Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Duhamel made it look easier than it was. With a lead that went over a minute late in the race, he never backed down. "Out there, to be honest, I was really pushing it hard," he said "I just kept riding hard and kind of racing myself, and in an odd way, just kept pushing it. I just wanted to go hard the whole time. I really wanted to earn it, and I figured the best way to do it is to just race every lap." Zemke and Duhamel each had a three-pit-stop strategy. The first two, at 20-lap intervals, were for two tires and gas. The third, toward the end of the race, was for gas only. Four laps from the checkered flag, Duhamel spent I2 seconds in the pits for a splash of fuel. Once back up to speed, he still had a 42.7-second lead over Roberts. "We could've done it either way," Duhamel said of the three-stop strategy. "We just wanted to be safe, and we opted for three. But my guys were obviously all on high alert from what happened last year, and we didn't want nobody to try and pull something, a quick one on us, again." Mat Mladin won the 2004 Daytona 200 by using three pit stops, a strategy that allowed for fresher tires more often, especially at the end of the race. Roberts last raced here in 2003. He remembers getting snookered by Duhamel on the final lap and he remembers a bad pit stop. Today's pit stops denied him a chance to make a run for the lead. The first, on lap 23, wasn't as bad as the second, on lap 46. Both times he took two tires and fuel. But on the second stop, the front axle wouldn't thread into the left fork tube and he was stopped for 37 seconds. (Duhamel's first pit stop was under 10 seconds, and his splash and go at the end was 12). Roberts blazed out of the pits shaking his head, knowing any chance of victory was dashed. "It seems every year I have a pit-stop problem," Roberts said. "Both times, the bike died in the pits, and we had a problem with the air gun on the second pit stop. It just took forever." Roberts' consolation was having the fastest lap of the race by over .3 of a second. "To compete for the win here, the pit stops have to be like every lap of the race - without a problem," Roberts said. ':<\nd ours weren't today. But at the same time, it wasn't anyone in the crew's fault. Air guns mess up every now and then. You know, even still, it still would've been a hard race. It's not like that was the only problem. Miguel [Duhamel] and Jake [Zemke] were both riding really good." Zemke knew he was in for a long day from the very start. "It was a long race," he said. "From the very get-go, I knew we were in trouble. Getting behind Miguei and Kurtis, we just picked the wrong gear. We didn't have enough gear to pull the wind. We were gearing for the draft, but then with that headwind it kind of killed our gear, and then in the infield those guys, with their shorter gearing, were able to pull me off the corners as well." Compounding his misery was an early overheating problem. Water started spitting up on the windscreen while he was in the lead pack, "and I was thinking, 'Man, we're only a couple of laps in. I need to make this the whole race.' And' backed her off there quite a bit for a while. Shoot, I think I was running like I:46s or something through the middle part of the race, just trying to make sure I made it to the end." He did, but he was six seconds out of second and 48.5 behind Duhamel. For the second year in a row, fourth place was a surprise. Jack Pfeiffer finished fourth in 2004; this year it was Danny Eslick. The I8-year-old Oklahoman road raced part time for the KWS Motorsports/Millennium Technologies team in 2003, joining. This year, he's with the MPTracing.com Suzuki team. From his eighth-place grid position, Eslick jumped up with the leaders. He was in and out of fourth, taking it for good when the engine on Vincent Haskovec's Team M4 Emgo Suzuki expired suddenly on the 12th lap. From then on, the former dirt tracker rode smartly and safely and, though he was lapped, still had the better part of a lap on fifth-placed Chris Peris and his Yamaha R6. "The three guys that beat me today are definitely the best," an exuberant Eslick said after his best road race finish. Eslick's start kept him away from the drama behind and allowed him to monitor the race pace. The Hondas weren't pulling away, but Eslick was on the limit, "so I knew if I was running that pace the 't'hole time, I was going to burn the tires up real qUick. So I backed off." Eslick made two pit stops for fuel and rear tires. He used the same front for the entire race. The strategy netted him top privateer, top Suzuki and first Pirelli honors. lem arose again on lap two, and on lap three, the ZX6RR sputtered through the tri-oval. '" said, 'Man, I'm going to get run over,'" Hayes said, who put his leg out to let people know he was in distress. "I was trying to keep people from drafting me, and they were still coming up behind me. I said, 'I'm not going to do this and get anybody hurt.''' His race ended on lap five. Teammate Ben Attard was out on lap two. Fifth place was the best AMA finish for Topline Printing's Chris Peris. "Man, that was a long race," the Canadian said after finishing I minute, 17 seconds down on Eslick. Rojo Racing's Jason Perez came sixth despite a highside in the International Horseshoe seven laps from the end. "It bent the front end, tweaked the wheel and crushed all the windscreen and everything," the Californian said. An emergency pit stop, and a little duct tape, got the bike back in racing trim, to a point. "The banking's pretty rough when you don't have a windscreen," Perez said after finishing two laps down. Had Perez spent much more time in the pits he would have been caught by Michael Barnes. The veteran from Florida landed a deal with the Venemotos Yamaha team a few weeks before the race. Barnes was sitting fourth on the 24th lap when he pitted for tires and fuel. Wrong gearing on the new wheel meant Barnes had to return to the pits on the next lap. '" believe that kept me out of the top five," Barnes said. "But I'm happy with a top-10." eN DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA RESULTS: MARCH 12, 2005 (ROUND "I just wish one of the Hondas would've blown up," he said on the podium. Great things were expected of Haskovec after his surprise win in the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race. He wasn't the only top rider to be let down. Attack Kawasaki's Josh Hayes ended the day with his second DNF. Like Roberts, Hayes was making the Daytona 200 his lone Formula Xtreme appearance. He wouldn't have the same success. The Mississippian followed his smoky engine failure in the morning Superbike race with a fatal electrical problem in Formula Xtreme. The spark cut out on the start, but the rest of the lap was clean. The prob- 1 OF 10) QUALIFYING: I. Miguel Duhamel (I :42.593); 2. Jake Zemke (I :42.599); 3. Josh Hayes (I :43.012); 4. Kurtis Roberts (I :43.552); 5. Michael Barnes (I :43.883); 6. Vincent Haskovec (1:44.191); 7. Robert Jensen (1:44.330); 8. Danny Eslick (I :44.623); 9. Pascal Picotte (I :44.937): 10. Chris Pens (I ;45.178); II. Jason Perez (1:45.999): 12. Ben Attard (1:46.367); n. Simon Turner (1:46:405): 14. Alex Gobert (1:46.406); IS. Ty Howard (I :46.585): 16. Mike Smith (1 :46.811): 17. Alan Schmidt (I :46.844); 18. Armando Ferrer (I :47.021); 19. Matt Furtek (I :47.084); 20. Scon Jensen (1:-47.183); 21. William Meyers (1:47.231); 22. Taylor Knapp (1:47.298); 23. Ryan Andrews (I :47.310); 24. Nathan Hester (I :47.435); 25. Chris Caylor (1:47.778); 26. Barrett Long (1:47.910); 27. Jesse Janisch (1:48.242); 28. Oliver jervis (1:48.277); 29. Dario Marchetti (1:48.393); 30. Jason Farrell (I :48.471); 31. Anthony Fanta (I :48.486); 32. Roger Bell (I :48.5(4); 33. Jeremiah Johnson (1:48.587); 34. Matt Lynn (1:48.605); 35. Derek Keyes (1:48.646); 36. Giovanni Rojas (1:48.706); 37. Mark McCormick (1:48.780); 38. Mike Sullivan (I :48.831); 39. Nicky Moore (I :48.837); 40. Justin Filice (I :48.846); 41. Raymond Bowman (I :48.863); 42. Josef Brenner (I :49.245); 43. Victor Chirinos (I :49.33 t); 44. David Mcpherson (1:49.475); 45. Tim Knutson (1:49.856): 46. Dirk Sanchez (I :49.908): 47. Kevin Lacombe (I :50.266); 48. Craig Montgomery (I :50.445); 49. Ricky Orlando (1:50.469); 50. Johnny Rock Page (1:50.797); 51. Dan Ortega (1 :50.806); 52. Brian Hall (I :50.895): 53. Eric Erling Haugo (1:51.004); 54. Keith Marshall (I :51.005): 55. Rick Shaw (I :51.277); 56. Benjamin Walters (1:51.380); 57. Bostian Skubic (1:51.419); 58. Myron Bell (1:51.451): 59. Chad Simons (I :51.580); 60. Joseph Ford (1:51.786): 61. Jeffrey Purk (I :51.865): 62. Dedan Swanton (I :51.961); 63. Matt Prentice (I :52.328); 64. Jason Moss (I :52.884): 65. Jason Mathiason (1:53.141): 66. Darin Scherer (1:53.255); 67. Akiharu Shigeno (I :53.307); 68. John Ashmead (I :53.439); 69. Todd Keesee (I :53.566); 70. James Kerker (I :53.61 5): 71. Lance Yeager (I :53.936). lOCKHART·PHIWPS USA FORMULA EXTREME: I. Miguel Duhamel (Hon): 2. Kurtis Roberts (Hon); 3. Jake Zemke (Han); 4. Danny Eslick (Suz); 5. Chris Peris (Yam); 6. Jason Perez (Yam); 7. Michael Barnes (Yam): 8. Ty Howard (Yam); 9. Taylor Knapp (Yam); 10. Simon Turner (Yam): II. Alex Gobert (Hon): 12. Scott Jensen (Yam); 13. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz); 14. Jesse Janisch (Suz): 15. Armando Ferrer (Yam); 16. Mike Sullivan (Yam); 17. Tim Knutson (Yam); 18. Nicky Moore (Yam): 19. Derek Keyes (Suz); 20. Mike Smith (Yam): 21. Kevin Lacombe (Suz); 22. Craig Montgomery (Yam); 23. William Meyers (Yam): 24. Nathan Hester (Yam); 25. Jason Farrell (Suz); 26. Ben Walters (Suz); 27. Mark McCormick (Yam): 28. Anthony Fania (Yam); 29. Brian Hall (Kaw): 30. Dirk Sanchez (Kaw); 31. Oliver Jervis (Kaw); 32. Myron Bell (Suz); 33. Justin Filice (Hon); 34. Declan Swanton (Yam); 35. Chad Simons (Yam); 36. Jason Malhiason (Yam): 37. John Ashmead (Suz): 38. James Kerker (Hon); 39. Dan Ortega (Yam); 40. Rick Shaw (Yam); 41. David Mcpherson (Yam): 42. Man Prentice (Suz); 43. jason Moss (Yam): 44. Joseph Ford (Yam); 45. Ricky Orlando (Kaw): 46. josef Brenner (Hon): 47. Akiharu Shigeno (Hon): 48. Jeffrey Purk (Yam): 49. Keith Marshall (Suz): 50. Todd Keesee (Yam): 51. Darin Scherer (Yam); 52. Bostjan Skubic (Han): 53. Chris Caylor (Suz): 54. Raymond Bowman (Han): 55. Eric Erling Haugo (5uz): 56. Johnny Rock Page (Yam); 57. Roger Bell (Suz); 58. Matt lynn (5uz); 59. Ryan Andrews (Due); 60. Pascal Picotte (Yam); 61. Victor Chirinos (Yam); 62. Barren long (Yam): 63. Daria Marchetti (Due); 64. Vincent Haskovec (Suz); 65. Giovanni Rojas (Suz); 66. Josh Hayes (Kaw); 67. Alan Schmidt (Yam); 68. Robert Jensen (Yam); 69. Ben Attard (Kaw). Time: I hour. 59 min., J 1,440 sec. Distance: 68 laps. 200 miles Average speed: 100.7 mph Margin of victory: 42.586 sec. LOCKHART-PHILLIPS USA FORMULA XTREME SERIES C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After I of 10 rounds): I. Miguel Duhamel (38/1 win); 2. Kurtis Roberts (32); 3. Jake Zemke (29); 4. Danny Eslick (27); 5. Chris Peris (26); 6. Jason Perez (25); 7. Michael Barnes (24); 8. Ty Howard (23); 9. Taylor Knapp (22); 10. Simon Tumer (21): II. Nex Gobert (20); 12. Scott Jensen (19); 13. Jeremiah Johnson (18); 14. Jesse Janisch (17); 15. Armando Ferrer (16); 16. Mike Sullivan (15); 17. Tim Knutson (14): 18. Nicky Moore (13); 19. Derek Keyes (12); 20. Mike Smith (II). UPCOMING ROUNDS: Round 2 - Birmingham, Alabama, April 24 Round 3 - Fontana, California, May 1 CYCLE NEWS • MARCH 23, 2005 37

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