 6th Gobert hadn't been to Infineon in two years. Last year he sat out with his devastating Day· tona injuries. So it helped that he was able to sit on the front row due to his finishes in the first two races. "I was hanging in there, and I guess the last frYe laps or so dropping back and I just didn't have anything," Gobert said. "At the beginning I had something there for Jake Zemke. I was starting to line him up. And then we come across a waving yellow flag. I wouldn't say (Ben) Spies passed on a waving yellow flag, but he gained an advantage through that circumstance. (It happened) just as you enter the new bit over the back, the right-hander, tum eight. So I'm not saying he passed on the yellow flag. It's not specific enough in the rule book where it is able to pass somebody, and he definitely gained an advantage over that. After that I just went backwards. He sort of got all angry, and I went backwards." Part of Gobert's problem was his front tire choice. "1 think I could have done with a different front, but without the time to choose, I just picked my favorite tire and went with it." . cD@ Jason DiSalvo 7th Uke his teammate Aaron Gobert, Jason DiSalvo chose the wrong tire, only the New Yorker chose the wrong rear. "It was pretty good, but I would have been a lot happier if we would have chose the right tire," he said. "It was too soft. On like the sixth lap it started going away. Next time I'm just going to go with the consensus, not try to be the hero, pick the other tire. I rode as hard as I could. I'm happy we got points. It's going to be a long season. We'll see if we can stick in there and get some points back in the next race."

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