Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Taken out of this race was Daytona Harley-Davidson's Richie Morris. Morris admitted his blame for the crash (see Briefly ... ) that caused two other riders to go down and out, and ,an extended delay to clean fluid off the track. That turned out to be a good thing for Dave Estok. When he returned to the pits, his crew discovered a half-inch of oil in the belly pan of his Kosco HarleyDavidson/Buell. The cause was a drain bolt on the primary chain case that had come loose. "I think they said it snapped," Estok said. "They tightened it all the way," telling him it was going to be loud and clanking, but to keep riding it, which he did, right to the top of the winner's box. "I've got to thank Richie Morris," Estok said after beating Harding Harley-Davidson/Buell's Bryan Bemisderfer. Estok said he might not have crashed but added, "I definitely "wouldn't have finished the race." As it was, Estok said he didn't notice a power loss. Bemisderfer made a concerted run at Estok on the fifth of 15 laps, -unable to make the pass stick after running wide on the exit. "I really thought I had him," Bemisderfer said. "I was sizing him up the first half, thinking our times were really low. I think he was playing at that to keep the pace down, which was good. I didn't mind it." Undeterred at not having made the first pass work, he tried again in turn six with the same results. "I had my slow points and those were his strong points, and he'd throw it back under me, but he'd kind of derfer was too polite to bump them out of the way. Plaistow PowerSports' Rick Doucette saw an opening and passed Bemisderfer to take second within sight of the checkered flag, the margin 0.185 seconds. Bemisderfer explained that he drove into a pack of three or four lappers on the final lap in the wrong gear. It was the right gear if he was on his own, but too high to be in traffic. "I was jamming gears, but I came screw up the corner a little bit coming under me, so I could usually get the drive back on him," Estok said. Before long they were in traffic, and the longer the race went, the better the traffic went for Estok, able to break away in the final handful of laps to win by over three seconds. "I just think I got lucky through some lapped riders, and that's where I put the gap on him and just kind of kept my head down and kept smooth and brought it home," said Estok, who stretched his series points lead. After three of seven rounds, Estok leads Bemisderfer, 63-44. Bemisderfer lost second place points late in the race after encountering traffic. There were lappers in the final turns sequence, and Bemis- up a little short," Bemisderfer said. "There were a couple of times I could've punted a couple of people, but you know that's not the right Jerry Wood had his Ducati SuperMono in the top three until Doucette passed him on the sixth lap. Wood lost touch with the pack but was able to close at the end to within 1.2 seconds. CN New Hampshire International Speedway Laudon, New Hampshire Results: June 15, 2003 [Round 31 THONDERBIKE: J. Dave Estok (Bue): 2. Rkk Doucette (Suz): 3. Bryan Bemisderfer (Bue); 4. Jerry Wood (Duc); 5. Bob Poetzsch (Suz); 6. Ray Bowman (Suz); 7. Arthur Wagner (Hon); 8. Jeff Johnson (Bue); 9. Shane Gonyea (Suz); 10. Vahan Buchakjizin (Bue); 11. David White (Suz); 12. Sam Rozynski (Bue); 13. Jonathan Burbank (Suz): 14. Rick Patrolia (Suz); 15. Charles Sipp (Bue); 16. Chris Rau (Yam); 17. Richard Gosselin (Suz); 18. Thomas Barry (Hon); 19. Ted Norton (Kaw); 20. Stephen Perkins (Sue); 21. Carlton Sargent (Hon); 22. Jeff Harding (Bue); 23. Jonathan Martel (Sue); 24. Srian Cushing (Suz); 25. Nicholas Rockwell (Mul): 26. Bill Ormerod (Sue); 27. Anthony Caligiuri (Sue); 28. Paul Conley (Mul); 29. Rhiannon Lucent (Hon); 30. Jllson Kosco (Sue); 31. Kevin Kennedy (Mul); 32. Charles Berube (Hon); 33. Scott Korol (Bue); 34. Joseph Rozynski (Sue); 35. Daniel Bilansky (Sue); 36. Peter Kolodzief (Suz); 37. Patrick Wakefield (Bue). Time: 19 min., 19.898 sec. Distance: 15 laps, 24 miles Margin of victory: 3.632 sec. THONDERBIKE C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 7 rounds): 1. Dave Estok (63/1 win); 2. Bryan Bemisderfer (44); 3. Arthur Wagner (30); 4. Joseph Rozynski (29); 5. Ed Key (25); 6. Rick Doucette (21): 7. Jerry Wood (20): 8. Jeffrey Johnson (19): 9. Rich Morris (17): 10. Daniel Bilansky (16): 1 J. (TIE) Bob Poetzsch/Derek Keyes/Jason Scott Smith (11); 14. (TIE) Ray Bowman/Brian Utcy/Clint Bratz (10); 17. Alex Ferreira (9); 18. (TIE) Jason Jenkins/Shane Gonyea (7): 20. (TIE) Vahlln Buchakjian/Richard Britton/Charles Sipp). thing to do. This is all supposed to be for fun. Hindsight, you know ... if second versus third for that points championship, I should've punted somebody. I'm just kidding." Doucette realized early in the race that his Suzuki SY-650R was at a power deficit to the big Buells of Estok and Bemisderfer and that he'd have to find other ways to adjust. "Those guys have a lot of motor, and I was doing everything I could to keep them in sight," Doucette said. The pass was made in turn 12. "Traffic played a part_ He checked up for a second and I didn't." Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Danville, Virginia, June 29 Round 5 - Topeka, Kansas, August 10 Diablo 1 25 GP other half, and we were pretty much even," Greenwood Jr. said. "I think my bike was little faster than Dale's [Greenwood Jr.]," Sherman said. "I figured I could've got him at the finish line, but I missed him by [half a bikelength]. It was really thick coming through the tight stuff. I did all I could do, and I'm glad to lose to a guy like Dale." Courts came home a content third. "I don't like to finish anything other than first, but these guys are awesome," Courts said. "I mean Corey Sherman, first time on the track, just phenomenal riding, and Dale, I never thought I'd be able to see him for a whole race, so to be able to look at the back of him after 15 laps was pretty flattering. "In the end he ran into some traffic, and I managed to close it up, but I just wasn't close enough to make a move." Courts was 1.7 seconds behind Sherman with four seconds on Eric Yoo in fourth. CN Round 3: New Hampshire International Speedway ace STORY AND PHOTOS BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS LOOOON,NH,JONE15 rian Krcaget, the defending National Champion, was fast qualifier in the Diablo 125 GP. He crashed out of the lead on the second lap. Canadian Stuart Nodell was second-fastest qualifier. He crashed out B of the lead on the sixth lap. Carrera Canada's Corey Sherman, another Canadian, was the thirdfastest qualifier in his first visit to the technically demanding New Hampshire International Speedway. He finished second to Dale Greenwood Jr., a Loudon veteran who'd qualified fifth but knew the fast way around the track when it counted, after 15 laps of the 12-turn circuit. "Those guys were going good; Brian [Krcaget] and the other guy [Nodell], they were gone," Greenwood Jr. said. "It's too bad. I hope they're okay." Greenwood Jr. took over the lead after Nodell's crash, fronting a quartet strung together by speed that was loath to break up. Behind Greenwood Jr. came Sherman Zack Courts and Eric Yoo, a pair of Massachusetts riders. Lap after lap they went down the front straight at near equal intervals, not much to recommend one over the other. With a few laps to go Greenwood Jr. finally pulled out a second on Sherman, then it went back below a second, then even less as the pair hit heavy traffic on the final lap. Out of the final corner and down the front straight they went, Sherman hoping to catch a draft, which he did, only to come up half a bikelength short, officially .027 of a second. It had taken a new lap record by Greenwood Jr. to win the race. "He was stronger in certain parts of the track, and I was stronger in the New Hampshire International Speedway Laudon, New Hampshire Results: June 15, 2003 [Round 31 DIABLO 125GP: I. Dale Greenwood (Han); 2. Corey Sherman (Han); 3. Zack Courts (Han); 4. Eric Yoo (Han); 5. Jim Struke (Hon); 6. Gus Holcomb (Hon); 7. John Dempsey (Hon); 8. Yvan Desy (Han); 9. Scott Maxey (Han); 10. Christian Rose (Han); 11. Paul Duval (Han): 12. Matthew Dennie (Han); 13. Tim Courts (Han); 14. James Lovejoy (Hon); 15. Frank Guadagnino (Han); 16. Debra Kuick (Yam); 17. Chris Consentino (Hon); 18. Reet Das (Han); 19. Craig Derosa (Hon); 20. Angela Hiba (Han); 21. Brian Yoo (Han); 22. Marshall Young (Han); 23. Richard Martin (Hon); 24. Errol Tucker (Han); 25. Mark Johnson (Hon); 26. Joseph Melchionda (Hon); 27. Turu Ulgen (Hon); 28. Tam Pedzewick (Han); 29. Jesse Herrera (Han); 30. Bob Demetrius (Hon); 31. Samantha Catter (Han): 32. Jahn Barbieri (Han); 33. Richard Demetrius (Han); 34. Stuart Nadell (Han); 35. Judy Mirro (Han); 36. William Greenwood (Han); 37. Brian Kcraget (Hon). Dale Greenwood barely beat Corey Sherman to win the Diablo 125cc Grand Prix. cue I Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Danville, Virginia, June 29 Round 5 - Topeka, Kansas, August 10 e n e _ S • JUNE 25, 2003 43

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