Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc

By David Swarts

Kneedraggers.com Yamaha’s Matt Wait dominated both the Formula USA Sportbike and Superbike races on his Pirelli-equipped 2003 Yamaha YZF-R6 at Daytona International Raceway during a Sunday that started wet and ended dry.

Wait, the defending F-USA Grand National Champion, got the holeshot in the 18-lap Sportbike feature event, fending off Mike Ciccotto on the Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell Firebolt XB9R for two laps before pulling away with consistent mid-1:57 lap times to win by nearly 20 seconds.

Ciccotto lost touch with Wait and was caught by Bettencourt/Argo Cycles’ Jeff Wood late in the race. Ciccotto and Jeff Wood were lining up for a classic Daytona drafting battle to the line when Ciccotto’s Buell ran out of fuel coming off NASCAR turn four. Jeff Wood took second easily, and his teammate Scott Greenwood passed a coasting Ciccotto to claim the last spot on the podium.

Ciccotto’s fourth place was then taken away by race officials when his Buell didn’t have enough gas left in its frame/tank to make the mandatory post-race dyno run. The Hal’s Performance Advantage crew lobbied for Formula USA officials to allow them to add fuel while trying to start their Firebolt on the dyno but were unsuccessful in both efforts.

Formula USA/CCS Racing boss Kevin Elliott told Ciccotto’s team, “I have to go by the rulebook. I have an appeal board decision from last year that told us we have to go 100 percent by the rules. I have no choice…it has to be run as it came off the racetrack.”

Ciccotto was disqualified from the results, promoting Canadian young gun Andrew Nelson up to fourth; Nelson had run his 2003 Honda CBR600RR off the track during the race. First-year Expert Alex Barrera finished fifth. Hooters Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec took sixth after starting on row 13 on the grid, in the second wave. Concept Five’s Jason Perez drafted by Chris Peris to finish seventh. Mexican rider R. Jonathan Gomez Martinez was ninth on a Yamaha YZF-R6 while Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell rounded out the top 10 in the 66-rider race.

Wait came back moments later on his Supersport-spec Yamaha and DOT-labeled Pirellis to go even faster (high-1:55s) in the 660cc Superbike class.

“That race was really good for us,” Wait said from the podium. “We made a few suspension changes and it obviously worked pretty good. Our goal was to go out there and put in some good laps and try to beat my own race pace from the last race and just better it. I really wanted to prove a point to everyone that I’m fully back (from injuries). This gives me a lot of confidence going into next week (AMA event).”

The battle for second place was a much more entertaining race. After Arclight Suzuki’s Michael Hannas–running second at the time–slowed and pitted with a chunked rear tire, Harwell, Jeff Wood and Annandale Honda’s Craig Connell held a drafting battle for the runner-up spot. Riding a big-bore GSX-R600 on 16.5-inch Pirelli slicks, Harwell used a horsepower advantage to lead into and out of the chicane on the last lap and hold on for second. Connell’s Michelin-DOT-shod CBR600RR Superport bike did not have enough gearing for the tri-oval and he finished third. Jeff Wood rode around the outside of Connell and Harwell in the infield and chicane but lacked top speed and finished fourth.

Nelson took fifth. No Limit Honda’s Doug Chandler, Haskovec, Chandler’s teammate Jason Curtis, Arclight/Tapeworks’ Lee Acree and Barrera – all coming from the second wave of the 60-rider grid – filled out the top 10.

In other Formula USA racing, Kosco Harley-Davidson/Buell’s David Estok won the red-flag-shortened, wet Thunderbike final on an oil-leaking Buell Superbike.

Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes made the Pirelli rain tires on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 last long enough on a drying track to win the Unlimited Grand Prix by over five seconds.

Defending USGPRU National Champion Brian Kcraget won the USGPRU 125cc Grand Prix by 45 seconds.


More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway’s PR office:

Wait begins Formula USA title defense with a victory at Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 2, 2003) – Californian Matt Wait had little trouble in the opening round of the Formula USA SportBike Series Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Wait pulled away to a convincing 18-second victory in the class on his KneeDraggers.com Yamaha R6. New Englanders Jeff Wood and Scott Greenwood rounded out the top three finishers on a pair of Suzukis. The hard luck rider of the day was Sebastian, Florida’s Mike Ciccotto. Ciccotto battled Wood for second, but as the duo sped down the DIS trioval, Ciccotto’s Buell sputtered and lost power. He coasted across the finish line in fourth.

The race was held on a drying track after morning rains.

“I didn’t know how this race was going to start out because of the weather,” said Wait, a former Moto Grand Prix rider from Lodi, Calif. “but we prevailed and everything came out all right. I basically set my own pace and rode a calm race. I had a little challenge at the beginning and then just put my head down and pulled away. We decided about a minute before the race that DOTs (tires) would be the way to go since the track was drying out.”

Later in the day Wait came back to win the Formula USA SuperBike race.

It was a Buell sweep in the Thunderbike final. Buell racing veteran David Estok, from nearby New Smyrna Beach, held on for the win despite the fact that his bike was losing power and began leaking oil late in the race. Estok held off Daytona Beach native Richie Morris to win the shortened event. The race was called with eight of 10 laps complete due to oil on the circuit. Estok has been racing Buells for seven years and was the winner of the very first Buell event at Daytona in 1996.

American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association takes to the track tomorrow for two days of classic cycle racing. AMA Pro Road Racing starts Wednesday. Tickets for any of the Speedway events are available online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway ticket office at (386) 253-7223.


Sunday’s Results:
Thunderbike: 1. Dave Estok, New Smyrna Beach, Fla, Buell; 2.Joseph Rozynski, Newton, NJ, Buell; 3. Richie Morris, Elkhart Lake, WI, Buell.
Expert Unlimited Grand Prix: 1. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla, Suzuki; 2. Brian Stokes, Kingston, GA, Suzuki; 3. Geoff May, Alpharetta, GA, Suzuki.
USGPRU 125 GP Final: 1. Brian Kcraget, Danville, VA, Honda; 2. Stewart Aitken-Cade, Mt. View, CA, Honda; 3. Scott Jackson, Honda.
Sportbike: 1. Matt Waite, Lodi, CA, Yamaha; 2. Jeff Wood, Mansfield, Mass., Suzuki; 3. Scott Greenwood, Dunbarton, NH, Suzuki.
Amateur Unlimited Grand Prix: 1. William Meyers II, Jacksonville, Fla., Kawasaki; 2. David Loikits, Northhampton, PA., Suzuki; 3. Brian Shaw, Miami, Fla., Suzuki.
Formula USA SuperBike: 1. Matt Wait, Lodi, CA., Yamaha; 2. Scott Harwell, Lincolnton, NC, Suzuki; 3. Craig Connell, Cresson, TX., UNK.