Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128314
Championship Cup Series Working Out The Bugs The CCS races at Daytona were a time to get ready STORV AND PHOTOS Bv HENNV RAv he Championship Cup Series weekend that precedes the AMA week at Daytona has always been a time to shake off the rust of both the rider and machine . This year was no different . With the usual mix of musical chairs, tire brands, the machines and CCS/Formula USA attracted a number of top riders , some of whom will be racing the F-USA series, some not. Not surprisingly, experience showed, with a few veteran campaigners at the front each time out. The only thing holding them back was the weather. Brutally cold and windy on Friday - wind chills were in the 30s - the weather gradually improved to the mid-60s on Sunday, just after the end of the CCS program. Larry Pegram was one of the pros who used the CCS weekend to acclimate himself to his new ride. Pegram 's 2003 campaign ended prematurely when one of his benefactors pulled the plug on the lessthan-Dream Team Ducati effort . This year, he's lined up a deal with Triangle Cycles , a multibrand dealership with locations in Danville, Virginia, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina . Because of Yamaha's generous contingency program Pegram and others, including Prieto Racing's Michael Barnes, made the move to Yamaha. Pegram's calendar is still being formulated. He's planning on racing the AMA Superstock and Supersport classes and hopes to line up funding to do Superbike, as well. He'll also compete in the Formula USA series. "They've really made a bike that's pretty darn close to a Superbike," Pegram said of the RI. "That thing is every bit as good as a Superbike was two years ago. Almost as good as it was last year." In his Yamaha debut, Pegram had more success on the big bike, the RI, with moderate results on the R6. His first win came in the Expert Unlimited Supersport race , where he had the track to himself. With four seconds in hand ending the first lap, Pegram just kept adding to the lead, despite being cautious. "I slowed way down," he said of the lead he'd built. "Everybody kept crashing. You couldn't get any heat in the right side of the tire. I was just cruising. "You couldn't really push today. T ABRAMS Anybody that did ended up on their head." On Sunday, Pegram added his second win, this one coming in the Expert Speed screen Unlimited GP. That was a win he had to fight for, drafting by Shogun Motorsports John Haner on the run to the flag to take the narrow win, Millennium Motorsports' Shawn Higbee also drafting by Haner to take second . "He never made a mistake," Pegram said of Haner, whom he was racing with for the first time. "I had to ride really good to beat him. We're two for two on this RI." Haner put it to "a little bit of inexperience on my part," it being only his second time to Daytona. "That's just the way it goes. You live and learn ." Haner had earlier run second to Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Steve Rapp in the Expert GTO race, again coming up just short. "Steve' s [Rapp] a great rider," said Haner, who hadn't ridden since October. "Give all props to him." Pegram has less success on the R6, party due to bad grid positions and also a bent shifter in the Expert GTO race. Barnes was a different story. The Floridian put his Prieto RacingR6 to good use, winning the Akropovic GTU Expert race on Friday and the Expert Middleweight Superbike on Sunday. The GTU race was the most troubled of the weekend, three red flags thrown before the race, which had to be shortened from its original 30-minute length, got under way for good. Barnes came from the seventh row to take second on the second lap and the lead a lap later. The race ran to its six-lap term with Barnes easing away, Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Chris Peris second, and Argo Cycles' Scott Greenwood third . "It was pretty slick out there today," Greenwood said. "There were a lot of guys going down. Iwas just trying to get laps in." Greenwood got the jump on the 67rider Expert Middleweight Superbike field, Barnes moving up from his seventh-row starting spot to jump into second by the third of six laps. Stalking Greenwood for more than a lap, Barnes made his move to the front entering the chicane, Greenwood wresting it back in turn one, then Barnes back to the front, this time making it stick. Preito Racing's Michael Barnes wheelies in celebration after winning the Expert Middleweight Superbike race. Greenwood and Robert Jensen worked together to catch Barnes with Jensen taking over second and Greenwood ending up third . Betterncourts' Jeff Wood was fourth with Pegram fifth. "The new Yamaha R6 is just fabulous," said Barnes, who's ridden a greater variety of motorcycles than just about anyone else in racing. "I've never ridden a better motorcycle." "I knew those guys were coming, Greenwood said. "That's a tough class. That's a preview of the [F-USA] Sportbike race:' Jensen didn't change tires from his previous race, a factor in his not being able to challenge for the win, the North Dakotan said. www.cyclenews.com RRR Cycles Atlanta's John McGarity took a pair of wins in Saturday's Championship Cup Series program at a chilly Daytona Intemational Speedway, one with ease and the other with the skill of a veteran. the Georgian executing a perfect chicane to finish line draft-pass to move from third to victory. McGarity's first-ever win at the Speedway came in the Expert Heavyweight Supersport class, a leisurely victory after he took the lead for good on the fifth of six laps and pulled away to win by over two seconds. "I've been waiting so long for this," McGarity said. "I've been coming down here so long to get a win. This is great." Harwell came third this time to Street & CYCLE NEWS MARCH 10. 2004 35