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bumpy exit of the fast left in the back. Trying too hard to pass Rapp, Haskovec said he nearly took them both down then ran wide, barely staying on the track. At the end of the day, Hayes had extended his championship lead to 10 points over Haskovec, 265 to 255, now in second after dropping Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden to third with 253. Two rounds remain, at Virginia International Raceway and Barber Motorsports Park. "I can get used to three in a row or maybe even four in a row," Hayes said. "That's the plan. Hopefully we just got the ball rolling and we're just going to keep on going with this." Hayden ran fourth in both the first eight-lap segment and the second and both times was passed by Corona Extra EBSCO Media Suzuki's Adam Fergusson. Fergusson pulled away to a solid fourth, leaving Hayden to hold off the charging John Haner (Shogun Motorsports Suzuki) at the line. "I could run a decent lap for two or three laps, but that's about it," Hayden said. "Once the tires got hot, I was pushing the front really bad. In that class, if I can't make up any time in the corners, I'm in big trouble. Those guys were better than me in the corners and the straightaway yesterday. This time of year is not the time to have those kind of races. I need to have some good races if I want to finish the championship. Definitely have to win the last two races now." On a weekend off the Canadian Superbike tour, Picotte Motorsports' Pascal Picotte headed south to race his Yamaha R6 to seventh place. CN Johnson (Hon); 20. Di!lvid Bell (SUl); 21. James Kerker (Hon); 22. Daniel Daty (Yam): 23. Joseph Ford (Suz); 24. Jeff Bostrom (SUl): 25. Matt Malterer (Suz); 26. Jason DiSalvo (Yam): 27. Jason Peters (Suz); 28. Danny Eslick (Suz); 29. Corey Eaton (Suz): 30. Jeff Purk (Suz): 3 I. Jacob Holden (Suz): 32. Chris Caylor (Suz): 33. Mike Scruggs (Suz); 34. Steve Atlas (Suz). TIme: N/A due to red flag Distance: 16 laps, 38.5 miles Average speed: N/A due to red flag Margin of victory: O. I 16 sec. GENUINE SUZUKI ACCESSORIES SUPER STOCK C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): 1. Josh Hayes (265/2 wins); 2. Vincent Haskovec (255/1): 3. Tommy Hayden (253/2): 4. Adam Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio Results: July 26, 2003 [Round 91 GENUINE SUZUKI Fergusson (233); 5. Tony Meiring (218/1): 6. Steve Rapp (184{2); 7. Mike Ciccotto (182); 8. Chris Caylor (175): 9. Jason DiSalvo (171): 10. John Haner (162): II. Chris Ulrich (155): 12. Jimmy Moore (142); 13. J.J. Roetlin (123): 14. Brian Stokes ACCESSORIES SUPER STOCK: 1. Josh Hayes (Suz): 2. Steve Rap? (Suz); 3. Vincent Haskovec (Suz); 4. Adam Fergusson (Suz); 5. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); 6. John Haner (Suz): 7. Pascal Picotte (Yam); 8. Brian Stokes (Suz); 9. Tony Meiring (Kaw); 10. Chris Ulrich (Suz): 11. Mike Ciccotto (Suz): 12. J.J. Roetlin (Suz): 13. Chris Peris (Hon): 14. Kevin Pate (Suz); 15. Jeff Muskopf (Suz); 16. Travis King (Suz); 17. Tom Wertman (Suz); 18. Darren Luck (Suz); 19. Jake (115): 15. (TIE) Jacob HoldenfTom Wertman (86): 17. Matthew Furtek (83): 18. Jeremy Toye (78): 19. (TIE) Jordan Szoke/Chris Peris (76). Upcoming Rounds: Round 10- Allon, Virginia, August 27 Round 11 - Birmingham, Alabama, September 21 AMAIMBNA 250cc Grand Prix Series Round 8: Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course BY PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTO BY HENNY RAY ABRAMS LEXINGTON, OH, JULY 27 t was a record-setting day for Rich Oliver at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In easily winning his ninth 250cc GP of the season, Oliver kept his perfect season intact. The win was also the 69th AMA victory of his career, a mark that makes him the all-time winningest AMA road racer over Miguel DuHamel. Along the way, he also set a new lap record for 250cc GP machines at the Mid-Ohio racetrack. But, more importantly, Oliver wrapped up his fifth AMA 250cc Grand Prix National Championship and his first since 1997. He did so by dominating yet another 250cc GP final. When the race was red-flagged after six laps, Oliver led by almost five seconds. When it restarted, it was more of the same, as he simply pulled away from defending champion Chuck Sorensen and his Stargel Aprilia, ultimately winning by 8.5 seconds. Third place went to Irishman Simon Turner, the Priority Racing Honda rider all alone as he trailed Sorensen but led home Sunsports' Perry Melnecuic. All American Home Inspection's Chris Pyles rounded out the top-five finishers on his Honda RS250. With two rounds remaining, Oliver has an insurmountable lead of 102 points over Melnecuic, 339-237. "It feels so good to get Robert [Ward - Oliver's tuner] that championship," Oliver said. "He's worked for me in 2000, 2001, 2002 and now 2003, so I've missed out every single time for him. This year I really wanted to make sure I won the thing. For this race, I thought of many different ways I could ride. Karen [his fiancee] talked to me before the race and told me just to do my thing like I always do, so that's what I went and did. It actually felt the most comfortable just I charging around and trying to ride my very best and not worrying about points and all that stuff. It ended up that we have nine wins, and that's so outstanding for our team, for Yamaha and all our sponsors. Hopefully, it highlights my Mystery School and all the things I teach, and I just feel good about accomplishing something that I've been trying to accomplish since I came back to 250s from Superbike. It feels good. I'm not really jumping up and down today, but I probably will tomorrow when it sinks in a little more." The 250cc GP got under way with Oliver taking the holeshot and lead into the first turn. When they crossed the stripe for the first time, Oliver led by .8 of a second, though Turner and Sorensen didn't look like they were prepared to let him go as quickly as he has of late. Sorensen didn't waste time in making up for a slow start, and he moved around Turner on the second lap, instantly opening up a gap on the Irishman. While Oliver was able to open a gap on Sorensen, it was gradual. A tenth here, a few tenths there ... well, at least for a few laps. Then it grew a little faster, half a second here... As has been the case all year, the top three were clearly superior. Oliver easily led Sorensen, who did likewise to Turner. Behind them there was a big gap back to the rest, led by Melneciuc, who in turn was already miles ahead of his pursuers by the fifth lap. At that point, Oliver led Sorensen by 4.1 seconds. Turner trailed Sorensen by five seconds, and Melnecuic was another 6.3 seconds behind. Then came Ed Sorbo, the Yamaha rider getting the better of his battle with Colin Jensen when the Aprilia rider crashed out of the race. It was an incident that brought out the red flag a lap later as Jensen had to be transported. On the restart it was again Oliver starting quickly, with Sorensen again sluggish getting the Aprilia off the line. Turner again held second - after some bold passing in turn one - with Sorensen charging past the riders who had beaten him to turn one. This time when they crossed the finish line, Oliver led by almost two seconds. Turner was again second, but Sorensen was already on him, and he moved around the Honda RS250 on the next lap. This time, however, Turner looked a bit more intent on sticking with Sorensen. "I tried to hold on to Chuck [Sorensen], but he was beating me everywhere, just a bit everywhere," Turner said. "I was struggling to hold on to him, and I was going to crash, so I had to settle for the championship and not crash - that wouldn't have been popular with the team. It was a good, fun race when I was close to Chuck, and I learned an awful lot as well. The bike worked good, and that was the fastest I went all weekend." With Oliver taking the title away, Sorensen will spend the last two races wearing the number-one plate before handing it over to Oliver. "It's been a roller coaster ride for me this season," Sorensen said. "But it was still a fun one, and I wouldn't pass it up for anything. The weekend started out really good, and our times were looking really good. I was trying too hard in qualifying yesterday and threw my bike away. It didn't look like it was that bad of a crash, and it didn't hurt me at all, but the bike went into the gravel pit and swallowed a bunch of rocks and ground them around in the cases. It was probably the most damage I've done to a motorcycle. We have plenty of parts, and we put together a great bike for the race today. We also tried some stuff with the suspension before the race, and it was definitely more comfortable." Although it was comfortable and he learned some things following Oliver, Sorensen couldn't challenge. cue I e All over but the... series: Rich Oliver made sure that the last AMA 250cc Grand Prix title would be his by clinching the crown with another win at Mid-Ohio. Oliver is now two races away from a perfect season. At the end of just two laps, he led by over 3.5 seconds, and the writing was on the wall - Another Oliver Runaway. On that second lap, Oliver broke the 250cc lap record at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. From there it would be another cruise to victory for Oliver, his ninth such runaway of the season. Sandy Noce, meanwhile, had a tough race. While running sixth, Noce was black-flagged for allegedly switching motorcycles during the redflag downtime. Noce was called into Pit Road, where he vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Naturally, the Canadian was livid. CN Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio Results: July 27, 2003 [Round 91 250 GP FINAL: I. Rich Oliver (Yam); 2. Chuck Sorensen (Apr): 3. Simon Turner (Hon); 4. Perry Melnecuic (Yam): 5. Chris Pyles (Hon); 6. Edward Marchini (Yam); 7. Barrett Long (Yam): 8. Geoffrey Maloney (Yam): 9. William Himmelsbach (Yam): 10. John France (Han); II. Sean WrlJY (Yam); 12. James Bonner (Yam): 13. Shawn Murray (Hon); 14. Stephen Bowline (Hon): 15. Steve Scott (Yam); 16. Mark Stiles (Yam); 17. Richard Merhar (Yam); 18. Michael Rentschler (Yam); 19. Bryan Hoelzer (Hon); 20. Glen Christianson (Yam); 21. James Worthington (Apr); 22. Sean McNew (Hon); 23. Joji Tokumoto (Hon). Time: 40 min .. 40.580 sec. Distance: 16 laps, 38.4 miles Average speed: 56.6 mph M.argin of victory: 8.540 sec. 2S0 GP SERIES C'SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 9 of 11 rounds): I. Rich Oliver (339/9 wins): 2. Perry Melnecuic (237); 3. Simon Turner (233); 4. Chuck Sorensen (225); 5. Chris Pyles (223); 6. Ed Marchini (206): 7. Colin Jensen (166); 8. Ed Sorbo (164): 9. Greg Esser (160): 10. Sandy Noce (158): II. Sean Wray (133); 12. John France (126); 13. Stephen Bowline (123); 14. Darren Fulce (110); 15. Barrett Long (103). Upcoming Rounds: Round 10 - Axlon, Virginia, August 31 Round 11 - Birmingham, Alabama, September 21 n e vv S • AUGUST 6. 2003 29