Superbike Double-Header at Road America, June 4-5 At Road America, as always, the yearly AMA Superbike races were a dramatic, frantic, frenetic hodgepodge of thrills, with the Hotbodies Racing Honda Team riders mixing it up in multiple classes and weather conditions. Formula Xtreme and Race One of Superbike were run in the rain, with the Superbike race being shortened to eight laps due to a red flag. Race Two in Superbike was run in the dry but was restarted due to an early red flag. Larry Pegram, #72 On the ultra-fast, four-mile Road America circuit, Larry Pegram qualified his Hotbodies Racing Honda HRC-kitted CBR1000RR on row three, in tenth position, for the weekend’s two Superbike races. In the rain-shortened Race One, Pegram finished eighth. In Race Two, a mechanical problem took Pegram out of the top 25. Pegram said, “Practice and qualifying were good and we were quickly in the top ten with our times. We did the qualifying on race tires, rather than a qualifier, so I was confident for the race. And then it rained. We didn’t have the bike set up as well as I’d like for the rain, but everyone else was crashing so we ended up eighth. We were sixth when the red flag came out, but backing the race up a lap put us back in eighth. Road America has some slippery spots but those same tar strips have been there for years. Two years ago when we raced there I was third in the rain.” In Race Two on Sunday, Pegram’s weekend came to an end three laps too soon, when a bike problem caused him to pull out of the event. Pegram was officially credited with 26th and is now 12th in the points for the season. “On Sunday’s first start I got away well. But in the second start Yates missed a shift right in front of me and I rear-ended him. That dropped me way back. Late in the race we had a tire issue and my race was done. But I like Road America. It’s a real race track, it’s high speed, it’s what roadracing is all about.” Jeremy Toye, #57 For Road America, Hotbodies Racing Honda rider Jeremy Toye qualified his somewhat-partially HRC-kitted CBR1000RR in 29th, after completing 12 laps of the circuit in two days. And then wet or dry, Toye ripped his way through the grid to finish 17th on Saturday and 15th on Sunday. We attribute the following as generally coming from the mouth of Toye. “We had a pretty eventful weekend. We showed up at promoter practice with high hopes because we’d just built a new motor. It started to smoke on the first lap. The “people” who did the pistons made a ring wrong and we never checked it. That night the guys at Erion were righteous enough to hook us up with some pistons and totally save my ass. But we only had HRC-kit head gaskets. I did three laps and it started spraying water in my face. We had an hour before qualifying and no time so we put on new tires. The bike was handling badly and pissing water so I went and qualified. After that Erion gave us a head gasket because they’re cool. We put it on and then I could think about how to ride a motorcycle. “Race One was kind of fun in the rain. Being from California, I don’t get do that much. It’s totally out of control and your relying on nothing but”¦ well there is nothing to rely on. I think my motocross background helped. “We had one dry session Sunday morning and we actually had time to set up the bike. We made a couple changes and the bike was working well so I decided to stay in this state and do the next race. We got to the finish. It’s like all season we’re behind the gun and trying to catch a break. My guys did a great job. It showed in the race by how I was progressing. A new 2005 model of Toye will there for Laguna.” Justin Filice #170 Hotbodies Racing Honda rider Justin Filice qualified his Honda CBR600RR in 18th for Supersport, but had his race end prematurely due to rider error. You know, he fell. Filice said, “On the last lap I crashed in Canada Corner while running 13th. I went over the front and even though I got up and finished too many riders had gone by. Even so, I like this place. I like going fast and at this place you go fast a lot. My fall really hurt me in the points. I was happy it didn’t rain for Supersport because it was safer.” Filice was credited with 34th. In Formula Xtreme, Filice had his luck go the other way, qualifying 24th and finishing in the top ten. Filice said, “The bike’s set up was a little off. The front was chattering so we changed to a softer tire and I went 2.5 seconds faster in practice. But the race was in the rain and it was the first time I’d ever done that. So I went fast on the straights and super slow in the corners. There are really, really slippery patches. If you hit one you’ll be on your head before you know you crashed. I was scared going out there at first but then after our three laps of rain practice I felt better. After lap seven I caught Mike Hale and then he wicked it up. I wasn’t expecting to do so well after qualifying and I was actually hoping for a dry race. My dirt tracking skills really helped me I was sideways and the bike and I were going in two different directions at one point.” With his 10th-place finish Filice is now 13th in Formula Xtreme points. More, from a press release issued by Team Hotbodies Racing: Cory West #187 Cory West, as we’re wont to often remind you is the 2004 Superbike Rookie of the Year, qualified 20th for the Road America double header, finishing Race One and Two 33rd and 12th, respectively. West said, “We had a rough weekend. We blew both of our motors in promoter’s practice. Then on Friday the bike oiled me down on my fast lap. I pulled in and saved the engine. But by Saturday I’d dropped a second off my times. I never had a clean lap until then and everything was good and I put my head down. In Race One I crashed on the warm up lap. I was able to get to the grid and I started even though I didn’t have a right foot peg. After a few laps of that in the rain I couldn’t continue so I came in. “In Race I had a really good start. I took off with some fast guys but then ran off at Canada Corner. Then I passed some more and ran off again a few laps later. Then I made sure I didn’t make that mistake again. I caught some more guys; I think some of them ran out of gas. “This year there were lots of spectators. It’s fun seeing all of them around the track. The track is one of a kind. There’s no other place where you can hold it wide open in top gear for so long. And this track has three of those places.” West is now 16th in Superbike points. Keith Marshall #292 Hotbodies Racing Team member Keith Marshall qualified his Suzuki GSX-R600 in 27th for Supersport, and finished a nicely-improved 18th. Marshall said, “This was my first time at this track so it went bad as far as I’m concerned. It’s a real horsepower track and the Suzuki 600 is down on it. And with four miles a lap there’s a lot to learn and not much time to learn it. I had only eight laps for practice before qualifying. Mike Fitzgerald set up the bike real good for me though. “On the start the green went so fast everyone was caught off guard. As we came up to turn one I just kept going. Everyone seemed to check up. I think I went into one in 30th and came out of turn three in 15th. But in the race some guys held me back. It was hard, these guys were getting a draft on me so I had to keep shutting the door and driving as hard as possible on the brakes. Some riders were slow in the turns but their bikes were faster.” Marshall, who is only doing selected AMA events, will be competing at Mid-Ohio in July. Giovani Rojas #50 Now in his second partial year in the AMA Superbike series, Hotbodies Racing Team rider Giovani Rojas qualified his motorcycle in 17th for Supersport and finished a position of slight-improvement at 16th. At press time, Rojas had nothing to say about his weekend. Nicky Moore #28 Hotbodies Racing Team member Nicky Moore did not compete at Road America due to convalescing needs of his injuries suffered at Barber Motorsports Park. That Moore competed in three race weekends since Barber is not confusing to those who understand racers. Despite his non-appearance, Moore is ranked seventh for the season in Formula Xtreme points. Moore is expected to be ready to race by the next event at Laguna Seca. Taylor Knapp #38 In Formula Xtreme, Taylor Knapp qualified his Yamaha YZF-R6 in 16th, but ended up 30th in the race, after completing three laps. Knapp said, “I like the track. I was there a long time ago on a 125, so I knew my way around. I like the high speed and everything went good in practice. I was trying to get into the fast group for qualifying but was again the fastest rider in the slower group. But in qualifying I managed to be faster than some in the fast group. It started raining in the race and I crashed in turn 5. I think I hit a tar strip; the bike came around fast. In the crash it blew a fuss and wouldn’t start. I was trying to get up and go.” Knapp is 8th in Formula Xtreme points. In Supersport, on his other Yamaha R6, Knapp qualified 20th and finished the race a much more happy-making 15th. Knapp said, “I was in the fast group for Supersport qualifying and was towed and made it to row five. But in the race we made a wrong choice on gearing. It was geared to low and in the draft it was revving out so we were about a tooth off.” More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: BOSTROM FINISHES A HARD FOUGHT FOURTH AT ROAD AMERICA Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin (June 5) – Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom fought for the podium on Sunday at Elkhart Lake Wisconsin, finishing just short of making it as he finished fourth on his Ducati 999. Bostrom was a part of a three rider scrap for second but caught some bad breaks with lapped traffic and was unable to make a last lap pass for position on Road America’s long straight as he had planned. Saturday’s race winner Neil Hodgson was 19th after a mechanical problem. “We’re pretty happy with the direction things went,” said Bostrom. “We had better entry grip than we ever had before on the 999. We struggled some with gearing, but overall the bike went well at Elkhart. The second split was our best all weekend and that had been where we were hurting, in the turns. Now it’s our strong point.” Eric diced for second place and was in sight of the position, but ended up fourth after having a rougher time through the backmarkers than his rivals. “There was a shake-up between two riders in front of me, so there was an opportunity to make up some ground,” said Bostrom, the winner at Pikes Peak last month. “To work so hard for it and have the opportunity disappear was frustrating. When we went into turn 11, I was right on their heels. I was basically in position to make a move in the last turn.” While Bostrom could have benefited with one more lap in the race, Neil Hodgson would have liked one fewer. “Unfortunately, a belt broke on Neil’s bike today,” said team engineer Luca Ferraccioli. Hodsgon could not finish the 16th and final lap of the race after running behind Bostrom for most of the event. “I only had a quarter of a lap to go,” said a frustrated Hodsgson, clearly wanting to back up his Saturday win with another good finish. “After yesterday, I was so pleased to win and wanted to have another good day today, but the race was disappointing. I was pretty much near the limit in the race.” Hodgson is still in fourth place in AMA Superbike points. Still, the weekend will be remembered for Hodgson’s first AMA victory. Hodgson is the only man in the modern era to win in AMA Superbike, British Superbike, and World Superbike. The team will next race at Laguna Seca Raceway at the combined MotoGP/AMA weekend on July 8-10. Race results – 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki), 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki), 3. Jake Zemke (Honda), 4. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999), 5. Aaron Yates (Suzuki), 6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki), 19th NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) AMA Superbike Points (After 10 of 17 races) – 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 325, 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 300, 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 265, 4. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 249, 5. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 231, 6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 204 More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY AND BARNES ON THE PODIUM IN ELKHART LAKE Team M4 EMGO Suzuki concluded the Road America weekend with another tremendous performance on Sunday. One day after Mike Barnes claimed a podium finish in the Formula Xtreme race at Elkhart Lake, WI, his teammate Geoff May finished as the runner-up in the 60k Superstock final. The two were both major players aboard their Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000s Sunday, with Barnes leading the race’s opening laps and May sweeping by to hold down the top position for the next portion of the exciting race. Once out in front, the Georgian fought to break away for the win but ended up second after a final-lap clash for victory. May was pushed back to second early on the last lap and unfortunately his hope to draft back by for the win was foiled when he just ran out of time. He explained after coming up less than a second short of the top spot on the box, “I made some time in Canada Corner, and I made some more time up in the back section, but there wasn’t enough real estate left to get the draft.” Afterwards, he spoke of his podium finish. “It’s great. I could never imagine what it would be like. It’s a lot different than winning club races — this is the show. I was racing for the lead with guys I remember watching when I was in high school.” After leading early, Barnes picked up a solid sixth-place finish in his second Superstock ride of the season with Team M4 EMGO Suzuki filling in for Vincent Haskovec. The Floridian almost joined May on the podium, finishing just 1.164 seconds off of third place. May also enjoyed a fine ride in the Supersport contest. He piloted his GSX-R600 to sixth place, his best result of the season, to conclude the successful Road America weekend for the team. May and Barnes will next race with the M4 EMGO Suzuki team at Laguna Seca on July 8-10.
