Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

After crashing out of the lead oh the fifth lap, and restarting 2hh and dead last, l4ladin was up to l4th when a red flag stopped the race on the 2lst of 28 laps. Gridded on the {ourth row for the eight- lap final, he was in the right place at the right time when teammate Aaron Yates knocked Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden oll his line on the final lap. He was lucky that American Honda's l'liguel Duhamel thought he was down a lap, and nearly gave up second place. But his luck ran out on the final run to the flag, where Duhamel drove by to take second by 0.050 of a second. Third, in the end, was- n't bad. "We got lucky for the red flag today," I'lladin said. We learned the Hondas are befter than they were last year, though still a ways off the dominant Suzukis- Duhamel finished founh and second, while Jake Zemke was third on Saturday. Zemke's Sunday ride ended in a highside that took his breath away "lt was spectacular," he said. We learned the Kawasakis are better on road courses than superspeedways. Tommy Hayden, fifth at Daytona, would certainly have been on the podium if it were not for Yates intervention. Hayden showed off black marks on the back of his leathers, above the waist, from Yates' front tire, but tempered his comments. "l don't know if he missed his brake marker or what he was doin8, but [he] iust ran completely over me, and I was off the track." he said. Roger Lee Hayden continued to strug- gle on the Superbike with crashes on both days, Having failen at Daytona, he's now crashed in every Superbike race. On Saturday, he remounted to finish l4th. On Sunday, he ended up in an arnbulance. Hayden said James Kerker hit him from behind after Roger Lee had lapped him, with both being driven into the air fence. Both were treated and released from the University of Birmingham hospital, with Hayden suffering a crack above his right ankle. A Monday visit to Dr Arthur Ting in San Jose will determine his fitness for the upcoming race at California Speedway. We learned that the Ducatis are Eoing to have a long season if they don't get some grunt. The V-twins are falling fur- ther behind - the Kawasakis and Hondas are better - and don't get off the cornerc with the others. "lt's frustrating," Ducati Austin's Neil Hodgson said. "You feel lke you re riding as hard as you are and being off the pace." Hodgson was involved in an on-track incident with lYladin that spilled over into the pits in Saturday qualifying (see side- bar). Hodgson was sixth and fifth, Ben Bosrom was ninth and sixth. Mostly whar we learned is that this is shaping up to be a very entertaining sea- son, with Mladin's resolve put to the test by his younger teammate in a way no one, and certainly no teammate, has since Nicky Hayden left for MotoGP It began in qualirying with Spies ending Mladin's string of I I poles in a row, and his perfect four-for-four record at Barber, Mladin said he was on a flyer when Hodgson balked him, but the splits say otherwise. Many thought Mladin was more upset at knowing he'd lost the pole to Spies than anythinS Hodgson had done, but was using Hodgson as the scapegoat. Spies led the first four laps of Saturday's race, Mladin in his wheel tracks and into the lead for the next I I laps. The pair split a lapper on lap l6 and Spies got the betrer of it, takin8 the lead for good. Another lapper came into play on the 25th of 28 laps. Spies passed him cleanly in the fast left-hand kink at the end of the back straight, Mladin didn't. He was forced to the wet grass on the right side of the track and his momentum carried him across the track to the grass on the far side of the track. It was a skillful save that kept him on two wheels, and in sec- ond, but denred hrm any chance of win- ninE. Barber l.lotorsports P.rk drew record crowds for the Honda Superbike Classic, a sign that the aSgressive promotion of the rece is pay- ing off. Sunday's crowd of 28,000 wes half the weekend total of 56,000, the larSest crowd of any event since the trirck opened four years ago, Sunday's total was the most, ever, for one day. Yoshimu.a Suzuki's Ben Spi$ ended a pair of record-qualifyint runs with his first-ever pole position- The younS Texan ended teammate Mat Mladin's streak of I I straiSht, includinS all l0 last year and this year's Daytona, as well as f4ladin s perfect record of four in a row at gar- ber "We got it today, it's a big deal," Spies said after his record run of l:24.830. "lust when I wa! getting interviewed after the deal being on pole, he come over and shook my hand. That's a bi8 deal to me. So I'm happy to be up here." Spies added, "Now I know how hard it is to out-qualify him." Spies alro 8ot the all-impor- tant pole poirlt, 'And if it veD/ well means any- thing at the end ofthe year, that'll be 8reat. Right now l'm eking one weekend at a time." Spies said he wasn't comfortable as the front- runner. "The last few laps I just kept looking up at the board. I was nervous as hell, never being in that position b€fore. This was a track, I told my team, I wanted to get here and do the best we could and tet out because I haven't really done allthat tood here. Jurt for some reason from the first wheel we turned the bike's been working really good, and I've been feeling okay. " l.lat Mladin was gracious in temporary defea!. "Ben's lspies] been goint well this week, and he done a good lap toda, and w€ didn't do a Sreat l+," he said. "lt looked Sood for most of it, then had an altercation with one ofthe other factory riders, which doesn't help your lap times anyway. That's the way it goes. Missed it today. Got !o come to an end some time, you know." The fa.tory ride. he alluded to was Ducati Austin's Neil Hodgron. He said that Hodgson slowed in front of him while he wa! on a fast lap, though HodSson said it differ€ntly. (see sidebar). ReSardless, it was the first time he wasn't on the pole since Vir8inian lntema- tional Raceway at the end oI 20fi. "We found a front tire this moming that was realb/ good, that's Soing to help for the r&e." he said.'A front tire around this place, halfway through the race in Slrperbike - they're not a lot of fun. It'r very very easy to do somerhing silly in the last half ofthe race here if the front tirc's not workinS quite right." Neil Hodgson's Ducati Austin teammate Ben Bostrom joked about Hodgson affecting hrs qualifring as well. "l think it was the lead-up to the fiEht, and I was excited and I couldn't 8et my head on the bike issues," he said. "l would've set pole had Neil not blocked me. I was tryinS to get out of this truck, tD/ing to 8et dressed. " l.like Hale made his Buell debut at Barber. but not on the reliability-challenged XBRR, The much-heralded turnkey race bike is still bein8 tested in the lvake of a disastrous 0-for.4 per- formance ih the Daytona 20O. So Hale was on a Thunderbike-spec XB9R prepared by Rich Kronrath for Classic H-D of ReadinS, P€nnsyl- v_ania, the team sponsor. Hde first rode the bike durin8 a track day atVirgnia lntemational Raceway run by ProMotion, another of the team's sponsors, prior to Barber. "lt's nry first time to this track," Hale said of Barber Motor- sports Park. "lt's a beautiful place. The track's Conrinued oD prse 19 ( - - Briefly... Mlodio rrashed od of the leod in Sundoy'r roce, bul remounfed lo eventuolly finish rhird - rhonks in port to q red flog. +--_.*a_- & ffi CYCLE NEWS . MAY3,2006 17 -r-- 7.1 (Iop Lcfr) Ben Spies (l t) get the iump on the Superbike pock in the first oI two rocc! during lhc Borber Motorsports Por& doubl- heoder. Mot itlodin (l ), Iommy Hoyden (22), Aorcn Yoter (2Ol ond the rest give choe. (Rishr) gpies (l t), Hoyden (22) ond Miguel Duhomel (I7) ron close eorly on in roce two oher Mlodin's crosh. I

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