From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
BOSTROM GAINS VALUABLE POINTS TO MOVE UP IN
OVERALL STANDINGS
Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom moved up two places in the overall standings with his seventh place finish in today’s Barber Motorsports Park Superbike race. Eric endured the Alabama heat and the tough track surface for the 28-lap, 100 kilometer final, which included a red-flagged segment that saw a complete restart. The 27-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada is now fifth overall in AMA Superbike points after this weekend.
“It was good to finish again but we need to pick things up to get where we should be,” said Eric. “Actually, our best time today was faster by about six-tenths of a second per lap than yesterday. We’re still working on getting things the way they need to be. We’ve improved our lap times over the last two days to get to a point where things are better, but our rivals aren’t exactly sitting still while we play catch up.”
Race manager Tom Bodenbach commented, “Even though our position wasn’t as good as it was in the Saturday race, Eric’s lap times were better. That’s encouraging. Eric is working hard, the team is working hard, and Michelin is working hard. We still have a lot further to go but we will keep our focus. Our goal is to get back on the podium as soon as possible.”
Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado hosts the next AMA Superbike Championship round on May 23. Eric has won four of the seven previous Pikes Peak Superbike races.
RACE 1: 1. Mladin (Suzuki); 2. Zemke (Honda); 3. Duhamel (Honda); 4. E. Bostrom (Ducati); 5. Hayes (Kawasaki); 6. Haner (Suzuki); etc. RACE 2: 1. Duhamel (Honda); 2. Zemke (Honda); 3. Mladin (Suzuki); 4. Yates (Suzuki); 5. B. Bostrom (Honda); 6. Hayes (Kawasaki); 7. E. Bostrom (Ducati); etc.
POINTS: 1. Mladin 243; 2. Duhamel 218; 3. Zemke 216; 4. May 154; 5. E. Bostrom 147; 6. Acree 136; etc.
More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:
RAPP FIFTH IN SUPERSPORT AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp ended the team’s weekend at Barber Motorsports Park on a high note Sunday, claiming a pair of impressive results at the picturesque Alabama track just outside of Birmingham.
The 30-year-old earned a top five finish in the highly-competitive Supersport final aboard his GSX-R600. Rapp ran with the lead group for much of the 17-lap contest held in hot but overcast weather and crossed the line in fifth as the top Suzuki-mounted rider, ahead of the manufacturer’s official entries.
“It was a really good day for me out there in the Supersport race,” said Rapp. “We were a very competitive fifth place. After a tough weekend for us at Sears Point, I thought we really showed what we could do here at Barber, being on top of the charts in a couple of practices and running strongly in the race. This is more like it. Of course our goal is to win or get on the podium, but we also try to get it up there and finish in front of the factory boys, and that is what we did today.”
Just an hour earlier, the Californian piloted his Michelin-shod GSX-R750 to sixth in the hard-fought Superstock class, again ranked as the top man on a Suzuki and in front of several factory riders on 1000cc bikes.
“The Superstock race was a nice result. We were running right with the leaders in the beginning but there was a crash right in front of me and I ended up losing the lead pack,” Steve said.
“Everything seems to be coming along nicely, and I’m looking forward to Pikes Peak next weekend. Being able to test really seems to bring out the best in us,” said Rapp.
Rapp’s teammates, Vincent Haskovec and Chris Peris, had less fortunate outings.
Haskovec, who was especially motivated to do well in Superstock after seeing a possible win escape him when his tire went off in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race, was taken out in an opening lap incident during the Superstock final in the 2.3-mile circuit’s Turn 4.
“It’s too bad,” he remarked. “I just got pinched off going into the corner and had nowhere to go.”
Youngster Peris crashed out of the Supersport race while running just outside the top 10 with less than two laps remaining.
“I had hooked up with a couple of other riders and we were running consistent laps. I got into a little ‘tankslapper’ in turn six and ended up in the gravel trap,” said Peris.
Valvoline EMGO Suzuki will race next weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado.
More, from a press release issued by Proforma:
GEOFF MAY PLUGS AWAY AT BARBER AMA NATIONAL
Geoff May got two more solid finishes today in the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Series event at Barber Motorsports Park. In the Repsol Superstock Final, Geoff was taken out in turn four by another rider’s crashing motorcycle, causing Geoff to crash Unhurt. He re-mounted in last place and was able to finish 13th before the laps ran out. In the Cherolet Superbike final, Geoff had a race-long battle with Jeremy Toye, while also battling traction issues.
Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 13th Place
“I just tried to get as many points as I could after the incident at Sonoma,” said Geoff, regarding his mindset after being taken out on the first lap in turn four. “I was so mad. I just picked the bike up and got going and checked everything out as I was going down the straight. I think that’s the hardest I’ve ever ridden for that long. I think it slowed me down, it probably wasn’t the fastest way about it. My front tire got a little greasy, but the rear hung in there.” Geoff is currently 14th in points after four Repsol Superstock races.
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 9th Place
“I got a little lost, trying to get that bigger rear to work,” May said, referring to a new larger, taller Pirelli 16.5″ rear tire he was using. “That was probably one of the best races I’ve ever had, it was a lot of fun racing with Jeremy. Six top tens in a row, not bad. Plus, Eric (Bostrom) only closed on me a couple of points.” May continues to hold down fourth place in Chevrolet Superbike points after seven races.
More, from another press release issued by Proforma:
ACREE AND CAYLOR REBOUND TO BETTER FINISHES AT BARBER
After a dreadful day on Saturday, Lee Acree and Opie Caylor reworked the set-ups on their Suzuki GSX-Rs and rebounded with better finishes on a warm and sunny day at round four of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Barber Motorsports Park.
Lee Acree
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 11th place
Lee spent most of his time racing with young riders Jason Perez and Blake Young. “It wasn’t too bad racing with those guys,” said Lee. “Some places they seemd fearless, some places they didn’t. I think having Nicky Moore pile it in one section got their attention, because they were much slower in that section than I anticipated. The tires worked well today, but the rear started spinning fairly early. I tried to settle in, and those guys were running a comfortable pace, it was a fun race, they all rode real well.”
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 14th Place
“The pace was faster than yesterday,” said Lee, who ended up racing with teammate Opie Caylor and Byron Barbour for the full 28 laps. “Certainly the last half was quite a bit faster. We chose a little bit harder compound on both ends, compared to Opie. I couldn’t drive off of the corners as well, but I also couldn’t go in as deep on the brakes. I got caught up the usual turn one melee, so I don’t think I ended up any better after the red flag.” Lee almost got passed by Opie at the checkered flag. “I couldn’t get a good run out of that last corner,” said Lee. “I was pretty sure it was Opie, but I was just hoping he was in the same boat (traction wise) as I was.” Acree dropped to sixth place in Chevrolet Superbike points after this weekend.
Opie Caylor
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 15 Place
“A much better day!,” said Opie. “I had Lee set up on the last lap. I actually had a better shot at him on the last lap, but we encountered some lappers. I closed on him going into (turn) five. I just altered my line a little bit and tried to square it up. I got up beside him and it was so close I didn’t know which of us got it. I can’t say enough about Pirelli, what those guys did to get us so much further forward today. It was probably the best race I’ve had all year.”
More, from another press release issued by Proforma:
JOHN HANER RIDES TO FINE FINISHES AT BARBER AMA NATIONAL
Hooters Suzuki’s John Haner rode his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 to excellent finishes in both Chevrolet Superbike events, and overcame a technical problem in the Repsol Superstock final to earn more points, all at round four of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park.
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 6th Place
Haner got a great start and ran with the race leaders early on, settling into sixth place chasing Eric Bostrom and Josh Hayes. “It was Eric, Josh and myself,” said John. “Josh got around Eric, and it stayed like that for a lot of laps. About the thirteenth lap, they started to move out. I felt good about the race, I didn’t get tired. That was a good race.” Haner had suffered through a chronic misfire throughout practice and qualifying. His crew could not isolate the problem, finally replacing the entire wiring harness and all of the electrical components on the machine. “They ended up putting everything on the bike, all new stuff,” Haner said. “They changed everything electrical, even stuff inside the engine.”
Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 22nd Place
“We had electrical issues again,” said John. “It was the Power Commander. On the first lap, I got hit by Vincent or somebody. A couple people might of gone down, and I was pushed really wide. I was able to run there in 10th or 11th, but the bike died like three times in the first two laps. I came in and just told them to unplug the Power Commander. I think we went down a couple of laps. I was just so frustrated because I could run the times and I wanted to be the first Suzuki.” Haner is tied with Alex Gobert for 11th place in points after this event.
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 8th Place
John got two excellent starts in the red flag-interrupted race. “I could have gone to second and pushed Josh wide,” joked John about his second start where he ran in thrid place for nearly the entire first lap. “I was thinkin’ ‘Third’s good!’. I went around the outside of people, I just stayed on the gas. I was giving them room, I wasn’t gonna run it in and screw the race up. I just settled into a pace, I was just keepin’ that gap back to (Geoff) May and (Jeremy) Toye at three to four seconds.” Haner moves up to seventh in AMA Chevrolet Superbike points after this weekend.
More, from still another press release issued by Proforma:
ESLICK AND HIGBEE COME TO GRIPS AT BARBER
Millennium Technologies Suzuki teammates Danny Eslick and Shawn Higbee both suffered with traction and grip problems, as most of the riders and teams did throughout the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, round four of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship.
Danny Eslick
Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 12th Place
“I ran off the track on the first lap,” said Eslick, who had qualified in 12th for the final event. “A couple of guys got around me, but I passed them back going into (turn) four. It was me and Barney (Michael Barnes), and I got around him into tenth place. I put my head down and tried to get away, but I burned the front tire up, both sides. We kinda gambled with the suspension, but we’ll fix it and make it better for tomorrow.”
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 18th Place
“We changed the set-up on the bike,” said Danny, the 17-year-old disappointed to not do better in the race. “Today we were lacking rear grip. At the start a couple of guys got by me, and I think the only pass I made was on Michael Sanchez. I was just struggling. I was being patient, but I just couldn’t move forward.”
Shawn Higbee
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place
“We were concerned with our front tire wear, and were thinking we were going to have to make a pit stop around lap 14,” Higbee said. “Our other alternative was to kinda back off the pace and we figured out what pace we would have to slow down to and still be faster than a pit stop. It turned out we ran low 30s most of the race, which was a lot faster than we thought were were gonna be able to run. It’s hard to go slow, though. You think it’s hard to go fast, I think it’s equally hard to go slow.”
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 11th Place
Shawn got a good first start, and was determined to move around fellow Suzuki rider Eric Wood. “The first go-around, I got up inside of Eric going into turn two, and I was as high as ninth at one point,” said Shawn. “Then the red flag cam out and the second start I didn’t do as good a job. Eric forced his way in and just about took out Mladin, myself and one other guy, and went off into the grass. Two laps later, he crashed in turn 12. After that, I was able to concentrate on my riding again.”
More, from yet another press release issued by Proforma:
HEATH SMALL HAS UP AND DOWN WEEKEND AT BARBER
HAS/Shogun Racing rider Heath Small had a good finish in Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme on Saturday, but ended his weekend with a crash in Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport event. Heath was unhurt after rolling head-on into the soft barriers beyond the gravel trap, but was unable to continue due to damage to the front brake system.
In the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final, Heath finished 13th after recovering from a poor start. “I was having some traction issues with the rear, but I worked around it and picked off a few people,” said Heath. “Nicky Moore and I were catching Danny (Eslick), Nicky got around him but I ran out of time.”
In Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport final, Heath was pushed wide entering turn four, ran up on the curbing and could not get the bike stopped. He ran through the gravel trap and hit the inflatable barrier beyond it. “I couldn’t get the thing stopped,” said Heath. “I was ripping through the gravel and just plowed head-on into the Airfence. I went over the bars. I wasn’t hurt, so me and the cornerworkers dragged the bike out, but the front master cyclinder was broken.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:
Temperature: 28 degrees C
Weather: Hot, humid
Crowd: 21,000
Hondas dominate Honda Superbike Classic
Hondas dominated the podiums at the Honda Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, with American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel winning a Superbike race over Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke on Sunday, while Zemke got his turn with a hard-fought win in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race.
Hondas led every lap of Sunday’s Superbike race, American Honda’s Ben Bostrom for the first three laps, then Zemke from laps four to 26. Zemke’s lead gradually dwindled as he encountered lapped traffic, allowing Duhamel to make one of his patented late race moves. Two laps from the end, Duhamel slipped past Zemke in the penultimate corner of the tortuous track, then sped to victory by 0.377 seconds. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin, winner of Saturday’s Superbike race, was third. Bostrom slipped to fifth after losing concentration and making a mental error on the white flag lap.
“I’m just ecstatic,” a sweat-drenched Duhamel said. “It’s definitely one of the wins that I put in my book as one of the good ones.”
Prior to the Barber weekend, Zemke had finished second to his senior teammate three races in a row. That all changed in the Formula Xtreme race when he pipped Duhamel at the line by 0.011 seconds, his win ending Duhamel’s perfect season. Erion Honda’s Alex Gobert made it an all-Honda podium.
“You can’t always win them all,” a subdued Duhamel said after the race. “I’m real happy. My guys gave me a great bike.” The win allowed Zemke to close within 11 points of Duhamel in the championship. After four of 11 rounds, he trails 132 to 143.
Hondas led 24 of the 28 laps in Saturday’s race, again with Ben Bostrom out front early followed by Zemke. Bostrom’s front tire washed out on the fourth lap, putting him out of the race and handing the lead to Zemke for the next seven laps. Mladin led laps 11 through 13, then it was Zemke again to the final lap, losing out when Mladin sped by on the run to the flag. The margin of victory was 0.011 seconds. Duhamel came third.
Hondas hold strong positions in the points with Duhamel second, two points in front of Zemke.
Miguel Duhamel, Sunday, First Place
Any of these guys easily could have won. My hats off to Jake (Zemke). My hat’s off to Mat (Mladin). The track being as hot as it was, you just couldn’t afford to make a mistake. It was quite a handful. The surface at Barber is different than we see anywhere else. Mat rides really hard and he’s a tough guy to get by. My bike worked terrific, my Dunlops worked terrific. And I was able to squirt by. I had more power. I had more grip. It was a hard fight. From my start I had to get through everybody, all the top guys. Once I passed Mat my focus was on wining. I felt I was riding strong enough to where I didn’t think I had any weaknesses.
Jake Zemke, Sunday, Second Place
Every time I’d hit a lapper it’d cost me a second and a half a lap, or at least a second. I set out on a pretty quick pace at the beginning and the tires felt pretty good, better than yesterday, actually. We were running almost a second a lap faster through the beginning part of the race. Yesterday we were running like 27 flat and today we were 26.3, 26.4. I got a little bit of a gap back to the boys and I just couldn’t get through the traffic. It’s pretty bad when you’re lapping the same guys before halfway through the race.
Ben Bostrom, Sunday, Fifth Place
I lost concentration or something because I was trying just as hard and the lap time just fell off a second a lap. At the end I picked it back up for the last couple of laps. The lap time came back, but then I thought the white flag was the checkered flag and I shut off. I’m just lost. I don’t know what the deal is.
Jake Zemke, Saturday, Second Place
I knew where he was going to make his move. It’s where he’d passed me every time he passed me, going into five [actually four]. I knew I had to get a good drive coming up the hill from three to four. When I hit that dip in three, I lost the rear and it never came back. The thing just started setting down, setting down on the shock. By the time I crested the hill, the thing was about bottomed out on the shock and the front wheel came off the ground. I thought, ‘oh, oh, this is not the place you want that to happen.’ I had to get out of the throttle quite a bit to get the front end back on the ground and that was enough to let Mat [Mladin] get back up in there, for sure. I know where I made my mistake.”
Miguel Duhamel, Saturday, Third Place
I was a little concerned with my tires, probably too focused on my tires. At the beginning of the race, Aaron [Yates] lost the front and then Ben [Bostrom] lost the front, and that made me a little cautious for sure. It’s still a little early in the season to take big risks. I’m not very happy with the result and getting that far back, but at the very end there Eric [Bostrom] was actually catching back up. I put my head back down and pulled it back out to four. I was in no-man’s land and I just rode around there, rooting for Jake to take points away from Mat [Mladin].”
Ben Bostrom, Saturday, DNF
I put on a harder tire than I wanted to. The first couple of laps it was pushing and chattering and I finally said, I’ve got to go better than this. The next lap I crashed. It was right in the middle when you’re on the front tire the strongest and getting ready to point the rear.
Sunday Superbike:
1. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
2. Jake Zemke (Honda)
3. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
5. Ben Bostrom (Honda)
6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati)
8. John Haner (Suzuki)
9. Geoff May (Suzuki)
10. Jeremy Toye (Yamaha)
Saturday Superbike:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Jake Zemke (Honda)
3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
4. Eric Bostrom (Ducati)
5. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
6. John Haner (Suzuki)
7. Geoff May (Suzuki)
8. Jeremy Toye (Yamaha)
9. Eric Wood (Suzuki)
10. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 243
2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 218
3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 216
4. Geoff May (Suzuki) 154
5. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 147
6. Lee Acree (Suzuki) 136
7. John Haner (Suzuki) 132
8. Larry Pegram (Yamaha) 117
9. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 112
10. Cory Denton West (Suzuki) 109
More, from a press release issued by American Honda:
AMA Chevrolet Superbike Series
Barber Motorsports Park
Race 1, Round 6: Leeds, AL
May 15, 2004
How long will Erion Racing’s Superbike rookie Jake Zemke be subject to last-lap charges by the veterans in the AMA Superbike series? Judging by Zemke’s stellar performances at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, it is not a question of if Zemke will win, but only a matter of when.
After beating his teammate Miguel Duhamel at the line in the season opener at Daytona to finish second in his Superbike debut, Zemke has learned a few new lessons. Duhamel paid him back at Infinion, beating Jake to the line in both the Superbike and Xtreme events after Jake led most of these races and looked certain to be on his way to his first Superbike win. At Barber this weekend, Zemke saw another win snatched from his grasp by points leader Mat Mladin. After leading 21 laps of the 28-lap main event, Zemke was overtaken by Mladin in turn four on the last lap. Zemke charged through lapped traffic on the final turn and nearly overtook Mladin, but came up short at the flag by just .011 seconds.
The start of the weekend found the Honda team working hard to find the right Dunlop tires and suspension settings on their Honda CBR1000RRs to overcome the abrasiveness of the Barber track’s fresh asphalt. By Saturday, Duhamel, Zemke and Ben Bostrom turned in stellar qualifying laps. Following Mladin’s pole time of 1:25.251, Bostrom was second at 1:25.445, followed by Zemke at 1:25.518 and Duhamel at 1:25.760.
It was clear the race pace for all the Superbike riders would be dictated by the front tire’s ability to withstand the ‘surface sandpaper’. As Bostrom said, “This is one of the only tracks in the series where you’re pushing the front just about everywhere. Everything that’s going to happen out there will happen after 15 laps.” All three Red Riders settled on “hard plus” compound front tires for the race.
Bostrom rocketed his CBR1000RR into the lead at the start, followed closely by Mladin, Zemke, Eric Bostrom and Duhamel. Ben’s lead grew to .804 seconds by lap three when he suddenly lost the front end and crashed out of the race in turn three. Just like that, Zemke was the lead rider, while Duhamel maintained third.
The early race pace was particularly fast, with Zemke turning in a 1:26.75-second time on lap three, his fastest of the race. But Mladin was right there. By lap five, he was hot on Zemke’s heels and the two riders swapped positions for the lead, with Zemke staying in front.
Then it was Mladin’s turn on lap ten as he took Zemke’s front running spot, holding that position until lap 14. Zemke then went around Mladin and stayed there for the rest of the race, stretching his lead by as much as 2.14 seconds by lap 22. But Mladin mounted a furious charge and the two riders were in a dead heat when the white flag came out signaling the last lap.
“I was really concerned during the race with coming up over the rise from turn four and driving into five,” said Zemke. “The bike gets really light there. I gave it all I could on the last lap, but I spun up the rear tire going into the dip after turn four and I could feel the rear suspension bottoming as I went up the rise. The front end came off the ground as I topped the crest and I had to roll off to bring it down, and that is where Mat caught up to me and passed me further down the track.”
Zemke had one last chance to overtake Mladin as the pair encountered two lappers on the last turn before the flag. “I thought I could get a good run and I saw Mat going to the outside,” Zemke said. “But at the last second, he chopped the throttle and decided to go to the inside. When he did that, it blocked my drive a little bit and I had to roll out for a split second.” Zemke and Mladin were side-by-side at the finish, with Mladin winning by a wheel.
How did Zemke rate his almost perfect performance? “I got as big a lead as I could and held on from there. The rear tire was awesome and I concentrated on putting as little stress on the front as I could. We’re doing okay. We’ve had two pretty darn close races that we might have won. With a new bike, you can have some teething problems. Luckily, we’ve been able to get a handle on our bike right away. We’ll put our heads together tonight and see if we can make the bike better in practice tomorrow.”
Duhamel finished third, well back of the leaders, having had difficulty getting around Eric Bostrom in the early stages and later experiencing some damage from debris. “I felt like l left a little bit out there today. We had some chatter and then I picked up some debris and it felt like my front disc was warped after that. We survived the race and tomorrow is a fresh day. We’ve got lots of power and were going to work hard to win.”
AMA Superbike Overall Results:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki
2. Jake Zemke – Honda
3. Miguel Duhamel – Honda
4. Eric Bostrom – Ducati
5. Josh Hayes – Kawasaki
AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki – 214
2. Jake Zemke – Honda – 183
3. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 182
4. Geoff May – Suzuki – 132
5. Eric Bostrom – Ducati -123
12. Ben Bostrom – Honda – 79
AMA Chevrolet Superbike Series
Barber Motorsports Park
Race 2, Round 6: Leeds, AL
May 16, 2004
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Sunday’s Superbike race at the Barber Motorsports Park Superbike double header was that the ending surprised people, and it should have been no surprise at all. Why? Because just as he has done for a decade, Honda racer Miguel Duhamel showed his uncanny ability to be there at the end, to come from behind and snatch an improbable victory-in this case on the very last lap.
While other riders struggled to find traction and maintain pace in the closing stages, Duhamel ate into Jake Zemke’s 4-second lead little by little, finally making the pass on the last lap while posting the fastest lap of the race. It was the only lap Miguel led, and it was the only lap that counted.
When the flag dropped for Sunday’s Superbike race, it looked as though both Zemke and Duhamel might not be factors at all. Both riders got terrible starts, thanks to grabby clutches that saw them both wheelie off the line. Instead, it was Honda teammate Ben Bostrom who streaked to the lead on the opening lap, just as he did the day before. Both Bostrom and Duhamel had elected to run a harder compound front tire for Sunday’s race, and it looked like the right decision judging by Bostrom’s charge in the opening laps. Zemke and Duhamel crossed the line on lap one in six and seventh respectively, but Jake immediately began to move forward. His charge, however, ended on lap three when a fallen rider brought out the red flag.
At the restart, Duhamel and Zemke again got mediocre starts, but this time Zemke wasted no time moving through the pack to take the lead from fellow CBR1000RR rider Bostrom on lap five. Duhamel, meanwhile, was languishing back in fourth, and by lap eight was nearly six seconds behind leader Zemke. Miguel was locked in combat with Mat Mladin, the two riders swapping third position as they neared the half-way point of the race. On lap 13, Bostrom made a mistake in the last turn and ran wide, allowing Duhamel and Mladin to get past. Five laps later, the battling duo of Duhamel and Mladin had closed to within four seconds of Zemke. On lap 21, Duhamel made the most of lapped traffic, passing Mladin for second and gapping him immediately. Duhamel, turning 1:26 second lap times (just a shade slower than his qualifying times), slashed Zemke’s lead to just 2.8 seconds.
Up front, Zemke was having his own trouble with lapped traffic, as he would later recount. “In the past they’ve cost me a bit and today they cost me a lot. You can’t go around someone on the outside in two and three because you’ll lose the front; there’s no traction out there. I kept hitting guys through turns two and three and I could see my lead shrinking. Every time I hit a lapper there it was costing me a second a lap. I set out on a pretty quick pace in the beginning, the tires felt pretty good, better than yesterday, actually. We were running almost a second a lap faster through the beginning parts of the race, we were running 26.3, 26.4. But I just couldn’t get through the traffic.”
Duhamel, though balked a number of times by the lapped traffic, steadily closed the gap on Zemke. When he passed Jake entering the front straight on the final lap, there was little Zemke could do. Jake fought valiantly to retake the lead, but Duhamel wasn’t having any of it; he crossed the finish line on the back wheel, nearly half a second ahead of Zemke.
For Jake, Sunday’s Superbike race was a heartbreaker. It marked the third consecutive Superbike race that he scratched out huge leads in the quest for his first AMA Superbike win only to have his hopes dashed by the last-lap heroics of Duhamel and Mladin.
In the winner’s circle, it was obvious Zemke wasn’t happy about being passed on the last lap two days in a row (Mladin won in the same fashion on Saturday). Said Jake from the podium: “Miguel in these last couple of races has been taking it to me pretty good. It’s upsetting to me but at the same time, this is my first year and I am up here, so it’s not too bad. The Dunlop tires today were so good, the pace I was running almost a second quicker than yesterday throughout the whole race. It’s hats off to those guys at Dunlop. Thanks also to my crew; they’re giving me an awesome bike and we’re going to get a win soon. I’ve carried my consistency through the last three or four seasons, that part of it is there. We’ve just got to get on the top. Consistency is great but when guys that are in front of you in the championship are consistently better, that doesn’t help you out.”
Duhamel, as always, was gracious in victory circle. “These guys were going so hard that it took all that time to get back up to Jake. Mat was pushing me. You know, we’re both guys that want to win real bad. We were not as worried about each other as we were about getting up there and getting a shot at the win. That’s what it’s all about. My team worked so hard. They gave me such a great bike. It worked terrific and I was confident I could p
