Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Matt Wait, Eric Wood, Scott Greenwood and Dave Estok each won a Formula USA National race Sunday at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas.
Wait and Greenwood waged a hard-fought Yamaha-versus-Yamaha war for 23 laps of the 29-lap Sportbike feature event. Each rider led and each admitted to making mistakes during the race, but Greenwood’s mistake came last, leaving him with no time to recover.
Kneedraggers.com Yamaha’s Wait won by 2.6 seconds over Argo Cycles/Bettencourts’ Greenwood. Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Mike Ciccotto scored his first-ever F-USA Sportbike podium on the Buell Firebolt XB9R with third. Nate “Gator” Wait held off 4&6 Racing’s Larry Denning, Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell and Hooters Suzuki’s Michael Himmelsbach for fourth. Young Nicky Cummings finished eighth in the Sportbike road race after placing third in the F-USA Pro Singles dirt track race Saturday night at Heartland Park’s dirt venue. Harwell’s teammate Dave Stanton and Dave Rosno rounded out the top 10 in the final results.
Wait and Greenwood looked set for a re-match in the 15-lap Superbike race, but Wait’s Yamaha YZF-R6 shut off on the third lap due to electrical problems. Wait’s DNF opened the door for Greenwood (who was riding his new 2003-model Yamaha YZF-R6 for the first weekend) to take the win by a huge margin.
Harwell, who rode a Suzuki GSX-R600 Superbike fitted with 16.5-inch Pirelli slicks, and Denning, on a DOT-shod, Sportbike-spec Yamaha YZF-R6, raced for second. Harwell looked to have a horsepower advantage, but Heartland Park local Denning looked to have more track knowledge. On lap 12 of 15, Harwell snuck past a lapper in the chicane. Denning also tried to squeeze by, didn’t make it and crashed out. Denning was not injured.
Harwell took second by six seconds over his teammate Dave Stanton, who rode his Sportbike-spec GSX-R600 fitted with 16.5-inch Pirelli slicks. Himmelsbach took fourth.
After suffering a mechanical DNF in the Sportbike race, Bettencourt/Argo Cycles’ Jeff Wood pushed too hard on his back-up Honda CBR600RR in the Superbike race and crashed in the final corner on lap five. Jeff Wood was able to re-mount, re-join the race and worked his way back up to fifth in the remaining 10 laps.
Estok started the 15-lap Thunderbike final from pole position on his Kosco Harley-Davidson/Buell Firebolt XB9R, grabbed the holeshot, built an instant lead over Ciccotto, Dan Bilansky and Bryan Bemiderfer and ran away to a convincing win.
Bilansky rode well enough to cross the finish line in second place but was found to be 0.1-horsepower over his allowable amount in post-race checks. Bilansky was docked three finishing positions to fifth. Ciccotto, who rode a XB9R Buell Firebolt fitted with development chassis parts, was scored second ahead of Harding Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Bemisderfer.
Ed Key, winner of the Thunderbike race at Mid-America in May, DNF with mechanical problems on his Suzuki SV650.
Riding with broken bones in both feet and ankles, Barden Bearings’ Eric Wood had his hands full with Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Denning in the 15-lap Expert Unlimited Grand Prix. But two laps after losing a knee slider, Denning lost the front and crashed in the final corner.
Eric Wood cruised home to the win and clinched at least a tie in the Expert Unlimited Grand Prix Championship. Daniel Doty and Jason Swan finished second and third, respectively.
Sunday Formula USA Race Results:
Sportbike:
1. Matt Wait (Yam YZF-R6), 29 laps
2. Scott Greenwood (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Mike Ciccotto (Buell XB9R)
4. Nate Wait (Kaw ZX-6R)
5. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R1)
6. Scott Harwell (Suz GSX-R600)
7. Michael Himmelsbach (Suz GSX-R600)
8. Nicky Cummings (Hon CBR600RR)
9. Dave Stanton (Suz GSX-R600)
10. Dave Rosno (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap
11. Kevin Gordon (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap
12. Jason Smith (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps, crash
13. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB-9R), -2 laps
14. Logan Myers (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps
15. Michael Shaun Fields (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, DNF, crash
16. Jamie Thompson (Yam YZF-R6), -10 laps, DNF
17. Scott Stevens (Suz GSX-R600), -16 laps, DNF
18. Rob Pearson (Kaw ZX-6R), -18 laps, DNF
19. Des Conboy (Suz GSX-R600), -22 laps, DNF
20. Boyd Hedstrom (Kaw ZX-6), -22 laps, DNF
21. Jeff Wood (Hon CBR600RR), -27 laps, DNF, mechanical
Superbike:
1. Scott Greenwood (Yam YZF-R6), 15 laps
2. Scott Harwell (Suz GSX-R600)
3. Dave Stanton (Suz GSX-R600)
4. Michael Himmelsbach (Suz GSX-R600)
5. Jeff Wood (Hon CBR600RR), crash
6. Michael Shaun Fields (Yam YZF-R6)
7. Dave Rosno (Yam YZF-R6)
8. Des Conboy (Suz GSX-R600)
9. Logan Myers (Yam YZF-R6)
10. Kevin Gordon (Suz GSX-R600)
11. Walt Sipp (Buell 1200), -1 lap
12. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R6), -4 laps, DNF, crash
13. Matt Wait (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical
Thunderbike:
1. Dave Estok (Buell XB9R), 15 laps
2. Mike Ciccotto (Buell XB9R)
3. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB9R)
4. Darren James (Buell XB9R)
5. Dan Bilansky (Buell XB9R)
6. Walt Sipp (Buell 1200)
7. Joseph Rozynski (Buell 1200)
8. Brian Lacy (Suz SV650)
9. Ray Bowman (Suz GSX-R750)
10. Keith Brewer (Hon CBR600)
11. Steve Haesemeyer (Hon CBR600), -1 lap
12. Greg Avello (Buell XB9R), -1 lap
13. Rhiannon Lucente (Hon CBR600), -1 lap
14. Ed Key (Suz SV650), -4 laps, DNF, mechanical
15. Richie Morris (Buell 1200), -9 laps, DNF, retired
16. Jeff Harding (Buell XB9R), -10 laps, DNF, crash
17. Jeff Johnson (Buell 1200), -11 laps, DNF, mechanical
18. Steve Kessenich (Suz GSX-R750), -12 laps, DNF
Expert Unlimited Grand Prix:
1. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R750), 15 laps
2. Daniel Doty (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Jason Swan (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Matt Malterer (Suz GSX-R750)
5. Tom Bibeau (Suz GSX-R600)
6. Larry Denning (Yam YZF-R1), -7 laps, DNF, crash
7. Kevin Gordon (Suz GSX-R750), -10 laps, DNF
Amateur Unlimited Grand Prix:
1. Jason Peterson (Yam YZF-R6), 15 laps
2. Brian Johnson (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Michael Shallcross (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Robert Collins (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Henry Chin (Suz GSX-R1000)
6. Ryan Sohn
7. Jason Lewis (Hon CBR600)
8. John Roop (Suz GSX-R600)
9. Rob Dearden (Suz GSX-R600)
10. Robert Oliva (Hon CBR600)
11. Scott White (Yam YZF-R6)
12. Chris Chase (Hon CBR600), -2 laps
13. Alfredo Cantu, Jr. (Suz GSX-R600), -6 laps
14. Jeffrey Permanian (Hon CBR600), -8 laps
15. J.J. Zehr (Suz GSX-R600), -12 laps
Sportbike Point Standings:
1. Greenwood, 102 points
2. Jeff Wood, 97 points
3. Matt Wait, 88 points
4. Conboy, 52 points
5. Nate Wait, 46 points
6. Stanton, 40 points
7. Harwell, 30 points
8. Robert Jensen/Lee Acree, TIE, 26 points
10. Himmelsbach, 25 points
Superbike Point Standings:
1. Harwell, 81 points
2. Jeff Wood, 74 points
3. Greenwood, 71 points
4. Matt Wait, 68 points
5. Conboy, 46 points
6. Himmelsbach, 37 points
7. Stanton, 35 points
8. Lee Acree, 28 points
9. Fields/Robert Jensen, TIE, 20 points
Thunderbike Point Standings:
1. Estok, 93 points
2. Bemisderfer, 60 points
3. Bilansky, 52 points
4. Joseph Rozynski, 45 points
5. Arthur Wagner, Jr., 39 points
6. Keyes, 31 points
7. Bowman, 30 points
8. Johnson/Key, 27 points
10. Sipp, 26 points
Expert Unlimited Grand Prix Point Standings:
1. Eric Wood, 78 points
2. Michael Barnes/Robert Jensen/Alex Barrera, TIE, 26 points
5. Gordon/Arthur Wagner, Jr., TIE, 25 points
7. Malterer/Swan/John McGarity, TIE, 24 points
Amateur Unlimited Grand Prix Point Standings:
1. Hector Jimenez, 56 points
2. Shallcross/Chin/William Meyers, II, TIE, 37 points
5. Collins, 29 points
6. Peterson/Mark Nelson/Kevin Ruopp, TIE, 25 points
9. Lewis, 23 points
10. Johnson/David Loikits/J. Michael Branson, TIE, 20 points