Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA Superbike Series Hayes was in front of Rapp for more than half the race, Rapp closing to within a little more than a second at the end. Ledesma followed, alone in seventh and the final rider on the lead lap. Haner was next, then Duhamel, with a few more seconds to Brent George in 10th. eN PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY FOUNTAIN, COLORADO RESULTS: MAy 22, 2005 (ROUND 8 OF 17) SUPERB IKE QUALIFYING: I. Mat Mladin (54.433): 2. Eric Bomom (S'!.56O): 3. Ben Sp;e. (S'!.664): 4. Neil Hod&"", (S'!.894): 5. AMon Yates (54.960): 6. Miguel Duhamel (55.089): 7. Josh Hayes (55.094); 8. Jake Zemke (55.152): 9. Kurtis Roberts (55.208); 10. Larry Pegram (55.302): II. Jacob Holden (55.614): 12. MMk L.ede>ma (55.896): 13. John Han., (55.912): 14. Martin C,""",II (55.996): 15. Steve Raw (56.254): 16. Eric. Wood (56.288); 17. Scon Greenwood (56.329): 18. Jonmy Toye (56.391): 19. Jimmy MOO<'e (46,492): 20. 8""'t Geot-ge (56.589): 21. Cory Denton West (56.645); 22. Shane Turpin (56.672): 2J. O""iel Tum., (56.795): H. Jeff",y Tige" (56.879): 25. Lee Ailee (56.943): 26. J.J. My OWN RAce 17 Miguel Duhamel 9th American Honda's Miguel Duhamel insists he didn't jump the start. The AMA disagrees. Duhamel was shown the meatball flag at the end of the first lap, and he served his penalty on the second. Then came a blitz through the field that had him up to eighth. He finished ninth. "I didn't jump," Duhamel said. "That was a perfectly timed start. It was like one of those quickdraw competitions where you can see the amber get a green before everybody else. It looked like a jump, but it's called a holeshot, and you can do them from the second row, too. And it's not like I got to first place." Duhamel said once he got the meatball flag, he was deflated. "I was pretty demoralized about the whole thing. This scenario was going through my head while I was on the track dUring the stop and go: How fast they came to the realization. They didn't hesitate about it. They didn't look at the video. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I know what I did. I know I got a holeshot. I never jumped a start in my life here." 98 Jake Zemke 13th American Honda's jake Zemke waited a few laps too long to change his rear tire. "It was great till a little past halfway, and then the tire started getting pretty bad," he said. He dropped from sixth to 16th by pitting. "We were hanging there in third, and I'm looking at the board, and I've got like a IO-second lead," Zemke said. '1uld I'm thinking, 'I can milk this to the flnish, I can do it, I can do it.' I couldn't do it. It just kept getting worse and worse to the point that I couldn't put my knee down In the comers. I think the lap before I pulled in, I did a minute something, so it was getting pretty bad. In hindsight, I should have come in way earlier. As soon as I saw the times drop a second and a half, two seconds, I should have come in, because I knew the tire was getting bad. But if it would've stayed right there, with a IO-second lead on the guys behind me, I think I would've been okay, because I know they weren't running 55s. 50 if I could've run low 57s, I think I would've been all right staying out. Even if one or two guys would've got back by me, I stili would've finished fifth or sixth, rather than 13th." 80 Kurtis Roberts 27th This would have been the best finish of Kurtis Iloberts' season had tire problems not struck. On the 36th of 49 laps, Roberts brought his Erion Honda to the pits for a rear tire change. His lap times weren't suffering, but he felt a vibration, and that was enough. "I don't think the tire blistered or anything, but it was starting to vibrate a lot, and I think it was more kind of going off and everything," he said. "I don't think It had actually done anything we couldn't have finished on. It was just kind of more safety than anything." Roberts said the lack oftraction at PPIR made his Honda CBRIOOORR look better than it had all season. "This track, there's not a lot of grip," he said. " You can get away with a bike that's not working properly, because it spins so much that It doesn't twist itself up so much. That's one of the problems we've been having: It binds itself up so much." 26 JUNE 1, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS 100 Roedln (57.067): 27. Mike SullMn (57.179): 28. Heath 5mal (57.398): 29. Dean M"-dal (57.425): 30. NKky M""'e (57.621): 31. Scott J"""'" (57.720): 32. c.o. Gitte", (57.816): 33. 8",d HoodO)' (57.819): H. Sean Fey (58.544): 35. Reno Karimi"" (58.555): 36. James Kerl

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