Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Buckmaster's crash had an effec t on his pur suers. Some m or e than others. "I wa s pretty close to h im whe n he crashed , " L o p ez said . "Th er e ' s a seam th er e, and I think he lock ed the front. It d idn 't sc rew me up instantly , but I th in k it d id in the lo ng ru n. I w as thinking of b eing c a r efu l because I already had tho se guys crash in front of me in t urn one and it was nasty covere d m e in di rt and everything . I was in t he lea d a n d jus t t h i nk i n g , 'play it cool , pla y it c oo l, pla y it cool. ' But I pl ay ed it too cool. I think I ti p t oed a littl e t oo much coming down th e hill. They wer e o bv io usly ou t for blood . I just eased up a little t oo ear ly . T here's a long y ear to go . We had a great weekend ." Wh il e Lopez and A cree hesit at ed j ust a tad a s t hey regrouped f rom seeing Buckmaster crash, Gross took full advantage . Although Lopez led up the hill int o fo ur and down the hill into fiv e , Gross c am e out of nowhere to zip past the Texan in eight and nine, br in g ing A cree with him. It was a surprising r esult that had the Willow Springs crowd cheering th e loc al lad. Un fortunately, after most of them had already departed the facility , Gross was disqualified. "When D am o n [Buckmaster] fell in three , we were all sort of j o c k ey in g for p laces to go and m aking sure we didn 't collect him becau se there was a lapper th er e a l so, " Acree sa id. " B ryc e [Gr oss] had th e cl earer line of sight and a little better menta l clarit y because h e just shot right on past me and got right up on Gr ant [Lo pez]. I had an idea of what I was go ing to try i f t he o p po r t u ni t y pre sented itself through eight a nd nin e - I was j ust going t o t ry and ge t a run w it h 'e m throug h eig ht and get t he in sid e line a n d bl o c k. I knew I had en oug h pow er to outr un Grant to the li ne and I th oug ht I h ad eno u g h t o at l east match Bry c e' s R1. Unfortun ately , we c ame upon an other lapper and Br yc e picked th e right lin e. I followed him around Grant , but I co u ld n' t ma k e both of them and Bryce is the m an of the day." Gross was the m an o f the day but only until his bike proved t o be illegal. " I came i n here with pretty high ex pec t at io n s," Gross sai d , prior to learning of hi s disqual ifi cation . "I run WSMC at Willow and I' m number two in po in t s. At th e last minute we put this together and fou r d ay s ago th ey put the bik e togeth er. Th at sca red m e a littl e bit , but o bvio us ly it wo rk ed . It 's such an awe so me m otorcycle . We ha d a gr e at p a ck a g e . Hol l yw o od Yam ah a has helped m e a lot ." Naturally , Hask ov ec was thrill ed to be push ed up to th ird w h e n wo rd came d own abo ut Gr oss. "I d id on ly like tw o sess ions on this Ka w a saki , " Hask o vec sa id . "Er i c [Wood] ha s a totally d iffer ent rid ing st yle than me. I was riding a Suzuki with M i ch elin Pil o ts , and I j u mp o n th is K aw asa k i wi th D un lo p s. I never run on Du nlops, y ou k now. I felt rea lly co mfo rt ab le . In th e second leg I was much m ore c om fort able. I knew I was going to d o 22s eve ry l a p - I knew it. F ro m the 10th lap , I was o n the edge bec au se t he tire wa s spin ning. U nfo rt un ately , I hi t two la p pers in turn two and it sep arated me fr om th e lead g ro u p again . I ju st put m y head down , but I d idn 't m ak e it afte r that. "1 jumped th e st art ," he said of th e Formula USA Sportbike Series Round Z: Willow Springs Raceway first ra ce . "I rea lly to tall y sto pped. I B y P A U L C A RRUT H E RS hit t he brakes and eve rybody go . I PHOT O S B Y B RIA N N E LS O N was off t he pa c e. I cou ld n ' t be li eve t hey m eatba lled me , yo u kn ow . I was totall y la st , but I ended up 15 t h ." eN Willow Springs Raceway Rosamond, California T u rn s eig h t a nd nine at W ill ow Sp ri ngs Rac eway are in argu abl y t he most imp o rta nt two co rners o n the racetrack . Adm ittedly , Ch aparral and ni ne , Buckmaster was ex pect ing so meone t o tr y it again . On the final t im e t hro ugh the two fas t right -h an de rs, he protect ed t he insi de li ne . " O n the last la p, I di dn ' t rea li ze I had a ga p so I was rig ht o n th e inside th e whole time," Buckm aster sa id. "If anyone was go ing to pass, it w ou ld hav e had to been on the outside." R.suhs:ApriI3o,2ooo UN~IMITE D SUPERBIKE LEG 1: Lee A cre e (S ua) : 2 . Damon Buckma ster (Suz) ; 3 . Grant Lopez (Suz); 4 . Bryan Kovarick (Yam) ; 5 . M ichae l Barnes ( Kaw); 6 . Curti s Adam s (Y am) ; 7 . La rry Pegram ( Duc ); 8 . J im m y Moor e ( Suz) ; 9 . Ja mie Bo wm an (Suz}: 10. Tim Bemisderfer (Yam) ; 11. Mike Sullivan ( Kaw); 12 . J oseph Pr u s sia no (Ya m); 13. Vin cen t Hesk ov ec (Suz); 14 . Ty Howard (Kaw): 15. Phil Giles (Suz) ; 16 . Doug Polen (D uc) ; 17 . Fran ci s Ma rtin ( Kaw); 18. Brian Parriott (Ya m ); 19 . Will iam Bush ( Ya m); 2 0 . C lint on Wh ite hou se ( Ya m) ; 21. Joh n Ja cobi (SUl ) : 22. Jack Pfeifer (SUl ) : 23 . Stephen Hew itt ( Ya m ) ; 2 4 . Neil J enkin s ( Ka w); 2 5 . J eff Wil liam s ( Ka w ); 2 6 . Ma rk Led esm a ( Suz ) ; 27 . Dai goro Su zuk i (Suz); 28 . De rek King ( SUl ) ; 29 . Charles Chouinard (Yam) ; 30 . John Dugan (SUl); 3 1. Christopher Taylor (Yam) ; 3 2. T yler Paulson (Kaw); 33. Ryan Burke (Suz); 34 . Thoma s Baker (Hon) ; 35 . Ma tthew Sneed (Suz); 36. Doug Coleman (Due) ; 37. Sam Solomon ( Yam ); 38 . Michael Ciccotto (Suz); 39 . Keith Hoogstad ( Yam ); 40 . Ashley McKean (Kaw); 4 1. Clark Dodson (Suz); 42 . Eric Haugo (S ua) : 4 3. Robb Martin (Suz); 44 . Roger Lee Hayden (SUl ); 45. Mark Junge (Kaw); 46 . Gabriel Henning (Yam) : 4 7 . Mark Chadwick (Suz); 48 . Shawn Higbee (SUl) ; 4 9. Keith Wilson (Suz); 50 . Mauro Ce red a (Suz) ; 5 1. Stoney Landers (Kaw); 52 . Karl Lowery (Yam). Time: 15 m in.. 30 sec. Dista nce: 12 laps, 30 m iles Margin of victory: 0.09 7 sec. Faste st lap: Lee Acree, 1:23 .069, lap 3 UNLIMIT ED SUPERBIKE LEG 2: 1. Lee A cree (SUl ); 2 . Gr ant Lopez ( Suz ) ; 3 . Vince nt Hak ov ec (Kaw); 4 . Jam ie Bowman (Suz); 5 . Jimm y Moore (Suz): 6 . Larry Pegram (Due) ; 7. Joseph Pru sslen c ( Yam); 8. Mik e Sullivan ( K aw): 9 . Tim Bem isderfer ( Yam); 10. Francis Martin (Kaw); 11. Shawn Higbee (Suz); 12. Jack Pfeifer (Suz); 13. Ty Howard (Kaw); 14. Phil Giles (SUl ); 15 . Roger Lee Hayden (Suz); 16. Mark Junge (Kaw); 17. Neil Jenkins (Kaw); 18 . Jeff Williams (Kaw) ; 19 . Clinton Whitehouse (Yam ); 20 . Daigoro Suzuki (Suz); 2 1. Stephen Hewitt (Yam) : 22. Michael Cic cotto (SU1); 23 . Mark Ledesma ( K ew) : 24 . Derek King (Suz): 25 . Charles Chouinard (Yam) ; 26. William Bush (Yam ): 27. John Dugan (Suz): 28 . Sam Solomon (Yam) ; 29 . Keith Hoogstad (Yam); 30 . Ashley McKean (Kaw); 31. Thomas Baker (Hon); 32 . Dam on Buckmaster ( SU1); 33. Doug Colem an (Due) ; 34 . Tyle r Paulson (Kaw); 35. Robb Martin (Suz); 36 . Er ic Haugo (S U1) ; 37 . Matthew Sneed ( Suz) ; 38 . Christopher Ta ylor ( Yam) ; 39 . Doug Polen (Duc) ; 40. J ohn J acob i ( Suz); 41 . Cla rk Dodson ( SUl) ; 4 2. Michael Barnes (Kaw); 4 3 . Curtis Adams (Yam ): 44 . Bryan Kovarick ( Yam) . TIme : 16 min., 49 sec. Distance: 12 laps. 30 mites M.arg of victory: 0 .13 1 sec. in Fastest lap: Vincent He sk ovec , 1:22.87 3 . lap 4 WRENCHEAD .COM UNLIMITED SUPERBIK E C' SHIP POINT STANDINGS (A ft er 2 of 6 rounds): 1. Lee Acree (8 2/2 wins): 2. Grant Lopez (8 1II ); 3 . Larry Pegram (5 2 ): 4 . Damon Buckm aster (42) : 5 . Joseph Prussiano (36 ): 6 . Jami e Bowm an (28 ): 7 . Jo hn Hopk ins ( 25/1) ; 8 . Ji mm y Mo ore ( 2 1) ; 9 . Vincent Hask ovec ( 19) ; 10 . T im Bemis derfer ( 18) : 11. (T IE) M ichael Ciccon o/M ike Sullivan ( 17 ); 13 . Richard Alexander Jr. ( 16); 14. Bryan Kovarlck ( 13) : t 5 . Shawn Higbee ( 12). ---- --- Upcoming Rounds Round 3 - Elkhart Lake. Wisconsin, May 21 Round 4 - Portland, Oregon. August 6 Suzuk i 's D am o n Buckmaster wasn't th e f a st est o f t h e -le a d trio thro ugh that section of the tr ack . But he must ha ve been fast somewhere be ca use the Australian held off a co nsta nt bar rag e of attacks from Lee Acree and Bri an Parri ott t o wi n th e r ed-flaginterrupted Sp ortbike fin al on a warm and breezy afternoon in the h igh desert of Sou thern California . Buckmaster crossed the finish line first - but only just. Right on his heels was Arcl ight Racing 's Le e A cree , h imself shadowed by Parriott Honda Rac ing 's Brian Parriott. Buckmaster g ot th e j u m p o n th e fie ld from the start, and he led every l ap until lap n ine. That's when Parriott used his super ior turn -n ine sp eed to run up th e ins id e of Bu ck master t o t ake th e lead "I kn ew someone was th er e, and I k new that w as a little b it of a weak po int fo r m e , " Bu ckm a st er sa i d. " Even when he shoved it un dern eat h, I didn ' t even pi ck up . I k ne w so meone wa s go ing to try that. " Perh ap s Par riott sho we d hi s h and too soo n .. A lthough he wasn't cl o se enoug h to m ount a cha rge on Buck master on the final lap th rough eight cue I e Buckmaster (61 ) le ads Brian Pa rriott (4 6 ) around turn f our during the Sportbike final. T hat an y on e turn ed ou t to be A cree . Parriott had messed up in tu rn two and wasn't abl e to make up fo r it. That left A cree t o try and find a way past Bu ckmaster o n th e race t o the flag. "T hat' s w here I was planning m y charg e - that's where I was go ing to m ount up o n th e last lap, " Parriott said of turns eig h t and nine. " O n the l ast lap I wen t i n to two and hit the shifter up a gea r. I got through two a li tt le too qu ic k , ran wide and had to ba ckshi ft. At that po int , I turned aro und and loo k ed and th er e was no one co m ing , so I fi gured pod ium was good ." It wa s an area wh er e Bu ckmaster k new he wasn ' t as stron g as th e co mpetiti on . " I ap ex a co u ple of tim es the re ," Bu ckmaster ex p lai ne d . " I drift a little w id e, ap ex aga i n so me w he re e l se. Th at's prob ab l y wh at' s wrong wi th me - I'm apexing too many times." With Pari ott m ak i ng hi s erro r in t wo , Ac ree was left as the o nly o ne n e vv s MAY 1 0 , 2000 29

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