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/128377
~-~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Round 3 obviously come up a little bit, and we're able to stay with these guys. Hopefully, we can keep making progress on the motorcycle as far as power goes. I mean, I don't know what the limit on the 600 is, but they're getting pretty darn fast as it is." Tommy was still pretty darn fast en route to second place, though not as fast as he'd have liked. Part of the difference late in the race was due to the fact that he didn't seem to work lapped traffic as well as Hacking did. "I started out good," Tommy said. "Getting the holeshot is always good. I just tried to set a decent pace, but I was making some mistakes. I wasn't really running the pace I thought I should be able to. Jamie came by, and he stepped it up to what I thought the pace should be, so I was content to stick by him. Maybe that helped me out a bit. "I tried coming back past him," Tommy continued. "I stayed on him for a couple laps, and we seesawed a bit through the first bit of traffic. Then I caught a couple guys, and it just killed me. Once there was a little gap, there wasn't any making it up. I held steady for a few laps and maybe My 96 _ would make up a little, then lose even more back. It just didn't work out." Nor did it work out for Roger Lee, who lost touch with Hacking and Tommy before the midpoint of the race. Instead, Roger Lee was busied by the relentless attacks of DiSalvo, most notably late in the race. Roger Lee was just able to beat his Yamaha rival to the stripe to secure third place. "I didn't get a very good start," Roger Lee said. "I kind of worked my way up a little bit, and I thought I was in a pretty good position. Then those guys stepped up the pace and kind of dropped me a little bit. My board said plus zero the whole time. I didn't really know who it was - he never showed me a wheel or anything but I had a pretty good idea it was Jason [DiSalvo]. I knew there was no way I could get up to them [the leaders], so I just put my head down and brought it home on the podium." Gobert finished fifth, after yielding the spot to Spies briefly on lap nine after the two made contact in turns 12 and 13. Spies was sixth, followed by Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard, Team M4/EMGO Suzuki's Geoff May and Peris Racing OWN RACE Aaron Gobert 5th Team Yamaha's Superstock Champion had a good race with Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies Ihroughout the race, the pair battling for the fifth spollike it was a battle for Ihe lead. "II was inleresling, you know," Gobert said. "I remembered from the test that Ben had said this is one Ihe places he wants 10 go well because he claims to be down on horsepower. I really knew he was Ihere, and I was having some Iroubles wilh my selup, and thaI was holding me back. I made a mistake Ihrough having to handle Ihe bike so much, and I was jusl staying on the track. NexI thing you know, Ben comes through as if I wasn'l even Ihere and slams his swingarm on my front fork leg. Being such a direct hil on the tire, it nearly skipped OUI on me. Everyone says illooked worse lhan whal il probably was. llhoughl I was going down. II made me mad allhe lime because there was no need for Ihat. The leaders were already gone, and we were racing for fifth place. But also, it's racing, you know. If he wants to rub on me like thaI, that's fair enough. I certainly gave him no room when I passed him back. Alter the race we said we're still friends, no hard feelings, but maybe we didn'l have 10 ride Ihat close. I'm not going to say anything negative about the situation. It was all racing." 12 Ben Attard 9th After being disqualified from Saturday'S Repsol Superstock race for having a light motorcycle. Attack Kawasaki's Attard was looking for a satisfactory performance in his only race of the weekend. Afterward, he said he gOI it. ' "That's one spot bener than last weekend," .. _ ..... . . , : . J" the 24-year-old Australian said. "My guys I' • have been working so hard to get my super.sport good and get me up to pace. We had thaI misfortune yesterday [Attard was DQ'd from the Superstock final (See Briefly)], but sevenlh was good today. We were the first privateer home, and we're getting closer to the factory guys. I just about highsided coming onto the straighl on the ,... . .... Briefly.•. AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship May 1, 2005 AMA SUPERBIKE Yamaha rider Chris Peris. Nicky Moore rounded out the top 10. eN CAUFORNIA SPEEDWAY FONlANA, CAUFORNIA RESULTS: MAy 1, 200S (ROUND 3 OF 10) SUPERSPORT FINAL: I. Jamie Hacking (Yam); 2. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); 3. Roger Lee Hayden (Kaw); 4. Jason DiSaNo (Yam); 5. Aaron Gobert (Yam); 6. Ben Spies (Suz); 7. Ben Aturd (Kaw); B. Geoff May (Suz); 9. Chris Pens (Yam); 10. Nkky Moore (Yam); II. Robert Jensen (Yam); 12. Damon Buckmaster (Yam); 13. Danny Eslick (Suz); 14. Chris Siglin (Suz); 15. Nathan Hester (Yam); 16. Manhew Furtek (Kaw); 17. Barren Long (Yam); lB. Taylor Knapp (Yam); 19. Jim Wood (Kaw); 20. Justin Filice (Hen); 21. Chad Rolland (Yam): 22. Tim Knutson (Yam): 23. Dirk Sanchez (Kaw); 24. Ricky Orlando (Kaw); 25. Chad Lewin (Suz); 26. Michael Beck (Yam); 27. Jeremy Haiduk (Yam); 28. Ryan Hoffman (Kaw); 29. Tristan Schoenewald (Hon); 30. Vietor Chirinos (Yam); 31. Blair Sullenger (Yam): 32. Samuel Camibucci (Yam); 33. Eugene Bazyi (Yam); 34. Raul Padilla (Suz); 35. Shaun $ommen. (Yam); 36. Blake Young (So2). Time: 24 min., 55.380 sec. Distance: 17 laps, 39.10 miles Average 5peed: 94.1 mph Margin of victory: 4.248 sec.. AHA PRO HONDA OilS SUPERSPORT C'SHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After l of 10 rounds): I. Jamie Hacking (I07n wins): 2. Tommy Hayden (103/1 win); 3. Jason DiSaNo (83); 4. Aaron Gobert (7B); 5. Ben Sp;es (13); 6. Robert Jensen (69); 7. Reg., Lee Hayden (68); 8. (TIE) Ben A.....d (66yGeoff May (66); 10. Chri' Peri, (64); II. Danny Eslick (57): 12. Damon Buckmaster (44); 13. Nicky Moore (37); 14. Nathan Hester (H); 15. Blake Young (31): 16. Taylor Knapp (27); 17. Barren Long (26); lB. Michael Barnes (24); 19. (TIE) Pascal Picotte (22)1Justin Filice (22). UPCOMING ROUNDS Round 4: Sonoma, California, May 15 Round 5: Fountain, Colorado, May 22 first lap, and I lost the low. It look me awhile 10 gel by Chris Peris, and my rear tire didn't realty ever come in, which is unfortunate. I don'llhink I made the wrong choice. Seventh is good. We're going 10 try and edge closer to the fronl. Our plan is to win one of Ihese things." 8 Chris Peris 9th Doing his own Ihing with Yamahas seems to be suiling Canadian rider Chris Peris fairly well. Even Ihough he suffered mechanical demons again [his Superslock mount Ihrew a rod in that class final on Saturday), Peris finished the race inside the top 10. "Today went pretty good," the 19-year. old Canadian said. "I gOI a good slart, and Ihen a couple of Ihe factory guys gOI back past me. I just tried 10 run my own race, but we had some problems with our quickshifter. II wasn't working, so I had 10 shift manually - like roll off the throttle and then pick it back up - and then it [Ihe qUickshifl) would cut the motor. It was like I was between gears, and that would kill me on the straightaways. But all in all, it went pretty good. The lires held up really good, and we ran some good laps. I'm pretty happy with it." 6 Damon Buckmaster 12th The frustrating season that the veteran Australian has experienced as he has attempted to rebound from off-season injuries continued at Califomia Speedway, Buckmaster coming home 12th, the last of the factory men, behind five privateers. "I think I said this last year, 100, but this is a season I would ralher forget," Buckmaster said. "I need to put all this crap behind me and try to move forward." Buckmaster said that he didn't recall many particulars of the race because there wasn't much to recall. "I had a front-end-feel problem with the bike," Buckmaster said. "I've got no front confidence, and that's bugging me. I was with a couple fellas, guys I shouldn't even have been racing with. I wasn't pushing it that hard. Whal am I going to dice for? Tenth place? We've changed a lot of SlUff, and it's a lot to figure out. Some of the other guys are adapting to it better than I am. We need to evaluate some Ihings." Continued from poge 31 thallhe back-straight chicane be changed during Thursday's promolers' practice. AMA road race manager Ron Barrick agreed, and Ihe chicane was widened lale in Ihe afternoon. Instead of a hard righI-left transition through the chicane, the riders had more of kink that put them in the middle of the track on Ihe exit rather than on the right side, where they could run onto the grass. A pedestrian bridge farther up the track was also eliminated as a safety hazard. "If you get a tank-slapper, like I got through Ihe chicane, for whatever reason or somebody in front of you does that and you're on the outside and he pushes you OUI, if you get on Ihe grass - it's been done on Ihe grass al over 140 mph - Ihere's a bridge Ihere, there's a wall, and to me thaI jusl spelled disaster again," Duhamel said. "This time, I broughl il up 10 Ihe attenlion of the AHA, and Iheyagreed. I was expecting a few people more maybe complaining about iI, bUI in general I Ihink everybody likes il." Barrick said: "II does seem 10 have worked oUI. We always knew that exiling Ihat lurn II area was difficull because the riders were on the gas." Barrick said they'd talked about moving the bridge, but the lrack refused. Barrick knew the chicane was a problem "because the bikes are coming out of Ihere on Ihe lefl side of Ihe tire, they're drifting a1llhe way 10 Ihe right edge, getting right on that paint stripe and trying to get a good drive. And a little slip there could highside you, or at leasl gel you off the lrack and heading for that bridge abutment." Whal made Ihe change possible was Ihe removal of the chicane's curbing. "In the past, that was not really possible because Ihey'd builllhal curb Ihere," Barrick said. "Now, the curb's ground down. II's slill concrete, bUI they ground it down 10 Ihe level of Ihe asphall. And so Ihat kind of gave us an opportunity 10 open things up, and Miguel suggesled leI's just move il out and see whal happens." The wall on Ihe left of Ihe chicane now comes into play, bUI Barrick said he'd already spoken to Ihe lrack aboul moving il. Another option would be 10 pave a seclion OUI of Ihe turn nine righl-hander Ihat leads onto the chicane straight. If the wall were moved, thaI would eliminate Ihe need for more asphall. "We'll talk 10 the riders more to evaluate Ihal afler the weekend's over and see whal we need to do for next year," Barrick said. Duhamel's safety initiative and praise of the AMA evaporaled after Saturday's Formula Xtreme race. Wilh less than two laps 10 go, Duhamel was balked by a slower rider - Ihe same rider he'd cross paths wilh on Ihe cool-down lap. At Ihat point, it didn'l coUnl. "This is where Ihey [Ihe AMA] need 10 step up and let Ihat guy know thaI he just ruined Ihe show for everybody, because if he doesn't do Ihal, who knows what's going 10 happen aflerwards?" Duhamel asked. Duhamel said he had a chance 10 punt the lapper inlO Ihe guardrail but didn't. So he was surprised when Ihe rider nearly T-boned him in Ihe chicane while he and Dake] Zemke were doing matching wheelies on Ihe cool-down lap. "And Ihat's where the AMA will hopefully Continued on poge 34 32 MAY 11, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS