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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128401
Attack Kawasaki's Josh Ha,es picked up where
he left off a year ago by putting his ZX-IOR Superbike on the pole with a "lOyoo12OO lap record of
1:19.493. His time, howeo;er, was stin shy of Steve
Rapp's I :19.029 lap time from 2000, the last time
the AHA Superbike series visited W~1ow Springs.
Rounding out the front row were Jeremy Toye
with a I :20.828, John Haner with a 1:21.919, and
Jason Perez with a 1:21.964.
Due to the Toyaa 200, the regular monthly
WSMC expert events were held on Saturday,
with most if not all of the "lOyoo1200 participants
taking advantage of the extra track time in racing
conditions to tune up for the big OO-lapper the following day. The race of the day was in the Toyota
Cup Unlimited Fonnula One event. Josh Hayes
had his hands full with l8-year-01d Yamaha
mounted Michael Beck. Beck. had led the race
early, only to be passed by Hayes, but Beck.
refused to give up to AMA Superl>ike rider Hayes,
hounding him right down to the bitter end and
stealing the win in a photo finish. Hayes said that
his dutch had been slipping for most of the race,
but was very impressed with the petfonnance of
Beck and gave him full props for the victory.
Haner's first visit fa Willow Springs and
the Tayata 200 netted him _and place.
He was originally credited with third, but
as we went to preas we learned he has
been declared the secand-p1ace finisher.
Here Haner's A"ack Kawasaki crew
services his ZX-l OR.
group behind them. Hayes was on a mission
during his first stint and opened up an enormous early lead on Haner.
By lap IS, Hayes was gone. The real battie proved to be the battle for third position
between Corona Extra Suzuki's Tony
Meiring, Toye, Beck and Mike Hale, riding a
Carry Andrews-prepared Suzuki GSXRI ()()() -sans exhaust silencer. Perez had pitted for slicks by this point, but had lost a ton
of ground in the early stages on the rain tires.
"We started out with a bumpy start to
the weekend," Toye said. "We had some
very unusual motor issues over the course of
the two days, which is really rare for us. We
came out Friday to qualify and had a problem with one motor, put the other motor in
and went straight into the pace, so I was
stoked on that. My chassis guys had the thing
sorted, so I just had to ride. We decided to
not do the club races on Saturday, and we
didn't even practice any I"&$ing pit stops
until this moming. I just went out there and
tried to ride my own deal, and it paid off. We
started on a cut slick, but I have no skill in the
half-wet, half-dry conditions. Then about
halfway, it started coming around. It tumed
out way better than it started,"
Prior to the first pit stop, local fast kid
Beck was all over and then past Haner as
those two battled prior to pitting for tires
and fuel. A new rule for the Toyota 200 this
year was the elimination of quick-change
equipment for tire/wheel changes during the
pit stops. It didn't make much of a difference
to the top teams, including Attack, which
was able to consistently get their riders back
under way in under 10 seconds. When
Hayes finally pitted, Haner inherited the
lead, with Toye moving into second and
Beck third. Hayes was back in fourth, with
Meiring in fifth.
"It went really well," Haner said. "The
Attack Kawaskaki crew just put me in a position to finish second. It was a good, long
race. Josh [Hayes) got out there and just
made some really good moves in traffic, and
I wasn't able to hang with him. I just settled
The second annual Roadracer's Rendenous
took place on Saturday night at the Budweiser
into a pace and started seeing p1us-20, plus3D, p1us-40, and then after the final pit stop,
it was up to like 42 seconds over third place.
It was just a really good race. I just didn't
have anything for him [Hayes). I didn't want
to get lapped and I thought about stuffing
him in eight [on the penultimate lap) so I
wouldn't, but I let him have it. But I walked
out of here and walked out with a paycheck,
so it's good."
Just past the halfway point is when confusion began to become apparent as the timing-and-scoring system went haywire. From
this point on, everyone became confused as
to who was actually where in the race.
Things got really confusing as the final round
of pit stops concluded, especially as Hayes
had lapped almost the entire field by the
time the race got into the final stages.
The final two laps were even more confusing, as Hayes was in the process of lapping
Haner, who was in second position
(although he was originaJy credited wth
third) - confusing enough so that the finishline official threw the white nag for just
lapped Haner instead of Hayes. Hayes
seemed to know exactly where he was in
the race, but Toye had no idea whatsoever
where he was, until he was instructed to
head for victory circle. Toye's finishing position is still under review as of press time.
In the end, despite the rain, heavy winds
and then the timing-and-scoring nightmare,
the man everyone expected to top the podium did just that. By the sound of things,
Hayes could use the extra money to repair
his new home that was recently heavily
damaged by Hurricane Katrina before he
even got to move in. Protests are sure to
be filed over the outcome of the race
for some of the final podium positions,
but for the time being, Hayes, Toye and
Haner put in a great show for the fans at
Willow's biggest motorcycle event of
the year.
eN
WIUOW SPRINGS INTERNATIONAl RACEWAY
ROSAMOND, CAUFORNIA
RESULTS: OcTOBER 16, 2005
TOYOTA 200 QUALIFYING: I. Josh Hayes
(1:19."493); 2. Jeremy Toye (1:20.828); 3. John Haner
(UI.919): ~. Jason Perez (1:21.964): S. Mkhael Beck
(1:22.280): 6. Robb;e Dow;e (1,22.631): 1. Mike H~e
(1,22.911): 8. Chris Ulrich (1:23.066): 9. Tony Meiring
(1:23.1 IS): 10. Dale IGeff.,. (1,23.404): II. RkhMd Headley
(1:23.522); 12. Dean Mizdal (1:24.188); 13. Nobi Iso
(I ,14.589): I~. Bradley Adams (I :2~.592): IS. Bla;, 5ulleng.,.
(1:21.597); 16. Stuart Smith (1:24.616); 17. Jeff Stem
(1,14.651): lB. Scott Jensen (1:2~.610): 19. Skye Gi