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Racing School's Eric Wood. Not only did he have Wood to contend with, The Yamaha R1-mounted rider quickly made his way to the front and held off a determined Competition but the winds had kicked up at Daytona, playing havoc on gearing and Accessories Larry Pegram who came from the back of the grid to finish braking. Wood was a presence, but not a constant threat. and Manusuthakis second by .61 6 of a second. "We were using this race as a testing session," said Pegram, who'd only recently taken delivery of his Ducati led all the way as the pair got away from the 61-rider field. "It was pretty windy out there 996. "We have basically a street bike today," he said. "The winds caused the bike to move around and I lost a with a race motor, so we've got a long way to go to get it dialed in. I started way back on the 14th row, so lot of drive coming out of the chicane. I looked back and saw Eric Wood closing in on me. I put my head down to try to go as fast as I I made up a lot of ground. I just wasn·t willing to push it as hard as the other guy was. ,. Two races later Manusuthakis could. I was expecting him [Wood] to switched to an R6, the race ran full come by at any time." Wood came back in Expert Mid- term, and the finish was even closer. The competition in this one was the race before Ciccotto began to make his move. Before he got too far away, Ciccotto, the defending class champion, was reeled in by Daytona H-D/Buell's Richie Morris, whose spare Buell he'd borrowed to race. Morris couldn't hang with Ciccotto though, and got swallowed up by HD/Buell of Boston's Chad Healy, who then went after Ciccotto and passed him on the penultimate lap. The pair got away and made the race for second a private one, right down to the flag. Ciccotto trailed out of the chicane, but made the right moves on the run to the flag to eke past Healy at the stripe. "Thank goodness for Richie Morris," Ciccotto said. "He let me borrow a bike for this race. I didn't even get to do a warm-up lap. If I would have had my regular bike I think I could have stayed with Higbee, but we got some points and that's what really counts." For his part, Healy said that he'd picked the wrong gearing. "I couldn't get the drives out of the turns and wasn't able to hold of Ciccotto," the Connecticut resident said. Brian Bodine had moved into fourth on the seventh lap and would hold it to the end, ending just in front of Morris and Healy's teammate Mark Reynolds. CN Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Results: March 6, 2000 BUELL UGHTNING SERIES: I. Shawn Higbee; 2. Michael Ciccotto; 3. Chad Healy; 4. Brian Bodine: 5. Richie Morris; 6. Mark Reynolds; 7. Brian Frank; 8. Michael Friberg; 9. Gregory Avella: 10. Jason Smith: 11. Russ McCallister; 12. Joseph Bennardi; 13. Jeffery Johnson: 14. Jess Roeder; 15. Brett Ray; 16. Chris Decelles. TIme: 20 min .. 56.84 I sec. Distance: 10 laps. 35.6 miles. Average speed: 101.970 mph. Margin of Victory: 22.654 sec. BUELL LIGHTNING SERIES C"SHIP POINT STANDINGS (After I of 7 rounds): 1. Shawn Higbee (25/1 win): 2. Michael Ciccotto (20); 3. Chad Healy (16); 4. Brian Bodine (13); 5. Richie Morris (11): 6. Mark Reynolds (10); 7. Brian Frank (9); 8. Michael Friberg (8); 9. Gregory Avello (7); 10. Jason Smith (6); 11. Russ McCallister (5); 12. Joseph Bennardi (4); 13. Jeffery Johnson (3); 14. Jess Roeder (2); 15. Brett Ray (1). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2: Rosamond. California. April 30 Round 3: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, May 21 dleweight Supersport, his Kawasaki (Above) Shawn Higbee had no competition in winning the opening round of the Buell Lightning Series. (Right) Manny Manusuthakis (4) and Eric Wood (5) battled for the victory in the Expert Middleweight Superbike class during CCS racing action at Daytona International Speedway. Championship Cup Series by Fonnula USA The Manny and Ed show By HENNY RAY ABRAMS DAYTONA BEACH, FL. MAR. 5 xpert Manny Manusuthakis and Amateur EIJ Cobb thoroughly dominated the Championship Cup Series by Formula USA races, winning 13 races between them with Manusuthakis taking one more than Cobb's six wins. Riding a pair of ePowersports.com Yamahas, Manusuthakis began winning early on Friday afternoon and didn't stop until late on Saturday afternoon. When he crossed the line 7.302 seconds ahead in the Unlimited Grand Prix, the final race on Saturday afternoon, he'd racked up his seventh win. The first was Friday's red-flag interrupted Expert GTO race. Manusuthakis was an early leader and a late leader and a follower in between, trailing in third place when the race was stopped 13 minutes into its 30-minute running time. The clock continued to run as the track was cleared and the race was green-lighted about 13 minutes later, leading to a less than five-minute sprint to the line. E not the equal of the Manusuthakis Yamaha. the difference showing on the banking. In the infield Wood was a demon, and he could get a better drive out of the chicane, but he didn't have the steam to hold him off at Hudson Valley Racing's Rich Alexander, the New Yorker who sat out last year with Lyme's Disease. Back on two wheels and flying, Alexander proved his health to be clean as he battled Manusuthakis to the flag, leading at various points in the 14- crunch time. On the final lap. Wood led into the chicane, but Manusuthakis showed the confidence in his motor to take the lead before the exit and powered to the line, winning by just .053 of a lap, 30-minute race. Manusuthakis led out of the chicane on the final lap, with Alexander pulling even over the tunnel in NASCAR four - but Manusuthakis had the slightly stronger Yamaha, edging to victory by .020 of a second. "Rich turned in a great ride," Manusuthakis said. "We were neck and neck most of that race and were probably riding a little harder than we should have been. It was a big braking contest in some of the turns and we both got pretty loose at times.·' In his final Friday appearance, Manusuthakis also prevailed, taking. the five-lap Expert Unlimited Supersport race from fellow R1 rider, Tim second. "Eric (Wood) and I had another great race," he said. "He got in front of me and I had the chance to ex peri ment with drafting. I was actually backing off at times to see how much ground I could make up with the draft on the banking. I learned a lot and should be able to use that information in future races. I guess I had a little more horsepower than Eric. I was able to draft by him pretty easily." The final two wins came at the end of Saturday afternoon in Grand Prix classes, Expert Middleweight and Bem isderfer. Bemisderfer was glued to his rear fender for the duration, but Manusuthakis appeared to have the stronger mount, and took the win by .168 of a second after fending off a Unlimited. The Unlimited was a day at the beach, with Manusuthakis beating fellow Yamaha R1 pilot Charles Chouinard, of Barry Motorsports, by 7.302 seconds, in a flag to flag romp. Raife Snover was third on a Suzuki strong challenge. Saturday's second race, Expert Middleweight Superbike, would be Manusuthakis's first win, back on the R6 and facing off against Penguin eye. e GSX-R750. In the earlier middleweight race n e _ s • MARCH 15. 2000 9