Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Repsol Superstock Series Championshi p ~,;. " I I-IELP Mat Mladinearned $ 12,000 for winning both Superbike Nationals at Fontana ($6000 per win) from the $112,500 purse. The other three classes paid a total of $12,5 00 each from the $150,000 total FOR purse. Mladin is the man when it comes to Ca lifor nia Speedway. His victories on Saturday and Sunday were his third and fourth in a row at the track, which is located just a few miles from his home away from home in Rancho Cucamonga. SPIE A MA Superbike qUalifying was split into two groups at CaliforniaSpeedway, with the slower group going first. The method works, according to the top guys - even though it's still not perfect . "Traffic is a lot better, actually," Mat Mladin said after qualifying. "Some of the guys are still five and six seconds off the pace, but there's a lot less of them - that's for sure. They're a little bit faster, but honestly, some of the guys STORY AND PHOTOS BY HENNY RAy ABRAMS he red flag that stopped the Repsol Superstock race on the seventh of 28 laps was as bad for some as it was good for others. Chief among the beneficiaries was Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies . At the time the race was interrupted for Jacob Holden's crash - he was unhurt - Spies was in second place and chasing Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Damon Buckmaster. During the 18-minute stoppage, everyone changed tires, but not everyone benefited. The Yamaha riders, Jamie Hacking and Buckmaster, didn't have the same grip in the second segment. Spies found a better front, even though it was an identical tire. "T he front tire we put on, it was the same compound, but it was just better," he said . " I could ride like I wanted to ride. I got out front and took off, and it was good." So good that he was able to w in his first Superstock race of the year, this one T 20 APRIL 14, 2004 • Briefly... need to get a lesson on racetrack etiquette. They really just don't get it. I had one guy come out of the hairpin, looked over his shoulder and let two guys past, then just decided to pull straight in front of me in the chicane on the back straight. They just don't get it. The AHA needs to have an etiquette classat every race meeting instead by I .847 seconds over Buckmaster, with Hacking a shadow third. " In the first part I could've ran with the guys, but I don't think I could've won the race," Spies admitted. "I was happy for sure when that red flag came out." For the first seven laps, Spies said he knew something was wrong. The front CYCLE NEWS of a riders' briefing..." Miguel Duhamel concurred. "I agree with that , by the way," Duhamel added . ''A lot of guys are out there, and I don't know if it's lack of experience or they don't care, but it would be good to sit them down and explain the way it goes . If they are serious about their effort, then I don't have a problem with that . But I think we need to get rid of some of the guys who are just out here for a track day. The Superstock class proves that if you have talent and determination, your lap times are good . Hopefully we can get , that done and be safer." Tire choice was an issue right up until wasn't tucking; it just wasn't finishing the corner. Once the new one was fitted , his confidence soared. "I went for it as ha rd as I could those first few laps so I could get a break before the 600 race that's next," Spies said of the Supersport race that followed Superstock. Soon into the I I-lap sprint, the Texan had a few seconds lead, which he was able to maintain to the end, his win putting him into a tie w ith Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Aaron Gobert fifth today with rear tire problems - for the championship lead at 62. Hacking, third today, is third with 61, while Buckmaster has 60 . Because t he race was red-flagged , there was no accurate time or average speed. Spies led I I of 17 laps, the entire second segment. Hacking chased him for four 40th Anniversary race time, with the varyingweather making the choice a bit more important. "The weather is so here and there, we don't know," Duhamel said. "My choice will be made when we have the final track temperature. If the track 's a little cooler, you can run a softer compound. I would take just a steatly, good day over this because there are just so many variables." For the first time ever, Dun lop 's public relations staff handed out tire information on the factory men , stating exactly what tires they used for the races. Mat Mladin 's tires differed from the others in that he used a medium-hard combination on Saturday, while the Honda men all opted for medium compound tires - front and rear. On Sunday, with hotter track temperatures, Mladinswitched to a hard-compound setup, while the othe rs opted to stick with a medium compound in varying degrees. When the press conference mediator