Tommy Hayden Wins Race, Hayes Wins AMA Supertock Championship At Barber

Tommy Hayden Wins Race, Hayes Wins AMA Supertock Championship At Barber

© 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Tommy Hayden won his fourth AMA Superstock race of the season Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park on his factory Kawasaki ZX-6R (636cc), but Josh Hayes won his first AMA Championship by finishing second in the final race of the season on his Attack Suzuki GSX-R750.

Hayden took the holeshot on the re-start and was never headed in his run to the checkered flag. Hayes was second and had fellow Suzuki rider Steve Rapp riding shotgun in third, but Rapp got bucked out of the seat with less than two laps to go and dropped back.

Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, who was running fifth in the first portion of the red-flagged race, charged forward into third on his factory Yamaha YZF-R6 and began to pressure Hayes. DiSalvo, however, could not pass Hayes and finished third, inches in front of Hooters Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec.

Rapp recovered quickly from his moment and took fifth.

Hayes won the AMA Superstock Championship by six points over Hayden, 332 to 326 points.

The race was stopped on lap 13 of 17 when Adam Fergusson crashed in turn seven and his machine was lying on the track.

AMA Superstock Race Results:

1. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 17 laps
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1.500 seconds
3. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, -1.567 seconds
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1.614 seconds
5. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2.363 seconds
6. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -3.120 seconds
7. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, -5.821 seconds
8. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, -6.049 seconds
9. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -8.280 seconds
10. James Ellison, Suzuki GSX-R750, -8.721 seconds
11. Brian Stokes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -9.577 seconds
12. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10.557 seconds
13. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6, -11.198 seconds
14. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, -13.007 seconds
15. Chris Peris, Honda CBR600RR, -14.851 seconds
16. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, -15.743 seconds
17. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, -15.919 seconds
18. J. J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, -18.881 seconds
19. Jason Peters, Suzuki GSX-R750, -19.409 seconds
20. David Weber, Suzuki GSX-R750, -20.654 seconds
21. Logan Young, Yamaha YZF-R6, -21.703 seconds
22. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R750, -24.134 seconds
23. Darin Edwards, Suzuki GSX-R750, -24.760 seconds
24. John McGarity, Suzuki GSX-R750, -25.258 seconds
25. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, -26.170 seconds
26. Heath Small, Yamaha YZF-R6, -29.695 seconds
27. James Stroud, Honda CBR600, -29.936 seconds
28. Chad Rolland, Suzuki GSX-R750, -31.853 seconds
29. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha YZF-R6, -32.782 seconds
30. Chuck Ivey, Suzuki GSX-R750, -33.858 seconds
31. Matt McBride, Kawasaki ZX-6, -34.173 seconds
32. Nathan Hester, Yamaha YZF-R6, -36.653 seconds
33. Eric Haugo, Suzuki GSX-R750, -38.387 seconds
34. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R750, -1 lap
35. Joseph Dawson, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
36. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R750, -2 laps
37. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, -3 laps, DNF, crash
38. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R750, -3 laps, DNF
39. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -5 laps, DNF, crash
40. Arash Hoshmandy, Suzuki GSX-R750, -5 laps, DNF
41. Travis King, Suzuki GSX-R750, -6 laps, DNF

Final AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings:

1. Hayes, 332 points
2. Tommy Hayden, 326 points
3. Haskovec, 306 points
4. Meiring, 272 points
5. Fergusson, 259 points
6. Rapp, 237 points
7. DiSalvo, 225 points
8. Caylor, 218 points
9. Haner, 209 points
10. Ciccotto, 200 points
11. Ulrich, 189 points
12. Roetlin, 149 points
13. Jimmy Moore, 142 points
14. Stokes, 136 points
15. Holden, 126 points
16. Toye, 108 points
17. Eric Wood, 98 points
18. Matt Furtek, 93 points
19. Peris/Wertman, TIE, 92 points


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HAS-SHOGUN RACING’S HANER FINISHES SEVENTH AT BARBER, NINTH IN POINTS FOR SEASON IN SUPERSTOCK

HAS/Shogun Racing rider John Haner finished seventh today at Barber Motorsports Park in the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race. The finish helped John lock down ninth place in season-ending points in the ultra-competitve Superstock class, in what is John’s and the team’s first full year of AMA Pro competition. John scored points in every race that he competed in, missing only the Brainerd round to have surgery to correct carpal tunnel syndrome in his right wrist. Haner started from tenth on the grid after Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.

John started strong, running fifth for the first three laps, before being passed under power, first by Jason Disalvo, then by Adam Fergusson and Chris “Opie” Caylor. John ran in a safe eighth place until Fergusson fell and brought out a red flag, setting up a five lap shootout. John got another good start and was able to hold off Caylor on the restart for seventh.

“It was a good year,” said John at the end of the day. “We made ten races out of 11, missed Brainerd because of the surgery, but we made points in every race we entered, and that was our goal. I learned all of the tracks, and I was competitive. We were down a little bit on horsepower to the top guys, but we battled every race and I rode as hard as I could ride for every lap of the races. I’m happy that we finished on a good note, another top ten finish, moved up to ninth in the points and didn’t crash one time in the races.”

“I’ve got to give credit to Lance Small (team owner), he put me in a position where I could have the time of my life,” said John. “Thanks to him, I never could have done it without him. I’ve been wanting to do this for the last couple of years, and he made it happen. Of course, I’ve got to thank Brooks Gremmels of Shogun and Steve Harvanek at Motion CycleSports, all my crew, Pirelli tires, Unleashed (clothing), everybody. It’s been an incredible year, and I’m looking forward to coming back next year on a 1000!”

John’s teammate Heath Small raced in the Superstock event as well on his Yamaha R6 in an effort to get more tracktime and testing done prior to the Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport race, finishing 26th. “We were a little further up before the red flag,” said Heath. “I got another bad start, two in a row. The tires were working good, we were working on the set-up for the race tire for tomorrow. The (Pirelli) blue won’t go the whole race, so we’re working on the set-up for the green.”

Look for Heath in tomorrow’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport race and for John in the Chevy Trucks Superbike event.


More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

Rapp Stalking Another Superstock Win–Until The Red Flag

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp concluded the 2003 Superstock season at Barber Motorsports Park with another top five finish on Saturday, but it could have been much more.

Rapp stalked the race leaders from a close distance for much of the race and made his move into the runner-up position on lap 11 of 17. Unfortunately, just as the two-time ’03 race winner was looking for a way past to claim his third victory of the year on the Michelin-shod GSX-R750, the race was red flagged on lap 14 due to a fallen bike that was laying on the track.

The race was restarted for a five-lap sprint race, and while the 30-year-old quickly moved back into the top three, he suffered a frightening near-highside and dropped a couple of positions in the process. A fantastic save allowed Rapp to hold on for his seventh top five Superstock result of the year.

“Obviously, we were going really well in the first part of the race,” said Rapp. “Perhaps if not for the red flag, we might have been able to win this thing. The Michelin tires were very good over long runs. In the second leg we were going well, too, but we had a little bad luck there. The electric shifter cut out and came back on when I was full throttle and almost threw me off. I don’t now how it looked on the monitors but it felt pretty spectacular.”

Despite not participating in three Superstock rounds, Rapp ended the season ranked sixth in the championship and proved his competitiveness as one of the best riders in the class. “We had a good year and I’d like to thank the team for working so hard. We’ve got some momentum and I can’t wait to prepare for next season,” Rapp said.

Meanwhile, Chris Ulrich ended his year with his ninth top-15 placing of the season. Unlike his more veteran teammate, Ulrich was able to capitalize on the restart, picking up three positions in the final four laps.

“We had a good race out there, scrapping with some of the same rivals we’ve had all year, then the shoulder started bothering me again after around nine laps,” Ulrich said. “After the re-start, I lost a couple of positions when another rider and I bumped, but it was a fun race.”

Ulrich finished his championship campaign just outside the top 10, in eleventh place despite being plagued with an injured shoulder the entire season.

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