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ROAD RACe Round 1 March 6, 2005 ~ Formula USA Sportbike Series Jensen to the Defense Robert Jensen wins the big one during Formula USA action at the Speedway By eedraggers.com,s Robert Jensen won the premier Formula USA Sportbike final, another of the red-flagged aces that capped a weekend of CCS and F-USA racing on a sunny Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. The IS-lap main was stopped on the ninth lap and restarted as an eight-lap sprint late in the afternoon. Five riders were together at the start, then it was four to the flag with Jensen using his smarts to make a classic draft pass, swooping from third to first to win by .291 of a second. "I think the best thing was I was right where I wanted to be," Jensen said of his last-lap strategy that saw Jason Perez get past Jensen going into tum one to start the final lap. "He was in the lead, and I thought that was great because his bike was a little faster than mine and I wanted to use those guys to tow me around. Normally I'd pass them every time coming into tum two. K This time, I let those two [Perez and Team M4 Suzuki's Geoff May] stay up there, and I stayed right behind them. "[In the] chicane, I backed off just a second just to get into the chicane and get a good run at them. I was drafting the guy on the Yamaha [Perez], and he was getting us up to May, and then when those two got together and began pushing on to each other, I went on the outside and got to the lead. I was sitting up off the seat trying to get a good, nice, smooth [draft]. It worked. It was great. I lucked out." Perez was a dose second, followed quickly by May and Arclight Suzuki's Jeff Wood. Argo Cycles' Scott Greenwood fell off the back of the pack to take fifth, the victim of an overworked clutch. Then came Chris Peris and his Yamaha, and Arclight Suzuki's Scott Harwell. Wood had gotten the jump on the field at the start, taking Perez, May and Jensen with him. Just behind, Greenwood and HASKOVEC PREVAILS By HENNY RAy ABRAMS other race, another red flag. This one came late, on lap 12, with the IS-lap race turning into a five-lap print at Daytona International Speedway. The revised grid looked much different from the original one. Instead of being on row nine, with two of his Yamaha teammates, Aaron Gobert was up front. As was Team M4 Suzuki's Vincent Haskovec, who was on row 10 for the first start. Team VenemotDs Yamaha's Michael Barnes and defending class champion Robert Jensen and his Kneedraggers.com Yamaha went back and forth throughout the original race. Jensen was in front when it was stopped, Barnes right behind. Those two would be on the front row for the sprint, along with Arclight Suzuki's Jeff Wood. Wood proved to be the king of the holeshot on Sunday. Gobert, Barnes and Jensen came along with the order fluid A 22 for the first lap before Barnes took control on lap two. Jensen was first out, with a mechanical problem in the chicane. Then Haskovec came after Barnes, making the pass going into turn one on lap four. Gobert also came along and had just passed him on the run toward the tri-ovai on the final lap when he pulled into the pits, handing Haskovec the win. Barnes was second, and Jeff Wood was third. "I didn't even know that I was the leader," Gobert said. "They [the team] told me, and they were laughing because it was funny how far back I came from. I did 15 laps as hard as I could and just needed to get an idea what the tire would do, and Dunlop told us that's what we've got to choose from, and I've ridden on everything to choose from. And when I come back for AMA and I pretty much know what I'm going to race 24 laps on." Haskovec was on an AMA Formula Xtreme-spec motorcycle, his second one MARCH 16,2005 • CYCLE NEWS HENNY Peris hooked up. So it went for the six laps, the top four swapping spots, with May holding on to the lead until the seventh lap, when Jensen moved from third to first in the International Horseshoe. That same lap, Peris had overshot turn one, handing a secure fifth to Greenwood. The race was stopped by a turn-one exit crash on lap eight, with the grid decided by the order at the end of lap seven. Wood got another jump and this time stayed at the front. He was there for three laps before dropping to fourth, behind May, Perez and Jensen, with Greenwood just behind but soon to lose touch. "I was there and I wasn't there," Greenwood said. "I was there in the infield, but I wasn't there on the banking." Greenwood added that he was forced to race last year's Yamaha R6 after the bodywork for his new Kawasakis didn't arrive. "I just didn't prepare that bike to really go racing properly," he said, adding that the clutch baskets were a little worn. "I did fIVe races, but I must have done 12 starts." Of the growing deficit, Greenwood said, "I'd keep making it back up in one and close back up in the horseshoe and hang with them in the infield and get on of the weekend. Earlier he'd crashed an FX machine, nearly writing it off. "We were riding slicks, Barney [Barnes] was on DOT tires: that was a major differ· ence," Haskovec said. "My bike is definitely faster than his because they are on a supersport bike. We definitely have some power on them. On the other hand, I didn't have any practice. I just jumped on a bike and rode it for the first time. It feels really great to be back on this little Formula Xtreme format. I really enjoyed RAy ABRAMS the banking and lose it all." With Greenwood out, there were four at the front, with Jensen showing the way. CII DAYTONA INTERNATIONAl SPEEDWAY DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA RESULTS: MARCH 6, 2005 (ROUND 1) SPORYBlKE, I. Robert jensen (S...): 2. jason Pern (y",,): J. Geoff May (S...): 4. jeff Woo