Updated Post: Duhamel Beats Zemke In Fierce AMA FX Battle, Tightens Championship At VIR

Updated Post: Duhamel Beats Zemke In Fierce AMA FX Battle, Tightens Championship At VIR

© 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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Provisional AMA Formula Xtreme Race Results: 1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 17 laps 2. Jake Zemke, Honda, -1.135 seconds 3. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, -25.162 seconds 4. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, -26.498 seconds 5. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -26.714 seconds 6. Chris “Opie” Caylor, Suzuki, -49.065 seconds 7. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, -64.679 seconds 8. Ryan Andrews, Ducati, -66.962 seconds 9. Mike Hale, Honda, -69.081 seconds 10. Trey Yonce, Yamaha, -73.084 seconds 11. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, -79.882 seconds 12. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, -1 lap 13. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, -1 lap 14. Alex Gobert, Honda, -1 lap 15. Justin Filice, Honda, -1 lap 16. Tim Rinaldi, Yamaha, -1 lap 17. Scott Harwood, Honda, -1 lap 18. Jeff Johnson, Buell, -1 lap 19. Lance Yeager, Kawasaki, -1 lap 20. Mark Kittel, Honda, -1 lap 21. Jessica Zalusky, Kawasaki, -2 laps 22. Robertino Pietri, Yamaha, -3 laps, DNF, crash 23. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, -6 laps, DNF 24. Chris Peris, Yamaha, -9 laps, DNF, crash 25. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF, crash 26. Shea Fouchek, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF 27. Mike Ciccotto, Buell, -11 laps, DNF 28. Walt Sipp, Buell, -17 laps, DNF More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: BARNES FIFTH IN VIR FORMULA XTREME Team M4 EMGO Suzuki put together a second consecutive solid day’s work at Virginia International Raceway on Saturday. Highlighting the afternoon were Michael Barnes and his battle for a podium position during a hard-fought Formula Xtreme race and Geoff May’s performance aboard his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000. After qualifying third fastest overall on Friday and starting from the front row in today’s 17-lap FX contest, Barnes diced with a determined pack of rivals over third place. When two of those in contention crashed out of the race, the Floridian looked in good shape to lock the spot up aboard his GSX-600. Unfortunately, a miscalculation in tire choice prevented him from claiming a spot on the podium. Barnes took the checkered flag in fifth, less than two seconds behind third. Team Crew Chief Keith Perry said, “Barney had a mixed bag today. He felt really good going into the FX race. I don’t know if it was just the difference from the morning to the afternoon, but we ran a tire we were really comfortable with but it turned out to be a little bit too soft for this particaular race. He really wanted to push and stay with the guys out front but he just couldn’t do it today.” In the day’s earlier Superstock qualifying session, May secured the sixth spot on the grid with a fast lap of 1:26.461. While an undeniably strong performance, the team is especially optimistic heading into Sunday’s 60k race knowing that it didn’t fully demonstrate how well May and his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 are performing this weekend. Barnes will line up a row behind May in the race, qualifying in ninth with a quick time of 1:27.078. Perry commented, “We practiced well and we qualified well. We’re really happy with Superstock qualifying because we were working on race set-up and were pretty much using that the whole time. Geoff has been toward the top of the charts a lot throughout the weekend and I see a lot of similarities to the Elkhart weekend where he earned his first podium. He’s got his confidence up and the bike working well. He didn’t qualify as well as he’d like — he’ll start on the second row — which is the same as Elkhart. I think he’ll have a good day tomorrow, I really do.” May also got in the top ten in Supersport qualifying. He was the second ranked Suzuki-mounted rider with a time of 1:28.484, good enough for the tenth slot on the grid. Sunday will round out the VIR weekend with races in Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock on the day’s schedule. More, from a press release issued by Team EMGO Taiwan Suzuki: Caylor unhappy with 6th at VIR FX Alton, VA ( 27 Aug, 05) Chris “Opie” Caylor’s strong 6th place finish in the Formula Xtreme race at VIR matched his highest finish this year. But Caylor and the rest of Team EMGO Taiwan were unsatisfied with the result and their missed chance at getting on the podium. “I should of finished further up,” said Caylor as he drove back to his home in Marietta, GA. “But the bike was chattering in the slower turns so hard that I could hardly see! We’d tested the week before at VIR and went into this weekend with a strong set-up. Huey (Caylor’s crew-chief) got rid of the rear chatter I was having during Friday practice by adjusting my Ohlins suspension. We had no issues during qualifying. The bike was strong and planted.” Caylor qualified his Suzuki GSX-R 600 7th on the same Dunlop tire compound he ran in the race. Changing track conditions during Saturday morning’s practice brought back the chatter the team thought they’d cured during qualifying. “It wasn’t as bad,” recalled Caylor. “And plus we thought we knew how to fix it. So we made the same adjustments we’d made the day before. What we didn’t take into account was how much more the track was going to continue to change before our race! Unbelievably what we were fighting was too much grip! Everyone prays for more grip and here we are with a tire that will go well beyond race distance and it’s literally sticking itself to the track in the turns. You have to be on your game with setup at VIR when conditions are changing. Knowing what we know now, we would of made some different decisions with compounds or tire pressures. Hey, a top 10 finish at this level of competition is something to be proud of but after being on the box in the past it’s hard to settle for anything less.” Caylor and Team EMGO Taiwan look forward to the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at their home track: Road Atlanta.

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