Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Road racer Vicky Jackson-Bell went into surgery Monday at about 4:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, at Arrowhead Medical Center in Colton, California, to undergo repairs to injuries suffered in a motocross crash Thursday.

Jackson-Bell, who was a motocrosser before switching to road racing, was seriously injured when she fell off her 2003 CR125 motocrosser over a jump during a track day at Glen Helen Raceway.

Jackson-Bell was hit by KTM-sponsored professional motocross racer Grant Langston, who, according to Jackson-Bell’s husband and tuner Tony Bell, threw his bike sideways into a tail-whip as he passed Jackson-Bell. His rear wheel hit Jackson-Bell’s arms and upper body and sent her flying off her bike and to the ground from a total height of about 16 feet, counting the height of the jump and the height of the bike over the jump, according to Tony Bell.

Jackson-Bell’s left femur was pushed up through the hip socket–which was broken in 30 places–by the impact, Bell said.

Bell reported that Langston and his mechanic told him at the scene that the collision was Jackson-Bell’s fault and that throwing the bike sideways in mid-air over a jump is a necessary maneuver.

Related News Posts:

5/8/2003: Langston Fans Continue To Blame Jackson-Bell As She Lies In Hospital

5/6/2003: Apparently, Our Report On Langston Colliding With Jackson-Bell Was Irresponsible, And Langston Himself Weighs In

From a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
Rounds 4 & 5 – Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California, USA
Race Report


DOUBLE AMERICAN SUPERBIKE RACE VICTORY FOR MLADIN

Sonoma, California, USA – After a two day rain delay, the on-track action finally got underway at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, with three-times American Superbike champion Mat Mladin making full use of the dry conditions to win both of today’s 28-lap AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship races.

Persistent rain forced officials to postpone almost all of the practice and qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday and Saturday, leaving starting grids for today’s races to be determined by the positions in which the riders currently lie in the championship, with Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 sitting on pole position as the current points leader in the Superbike Championship.

Mladin made a steady start in both races, before making his way to the lead and then working on building a solid buffer between himself and his opponents.

At the completion of the opening 28-lap national, Mladin crossed the line 8.295 seconds clear of teammate Aaron Yates, with American Honda rider Miguel DuHamel almost a further eight seconds in arrears. The afternoon’s second race was almost a copy of the first with Mladin taking the race lead on lap two before easing away from the field to take a 7.484 second victory over Yates, with Ben Bostrom (American Honda) third. DuHamel did not make the start of the second Superbike race after crashing heavily during the Supersport race, which was run between the two Superbike races.

“It turned out to be a pretty good day today,” said Mladin. “We only had 27 minutes in this morning’s practice session to get the bike set up to a point where we wanted it and it proved to be very good on the day. We obviously could have made the bike a bit better than what it was, but after having all of our sessions washed out over the past two days we ended up with a very good bike.

“The second race proved to be a lot faster than the first and I guess that pace showed when I reeled off the fastest lap of the day with a 1:37 flat on the second lap. At the end, it all worked out well and we’re leaving here with a 24-point lead in the championship.

“We were happy with the performance that we were able to get from the bike here. This circuit does not have a whole bunch of straights like some others, so it was nice to be able to get the bike handling and steering as well as it was just to show that the bike is great at all types of circuits, including those where you don’t need a whole heap of power, just a good set up.”

Today’s double victory makes it four wins from five starts in this year’s 18-round championship and now gives the Australian a 21-point lead in the series over Yates, with the Suzuki pair a further six points clear of Ben Bostrom.

The American championship heads to the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia for rounds six and seven of the Superbike championship on May 16 – 18.

RESULTS – Rd’s 4 & 5, 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship

Round 4 (28 laps)
1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), +8.295 secs
3. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda), +16.2
4. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki), +43.3
5. Ben Bostrom (American Honda), +59.1
6. Steve Rapp (Valvoline EMGO Suzuki), +67
7. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda), +85
8. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati), +90
9. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), +91
10. Lee Acree (Arclight Suzuki), +93

Round 5 (28 laps)
1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki), +7.484 secs
3. Ben Bostrom (American Honda), +16.379
4. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda), +25.6
5. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki), +33.6
6. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati), +57.1
7. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki), +74
8. Jordan Szoke (Corona Extra Suzuki), +79
9. Steve Crevier (Suzuki), +81
10. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki), +83

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship (points after 5 of 18
rounds)
1. M Mladin 174; 2. A Yates 153; 3. B Bostrom 147; 4. E Bostrom 138; 5. K Roberts 131; 6. M DuHamel 121; 7. S Higbee / L Pegram 99; 9. V Haskovec 94; 10. J Pridmore 91.


From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:

Suzuki’s Mladin Sweeps Superbike

Doubleheader at Infineon Raceway

SONOMA, Calif. (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) — Yoshimura Suzuki rider Mat Mladin continued his early-season roll on Sunday, capturing a doubleheader in the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge at Infineon Raceway. The event was presented by Honda of Milpitas and Cabo Wabo Tequila.

Mladin has now won four consecutive Superbike main events and seems to be returning to the same form that saw him capture three consecutive U.S. Chevy Trucks Superbike championships from 1999-2001. Mladin holds a 24-point lead over teammate Aaron Yates (174-150) after five events this year and is bidding to become the first-ever four-time AMA Superbike champion.

“Last year really ticked me off because I didn’t feel enough people worked hard enough to get the results (we wanted),” said Mladin, who is riding the new GSX-R1000 this year. “Winning championships isn’t easy. It’s hard work and I think we’re returning to that same form (we had when we won three championships).”

Mladin was followed on the podium in the first 28-lap main event by Yates and third-place finisher Miguel Duhamel (Honda). Mladin and Yates also finished one-two in the second 28-lap feature, with Ben Bostrom (Honda) taking third.

“I’m glad to see Suzuki take first and second but I need to really get out in front if I want to catch Mat,” said Yates, the 1996 Superbike winner at Infineon Raceway.

“Mat is setting the benchmark right now, and Aaron is right there, too,” Bostrom said.

Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking posted his second consecutive victory of the year in Pro Honda Oils Supersport, starting the 17-lap feature race on the pole and never looking back. Teammate Damon Buckmaster was second, with Honda’s Jake Zemke third. Hacking holds a 21-point lead over Buckmaster (106-85) after three events.


From a press release issued by Proforma:

LEE ACREE HAS THREE STRONG FINISHES WITH IRONMAN EFFORT AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Lee Acree finished strong in both Chevy Trucks Superbike finals and the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final at Infineon Raceway today, starting from the back of the grid on his Arclight Suzuki GSX-R750 in each race due to his lack of points in both classes. All of the final events at Round Three of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship were gridded based on championship points, due to weather and track conditions that prevented timed qualifying.

“I got a really good start in the first Superbike race,” said Acree, who finished tenth after working through from the 38th starting spot. “I was able to get past a bunch of guys on the first two laps and then I came up on (Jordan) Szoke, (Vincent) Haskovec and (Steve) Crevier. Once I got clear of Haskovec and Crevier, I looked ahead and saw that there wasn’t any reason to try to get by Jordan right away, let’s just hang out here. Then there were some spritzes of rain here and there, and I thought maybe we should lead a couple of laps just in case they call this thing. Jordan and I went back and forth a couple of laps and I finally got him going into seven, I think I could just keep a tighter line on the 750. After that I started looking for lappers to put between me and him. My Pirellis were hooked up, I didn’t feel like I was pushing it. Everything was pretty consistent and easy.”

In the second Superbike race, it took longer for Acree to move through the pack, where he again started from the 38th grid spot and finished 13th in the 28 lap race. “I got a better start, but I didn’t get a better first lap,” said Acree. “I didn’t get past as many guys, I spent a long time behind Brian Livengood. It’s so hard to pass here, I just kept moving forward. Relentless, regardless.”

In the Formula Xtreme final, Acree had a fairly lonely race towards the front for a 12th place finish. “That one was shorter than the others!,” said Acree after the 17 lap final event. “I made a lot of ground up on the first two laps. I went around everybody in one, two, five, seven, eleven. Once I got around Chris (Ulrich), it was a pretty lonely race, I just kept plugging away.”

Acree’s next race event with the Arclight Suzuki race team will be at Mid-America Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa, May 23-25.


From another press release issued by Proforma:

HAS/SHOGUN RACING HAS GOOD WEEKEND AT INFINEON RACEWAY

After waiting for two days to ride again after weather and track conditions postponed the action, HAS/Shogun Racing’s John Haner and Heath Small each had good results, leaving with more points in their respective classes. With no timed qualifying for any of the classes over the weekend, all events were gridded based on championship points coming into this round.

John Haner finished tenth in the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock final after getting a good start. “I was pretty consistent,” said Haner. “I wanted to run my own race, make sure that I finished. I had something for Jordan Szoke, passed him with two laps to go and he got me on the last lap when I got hung up with some lappers. It’s good because now we’re going to two tracks we know.”

Heath Small finished 22nd today in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport event, after making changes prior to the start of the race. “It let me get on the brakes a lot harder, they made changes to the front end,” said Heath afterwards. “I dropped another second in the race, we just didn’t get a lot of practice time because of the rain. We really tried to put together the most consistent laps we could.”

HAS/Shogun Racing teammates Heath Small and John Haner both look forward to the next AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series event at Road Atlanta, May 16-18, 2003.


From yet another press release issued by Proforma:

JIMMY MOORE FINISHES FIFTH AND SIXTH AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Defending two-time AMA Superstock champion Jimmy Moore finished a fine fifth in Superstock and an excellent sixth in Formula Xtreme today at Infineon Raceway, after waiting for two days to race due to weather and track conditions. All of the races were gridded based on points after timed qualifying was cancelled due to the compressed schedule.

Moore got a good start in the Superstock event on his Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R750. “The clutch chattered really bad on the start,” said Moore. “I did a couple of practice starts, I might have killed it. On the first lap, (John) Haner, going into the chicane he slid the front end, and I swear I saw a long black mark from his front tire. He held me up a bit and let those other guys get away.” After getting around Haner, Moore set his sights on Josh Hayes, who was a little harder to get around. “He’s very competitive, I got into turn seven pretty deep and I kind of backed it in and I think it may have swung out a bit towards him,” Moore said.

Adam Fergusson finished third on his Corona Extra GSX-R750 in the same event.

In the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final, Moore worked his way through a strong pack of riders to finish just two seconds behind his Corona Extra Suzuki teammate Adam Fergusson, in Moore’s second Formula Xtreme ride.

“I got an okay start, I was behind Josh for a while,” Moore said. “He was riding well, so it took a while.”

Look for Jimmy Moore and the rest of the Corona Extra Suzuki team at Road Atlanta, May 16-18, 2003


From a press release issued by 1-888-FASTLAP:

1-888-FASTLAP RIDERS 8TH AND 17TH AT SEARS POINT

SONOMA, Calif.- After sitting idle for two days because of rain, 1-888-FASTLAP riders Opie Caylor and Brian Stokes finally got to get on track at Infineon Raceway for the 750 Superstock race. Caylor rode to an eighth place finish while Stokes overcame a recent injury to finish 17th.

Qualifying for the race was rained out on Saturday, so the grid was determined according to points. It was a disappointment for Caylor, who was third quickest in practice.

“I started sixth. The second row was not where I wanted to be,” said Caylor. “Had we qualified, I think I’d have been on the front row. As competitive as the Superstock series is, that’s really where you need to be.”

Caylor had his Team EMGO Suzuki GSX-R750 in seventh during the opening laps. He was eventually passed but held off the rest of the field to finish eighth, despite losing one knee slider on the warm-up lap and the second before the halfway mark of the race.

“It was my first time there, so a maximum amount of track time would have been a huge help. We still ended up going pretty quick, regardless,” commented Caylor. “Rodney Vaughn at Marietta Motorsports (1-888-FASTLAP) built a great motor for me, it’s very fast, and Grant Matsushima has been helping me get it dialed in at the track. We started making changes to the setup and the bike kept getting better. I was feeling really confident going into the race.”

1-888-FASTLAP rider Stokes had to start his Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R750 from 20th. He worked his way up to 14th during the race, but fell back to 17th in the closing laps after a shoulder injury he received at Fontana began to hinder his performance.

“I had horrible arm pump because of my Fontana injury,” explained Stokes. “I did my fastest laps of the weekend in the last couple of laps before it set in. I was battling with Alan Schmidt and Matt Furtek in the last two laps, and I did my best but came up short.”

The next race for Caylor and Stokes will be at their home track of Road Atlanta, May 16-18.

More information about 1-888-FASTLAP and their riders can be found on the web at www.1888FASTLAP.com.


From a massive press release issued by American Honda:

AMA Superbike Series,Round 4: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Duhamel scores a podium finish on jam-packed Sunday

Under a heavy cloud cover accompanied by strong winds at Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point Raceway), the first of two Superbike races to be run on Sunday got off in fine fashion as Red Rider Miguel Duhamel launched to the holeshot. The French Canadian led the race for two laps, then stalked leader Mat Mladin for more than half of the race before getting balked in lapped traffic. Slower riders continued to plague RC51-mounted Duhamel, who was passed for second place by Aaron Yates but still pushed on to an impressive podium finish.

Rainy, wet conditions blanketing Northern California interrupted practice and qualifying most of Friday and all of Saturday at Infineon Raceway, and these recurring delays dictated that grid positions would be determined by points standings. Fortunately, this accommodation placed Team Honda riders Miguel Duhamel and Ben Bostrom right in the middle of the front row, with Honda/Erion rider Kurtis Roberts immediately behind the pair on the second row in sixth place.

Following his impressive launch, Duhamel quickly gapped the entire pack, save Mladin, and by lap 4 the battling duo had pulled out a lead of about 4 seconds over the trailing pack of racers, including Bostrom in fifth place and Roberts in seventh. As Duhamel explained after the race, “I got a good start because I felt like I had to get a really good start; I didn’t want anyone to take off on me, and when you’re in front it’s easer to keep the race in check.”

Duhamel and Mladin continued their duel well into the race, as the pair posted lap times in the 1:37 range, which was significantly faster than anyone else on the track could muster. This blistering pace yielded a gap of about 6 seconds on the trailing pack of riders. “When Mat finally got around me,” Duhamel said later, “I thought he might try to go, but I stayed right there with him; my lap times were as fast as anybody else out there. I felt really comfortable riding with Mat at that pace, and I was trying to take care of my tires and conserve them.”

Then Mother Nature stepped in with a little surprise. “In a while the rain started to come down, so I kind of sat back and watched things,” Duhamel said. “I didn’t want to be the one contributing to a red flag. Mat slowed down a bit too, then the sprinkles let up. When we ran into traffic, Mat was a bit more assertive and he got through a little better than I did, then he got away.

“Towards the end, I tried to keep riding consistently, but maybe because we were going at a slower pace or maybe the tires had gone off, I’m not sure, but it seemed like the bike wasn’t working quite as well. Then Aaron Yates closed on me and he got past. Aaron and Mat may have chosen a different tire than I did, and they got away from me. I knew I had a good gap on fourth so I just tried to keep Aaron honest out there.”

At the close of 28 laps, it was Mladin, Yates and Duhamel, with Ben Bostrom taking fifth place. Nursing a recently separated shoulder that made it painful for him to ride even a few laps, Kurtis Roberts soldiered on and managed a valiant seventh place to collect valuable championship points.

Following the race, Duhamel took a moment to take a good look at the bigger picture. “Now I’ve got a 600 race coming up and another Superbike race today. With this track being so technical and physical for the rider it’s going to be a pretty full day. My goal is to get out of here with as many points as I can. When we get to the midway point in the season, we’ll evaluate how we’re doing, then get more aggressive working toward a championship. Right now it’s only the fourth race of the season with 10 more to go, so a lot of things can happen. My focus is on winning the championship, so we need to just keep working toward that goal.”

Superbike Results:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
3. Miguel Duhamel – Honda
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki
5. Ben Bostrom – Honda
7. Kurtis Roberts – Honda


AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki – 137
2. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 121
3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 118
4. Ben Bostrom – Honda – 113
5. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki – 112
6. Kurtis Roberts – Honda – 104


AMA Superbike Series, Round 5: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Ben Bostrom on the podium in second Superbike race; Roberts finishes fourth

Oft times, the vicissitudes of competition dictate that the most important changes take place before the race ever begins. Such was the case with the second half of the Superbike doubleheader at Infineon Raceway, where an injured Miguel Duhamel was a non-starter, and fellow Team Honda rider Ben Bostrom and his crew made radical changes in bike set-up to find the solutions they had been seeking and reap a third-place podium appearance. In addition, Kurtis Roberts powered his way to a strong fourth-place finish.

As golden sunlight bathed the rolling hills of Sonoma, the second Superbike race of the day kicked off at the track formerly known as Sears Point. Miguel Duhamel’s second-place starting position on the grid remained empty; he was otherwise occupied at a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken left collarbone after a hard get-off in the 600 Supersport race. As the race got underway, once again it was a Honda RC51 that pulled the holeshot, this time in the hands of Ben Bostrom. But once again, Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin closed to battle for the lead, with Mladin soon setting the pace for the three-rider tussle.

Ben stayed right in touch with the other two riders, and afterwards he described how he had made such a quantum jump forward from the first Superbike race. “Basically, we had no practice here this weekend, and so our settings were way off when we started the first race. So we took a big gamble and changed a lot of things all at once: Front suspension, rear suspension, wheel, tires, gearing and more. And as soon as I got on the bike for the second race, I knew the changes were good; it felt completely different, and it worked incredibly better.”

As Bostrom’s crew chief Merlyn Plumlee explained, “We sat down and studied the data acquisition figures, and we talked about what Ben was feeling the bike do during the first race. Essentially, we made all the changes we would have made over time if the weather had allowed enough practice and qualifying time here this weekend, but instead, we had to make a whole bunch of changes all at once. That kind of leaves you feeling like you’re out on a limb, but the data showed this was the way we needed to go. So we talked it over and we just decided to go for it, and it worked out great.”

In addition, Kurtis Roberts soon advanced to a close fourth place. What brought about his improvement from the previous race’s seventh-place showing? “During the first race I had my shoulder all strapped up,” Roberts said after the race. “That helped brace it up, because it’s still kind of weak; it’s only been about two-and-a-half weeks since I hurt it. However, the brace also restricted my arm movement, so I had a hard time riding the bike. So I figured I’d try riding without the brace, and it felt a lot better and I could ride more aggressively even though the shoulder’s not up to full strength yet.”

Although Mladin pulled out a definite lead, by lap 15 Ben was still searching for a way around Yates-and then the leaders got into lapped traffic. Bostrom got balked, fell behind Yates, and couldn’t make up the differential. Ben later explained, “Among all the changes we made to the bike, I decided to take one tooth off the rear sprocket in order to get more top-end speed. But when we got into traffic, I didn’t have enough pull to take the other guys off the corners with my taller gearing. That was basically rider error, but I was still able to hold onto third place.

And so the race ended with Ben Bostrom in third, and Roberts just off the podium in fourth place. “The best thing is that we made so much progress with the bike,” Bostrom said. “The RC51 is a real stable motorcycle, and now we have it turning a lot better, more in tune with my style of riding. And Infineon is a real demanding track, with lots of turns. Now that we’re moving on to some more higher speed tracks, I think we’re going to be right in the hunt for a race win.”


Superbike Results:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki
3. Ben Bostrom – Honda
4. Kurtis Roberts – Honda
5. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki

AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki – 174
2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki – 150
3. Ben Bostrom – Honda – 142
4. Eric Bostrom – Kawasaki – 138
5. Kurtis Roberts – Honda – 131
6. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 121


Pro Honda Oils 600 Supersport, Round 3: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Zemke finishes 3rd, Duhamel crashes out in Sonoma 600

Rain forced Saturday’s Superbike race to be run on Sunday morning, and that race ended barely an hour before the start of the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport race. The rain also impacted the 600 class grid; with no time for qualifying, riders were gridded by points, which put Miguel Duhamel on the front row and Jake Zemke on row two.

Practice times gave little indication of what would happen in the race because the teams had so little practice time. But one thing was clear: The 600s were amazingly quick around the 2.2-mile Infineon Raceway, with the top 600s lapping the track within a second of the fastest Superbike practice time. Fast Honda men on the new CBR600RR included Bruce Group’s Marty Craggill, Erion’s Zemke, Duhamel and Zemke’s teammate Alex Gobert, followed by Doug Chandler on the No Limits CBR600RR and Ty Howard on the Annandale Honda. Substituting at the Infineon event for the injured Roger Hayden was teen-age Canadian sensation Chris Peris on the Erion team.

In an effort to quicken the CBR600RR steering on the demanding, technical Infinion circuit, the team altered the geometry of Duhamel’s 600 through suspension adjustments, and also fitted taller handlebars from the CBR945RR to give Duhamel more leverage through Infinion’s tight esses. The changes paid off, as Duhamel got a great start, and, together with Jamie Hacking and Damon Buckmaster, pulled a breakaway from the field in the opening laps. The battle for fourth was led by Zemke, with Chandler in ninth and Marty Craggill in tenth.

These positions didn’t change significantly until the closing stages of the 17-lap race when another rider tangled with Craggill in turn one, sending the hard-charging Australian down uninjured on lap 14. One lap later, Zemke made a run at Duhamel. “Miguel had different lines, but I was pretty happy with my lines. I came from pretty far back to catch him, so I figure my lines were working pretty good. Also, the gearing we had chosen was quite a bit different from his. Miguel was shifting in different places than I was, but my drive from turn six to turn seven was really working well for me with my gearing. That was where I was planning to make my pass, but Miguel lost the rear a little coming out of the carousel, so I passed him a lap earlier than I had planned.”

On the next lap, disaster struck Duhamel. Coming out of the chicane, the back end of Duhamel’s 600 suddenly broke loose, triggering a wicked high-side crash that saw Duhamel and his bike tumbling down the racetrack. The crash injured Duhamel’s left shoulder, and prevented him from competing in the second Superbike race of the day.

At the end of the race, it was Zemke with a solid third-place finish, and young Alex Gobert the next top Honda rider with a eighth place finish over Chandler in ninth.

“I’m happy with my finish today,” concluded Zemke. “Honda is counting on me as much as anyone else to win this championship, so I’m going to beat as many guys as I can.”

Infineon Raceway Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport
Race Results:
1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha
2. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
3. Jake Zemke – Honda
4. Ben Spies – Suzuki
5. Tommy Hayden – Kawasaki
8. Alex Gobert – Honda
9. Doug Chandler – Honda
11. Ty Howard – Honda
14. Chris Peris – Honda
15. Craig Connell – Honda
16. Jason Curtis – Honda
20. Miguel Duhamel – Honda

Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport Point Standings:
1. Jamie Hacking – Yamaha – 106
2. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha – 85
3. Aaron Gobert – Yamaha, 80
4. Jake Zemke – Honda – 77
5. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 75
8. Miguel Duhamel – Honda – 65
9. Doug Chandler – Honda – 59
10. Alex Gobert – Honda – 59


Formula Xtreme Series, Round 2: Sonoma, CA
May 4, 2003

Zemke takes second at Sonoma’s Formula Xtreme

Like all the classes run today at Infineon Raceway, the Formula Xtreme class was gridded by virtue of rider points. That put the mighty CBR954RRs of Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke and Bruce Transportation Group’s Marty Craggill on the front row, with Doug Chandler and Jason Curtis two rows back. Normally, Erion’s Roger Hayden would have also been in the field, but sat out the weekend recovering from hand surgery.

At the start, Zemke, Ben Spies and Marty Craggill jumped to the front of the pack. Within a few laps, Spies and Zemke had gapped the field and were raging a battle of their own out front. Meanwhile, Craggill battled Damon Buckmaster for third, and would eventually settle into fourth position where he stayed for most of the race.

Zemke, meanwhile, found himself in second, unable to mount a charge on the fleeing Spies. “I burned my tires up trying to stay with Ben in the first six laps, and just didn’t have anything left for him.

“We did a lost of suspension testing here months ago, and I think it really showed today. We made a few adjustments this morning after practice and rolled the dice on some pretty big changes on the front and rear, but it really paid off.”

Midway through the race, a rock kicked up by another rider went through the windscreen of Zemke’s CBR954RR, and knocked the gas vent line loose. “I went to pull a tear off and opened my visor by mistake and got a face full of fuel mist before I could get it closed again. My eyes were a bit misty for a while.”

Zemke mounted a late race charge for the lead, but was forced off the track by lappers. “The lappers were really difficult out there, said Zemke. “Normally, they are single file or spread out. Here they were in packs of two, three, four guys and you’d put a wheel in there with them and they would think you were one of them and try to pass you back. It was tough.”

The race for fourth was even tougher, and it all came down to the last lap when Craggill, also trying to get through lapped traffic, crashed in the last turn on the last lap. Ty Howard was the next Honda rider across the line in eighth, followed by Chandler in tenth.

For Zemke and the Erion Racing team, the Xtreme race was a great way to end a busy day of racing. “It was a good ride,” said Jake. “It was kinda lonely out there for me for most of the race. But two podiums this weekend-I’ll take that and move onto Atlanta.”

Infineon Raceway Formula Xtreme Results:
1. Ben Spies – Suzuki
2. Jake Zemke – Honda
3. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha
4. Steve Rapp – Suzuki
5. Adam Fergusson – Suzuki
8. Ty Howard – Honda
9. Doug Chandler – Honda

Formula Xtreme Point Standings:
1. Ben Spies – Suzuki – 75
2. Jake Zemke – Honda – 64
3. Damon Buckmaster – Yamaha – 55
4. Steve Rapp – Suzuki – 51
5. Josh Hayes – Suzuki – 51
9. Marty Craggill – Honda – 43




From a press release issued by Dream Team Racing DUCATI:

Race 1: 8th Place For Pegram

Dream Team Racing (DTR) Ducati’s Larry Pegram, brought his bike home in 8th place after what turned out to be a blown head-gasket slowed his advance to the front of the field. A very respectable finish when you consider he had to start from 10th place. The DTR Ducati rider who was second fastest in morning practice behind series leader Mat Mladin was gridded based on his points standing since there was no offical qualifying caused by rain.

Pegram: I had passed Kurtis Roberts for 6th and was preparing to pass B. Bostrom for 5th when the motor started to sputter. The loss of compression robbed me of power so I did my best to stay out ahead of the non factory riders and salvage an 8th place. The Michelin Tires are working really well and I look forward to Race 2.

Race 2: 6th For DTR’s Larry Pegram

DTR Ducati’s Larry Pegram moved up from his 10th place start position to give Ducati it’s highest finish so far in the 2003 AMA Superbike Championship Series. Larry on his Michelin shod 998RS03 had special sponsorship from Pro Italia/Ducati Los Angeles for the Infineon Races. In the race he was able to stay with the Japanese Factory sponsored racers and mixed it up with several of them through most of Race 2. This was in spite of the fact that the AMA Spec. Ducatis’ run on smaller throttle bodies than the World Superbike Ducatis’.

Pegram: I got a good start and followed Eric Bostrom for much of Race 2 until my lack of endurance began to get to me. I was

From a press release issued by MonsterMob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM

Round 4 – 2003 British Superbike Championship powered by HALLS, Thruxton

Sunday 4th and Monday 5th May 2003

SHAKEY HITS DOUPLE TOP.. AGAIN!!

MonsterMob Ducati rider Shane Byrne strengthened his grip on the 2003 British Superbike Championship with his second consecutive double victory, to emerge from round four 65 points to the good.

The 26 year old Kent rider followed up his first ever double win at Thruxton over Easter with a repeat performance in front of a bumper bank holiday crowd at Oulton Park, Cheshire to take command of the 12 round series.

“I got my head down in race one and kept plugging away and gradually built a gap. There was a minor problem with the bike so we decided to use the spare for race two and I was a little apprehensive but it all worked out just fine. Another double is unbelievable and all credit to a fantastic team effort.”

Meanwhile team mate Stuart Easton couldn’t reciprocate in the Supersport class when problems in qualifying relegated him to a row three start aboard the MonsterMob 748 Ducati.

The 18 year old Hawick racer battled his way up to fifth at the flag to be docked a place for a chicane infringement on the final lap.

“I’m disappointed as I’ve conceded a lot of points to my rivals today. I need to be winning and a sixth place is not a lot of good to my championship aspirations.”

And whilst team owner Paul Bird was delighted with his team’s Superbike results, he sympathised with Easton.

“Shakey’s on fire at present and long may it continue – but another double is fantastic. Stuart proved at Thruxton that he can cut it with the best but today wasn’t his day.”

The next round takes place at Knockhill, Scotland on 17/18th May.

Superbike Results

Race One
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:37.968
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 29:43.700
3. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 29:44.420
4. Steve Plater (Honda) 29:50.449
5. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:58.832
6. John Crawford (Ducati) 29:59.701
7. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 30:00.849
8. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 30:02.181
9. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 30:09.287
10. Mark Heckles (Honda) 30:11.245

Race Two
1. Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 29:30.799
2. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 29:40.205
3. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 29:45.601
4. Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 29:47.907
5. Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 29:48.022
6. Mark Heckles (Honda) 29:53.655
7. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 29:53.656
8. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 30:03.321
9. Gary Mason (Yamaha) 30:05.850
10. John Crawford (Ducati) 30:10.202

Superbike Championship Standings after Round 4

1: Shane Byrne (MonsterMob Ducati) 190pts
2: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 135pts
3: Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 87pts
4: Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) 82pts
5: Steve Hislop (Yamaha) 77pts
6: Gary Mason (Yamaha) 75pts
7: Steve Plater (Honda) 64pts
7: John Reynolds (Suzuki) 64pts
9: John Crawford (Ducati) 55pts
10: Scott Smart (Kawasaki) 47pts

Supersport Result
1. Karl Harris (Honda) 27:26.193
2. Dean Thomas (Honda) 27:28.005
3. Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 27:32.854
4. Leon Haslam (Ducati) 27:36.541
5. Michael Laverty (Honda) 27:37.658
6. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 27:38.400
7. Adrian Coates (Honda) 27:38.486
8. Craig Jones (Triumph) 27:47.234
9. Jamie Robinson (Yamaha) 27:48.797
10. Kieran Murphy (Kawasaki) 27:49.382

Supersport Championship Standings After Round 4
1: Karl Harris 90pts
2: Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 51pts
3: Simon Andrews 49pts
4: Adrian Coates 43pts
4: Michael Laverty 43pts
6: John Crockford 39pts
7: Leon Haslam 27pts
8: Rob Frost 25pts
9: Craig Jones 24pts
10:Tom Sykes 21pts



More, from a press release issued by Team Renegade Ducati:

RUTTER RACKS UP TWO PODIUMS AT OULTON PARK

Michael Rutter stormed to two podium finishes in rounds seven and eight of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday, but the Team Renegade Ducati rider left the Cheshire circuit disappointed not to have taken a race win.

Second away from the line in the opening race, Rutter hung onto the rear of race leader, Shane Byrne, for the first eight laps, before handling problems forced him to slow and accept 20 points for second place. In race two, the 30-year-old West Midlander was involved in a battle for second place with John Reynolds, but handling problems struck again in the closing stages of the race and Rutter was forced to settle for third, and the final position on the podium.

“Second and third may seem like reasonable finishes, but we came here this weekend to win, so I’m not particularly happy about the results,” said Rutter. “Because we’ve had a few problems with set-up this weekend I had to muscle the bike around in both races and you just can’t ride a Ducati that way. But, we learn more about the bike at every meeting and I’m confident we’ll have things sorted for Knockhill.”

While Rutter was disappointed with two podium finishes, his Renegade Ducati teammate, Sean Emmett, was devastated to rack up two more non-finishes at Oulton Park. The 33-year-old Weybridge rider was forced to retire from race one when his Ducati 998F02 developed an electrical fault, while a rear tyre problem sidelined him after just ten laps of race two.

“What can I say; the nightmare continues,” commented Emmett. “Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong so far this year. To be fair, it’s not really anyone’s fault, it’s just that we’ve had four season’s worth of bad luck in four meetings. But it’s got to end sometime and, while the championship has probably gone for me now, I’m still determined to get out there and win races. If we can get some testing done between now and Knockhill then I’m sure we can get things sorted and be back up there at the front in two weeks time.”

After qualifying in 18th place on Sunday, Nick Medd bettered his grid position in both 18-lap Superbike races on Monday, adding to the championship points he secured in rounds three and four at Snetterton.

“Although the results aren’t what I’d have hoped for, it’s been a good weekend for me,” said Medd. “I’m a lot happier on the bike now than I was at the start of the season and I’m beginning to understand both how the Ducati needs to be ridden and how to set it up to suit me. If we can continue to make progress at Knockhill, then I’m sure the results will come.”

Leon Haslam jumped four places in the championship standings after bringing his Ducati 748 home in fourth place in the 16-lap Supersport race at Oulton Park. The 19-year-old former GP rider had held second place for much of the race, but lost out on a podium finish when Dean Thomas and Simon Andrews used a top speed advantage to best effect towards the end.

“Set-up is critical at Oulton Park but the problems we had on Saturday, combined with the weather, meant that we weren’t quite there come race day,” said Haslam. “I was able to run the same lap times as Karl Harris, but I just didn’t have the top speed needed to stay with Dean Thomas and Simon Andrews when they came past me towards the end. But, after not finishing at the previous two rounds, it was good to finally see the chequered flag again this weekend.”

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

MotoGP Heads to Europe for Spanish Showdown

This weekend will mark the start of the European ten race contingent of the MotoGP World Championship at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain. The Jerez event is one of the most exciting and popular in the MotoGP calendar, last year luring an audience of no less than 201,418 during the three days of qualifying and racing. The party atmosphere amongst the spectators and traditionally clement weather makes this one of the most appealing motorsport events in the world.

Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa is always one of the main attractions in Jerez, being one of just two Spanish riders in the MotoGP class. Catalunya-born Checa currently lies in joint-eighth place in the World Championship and will try to improve that position this weekend on his Yamaha YZR-M1. After a tricky start to the year, finishing tenth at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka and ninth at the Africa’s Grand Prix in Welkom two weeks ago, Checa is aiming to climb the podium again this weekend as he did at the Spanish Grand Prix three years ago.

Checa will be rejoined this weekend by his Fortuna Yamaha team-mate Marco Melandri, who has been out of action for the past two races due to leg injuries sustained during his first morning practice at the Japanese Grand Prix just over a month ago. Yamaha test rider Norick Abe stepped in as Melandri’s replacement for both of the first two races of the season but now hands the baton back to Melandri who will compete in Jerez.

The MotoGP paddock moves on to Le Mans after Jerez for the French Grand Prix on May 25, then to the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello on June 8.

Fortuna Yamaha Team Striving for Jerez Podium

The Fortuna Yamaha Team and its 8 tonnes of freight headed back to its Milan base in Italy last week where team members packed up yet again for their European mission. The team are no strangers to the Jerez circuit in southern Spain, having tested there three times during the winter for a total of nine days. Unfortunately wet weather conditions meant that only three of those nine days were beneficial for riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri to familiarise themselves to the Jerez circuit on their YZR-M1 machines.

The Yamaha four-stroke has changed a lot since it competed at Jerez in 2002, and Fortuna Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio has all confidence that the team, its bike and riders, are in a position to achieve a top result, “We were really unlucky with the weather in Jerez during our winter testing time there,” said Brivio. “But when we did have some good weather, for only three of our days there, both Carlos and Marco’s lap times were good.

“Carlos has not had a great start to the season and has not performed to his full potential. But we saw some improvements in Welkom already and we are working hard with him to improve his feeling on the bike, and hopefully Jerez will be the place this happens – it is always extra motivation for a rider at their home Grand Prix, and the atmosphere in Jerez is normally fantastic, Carlos has many fans there.

“We will be happy to have Marco back in Jerez but of course once again I would like to thank Norick for his great performance in Welkom two weeks ago. Obviously after just one month Marco’s injuries are not 100% healed. However he feels strong enough to ride and it is important for him not to have too long away from the racing environment. He needs to take things slowly and not push himself too hard too soon.”

Technically Speaking

Due to numerous hard braking areas, and countless camber changes, chassis balance will be the primary concern for the Fortuna Yamaha Team in Jerez. The front suspension will need to deal with the high braking loads while still offering movement when almost fully compressed, to ensure that the front forks absorb these bumps rather than only the front tyre. Increasing the spring rate will prevent the front of the motorcycle from diving too quickly under deceleration, while the fork compression damping will be set to allow enough high-speed movement to deal with the repetitive bumps.

“Now that we have a full season’s development under our belts one of our primary concerns last year, which was the braking stability of the bike into the hairpins, should no longer be an issue,” says YZR-M1 Project Leader Ichiro Yoda. “This is the result of a more neutral geometry provided by the 2003 Deltabox frame combined with an improved engine braking package than what we ran there in 2002.”

Meanwhile the rear spring rate will be set slightly firmer to prevent the bike squatting under power through the high cornering forces, while overall feel will be ensured with less compression damping – aimed at helping riders gain the best drive off the positive cambered turns.

Melandri will also benefit from the more aggressive M1 fairing package, first used by his team-mate Checa at the Suzuka MotoGP. The new fairing offers better aerodynamics which has also had a positive effect on not only the top speed, but the M1’s handling characteristics too.

‘El Toro’ Hopes for Spanish Boost

Carlos Checa is hoping that a return to his native country and performing in front of the generally huge and enthusiastic Jerez crowd will give him the boost he needs to really start his 2003 campaign. Checa is now in his ninth season in the premier class. He has proved on numerous occasions that he has talent, speed and guts but has lacked a consistent run of results to take him to the number one spot. The affable Spaniard is not happy with his start to the season and believes that the expected crowd of 130,000 plus people at Jerez on Sunday will give him a boost.

“We definitely struggled in Japan,” admitted Checa. “That carried over to the opening day in Welkom but on the Saturday I felt much happier with the bike and as a result I felt more comfortable. Unfortunately I just wasn’t able to push as much as I wanted in the race.

“If I’m happy with the base on Friday in Jerez then I think we can have a good weekend. Everybody continues to work very hard and it’s frustrating for all of us to finish tenth and ninth. I’m feeling very motivated now and I love racing in front of the Spanish fans. Jerez is a very special place and it makes you feel good to see so many people enjoying the party atmosphere. In the past we could hear the crowd during the race but they’ll have to shout pretty loud to be heard above the M1 now!”

Melandri Looking Forward to his return to MotoGP

Italian youngster Marco Melandri is well on the road to recovery after his fall during the Friday morning practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix one month ago forced him to sit out the season’s first two races. Melandri suffered a double fracture of his ankle and a small chipped fracture of the femur in the high-speed crash, as well as a broken nose. He flew back to Italy after Suzuka, where he has spent the past month in rehabilitation.

Although now a UK resident, Melandri is fortunate enough to have received medical treatment from the MotoGP Championship’s Clinica Mobile doctors in Imola which is based close to his home town Ravenna. The Clinica Mobile staff have kept a close eye on Melandri during his recovery and along with Melandri’s management, the Fortuna Yamaha Team, and Yamaha, they feel that he is now sufficiently recovered to make his return in Jerez.

“Now I don’t feel too bad in general and my body condition is okay to ride again,” said Melandri of his progress. “I would say my fitness level is about 60% right now but at this stage the best training is to ride the bike again. Since Suzuka I have been working a lot in physiotherapy, and this has been my only focus. I have stayed in Imola at my sister’s house, and on Doctor Costa’s advice I have been swimming and cycling for about six hours each day. After Suzuka I was hoping to be ready to ride in South Africa but then I chose not to race there because it would have been too risky.

“I watched the race in Welkom and was really sad because I was so far from the track. I tried to stay positive and convince myself that it was better to stay at home and to focus on working on my ankle and getting it better for Jerez. Anyway my leg has healed quicker than was expected and I cannot personally say exactly how well it is until I ride again. I rode a Yamaha R6 in Monza last week for a short time but Jerez will be like training again for me and I know that I must take things slowly, as if I’m starting all over again. Physically speaking, the muscles around my femur are still not perfect but the bone itself is okay. The main problem is my ankle but I’m lucky because I injured my right ankle and with the four-strokes you can use
the rear brake a bit less if you choose to.”

Melandri has had some productive pre-season testing time with the M1 at the Spanish circuit of Jerez. Although two of the Fortuna Yamaha Team’s winter tests there were badly affected by rain, the 250cc World Champion had the chance at the IRTA test in February to accustom himself to the circuit with
his four-stroke Yamaha machine, and set an impressive best lap time of 1’43.236 – the circuit’s best lap was 1’42.193 set by Valentino Rossi in 2002.

This time around Melandri will benefit even more from a new aerodynamic fairing for his M1, which team-mate Checa has been using since Suzuka. The more aggressive Yamaha YZR-M1 fairing features a narrower frontal area, improvements to the unique M1 flexible air-intake system and a hard-lined rear seat cowling. Melandri is looking forward to the chance to ride at Jerez again, “I never liked the Jerez circuit particularly until I rode the M1 there this winter,” said the Italian. “I prefer it much more with the four-stroke rather than the two-stroke because the engine braking helps me to turn into the fast corners. It rained a lot during our winter testing there but I finally got some good practice in during the IRTA test. I’ve never ridden particularly well there in my two-stroke days but I hope that will change. I will know after the practice sessions how strong I will be physically for the race. I think for sure it will be hard because I haven’t been able to train properly since my accident in Suzuka.”

Carlos Checa : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Great Ayton, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 2 (500)
First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500)
First GP: Europe, 1993 (125)
GP starts: 138 (18 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Jerez 2002 results. Grid: 5th, Race: DNF (retired on last lap)

Marco Melandri Information
Age: 20
Lives: Derby, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 17 (10 x 250, 7 x 125)
First GP victory: Assen, 1998 (125)
First GP: Brno, 1997 (125)
GP starts: 76 (42 x 250, 34 x 125)
Pole positions: 8
First pole: Sachsenring, 1998 (125)

From a press release issued by FGSPORTGROUP:

Imola 200 Race Result

Zongshen First, Phase One Second, Yamaha Austria Third

The Zongshen No.1 Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens has won the Imola 200, the San Marino round of the World Endurance Championship. Suzuki GB Phase One’s Olivier Four and James Ellison were second, and Yamaha Austria’s Saiger, Wilding and Truchsess were third.

Olivier four led the opening laps of the race, chased by Zongshen 2’s Igor Jerman and Zongshen 1’s Warwick Nowland. The trio broke away from the pack, with only Trackdaze’s Mike Edwards able to match the 1:55 pace and keep them in sight.

Jerman took the lead briefly on lap 14, followed a lap later by Nowland as the Phase One bike began to suffer from tyre wear. After the first round of pit stops the Zongshen 1 bike was 20 seconds ahead of Zongshen 2, with Phase One some 30 seconds behind in third place.

Yamaha Austria had closed to fourth place after Trackdaze lost two laps in the pits, and Endurance Moto 38 had moved up to fifth.

Police Nationale, in their first race using a Suzuki GSX-R1000 began to challenge the two Yamahas in the final thirty minutes, Paolo Blora lapping faster than either Yamaha Austria or Endurance Moto 38 could manage.

The race came alive in the closing laps when the Zongshen No.2 bike’s clutch failed, dropping them down the standings and ultimately causing them to retire. Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 also failed to record a finish after the bike ran low on fuel in the closing laps. This allowed Phase One to move up to second place, Yamaha Austria’s untried superbike specification R1 moved up to third, and Police Nationale inherited fourth.

Fifth place went to Bolliger Team, the only Kawasaki in the race, sixth to GMT94 and seventh to the highest placed non-permanent team – the No. 101 DRE Ducati 999.Fabi Corse took eighth place, Bergamelli ninth and KFM Herber were tenth.


Quotes:

Warwick Nowland, Zongshen No.1: It’s a very good feeling to have won but it’s only the first race. My thanks go to the organisers, the team and Dunlop who have all worked hard to help get us consistent lap times. I saw Olivier go and chased him. Everything went well. This result is just the start. My thanks to Stephane Mertens for being a good team mate.

Stephane Merten, Zongshen No.1s: Thanks to the organisers for a fantastic track; this was my first time here and I enjoyed it. I am sorry for the second Zongshen bike which had a technical problem, but I’m pleased that the team did well.

Olivier Four, Suzuki GB Phase One No.3: I thought we could win but our rear settings were not good and caused tyre wear. I was pushing from the start but the bike was always moving, moving, moving at the rear. I kept trying.

James Ellison, Suzuki GB Phase One No.3: All the lads here are quick. I was surprised that Warwick and Stephane were doing the same lap times as I was two years ago in my superstock race here. I was expecting to be fast but was brought down to earth. It was a good race.

Erwin Wilding, Yamaha Austria: We go very rapidly with our bike and it was the best we could do.

Karl Truchsess, Yamaha Austria: Fifth or sixth would have been good but third was perfect.


Top Ten Positions:

1. Suzuki Zongshen 1 (CHN) (Nowland – Mertens) – 66 laps, 2:09:23.578

2. Suzuki GB Phase One (GBR) (Four – Ellison) + 1:12.386

3. Yamaha Austria (AUT) (Saiger – Wilding – Truchsess) – 1 lap

4. Suzuki Police 22 (FRA) (Giabbani – Blora) – 1 lap

5. Kawasaki Bolliger (SUI) (Kellemberger – Jerzenbech – Nystrom) – 1 lap

6. Yamaha GMT 94 (FRA) (Scarnato – Guyot) – 1 lap

7. Ducati DRE 101 (ITA) (Tessari – Mauri) – 1 lap

8. Suzuki Fabi Corse (ITA) (Capriotti – Fabi) – 2 laps

9. Suzuki Bergamelli Racing (ITA) (Battisti – Bosetti) – 2 laps

10. Suzuki KFM Herber (GER) (Herber – Bursa) – 2 laps

17 Other Finishers were classified.

Fastest Lap: Nowland in 1’54″914 with an average speed of 154.540 kmh (95.415 mph)

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin won the second Superbike race at Infineon Raceway in much the way he won the first, quickly pulling away and building a lead of almost 10 seconds before cruising to the finish.

Aaron Yates finished second, 7.5 seconds behind, with Ben Bostrom third, another 9 seconds behind, after challenging Yates for second at one point.

Miguel Duhamel, third in the first Superbike race, did not start, having crashed in the Supersport race and either breaking or not breaking his collarbone, depending upon who you believe.

As Mladin crossed the finish line, the AMA Pro Racing timing & scoring system, which had been acting strangly from the start of practice, started varying the splits between riders.

Results
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -7.8 seconds
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -16.379
4. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -25.6
5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -33.6
6. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -57.1
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -74
8. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -79
9. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, -81
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -83
11. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -86
12. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. James Randolph, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. Francis Martin, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -1 lap
21. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Clint McBain, Suzuki, -1 lap
23. Brian Livengood, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. Jack Pfeifer, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Rob Mesa, Suzuki, -1 lap
26. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Rob Christman, Suzuki, -1 lap
28. John Wilson, Suzuki, -1 lap
29. Chris Voelker, Ducati, -1 lap
30. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, -1 lap
31. Garry Combs, Suzuki, -1 lap
32. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -2 laps
33. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki, -5 laps
34. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, -19 laps, DNF, mechanical
35. Jeff Williams, Suzuki, -19 laps
36. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, -23 laps, DNF

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Accurate Timing & Scoring remains an unfullfilled dream at Infineon Raceway this morning, with riders who cut part of the course being scored as if they had done legitimate laps.

At this point, all we can do is post our best guess as to which times that show up on the timing & scoring monitors are legitimate. As an example, Gary Jaehne is currently shown as being the fastest rider in the Superstock sessions, at 1:17.431, followed by Tommy Hayden at 1:37.742. Both those times defy the laws of physics, as does J. Knupp’s 1:31.702 in Formula Xtreme.

Supersport
1. Damon Buckmaster, 1:39.032
2. Jamie Hacking, 1:39.234
3. Ben Spies, 1:40.032
4. Aaron Gobert, 1:40.250
5. Marty Craggill, 1:40.376
6. Jake Zemke, 1:40.384
7. Miguel Duhamel, 1:40.451
8. Jason DiSalvo, 1:40.635
9. Alex Gobert, 1:40.636
10. Doug Chandler, 1:40.915


Superstock
1. Jason DiSalvo, 1:39.895
2. Opie Caylor, 1:40.540
3. Adam Fergusson, 1:40.540
4. Alex Gobert, 1:40.808
5. Josh Hayes, 1:41.295
6. Vincent Haskovec, 1:41.499
7. Jimmy Moore, 1:41.550
8. Chris Ulrich, 1:41.695
9. Jamie Stauffer, 1:42.252
10. Tony Meiring, 1:42.269

Formula Xtreme
1. Ben Spies, 1:37.983
2. Mat Mladin, 1:38.251
3. Aaron Yates, 1:38.747
4. Jake Zemke, 1:38.984
5. Damon Buckmaster, 1:39.130
6. Marty Craggill, 1:39.163
7. Adam Fergusson, 1:39.411
8. Jamie Hacking, 1:39.547
9. Steve Rapp, 1:39.830
10. Aaron Gobert, 1:40.051
11. Jimmy Moore, 1:40.402
12. Doug Chandler, 1:40.568
13. Jason Pridmore, 1:40.744
14. Craig Connell, 1:40.979
15. Lee Acree, 1:41.168
16. Chris Ulrich, 1:41.924
17. Josh Hayes, 1:42.628

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha
2. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -0.4 second
3. Jake Zemke, Honda, -12.3 seconds
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -13.1
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -15.4
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, -20.3
7. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -30.9
8. Alex Gobert, Honda, -33.3
9. Doug Chandler, Honda, -33.6
10. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -39.7
11. Ty Howard, Honda, -42.6
12. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, -43.0
13. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, -49.7
14. Chris Peris, Honda, -56.4
15. Craig Connell, Honda, -62.0
16. Jason Curtis, Honda, -72.2
17. Chris Siglin, Suzuki, -76.8
18. Francis Martin, Suzuki, -82.8
19. Thad Halsmer, Yamaha, -95.9
20. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -1 lap
21. Brien Whitlock, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Heath Small, Yamaha, -1 lap
23. Oliver Jervis, Kawasaki, -1 lap
24. David Lambert, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Lance Williams, Yamaha, -1 lap
26. Quentin Wilson, Yamaha, -1 lap
27. Charlie Hewitt, Kawasaki, -1 lap
28. Scott Simpson, Suzuki, -2 laps
29. Mark Degross, Honda, -2 laps
30. Chris Velarde, Kawasaki, -2 laps
31. Marty Craggill, Honda, -3 laps, DNF, crash
32. Michael Leon, Suzuki, -3 laps
33. Hector Romero, Yamaha, -4 laps
34. David Guy, Suzuki, -11 laps
35. Jeff Williams, Suzuki, -14 laps
36. Andy Carman, Honda, -15 laps
37. Nate Wait, Kawasaki, -15 laps


Note: Miguel Duhamel crashed out of the race for third on the last lap and, according to Honda spokesman Ken Vreeke, broke his left collarbone.

But Infineon Raceway’s John Cardinale then said that Vreeke’s announcement that Duhamel had a broken collarbone “was premature.”

At about 4:30 Cardinale announced that Duhamel had been X-rayed at Sonoma Valley Hospital and, according to Dr. Robert Cohen of the Infineon Raceway medical center, Duhamel did indeed break his left collarbone.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin battled Miguel Duhamel early on but then pulled away to win the first AMA Superbike race of the weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Duhamel faded to 3rd behind a charging Aaron Yates.

Eric Bostrom was 4th ahead of Ben Bostrom, Steve Rapp, Kurtis Roberts and Larry Pegram.

Jason Pridmore, who had caught and passed Ben Bostrom, ran out of fuel on the last lap and pushed his bike across the line in 9th.

Lee Acree was 10th ahead of Jordan Szoke, Vincent Haskovec, Steve Crevier, John Dugan and Jeremy Toye. Haskovec was the last rider on the lead lap.

Rapp came from row 11 on the grid while Acree came from row 10.

Complicating things was a light drizzle on parts of the track mid-race.

Anthony Gobert pulled off the track and parked his Ducati against a barrier, while running behind Rapp, a little after the halfway point.

Unofficial Results:
1. Mat Mladin, GSX-R1000, 28 laps
2. Aaron Yates, GSX-R1000, -8.3 seconds
3. Miguel Duhamel, RC51, -16.2
4. Eric Bostrom, ZX-7RR, -43.3
5. Ben Bostrom, RC51, -59.1
6. Steve Rapp, GSX-R1000, -67
7. Kurtis Roberts, RC51, -85
8. Larry Pegram, 998RS, -90
9. Jason Pridmore, GSX-R1000, -91
10. Lee Acree, GSX-R750, -93
11. Jordan Szoke, GSX-R1000, -97
12. Vincent Haskovec, GSX-R1000, -100
13. Steve Crevier, GSX-R1000, -1 lap
14. John Dugan, GSX-R, -1 lap, -12.8 seconds
15. Jeremy Toye, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -13.2 seconds
16. Geoff May, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -24.9
17. Shawn Higbee, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -27
18. Brian Livengood, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -28
19. Mike Ciccotto, GSX-R750, -1 lap, -33
20. Alan Schmidt, GSX-R750, -1 lap, -35.6
21. Dean Mizdal, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -36.8
22. Clint McBain, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -37.2
23. Jake Holden, GSX-R750, -1 lap, -37.4
24. Francis Martin, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -45.9
25. James Randolph, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -69.7
26. Rob Mesa, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -70.1
27. Michael Barnes, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -71.9
28. Jack Pfeifer, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -73.3
29. John Wilson, GSX-R750, -1 lap, -75.0
30. Rob Christman, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -83
31. Chris Voelker, 998, -1 lap, -83.9
32. Garry Combs, GSX-R1000, -1 lap, -95
33. Jeff Williams, GSX-R1000, -2 laps
34. Marco Martinez, GSX-R1000, -2 laps
35. Tom Wertman, GSX-R1000, -2 laps
36. Anthony Gobert, 998RS, -9 laps, DNF, mechanical
37. Kim Nakashima, GSX-R1000, -14 laps
38. Andy Deartherage, GSX-R1000, -17 laps, DNF, crash
39. Scott Jensen, GSX-R1000, DNF