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/128325
Respol S uperstock Series Continued from page 23 and qualifying had ended . The fronts were the hardest compound fronts the Superbike men have used this year, accord ing to Dunlop. Former factory Superbike and Supersport rider Mike Smith showed up at Barber Motorsports Park with a Suzuki GSX-RI000 and a YamahaR6. The Georgian competed in the Superbike and Formula Xtreme classes on the two bikes and was running well in Superbike before a fuel-pump prob lem derailed his efforts. In Formula Xtreme, Smith finished seventh in his class debut. "We got some rag hair in the fuel pump on the Superbike,' Smith explained. "It' s pretty much a Supersport bike. And that 's the first weekend on the Formula Xtreme bike. I'm getting some help from Cycle City Powersports because he's just trying to get his shop more recognition, but it's basically my program . Last year I was trying to build Moto Britallia's program for them, and they kept changing around . I we nt, 'We're going to do road racing this year.' And I we nt and looked for a sponsor and found a shop that wanted to do some advertising. They 're my bikes - I've got two Yamahas and three Suzukis. My RI isn't ready yet, so I rode a Suzuki in Superbike and an R6 in Xtreme. The R6 is pretty stock, and we 've only really done the Supersport stuff to it." Smith is planningon racing at the Road Atlanta AMANational and possibly Mid-Ohio. He came away impressed with the new Formula Xtreme class. '" ran the Formula Xtreme, but I didn't think how quick we could get our setup dialed in. We got it dialed in pretty good, so we may try to do Supersport at the next t didn't take Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Jamie Hacking long to get in front of the Repsol Superstock field, a~d once there, he was loath to grve It up . Hacking was there from lap th ree on , comfortably for a while then with the unwanted company of the Hayden Kawasakis. Undeterred, he w icked up the pace and sped to the largest margin of victory of the weekend, 2.350 seconds. ats "I threw some 27 O out, and I think that's what did them in," Hacking said of the increased pace at Barber Motorsports Park . " I rode a comfortable race t he whole race, a nd I was happy with it. I didn't do anything stupid, an d I never pus hed it hard . We've got a lot of things sorted out on that bike, and I'm comfortable and really happy with it." Hacking completed the 17 lap, 39 . 1m ile race in a record time of 24 minutes, S6.940 seconds at an average speed of 94 mph. Hack ing found in the morning warmup th at he could run consistently low 27s and would be able to do so in the race. But he 'd have to wait a lap or two. Yoshimura Suzuk i's Ben Spies got the jump on the field on his Suzuki GSXR750 , but it wouldn't last. " I tried to get back by him because I wanted to lead round because there's a bit more coverage. I After looking at those [Formula Xtreme] Hondas, those things are trick. Ifwe could get some wheels and maybe an engine part here and there... I like that class, riding with slicksand stuff. That little R6with slickson it - that's a trick little unit. Igot off my Superbike and got on that little R6 and could have gone another 17 laps. It was fun. I enjoyed those two races yesterday for the first time in a while." Smith is second behind Miguel Duhamel on the all-time AMASupersport win list with 13 victories. Mat Mladin described the early part of the first Superbike race this way: ''Aaron (Yates] went desperado around the outside of everyone and crashed in the first comer, so him ," Hacking said . "But I remem bered he was on his 750, so I wasn't going to worry about him." Spies crashed on the fifth lap, but by then Hacking w as in the lead. He didn 't thin k anyo ne would challenge him for the lead , but the Kawasakis of Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden came at him . Roger Lee was the first to show up , taking second on the sixth lap and pressing him until Tommy came along . " I was try ing to catch him, and I reeled him in a little bit , and I th ink I may have used up my front tire just a litt le bit reeling him www.cyclenews.com yeah, it was pretty hairy," Mladin said. "Eric [Bostrom] dive bombed everyone down there and thought he would lead halfa lap and that would be good. It didn't quite work out with the first corner. Then Ben [Bostrom] lost the fro nt... front tires are going to playa bit of a role here , that's for sure , and those guys learned the hard way. Fortunately for myself, Jake [Zemke] and Miguel [Duhamel], we kept it on two wheels , and it's just opened up the championship even more ." Mladin is starting to fear the Hondas a bit more, especially the ever-consistent Jake Zemke . With fast tracks coming up, Mladin knows what could happen . "We have Road America coming up, and ifyou've got a fast Continued on page 26 CYCLE NEWS • MAY 26,2004 2S