Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

a nd got some positive feedback from the fans and stuff. There's a lot of hating going on , and it just gets you down. The response here, getting on the bo x... I really wanted to get up there and get on the bo x . It loo ke d like Mat [Mladin] was st ru ggling really bad with a front tire. 1 tried to make a nice, clean pass as good as I could." Ben Bostrom again rode t o a lonely fifth , over 3S seconds behind his Honda teammate Duhamel. eN INFINEON RACEWAY on . On the last lap , I really just didn 't e xpect t o see him ." The grin unde r Duhamel 's helmet could probably hav e bee n seen in Oakland. " It looked like he wasn't e xp ecting me, and t hat 's wonderful , rea lly, be cause it's a hard t rack t o pass on ," Duhamel said . " He didn't do anything wrong. He just held a great pace, and his lap w as probably a mid -38 still. I was just able to get a 37 out of my bike . Aga in, a lot of th e credit go es to my cre w. They did a great jo b, and they gave me a great bike. And the t ire w as really good at th e end. I thought, 'What t he hell, let's give it a shot and see if I can s urprise him .' I thought maybe if he got a lapped ride r or something happens, maybe a little bobble, maybe I could enough to sneak on him - and that's e xactly w hat happened. Coming ou t of th at comer, he used his usu al race line , and I got in tight inside of him and th en outbraked him . I just t ried to not go w ide in that corner because I w as struggling all w eekend in turn I I ." Glory for Duhamel, back to school ti me for Zemke. "The card ina l rule is to neve r look back ," Zemke sa id. "You alw ays have to ke e p you r focus fo rward . To be hon es t , I can 't t e ll you th e last time someone ca me from almost three se co nds back to w in a race in one lap . It definitely caught me by surprise, for su re ." Behi nd the Honda duo came Yate s, the Geo rgian getting t he best o f his Yoshimura Suzuki teammate - m uch to t he d ismay of Mladin , w ho late r voiced his d ispleasure to his team t hat Yates was allowe d to ta ke valuab le poi nts awa y from the c hampionship poin ts leader. " I can ge t a pretty go od start o n t hat thing every once in awhil e ," Yates said afte r the race . "I just got out t here and thought I w as going pretty w ell, but my lap t imes were n't what I thought th ey co uld be , and the guys just started coming by m e . I was just hangi ng on , an d t hen th e tires started dropping off. I w as st ruggling wit h grip at the rear. I'm st ruggling with finishing the turns on the side of th e tire . I suffer from that fairly often on these little sh ort tracks. That' s ho w m y rac e went for m e . It definit ely fe els good to be bac k a nd riding . It was hard to miss that one ra ce . It's ha rd enough when you're hurt or something, but when you 're fit and ready to go and not abl e to race, it's really har d on you . I w e nt out th ere and hung a ro und SONOMA, CALIFORNIA RESULTS: MAy 1-2, 2004 (ROUND 4/5) S/BK QUALIFYING: I. Mat Mladin (1:36.916): 2. Aaron Yates( I:37.266); 3. Jake Zemke (I :37.361); -t. Ben Bostrom ( 1:37.498); 5. Migue l Duhamel ( 1:37.6 33); 6. Eric Bostrom (1;38. 516) ; 7. [os h Hare' (1;38 .770); 8. La")' Pegram ( 1;39.96 2); 9. Ople Caylo, ( 1;40.2 13); 10. Geoff May ( I:40.252); II . David Stanton ( I:-40.3 11); 12. Steve Crevier ( 1;40 .373); 13. Eric Wood (1;40.8 36); 14. 5hawn Higbee ( 1:-40.898); IS. John Haner ( 1:40.936): 16. lee Acree (1:""'0.99 1); 11. Ken H ill ( 1:4 1.105); 18. Clint McBain (1:-4 1.2))) ; 19. Andrew Nelson (1:4 1.-483); 20. Ch ris Siglin (1;4 1.589); 21. Jece"'Y Toye (1;4 1.596); 22. Marl< foster (1:41.692); 23. Cra ig Co nnell (1:41.971); 24. James Randolph (1 ;42.100) ; 25. Robert Cb nstrnan (1;42.1S4); 26 . Je ff Willia"" ( I ;42.286 ); 27. Ga,ry Comb> ( I ;42.306); 28 . Brien Whitlock ( I :42.58 2); 29. Cory De nt o n West ( 1:42.76 7); 30. Scott Jensen ( 1:42.906 ); 3 1. Jason Curtis ( 1;42 .976 ); 32. Ro b Mesa (1;43.006); 33. Thomas Mo ntan o (1;43.039); H . Dean MizdaJ (1;43.096); 35. Dav id Bell (I :43. 10 1); 36. Jack Pfeifer (I :43.353); 37. Kim Nakashima ( 1:43.58 5); 38 . J.J. Roetlin ( 1:43.7 10); 39 . Kevin Hanso n (I :43.8 58); 40. John Scott Wilson (I :44.506 ); 4 1. Jerem iah Johnso n ( 1:44 .587); 42 . Jame s King (1:4 4.7 18); 4 3. Mike Ke nyon Kluge ( I ;46.0 29). Krynock ( I:45.809 ); S/BK RACE I : I . Mat Mladin (Suz); 2. Migue l Duhame l (Hon); 3. Jake Ze mke (Hon ); 4. Be n Bost rom (Hon ); 5. Eric Bostrom (Due); 6. Jos h Hayes (Kaw) ; 7. Dave Stanton (502); 8. Larry Pegram (Yam); 9. Geoff May (502); 10. Aaron Yates (Suz); I I . Ken Hill (Suz); 12. Clint McBain (Suz); I 3. Lee Acree (502): 14. O pie Caylor (502); IS. Jo hn Haner (502); 16. Robert Ch ristman (Suz); 17. Mark Foster (Suz); 18. Brien Wh idock (Suz); 19. Co ry Denton West (502); 20. James Rando lph (Yam); 21. Jack Pfe ifer (Hon ); 22. Garry Combs (502); 23. Rob Mesa (Suz); 24. Jeff Williams (Suz); 25. David Bell (Suz); 26 . Andrew Nelson (Hon ); 27 . Dean Mizdal (5uz) ; 28 . JJ Roetlin (5uz); 29. Joh n Wilson (5uz); 30. Jer e miah Joh nso n (Suz); 3I. Steve Crevier (Suz); 32. Jam e s King (Yam); 33. Kim Nakashima (So2); 34. Chris Sigli n (Yam); 35. Craig Connell (502); 36. Scott Jen se n (Suz); 37. Shawn Higbee (Suz); 38 . Thomas Montano (Due). T ime: 46 min.• 19.27 sec . Distance: 28 laps , 6 1.6 m iles «. My OWN RACERACE 2 1 Mat Mladin 4th Mat Mladin had an eventual second race . His Yoshimura Suzuki didn't run right before the red nag, and the team wasn't able to cure the problems completely during the downtime between starts. The Australian ended up fourth, not impressed that his teammate Aaron Yates beat him for third and cost him valuable championship points. "We had a few things go wrong out there today and basicallycouldn't get the job done ," said Mladin. "We tried to get it sorted during the stoppage with the red nag on lap eight but weren't able to . All in all though , we came here looking for a pair of wins and managed to take one of them, and we leave here with a 24-point lead in the championship. It was a frustrating way to finish the weekend, as we dominated qualifyingand the opening race yesterday. Our attention will now focus on the next round at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. We tested the re not long ago and felt good with the package, so we 'll be heading there with the same determination and game plan as we did for this weekend." 155 Ben Bostrom 5th Ben Bostrom was again off the pace on Sunday, and again he had a lonely race , this time ending up fifth. Bostrom is at a ioss to explain his woes, but he 's definitely struggling. "It's probably the most tired my shoulders have ever been trying to keep the thing off the ground," Bostrom said. "I just kept losing the front on the entry to the corners , so I just kept holding the thing up with my shoulders. It wore me out. I ran a harder front that I've ever ran. but you had to , because it was tearing tires . Everyone else ran the same front, so I can't really blame it on that . Something felt not right. The best description I had for my guys is that it didn't feel like a Superb ike fork - it felt like a Supersport fork. I'm completely baffled. I don't understand it all. I'm out there riding hard, nearly crashing every lap and not going anywhere." 714 Steve Crevier 6th Steve Crevier crashed his DXS Diablo Suzuki in Saturday's race , but he came back strong on Sunday. Crevier was aided somewhat by the red nag because he'd jumped the start and was called in for a stop and go penalty. When the red came out, it gave him new life, and he used it. "I moved up, and I had a pretty uneventful race out there," Crevier said. '·1was pretty impressed with how fast that [Dave] Stanton kid was going. I just can't get my bike turned and off the corners very well. We 're using a back slipper clutch , and they cause the clutch to www.cycleneW5.com Average speed: 9 1.397 mph Margin of victo ry: 6.749 sec . SBK RACE 2: I . Miguel Duhamel (Ha n); 2. Jake Zemke (Ho n); 3. Aaron Yates {Suz}; 4. Mat Mladin (502); S. Ben Bostrom (Hon ); 6. Steve Crevier (Hon ); 7. Josh Hayes (Kaw); B. l.a")' Peg ram (Yam); 9. Geoff May (5uz); 10 . Shawn Higbe e (Suz) ; I I . Le e Acree (Suz); 12. Clint McBain (Suz); 13. Ken Hill (Suz); 14. Eric Wood (502); IS. Robert Ch ristman (Suz); 16. Joh n Hane r (502): 17. David Bell (Suz): 18. Cory Denton Wes t (502); 19. Jack Pfeifer (Hon) ; 20. Thomas Montano (Due ); 2 1. Brie n Wh itlock (502); 22. Jason Curtis (Suz): 23. Kim Nakashima (Suz): 24 . Je re m iah Joh n, on (5uz); 25. Dean MizdaJ (5uz); 26. j.J. Roe d in {Suz}; 27. Joh n Scott Wilson (Suz); 28. Andrew Nelson (Hon) : 29. Garry Combs (Suz); 30. James King (Yam); 3 I . Kevin Hanso n (Suz); 32. Scott Jensen (Suz) . Time: NlA due to red flag Distance: 28 laps, 6 1.6 miles Average speed: 59.3 mph Margin of victory: 0.19 6 sec . AHA SlBK C'SH IP POINTS STANDINGS (Aft e' 5 of 18 rounds) : I. Mat Mladin (1 77/ 4 wi ns); 2. Miguel Duhamel ( 153/ 1 win); 3. Jake Zemke ( ISO 4. Ge off May ); ( 108); 5. lee ,"",ee ( 105); 6. l.a")' Peg ram (9 7); 7. Eric Bostrom (96); a.John Haner (&4); 9. Be n Bostrom (79); 10. Cory Den ton West (77) : I I. Clint McBain (76); 12. Steve Crevier (75 ); 13. Eric Wood (74); 14. (TIE)Josh Haye slOpie Caylo, (6 1). UPCOMING ROUNDS Rou nds 6-7 . Birminghom, Alo bamo, Moy 15·1 6 Round 8 - Fountain , Colorado, May 23 chatter really bad on the launch. And the best I can do is start in second gear, and it's really abusive on the clutch. You can probably only get one or two starts ifyou're lucky. I was just nervous, making sure it was in second. I had it in gear, and it was getting hot, and it was taking awhile, and I lurched the bike, grabbed the throttle to make sure I didn't stall it, and jumped. Thank goodness for the red nag, if the rider Is okay, and then it was uneventfu l from there. I wouldn't have caught Stanton if he didn't crash, but crashing is a part of it, so that's that ." 72 Larry Pegram 8th larry Pegram said his forks improved on Sunday, and it made a difference in how he could ride his Yamaha RI. "They were better today," Pegram said. "We just got the thing a litt le better. In the first start, I think we were doing pretty good . When they red -nagged it, I switched to a softer tire , and that was the wrong way to go. It was too hot today for that tire . I wo uld have been better off with the other one . Overall , it was better, but we're having some clutch problems. We would have been a lot better off if they didn't red-nag it." 199 Geoff May 9th Although his result was identical to the day prior, Geoff May thought Sunday's race was a better one for him than Saturday 's, his chatter problems improved somewhat. "I think I rode better today," May said. '" was wore out. Superstock and Superbike ... I just have to start tra ining harder. I don't train at all right now because there's no time. I need a pit bike, too. Too much walking and carrying stuff. I was working at a bike shop, but the level I'm riding at now has made it a full-time job, just maintaining the bikes. I work on bikes, repack the stuff and drive . By the time I get home to Florida, I'll have four days before I have to go to Barber, and four days isn't really enough time to get the bikes back up to snuff. It was a hard weekend. I'm just happy I finished, with how crappy my bike was handling. And it's my fault. I got confused. Pirelli threw a new tire at me , and I was trying to sort out a new rear tire. Ohlins helped me out tremendously getting the chat ter out, and that made the bike a little easier to ride. I don't have any track time here, but I learned a lot for next year. I was plowing the front everywhere, and it wore me out." 32 Eric Bostrom DNF Eric Bostrom crashed his Ducat i Austin 999 on the 16th lap while chasing after his brother, Ben. " I just tried to ride through some problems that we 've had all weekend." Eric Bostrom said. "I just try to overcome them w ith my riding. I don't know. My game plan was to try to keep them in sight because my rear tire was durable and good . So I just tried to keep them in sight. I lost the front going up the hill.The bike was a little bit better today than yesterday. We were just chasing the front ." CYCLE NEWS • MAY 12,2004 39

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