Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

but I just held the gas on, and he sta rt ed to move bac k down , an d it was just perfect - the door opened up , and I went straight around the outside." A bruised and battered Hacking ended up second, an eyelash behind his teammate. On on e hand, Hacking was d isap pointed to have come so close - yet again - to victory at Daytona. On the other hand, he was glad to have made it through Ir _ _w hat he thought was a somewhat har=: rowing race. " It's so rt of disappoint ing to see it go away, but just to get th rough t hat race was an acc omplishment," Hacking said . " It was a very har d race fo r me to run, v ry hard. O ne because it's the first race of the year on th is type of motorcycle, and you have a bunch of guys who haven't ridden a big bike around here in these sort of conditions. It seemed like everyone did a good job and kept it real safe . The main th ing is that everyone is in one piece and we're all o ut of here. From the start o f the green light to the checkered flag was pre tty much a big mome nt . I do n't t hink I was comfortable one bit o ut t here. From my ea rlier accident in the week and hurting my back - ye sterday, I My 11 coul d n't even wa lk - I was just t rying to hang in there. I was losing the front everywhere. It was just a very hard race. I'm just happy the race is over w ith , and we'll get to go to some real racetracks and see how our bike really shines." Much like Gobert, Tommy Hayden didn 't spend much time at the front. Except when it counted. And he put the ZX IORR o n t he podium in its de but , despite be ing a bit short o n gearing on the last-la p ru n to the flag. " De finitely I didn't get t he start I wanted ," To mmy Hayde n said. " I was eighth or something, pretty far back . Igot thr ough to third or fourth pretty qu ick, and I felt pretty good, but then I had a few moments and made some mistakes, and I was way back to the back of the pack again. I got going again, and it seemed like I seesawed the whole time. I just didn't feel real comfortable out there, a little bit sliding around both ends , really. I was probably a little too tentative there for a w hile, a nd then t he last few laps there I just kind of we nt for it. I was just a little bit short there at the line . It was a pretty fun race, having t hat big of a pack and everyone so close. It was just kind of cool watching everyone fighting to OWN RACE Ben Spies 8th Damon Buckmaster 4th IIyou were going to leel sorry for anyone afte r the Superstock final , it was hard not to lee l a bit of sympathy lor Y amaha's Damo n Buckmaster. Alter all, the Australian led 10 of the 12 laps, only to end up fourt h at the finish line. "What do you do?" Buckmaster said. "You ride your hardest to do the best you can and you should win the race , but you just don't . The pace was comfortab le. Comlortable enoug h that you didn't want to go any slower. It really was. Ob viously, I was trying, but it wasn't like I was trying to pull a gap or anything like that, or riding over my head. I knew I wasn't dropp ing them off, but it puts a question mark on a lot 01 victories here, I reckon. Victories you've see n in the past. I certainly feel for the people who have lost races here when they should have won them. I do know how they feel. I came out 01 the chicane in second behind Roger [Hayde n], and I didn't care. I just thought, 'No worries.' " 44 John Ha ne r DAYTO NA INTERNATIONAL S PEEDWAY D AYTO NA B EACH, F LO RIDA MARCH 4 , 2004 ( R OUND I) REPSOL 51STK Q UALIFY ING: I. Ben Spies (1,48.202); 2. Jason DiSalvo ( H 8.496); 3. Jam" Haclcing ( H 8.M 3); 4. Aaron Goben ( 1,48.763); 5.lOmmy Hayden ( 1,49.252); 6. Damon Buckma,.., (I ,49.29 5); 7. RogerLee Hayden ( H 9.394); 8. jason Prid"""e ( 1,50. 18 1); 9. josh Hayes ( 1,50.263); 10. John Haoe- (I ,50.3JJ) ; I I. Vincent Haskcvec ( I,SO. 73); 12. l.arry Pegram ( I,SO.993); 13. 8 Shawn Higbee ( 1.51.265); 14. Alex Goben (1,51.4 18); 15. Eric Wood ( 1,51.454); 16. Geo ff May (1,5 1.592); 17. jacob Holden (1,5 1.6JJ ); 18. Steve Rapp ( 1,5 1.6 97); 19 . [ordan Szoke ( 1:52. 163); 20. lee Acree ( 1:52. 194); 21. Jimmy Moo re (1,52.143); 22. Pascal Picott e ( 1,52.800 ); 23. O pie Caylor ( 1,53. 185); 24. Co rey Eaton (1,54.118); 25. I). Roedin ( 1,54.319); 26. john Dugan (1,54.183); 27. Frank Trombino (1,55.063); 28. Jason Curtis ( 1,55.822); 29. John McGarity ( 1,55.895); 30. Craig Fitzpatrick ( 1,56.2JJ ); 3 1. Marco Mart inez ( 1:56.352); 32. Bos t jan Skubic (1:57.82 1); lJ . Roger Bell ( 1,57.893); H . Ron McGm ( 1,58 .4lJ); 35. 95 Pole sitter Ben Spies crashed his number-one Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the Intemational Horseshoe the moming 01 the race, a simple lowside bending the triple clamps badly enough to warrant a change to his backup bike. Then in the race , Spies jumped the gun on the start and was penalized with a stop-and -go penalty. "I jumped it," Spies admitted. "I'd done two laps on that bike all weekend , and one of them was pole. I had a small brake vibration on the warm -up lap, and that's what I was signaling to the guys. I didn't end up doing any practice starts , so I launched one before the parade lap, and I think it just got a bit hot. I let the clutch midway out , and it started to bind up; then I had it to the bar, and it just rolled forward. I had to grab the brake, and the n eve ryone was gone. I did the stop and go and worke d my way up to eighth. So we got eighth and a point lor pole, and we'llgo to the next race to win. I was do ing times faster than the lead gro up, and that was going through lappers, so I feel okay. Daytona is a hellweek anyway." 6 try and get hooked up. It kind of reminded me o f dirt track." As fo r the run to t he flag, Tommy Hayden simply mirrored Gobe rt . "As we came off the banking and over th e tunn el, I could see that Aaron had a good run , and he looked to me like he had the best run, and was in the best spot, so I picked him to follow," Tommy explained . " I followed him and passed almost everyone exce pt fo r him. I was ou t of gear and in the rev- limiter way be fore t he stripe because I had more speed than w hat I had all week. I don't t hink it woul d have mattered... Aaron had a really good run ." eN 10th Texan John Haner finished 10th on his Hoot ers Suzuki GSX-RI000 in what was his debut lor the team . "I just got a good start, and everybody checked up." said Haner, who started on the third row 01the grid. "Isaid, 'This is my only shot to make sure I can stay with the leaders.' I stayed with them, and then I tucked the front in turn six. I passed Josh [Hayes] in the International Horseshoe, and I led him until six and tuc ked the Iront. Then they gapped me a litt le bit, and I just tried to maintain. A couple of laps Irom the end Ileit a vibration, and I knew someth ing was there. The bike went sideways at start/finish at the checkered - and that's about as far out as I ever want it, dude ." Monte z Stewart ( 1:58.620); 36. David Bell (1:59.008 ); 37. John Scott Wilson ( 1:59.675): 38. Eric Erling Haugo ( "19.9 18); 39. Dave l.oIkits (2,00 .662); 40. joe Capell; (2,00 .8 18). REPSOL S/STK FINAL: I. Aaron Goben (Yam 2. ); Jarn;e Hacking (Y am); 3. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); 4. Damon Buckmaster- (Yam S. Roger Lee Hayden (Kaw); 6. Jason ); D;5a!vo (Yam 7. jos h Hayes (Kaw); 8. Ben Spies (Suz); 9. ); Steve Rapp (Suz ); 10. john Haner (Suz); II. Shawn Hibee (Suz); 12. Eric Wood (Suz); 13. Lee Acree (5uz); 14. Jason Pridmombino (12); 20. Opie Caylor ( I I); 21. Co rey Eaton ( 10); 22. Ale x Gobert (9); 23. Vincent Haskcvec (8 ); 24. Jason Curtis (7); 25. lJ. Roedln (6); 26. Montez Stewan (5); 27 . t-tarcc Martinez (4); 2B. Rog., Sell (3); 29. David Bell (2); 30. Bostjan Skubic ( I). UPCOMING ROUNDS R 2. F ound ontona, Colifornia, April 4 R 3 . Sonom Colifornio, May 2 ound a, Roge r Le e Hayden 5th Kawasaki's Roger Lee Hayden's debut on the ZXIORR was a good one. The youngest of the Hayden brothers ran up Iront lor the entire race, even leading the 10th of 12 laps across the finish-line stripe. In the end , he lost out , opting to lead out of the chicane, a move that rarely works at Daytona. He also ended the race with the lastest lap, a I:49.569. "It was a good race." Hayden said. "I knew I had a good shot. For the first few laps I just wanted to stay behind Hacking and Buckmaster, and then I lelt that maybe I could do somethi ng. I was trying to get to the lead, and Buckmaster would never let anyone by. I messe d up and put the wrong gear in my bike, so I was running out 01gear at the start/finish line. I played the race out in my head, and it seemed so slow. I knew that no matter what, I had to lead coming out 01the chicane, and so toward the end I just tried to outbrake those guys going into the chicane. O n the last lap, I just we nt lor it and came up short . What I wanted to do was lead through the infield. It was my first race here on a big bike, so I was a litt le cautious. I didn't want to do anything dumb. I've never raced , even on the 600, at the front here . I liked the bike. I swear I think I had the best bike out there." 1 Josh Hayes 7th Attack Kawasaki's defending class champion is coming off an injury Irom a motocross crash during the off-season. Considering his ankle is still bad, Hayes was fairly pleased with his effort in his first race back on the bike. "My ankle has bee n pretty sore from allthe swelling." Hayes explained. "The race started pretty good, and I had a lew moments but was able to hang on and run the group back down. Once I caught them, I caught some bad wind or someth ing going into the dog-leg and lost both ends. I scared myself hall to death , and I thought maybe I'd chunked the Iront tire because it kind 01 chattered w hen it went instead 01a smooth, lose the front. I took it easy lor a co uple of tu rns to make sure it was cool, and by that time the group had gotte n away enough that I didn't have it in me to run them down again. I just kind of maintained where I was so Icould live to fight another day. Idid some 49s, and I really wasn't with the gro up. I felt really strong, and I was trying really, really hard. 1just wanted to hang in there and see what happened in the end . All those guys rode really good. " 5 Steve Rapp 9th Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Steve Rapp started the race in the 18th spot on the grid because 01 a poor qualifying session. "It we nt good," Rapp said. "I passed people, and no one passed me, so I went from 18th to ninth in 12 laps - that's not so bad. I think with my times I could have stayed with the leaders lor awhile at least il l would have been gridded up on the third row where I should have been instead 01the fif I only had 12 laps so... it was fun. The bike was th. fast, and ninth is good for the start of the year. www.cycienEWs.com CYCLE NEWS • MAR 17, 2004 CH 41

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