Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Cycle News 2004 11 03

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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Fo r mula Superbike Se r ies Jensen's second-place fin ish was enough to earn h im the t itle. Je nse n said. "It helped get me away fro m the ot her guys." Soon they were separated fro m Barnes and Wood , and then Wood got by Barnes, but too late to make a run at the leade rs. Haskovec took th e win and Jensen the title . Other than his slow start, Haskovec's only o ther con cern was the t ires. He said he hadn't raced on DOT tires before, so it "was kind of a dramatic difference for me." The profile of the new Michelin Pilots that the Valvoline EMGO Suzuki team was test ing were different that the slick profile, meaning the setup was different. None of this seemed to bother Haskovec. "They're running their AMA Formula Xtreme bike here this weekend, and it pulls so hard off some of the slower corners, " Jensen said of Haskovec's GSXR600. "There's nothing wrong with my bike, it's just he 's got a rea llygood machine this weekend." Before the race, Je nse n made the decision to race for position rathe r than t he win. "I looked back - I do n't remem ber when it was - I cou ldn't see anyone," he said. "I d idn't push as hard, just came in second and won the cham pionship." Wood led for four laps befo re Je nse n and Barnes came past , Haskovec soon to follow. The strategy was to sit at the back of the pack until the end. But the pac k got sp lit up, with Haskovec and Je nse n pulling away and Wood not able to pass Barnes until the 13th lap. "I felt like I closed the gap up a little bit, once I got by, but it was too much," Wood said. Barnes expected Haskovec to be a force. He didn't expect the same from Jensen . The Floridian hung on to the leaders as long as he could, but by th e eighth lap there we re a pair of battling duels and Barnes lost his fight to Wood. Three riders fought over fift h, with Argo Cycles' Scott Gree nwo od getting the better o f Arclight Racing's Scott Harw ell and Prieto Racing's Geoff May. Mike Himmelsbach ran just behind that trio and ended up eighth on his Himmelsbach Racing Yamaha R-6. Jensen ended the season with 144 points, Wood with 116 and Himmeslbach , 90. CN HOMESTEAD-MIAM I S PEEDWAY H O MESTEAD, FLORI DA R ESULTS: OCTOB ER 24, 200 4 (RO UND 6) SUPERBIKE: I. Vincent Haskovec (Suz); 2. Robert Jensen (Yam); J . Jeff Wood (Suz): 4. Michael Barnes (Yam); 5. Scott Greenwood (Yam); 6. Scott Harwell (Suz); 7. Geoff May (Suz 8. Mike Himmelsbach (Yam 9. Heath Small ); ); (Yam); 10. David McPherson (Yam); II . Rudolfo Ramirez: 12. Brian Joh nson (Yam); 13. Javier Picon (Yam); 14. Hector Jimenez (Kaw); 15. Simon Turner (Yam) . 5UPERBlKE C'SHIP POINT STANDI NGS (After 6 of 6 rounds): I. Robert Jensen ( 144); 2. Jeff Wood ( 116); 3. Mike Himmelsbach (90); 4. Vincent Haskcvec (77); 5. Scott HMWe! (67); 6. Michael Barnes (60); 7. Scott Greenwood 1 (S B. Des Cooboy (47) ; 9. Chris Ulrich (39); 10. TIm 8); Bemisderfer (2S); II. Shawn Conrad (H ): 12. (TIE) Steve Rappi Blake Young (20): 1-4. (T IE) Be n Attard/jeffrey Tigert)Carlo Gagliardo ( 16): 17. (fIE) Chuc k Sorensen/jason Edward MossiDonny Kelley(13); 20. (TIE) Larry PegcomIJoe Spinaljosepn Arico/ Gus Holcomb (12 ). Fo r mula USA Ser ies - Thunder bike No STOPPING ESTOK Dave Estok rules the roost in Florida ard ing's Ha rley -Davidson's Dave Estok too k all the dr am a out of th e Th underbike rac e on t he firs t la p. Jump ing away fro m his pole pos ition , the Floridian eased awa y from the 24-rider field. The lead was ove r two seconds on the sixth lap and Estok grew it as lo ng as needed, th en bac ked off fo r th e ce rta in victo ry in the eighth and final ro und of the se ries at Homestead -Miam i Speedway. "I had a great start this time and holeshotted it and put my head do w n for the first so many laps and pulled out a dece nt stretc h, decent lead. Th en I just started riding my own race and not pushing too hard and just do n't do anyt hing stupid and throw it away, and just brought it hom e," Estok said after winning the 12-lap race . Some of the competition was hobbled befo re the sta rt. Ed Key lost his ''!'\' bike to a blown head gasket duri ng an earlier race . The Wisconsinite, w ho won five Championship Cup Series titles earlier in the wee ke nd, was forced to his Supersportlegal Suzuki SV-650. On the less powerful machine, Key moved into second by the third lap but wasn't a threat, and Estok knew it. "It was n't until about a little bit befo re halfway I loo ked back a couple of laps here and there and saw the gap, and I sta rted to H 14 NnVFMRFP'1 ?MA • r vr , r: By HENNY slow," Estok said. "I slowed down ano ther half a seco nd to a sec ond and rode aro und. Unless I noticed him getting closer, Iwas just going to race at that pace and play it safe ." Keyknew from the start he wasn't going to win. Second was more thanhe'd hoped for. "I was n't expecting anything like t hat," the Motorcycle Performance-backed ride r said. 'I\fte r the fast bike bro ke, I was just going to ta ke w hat the track wo uld give me and the bike wo uld give me, and it' s a lot more than I ever ex pected . I was trying, but there was no way I was even going to catc h him or win th at race . Dave had it unde r control. He was just co ntro lling th e gap." Key's o nly th reat was from beh ind. Michael Niksa was fighting Harding's Harley-Davidson's T im Bem isderfer and the pair was closing on Key. But Bemisderfer, was having his own problems: On the fourth lap, w hile chasing Key, his brak es went bad . "I had to pump the brakes up every time I went down the straightaway," Bemisderfer said. "Tha t was scar ing me. I think Icould 've went a little bit hard er but I was scared I would wrec k." He lost a few spots, then made a run on Niksa on the final lap, taking him in the dou ble right-hander. "I just outbroke him going into that one comer and I knew Icould keep pulling on him down the straightaway," Bemisderfer said. N E W~ RAY ABRAMS Niksa w as nex t, the n Hoban Brothers/H-D -Buell of Appleton's Jeff John son by himself. Esto k's w in gave him second in th e final po ints sta ndings. T he title had bee n won at th e pr evious race by Hard ing's Harley -D av idson's Bryan Bemisderfer. Bemisd e rfer last ed two laps before pulling in with mec hanica l problems. CN HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY HOMESTEAD, F LORIDA RESULTS: OCTOBER (ROUND 24, 2004 8) THUNDERB IKE: I. Dave Esto k (Bue]: 2. Ed Key (Suz): 3. Tim Bemisderfer (Sue); 4. Michael Niksa (Suz); 5. Je ff johnsorJ (Sue); 6. Walt Sipp (Bue); 7. Jose ph Rozynski (Bue); 8. john Joaquin Costa (Sue); 9. Jerry Wood (Due ): 10. Darren Danilowicz (Suz); II. josh Guyer (Sue): 12. David McEnery (Suz): 13. john Under (Suz): 14. joe y Thomas (Suz); IS. Duane Desouza; 16. Allen Orozco (Suz); 17. Chris Young (Bue); 18. Mark Be rn ard (Bue); 19. Robert Fishe r (Suz); 20 . Kurt Miller (Bue ): 21. Jeff Harding (S ue); 22 . C hristopher Boy (Bim): 23. Stephen Servis (Suz); 14. Bryan Bemisderfer (Sue ). THUNDERBIKE C 'SHIP POI N STAND ING (Aft e r 8 of 8 rounds): I . Bryan Bemisderfer (105); 2. Dave Esto k (93); 3. Jeff joh nson (73); 4. Darr e n Dan ilowicz (7 1); S. David 'raakcv (67); 6. Daniel Silansky (6 2); 7. joseph Rozynski (55); 8. Wah: 5ipp (5 I): 9. Ed Key (33): 10. Kurt Miller (3 1): II . josh Guyer (29); 12. Russell Masecar (28 ); 13. (T IE) Jeff WoodIEdwardRepkoe (26); IS. Michael Niksa (2-4):16. Brian Lacy (23); 17. (TIE) leery Wood'Derek Keyes/ oey Thomas J (20); 20. (TIE) Richard Doucette/Tirn Bemisderler ( 16). nth .dn i u: r c::arll Da ve Estok w a s u nstoppable in the Th u nd e rb ike race, t he Buellmounted ride r easily besting the rest o f th e fiel d.

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