Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Extreme Round 4: Pikes Peak International Raceway lead from early leader Buckmaster on the sixth lap and was in front of a four-rider breakaway when the race was red-flagged on the leaders' ninth lap after Leslie Gerber crashed in turn seven. On the restart Buckmaster again took the point with Fergusson taking over earlier, this time on the fourth lap, again down the back straight. He started to make a break, but Buckmaster and Erion Honda's Jake Zemke wouldn't let him, the duo closing up, and Zemke was in second when the race was stopped for the second time, now on the 17th lap. This time it was Jack Pfeifer crashing his Pro Motion Suzuki in turn two. "When they red flagged that one, it sort of got me a bit mad because I knew we didn't have any tires left," Fergusson said. "We were in the same position as a lot of other people, but l wasn't sure who did have tires. I wasn't sure whether Damon (Buckmaster) would go out on a new tire, Jake (Zemke), Ben (Spies), or whatever. Luckily we managed to get a tire off of my teammate Jimmy Moore." On the final run Buckmaster took the lead and wasn't headed. Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies was an early second, with Zemke holding off Fergusson for third. Then Spies ran wide at the end of the back straight on the ninth lap, allowing Fergusson, who'd passed Zemke three laps earlier, to take over second. Fergusson's loaner tire "had a few laps on it, but the problem was it wasn't on a warmer." "It was pretty cold, so we sort of messed up the first two, three laps trying to get some heat into the tire," he said. Once he got heat in his tire, Fergusson was able to make the passes and close on Buckmaster. On the last lap a small window of opportunity opened in the final corner, as they encountered a lapped rider. Buckmaster said he parked it in the corner, then took the inside line, forcing Fergusson to go the long way around the lapper and deny him the win. Damon Buckmaster (6) had the freshest tires, and that was enough to land him the Formula Extreme victory over fellow Aussie Adam Fergusson (68). Fergusson closed on Buckmaster late in the race, coming up just short at the finish. "There's no perfect tire out there that was going to do the whole race," Buckmaster said. "We just come home with a victory that's well deserved for the team." Zemke was another of the riders without a spare tire for the final leg, and it cost him, though he'd had earlier problems. "When we got that first red flag, we came in, and right when the 3D-second horn blew to go out, I got a bloody nose," Zemke said. "So I had to stick a paper towel up in my nose. I couldn't breathe, and my throat got all dry." Just before he went out for the final segment he discovered that the return spring for his front brake lever was broken, so the team did a quick fix with a rubber band. "I just didn't have anything for them on that last run," Zemke said. "We didn't have any wheels or tires left. So that was all she wrote. So I had to run the whole last segment on the same tire I'd been running, so I just didn't have anything for these guys." Zemke was behind Spies when the Suzuki rider clashed with a lapper three laps from the end in the turnfour horseshoe. "He (Spies) set up outside of a lapper thinking the guy was going to turn in, and the guy sat up and ran him wide, and that opened the door for me to just roll right underneath him," Zemke said. Spies had a more colorful description. "I hit him like three times," Spies said. "He went into me once, and then I elbowed him once, and 1 looked at him, and he wouldn't turn. I shouldn't have been so mean, but he didn't ever try to make the corner at all." Just getting to the third start was an accomplishment for Spies' team. He'd melted the plastic coating on the rear brake line during the second stint, so the team had to install a complete rear-brake system during the break. "They said the brakes would not work at all," Spies learned just before the final restart. With only 12 laps to go, Spies ran a softer tire, but he overheated it trying to slow down without being able to trail brake the rear tire. "I had to brake real hard, start up and down and then turn it. We had third locked up until the lapper incident." Zemke's pass allowed him to gain a championship point on Spies. After Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock Round 5: Pikes Peak International Raceway • I • I oval is used, but the track rewards HENNY RAY ABRAMS FOONTAlN, CO, JONE 1 f there is a perfect track for Kawasaki's ZX-6R giant-killer, this was it. Pikes Peak International Raceway is a bullring of a track, a series of constant turns and twists squeezed inside a one-mile oval. A fair portion of the I 16 JUNE 1 1 , 2003· cue • e Tony Meiring, the young Californian handling and tire conservation over STORY AND PHOTOS BY celebrating his first-ever AMA profes- power, and the 636 Kawasaki is per- sional road race win with a calculated fect on both counts. and patient victory in the Genuine The top spot on the podium went Suzuki Accessories Superstock final, to a ZX-6R, but not the one you'd the final race of a very long day in imagine. Instead of Kawasaki's Fountain, Colorado. Tommy Hayden, a multirace winner "It feels good," Meiring said after this year, it was his young teammate beating Corona Extra EBSCO Media n e vv s four of 10 rounds, Zemke leads Spies 125 to 117. Buckmaster sits third with 112. CN Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado Results: May 31, 2003 (Round 41 LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME: I. Damon Buckmaster (Yam); 2. Adam Fergusson (Suz); 3. Jake Zemke (Hon); 4. Ben Spies (Suz); 5. Josh Hayes (Suz); 6. Jason Pridmore (Suz); 7. Jimmy Moore (Suz); 8. Steve Rapp (Suz); 9. Jamie Hacking (Yam); 10. Roger Lee Hayden (Hon); 11. Martin Cragglll (Hon); 12. Jason Curtis (Hon); 13. Craig Connell (Hon); 14. Geoff May (Suz); 15. Chris Ulrich (Suz); 16. Lenny Beckman (Suz); 17. Josh Graham (Suz): 18. Travis Grllham (Suz); 19. Shane Turpin (Yam); 20. Christopher Ancien (Suz); 21. Alex McElyea (Hon); 22. David Guy (Suz); 23. Gregory Glennie (Yam); 24. Mickey Lane (Suz); 25. Nathan Hester (Suz); 26. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz); 27. Jason Knupp (Suz); 28. David Bell (Suz); 29. Rich Deeming (Suz); 30. Benjamin Fox (Due); 31. Aaron Gobert (Yam); 32. Jeffrey Tigert (Suz); 33. Ty Howllrd (Hon); 34. Mark Simon (Suz); 35. Jack Pfeifer (Suz); 36. Vincent Hllskovec (Suz); 37. Eric Erling Haugo (Suz); 38. Leslie Gerber (Suz); 39. Doug Chandler (Hon). Time: N/A due to red flags. Distance: 29 laps, 38.135 miles Average speed: N/A due to red flags. Margin of victory: 0.106 sec. LOCKHART·PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 4 of 10 rounds): I. Jake Zemke (125): 2. Ben Spies (117/2 wins): 3. Damon Buckmaster (112/1); 4. Adam Fergusson (105); 5. Josh Hayes (104); 6. Steve Rapp (97); 7. Marty Craggill (92); 8. Jimmy Moore (88); 9. Jamie Hacking (78/1); to. Chris Ulrich (73); 11. Aaron Gobert (70); 12. Jason Pridmore (65); 13. Roger Lee Hayden (63); 14. Ty Howard (61); 15. Doug Chandler (53); 16. Geoff May (39); 17. Jason Curtis (37); 18. (TIE) Craig Connell/David Guy (35): 20. James King (21). Upcoming Rounds: Round 5 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 7 Round 6 - Brainerd, Minnesota, June 28 Suzuki's Adam Fergusson by 0.273 seconds. "I don't settle for one. Once one comes, I guess there are a few coming." Fergusson, who'd also come second in Saturday's Formula Xtreme race, joked that he should have "bridesmaid" painted on his helmet. "I really thought we had this one," the Australian said. Third went to another small bike, the Yamaha R6 of Jason DiSalvo, his second podium of the day and his career. He'd earlier come in third in a Yamaha sweep of the Supersport class. "It was another good race," DiSalvo said. "Maybe this one was a little more exciting than the last one."

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