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/128315
DuhalDel Leads A Honda tt's dej a vu a ll over again for Ben Bostrom STORY AND PHOTOS BY HENNY e n Bo st ro m knew how th is was going to end and did n't like it. A year after getting sc hooled by t he most successful ride r at Dayto na Inte rnational Speedway, Bostrom was about to get another hard lesson. Today, he led the inaugural running of the reworked Fo rmula Xtreme class for seven laps befo re dropping to second after hitting a false neutral. "I said, 'No matter how slow he goes, I will not pass that man,''' Bostrom said. That man was Miguel Duhamel, Bostrom's teammate, four-time winne r of the Daytona 200 and six-time Daytona Supersport winner, and the man who came from third to first to win last year's B 42 200, passing race leade r Bostro m on his way to Victo ry Lane. So Bostrom waited patiently, sta lking his prey, waiting to return the favor. On e of two new class formats in this year's AMA Chevrolet Supe r bike Championship, Formu la Xtreme is designed as a showcase for middleweight Supersport technology; though other engine configurat ions are legal, they don't have a prayer. The machines are essential ly 600cc Superbikes, with Honda the only factory backing the class. American Hond a team manager Chuc k Miller said before Daytona that Honda had chosen the class as a showcase for the team 's technicians and technology and because he thought all the factories would take MARCH 17,2004 • CY CLE NEWS RAy ABRAMS part. Duhame l, Erion Ho nda's Jake Zemke, and Alex Gobe rt are doing the entire series; Bostro m was making a guest appearance. Because 600cc Supers port machines aren't allowed in the class and a special machine has to be built, the class was lightly subsc ribed . Only 19 machines qualified, 18 made the field, and 16 finished; the first four were Hondas. Qualifying went as expected. Bostrom was on the pole; Duhamel was next to him. The pair went straight to the front of the race , edging away from the field as a four-rider battle for second formed up. Bostrom wasn't gett ing away, and he knew it. Then he caught the false first going into the West End Horseshoe on 40th Anniversary the seventh lap, and Duhamel took over. Duhamel appeared to be easing away, but that wasn't the case. Bostrom was on him when it counted. On the final lap, Duhamel had the con fidence to lead, thoug h he joked they'd slowed down from lap times in the 1:53 range to three minutes. "T he last lap coming off the banking, I stood up coming off NASCAR two , and I was like, 'This is a move I cou ld regret,''' Duham el said. "I didn't really 100 percent know it was the best strategy." T heir bikes were evenly matched e xcept in one crucial area, gearing. Bostrom found himself on the rev-limiter in the final pract ice and made a note to tell the team . He forgot .