Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional AMA Formula Xtreme Race Results:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 17 laps
2. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR600RR, -0.151 second
3. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, -4.035 seconds
4. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, -4.147 seconds
5. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha YZF-R6, -4.338 seconds
6. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, -4.417 seconds
7. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R600, -31.904 seconds
8. Jeff Wood, Yamaha YZF-R6, -48.137 seconds
9. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R600, -53.574 seconds
10. Frank Trombino, Yamaha YZF-R6, -62.573 seconds
11. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha YZF-R6, -75.549 seconds
12. Jason Smith, Yamaha YZF-R6, -75.664 seconds
13. Nathan Hester, Yamaha YZF-R6
14. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki GSX-R600
15. Adam Vella, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
16. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R600, DNF, mechanical
17. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, DNS, mechanical

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Josh Hayes looked in pain as he limped through the Daytona paddock Wednesday favoring his broken left heel, which is squeezed into a size 11 boot while his right foot wears his normal size 9. The 2003 AMA Superstock Champion says, other than missing a lot of shifts, he is more comfortable on his Attack Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock and Superbike machines than he is walking but is definitely not 100 percent physically.

Hayes, who has not ridden a road racer since December, qualified ninth in Superstock Wednesday with a 1:50.263 and oddly went much slower in Superbike qualifying with a 13th-fastest 1:53.770.

Hayes’ ZX-10R Superbike is equipped with a race-kit swingarm, a hand-built 24-liter endurance fuel tank with dry-break quick-fill fittings, big forks and brakes.

After evaluating a number of different forks in winter testing, American Honda has settled on using Showa kit forks on the CBR600RR Formula Xtreme bikes of Miguel Duhamel and Ben Bostrom. The forks’ sliders have a green, anti-stiction coating team members called “Friction Down,” which was first developed and used on Honda’s off-road racers.

Bostrom says riding the “little” CBR600RR FX is weird on the “big,” 16.5-inch Daytona-spec Superbike slicks. He said the tire is so big he can feel it dragging on the engine and yet so hard that it still spins going out onto the banking. This, says Bostrom, is why the Supersport bikes are turning faster lap times than the Formula Xtreme machines, because the Supersport bikes have more grip and less rotating mass with their 17-inch DOT-labeled tires.

Erion Honda has had some troubles with its Formula Xtreme CBR600RRs at Daytona. Alex Gobert lost half of his Wednesday morning practice session to a problem with his rear brake, and Jake Zemke’s bike suffered a major misfire on the first lap of qualifying, forcing him to switch to a community back-up bike that he had never ridden in order to register a lap time and qualify for the race.

Pascal Picotte is racing in all four classes at Daytona – Supersport, Superstockk, Formula Xtreme and Superbike – on basically Supersport-spec Yamaha YZF-R6s and YZF-R1s. While he is very competitive in Supersport, Picotte says his R6 doesn’t have enough power to stay in the draft of the factory Honda CBR600RRs in the Formula Xtreme race.

Picotte was quick to point out that Wednesday was the first day his Yamahas had been on a racetrack ever and the first time he had been on track in several months.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp qualified 18th in Superstock with a 1:51.697, far from where he wanted to be. Rapp said he only did a few laps before fitting his Michelin qualifying tire and doing a low-1:50, but he missed turn one at the completion of that fast lap and AMA Pro Racing disallowed it.

No Limit Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore, however, was very happy with his Superstock qualifying effort, eighth with a 1:50.181. Pridmore pointed out that his 2003 Superbike qualifying time was a 1:50.383, which was good enough for 10th on that grid.

Everything was going well for Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates in Wednesday afternoon’s Superbike qualifying session, that is until he hit the large pylon marking the edge of the track at the exit of the chicane. “I thought I broke my damn arm!” said Yates.

The pain was so great it sapped the strength from Yates’ arm, and he said he was barely able to hold on to the handlebar, especially braking into left-hand turns like turns one, six and the entrance to the chicane. So Yates was very surprised when the next lap was his fastest, a 1:48.478. “I felt like I was going so slow on that lap,” said Yates.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

TEAM 23 RACING SUPPORTED BY MICHAEL JORDAN SET TO COMPETE IN AMA CHEVROLET SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 4, 2004) – Team 23 Racing representatives today confirmed
companies affiliated with NBA legend Michael Jordan will sponsor Montez Stewart in this year’s AMA Repsol Superstock and Pro Honda Oils Supersport classes.

The effort is owned by Edward Scott LLC with primary sponsorship from Brand Jordan, a
subsidiary of Nike managed in coordination with the five-time NBA MVP Jordan. The 31-year-old
Stewart will ride the #123 Yamaha R1 in Repsol Superstock and the #123 Yamaha R6 in Pro Honda
Oils Supersport.

“We’re thrilled to see a company affiliated with basketball legend Michael Jordan sponsor a
team in the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship,” AMA Pro Racing Vice President, Director of Communications Kerry Graeber said. “One of our primary business objectives is to provide an avenue for companies like Brand Jordan to reach new markets through sponsorship in our series. This is a perfect manifestation of that vision”

“It’s a blessing to have Brand Jordan and the rest of my sponsors behind me,” team pilot
Stewart said. “I really don’t think I would have the opportunity to race in the AMA otherwise.”
Team officials said Jordan’s willingness to support his friend Stewart and his interest in
motorcycle racing opened the door to the basketball icon’s corporate partners. Additionally, team officials said Brand Jordan saw the sponsorship as an opportunity to support Jordan and his new recreational endeavors, particularly in developing products for official Team 23 Racing use.

“My goals of course include winning, but it’s tough racing against some of the fastest guys in
the world,” Stewart said.

Additional Team 23 Racing sponsors include Gatorade, Alpinestars, Parts Unlimited, Gemini
Technology Systems, Dunlop, PJ1, Ferodo Brakes and others.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Thursday Morning AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:49.254
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:49.494
3. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:49.691
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:50.018
5. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:50.139
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:50.330
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:50.395
8. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:50.414
9. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:50.793
10. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, 1:50.863
11. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:51.096
12. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:51.431
13. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, 1:52.061
14. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:52.094
15. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:52.207
16. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:52.370
17. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:52.618
18. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:52.621
19. Jordan Szoke, Honda, 1:52.805
20. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:52.995
21. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:53.139
22. Corey Eaton, Suzuki, 1:53.817
23. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, 1:54.874
24. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:55.725
25. Craig Fitzpatrick, Suzuki, 1:56.528
26. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:57.004
27. Montez Stewart, Yamaha, 1:57.335
28. Ron McGill, Suzuki, 1:57.558
29. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, 1:58.833
30. Roger Bell, Suzuki, 1:58.953

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo turned the fastest lap time in Thursday-morning Supersport practice, a 1:52.197 on his YZF-R6, according to AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring monitors, but the information on those monitors has not been completely accurate during the event, as DiSalvo alluded to in a post-practice interview with track announcer Richard Chambers.

“The bike is working really good right now, but I don’t want to say anything because in five minutes I might be second,” DiSalvo told Chambers.

On Wednesday, DiSalvo was listed as having the fastest lap time at the end of the Superstock qualifying session and began doing interviews with Chambers and reporters as if he had the pole.

Then, several minutes after the end of that session, the Timing & Scoring monitors displayed Ben Spies as having the fastest qualifying time. Although Spies’ lap time was confirmed as being accurate through AMA Pro Racing’s back-up systems, DiSalvo was still upset over the mix-up.

Provisional Thursday Morning AMA Supersport Practice Times:

1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:52.197
2. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:52.298
3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:52.378
4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:52.426
5. Michael Barnes, Yamaha, 1:53.077
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:53.230
7. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:53.311
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:53.392
9. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:53.782
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:54.238
11. Scott Greenwood, Yamaha, 1:54.270
12. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:55.138
13. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha, 1:55.138
14. Chris Peris, Suzuki, 1:55.169
15. Jason Perez, Yamaha, 1:56.756
16. Jeffrey Tigert, Honda, 1:57.011
17. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:57.012
18. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:57.552
19. Padro Valiente, Yamaha, 1:57.921
20. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 1:58.337

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Thursday Morning AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR600RR, 1:53.329
2. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.293
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR600RR, 1:54.538
4. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR600RR, 1:54.609
5. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:55.818
6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR600RR, 1:56.743
7. Jeff Wood, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:56.794
8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:56.966
9. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:57.086
10. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:57.644
11. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:57.910
12. Nathan Dressman, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:58.622
13. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:58.761
14. Jason Smith, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:58.995
15. Frank Trombino, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:59.655
16. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:02.960
17. Adam Vella, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:04.526

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Dale Kieffer’s high-performance shop, Racer’s Edge, at 3021 S. Valley View Blvd. in Las Vegas, Nevada, will host a Daytona 200 party Saturday to benefit the family of CCS racer Tony Shortman, who was killed in a street crash last weekend.

More information is available from Kieffer at (702) 257-3808.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Graves Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert used the draft to win the action-packed AMA Superstock race on his new YZF-R1 Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

Gobert’s teammates Damon Buckmaster and Jamie Hacking diced back and forth for the lead through the first half of the race. In the second half, Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden came up to battle for the front position with the Yamaha pair while Tommy Hayden, Jason DiSalvo and Gobert raced at the back of the elastic six-rider pack.

Roger Lee Hayden led into and out of the chicane on the last lap with Buckmaster, Hacking, Gobert, Tommy Hayden and DiSalvo fighting for position in the draft.

As the pack came to the line, Gobert caught a daisy chain of drafts to go from fourth to first and the win. Hacking was elbow-to-elbow with Gobert at the line, but 0.010-second behind, according to AMA Timing & Scoring. Tommy Hayden moved up to third, Buckmaster slipped to fourth, Roger Lee Hayden dropped to fifth and DiSalvo crossed the line sixth, a mere 0.862-second behind the winner.

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies (who served a stop-and-go penalty during the race), Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp (who started 18th on the grid) and early front-runner John Haner of Hooters Suzuki rounded out the top 10 finishers.


Provisional AMA Superstock Race Results:

1. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 12 laps
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, -0.010 second
3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -0.069 second
4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, -0.100 second
5. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -0.131 second
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1, -0.862 second
7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10R, -8.002 seconds
8. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -15.160 seconds
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -16.845 seconds
10. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -16.951 seconds
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -17.207 seconds
12. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -21.138 seconds
13. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -24.274
14. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -29.487
15. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -29.532
16. Jordan Szoke, Honda CBR1000RR, -29.640
17. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -29.640
18. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -36.229
19. Frank Trombino, Yamaha YZF-R1, -42.038
20. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -44.744
21. Corey Eaton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -48.626
22. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR1000RR, -48.626
23. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -56.366
24. Jason Curtis, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -66.857
25. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -72.521
26. Montez Stewart, Yamaha YZF-R1, -86.714
27. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -86.722
28. Roger Bell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -98.484
29. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -101.851
30. Bostjan Skubic, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -108.097
31. Dave Loikits, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -108.865
32. Craig Fitzpatrick, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
33. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
34. Eric Haugo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
35. Joe Capelli, Suzuki GSX-R1000, -1 lap
36. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R1, -2 laps

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Thursday Morning BMW Boxer Cup Practice Times (all on BMW R1100S):

1. Brian Parriott, USA, 2:03.729
2. Richard Cooper, GBR, 2:03.745
3. Sebastien Legrelle, BEL, 2:04.158
4. Oriol Fernandez, ESP, 2:04.163
5. Gwen Giabbani, FRA, 2:05.544
6. Stephane Mertens, BEL, 2:05.553
7. Thomas Hinterreiter, AUS, 2:05.916
8. Markus Barth, GER, 2:05.998
9. Barry Burrell, GBR, 2:06.061
10. Nate Kern, USA, 2:06.305
11. Roberto Panichi, ITA, 2:06.353
12. Guillaume Dietrich, FRA, 2:06.651
13. Javier Valera, ESP, 2:06.860
14. Dirk Buylinckx, BEL, 2:07.046
15. Jose Maria Martin, ESP, 2:07.126
16. Klaus Nies, GER, 2:07.185
17. Ricky Orlando, USA, 2:07.546
18. Jeroen Oudeman, NED, 2:07.996
19. Andreas Bildl, GER, 2:08.191
20. Stefan Heinrichs, GER, 2:08.652

29. Katja Poensgen, GER, 2:10.239

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Graves Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert continued to set the pace in practice at Daytona International Speedway by leading the first, 40-minute AMA Superstock practice Wednesday morning.

Aided by new-for-2004 rules allowing 1000cc engines and 17-inch slick tires, Gobert turned a 1:48.631, which was well under Jason Pridmore’s Superstock lap record of 1:51.567, turned in 2003 on a Suzuki GSX-R750.

“The bike’s just incredible. I’m really impressed,” Gobert told Roadracingworld.com. “I’ve been trying really hard to get back in shape after all of my off-season surgery. I thought I was behind the 8-ball, but maybe I wasn’t as bad off as I thought. Maybe being on ‘Struggle Street’ isn’t so bad.

“I haven’t pulled the pin yet and I’m doing these times.”

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was also brimming with confidence after turning a 1:49.132 on his third flying lap, according to the young Texan.

Spies crashed at 186 mph when his rear tire exploded during his last visit to Daytona.

Gobert’s teammate Jamie Hacking shook off the effects of a crash in Wednesday-morning Supersport practice to post the third-fastest Superstock time, 1:49.738. Hacking said his Yamaha Supersport bike “stepped out real quick” exiting the International Horseshoe and threw him over the highside. But Hacking – and his Superstock lap times – said he was uninjured in the fall.

Provisional AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:48.631
2. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:49.132
3. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:49.738
4. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:49.813
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:50.074
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:50.261
7. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:50.695
8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:50.887
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:51.155
10. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 1:51.259
11. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:51.503
12. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:51.568
13. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:51.919
14. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.289
15. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.445
16. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.477
17. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:52.916
18. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:53.197
19. Alex Gobert, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:53.344
20. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:54.218