Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The high-tech AMA Pro Racing timing & scoring system melted down Saturday afternoon at California Speedway.

As of 7:00 p.m., no provisional results had been issued by AMA Pro Racing for the Superstock race, which started at 4:00 p.m., nor for 250cc GP qualifying, which preceeded the Superstock race.

AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring has been plagued with problems throughout the weekend, and the system was not working correctly when official practice started Friday morning. The problems continued and built up on Saturday.

As an example, the system was not picking up all the transponder signals on Friday and Saturday.

During Superstock qualifying Friday, Vincent Haskovec was shown as doing a single 7:50 lap when in fact the system combined several of his laps.

The situation frustrated reporters from the area general media; they were supposed to file stories on the day’s races but said they were first told that Eric Bostrom was third in Saturday’s Superbike race, then were told he was fourth, then were told he was third again. Finally, Eric Bostrom was declared to be fourth again, due to a penalty for cutting a chicane to, as Bostrom tells it, avoid hitting a lapped rider, with no on-track time advantage gained.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning AMA Superbike Qualifying Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:25.504
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:25.566
3. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, 1:25.970
4. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:26.045
5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:26.364
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:26.578
7. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:26.717
8. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:26.750
9. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:28.717
10. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:28.752
11. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:28.970
12. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, 1:29.206
13. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:29.430
14. Jacob Holden, Suzuki, 1:29.717
15. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:29.722
16. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:30.098
17. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:30.125
18. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:30.255
19. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, 1:30.288
20. James Randolph, Suzuki, 1:30.354
21. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki, 1:30.381
22. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:30.547
23. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:30.640
24. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:30.721
25. Robert Christman, Suzuki, 1:30.823
26. Francis Martin, Suzuki, 1:30.824
27. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:30.824
28. Jack Pfeifer, Suzuki, 1:30.824
29. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki, 1:31.034
30. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:31.233

AMA Superbike Combined Qualifying Results:

1. Mladin, 1:25.123
2. Yates, 1:25.566
3. Gobert, 1:25.970
4. Roberts, 1:26.045
5. Eric Bostrom, 1:26.259
6. Pegram, 1:26.308
7. Duhamel, 1:26.405
8. Ben Bostrom, 1:26.496
9. Moore, 1:28.717
10. Higbee, 1:28.738
11. Caylor, 1:28.752
12. Pridmore, 1:28.970
13. Barnes, 1:29.041
14. Szoke, 1:29.206
15. May, 1:29.430
16. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:29.688
17. Holden, 1:29.717
18. Haskovec, 1:29.722
19. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:30.058
20. Dugan, 1:30.098
21. Ulrich, 1:30.125
22. Deatherage, 1:30.255
23. Crevier, 1:30.288
24. Randolph, 1:30.354
25. Toye, 1:30.381
26. Furtek, 1:30.640
27. Mark Ledesma, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.666
28. Christman, 1:30.823
29. Scott Jensen, 1:30.824
30. Pfeifer, 1:30.824
31. Martin, 1:30.824
32. Ciccotto, 1:30.916
33. Schmidt, 1:31.034
34. McBain, 1:31.233
35. Brian Livengood, Suzuki, 1:31.359
36. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, 1:31.432
37. Jeff Williams, Suzuki, 1:31.866
38. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:32.118
39. James Compton, Suzuki, 1:32.130
40. Rob Mesa, Suzuki, 1:32.172
41. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:32.246
42. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, 1:32.344
43. Troy Green, Yamaha, 1:32.405
44. Tom Montano, 1:32.438

Qualifying Cut-off Time: 1:35.338

Aaron Yates knocked Shawn Higbee down in turn three early in Saturday’s qualifying session. Higbee, who was uninjured, said, “He berm-shotted me. He ran right into me and took the tires right out from under me.”

Yates hardly came off line in the incident and continued on his lap.

Miguel Duhamel ran into Clint McBain coming into the chicane at the end of the infield straightaway late in the qualifying session. Both riders crashed, but Duhamel was able to ride his Honda RC51 back to the pits and later rode in Supersport qualifying on his CBR600RR.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday 250cc GP Qualifying Times:

1. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, 2:25.787
2. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Yamaha, 2:25.797
3. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 2:26.748
4. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Yamaha, 2:26.879
5. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, 2:27.336
6. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:27.588
7. Tekkyu Kayo, Yamaha, 2:28.073
8. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia ,2:28.659
9. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 2:29.111
10. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 2:29.803
11. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 2:30.003
12. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 2:30.012
13. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 2:30.084
14. Anthony West, Aprilia, 2:30.697
15. Eric Bataille, Honda, 2:31.048
16. Jakub Smrz, Honda, 2:31.055
17. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, 2:31.150
18. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 2:31.274
19. Christian Gemmel, Honda, 2:32.756
20. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 2:32.767
21. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 2:33.875

250cc GP Final Qualifying Results (Friday and Saturday times combined):

1. Hiroshi Aoyama , Honda, 2:17.930
2. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Yamaha, 2:18.105
3. Alex Debon, Honda, 2:18.274
4. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 2:19.990
5. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 2:20.018
6. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 2:20.285
7. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, 2:20.998
8. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 2:22.111
9. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 2:22.457
10. Jakub Smrz, Honda, 2:22.464
11. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 2:22.811
12. Tekkyu Kayo, Yamaha, 2:22.869
13. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 2:23.476
14. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 2:23.717
15. Jaroslav Hules, Yamaha, 2:24.348
16. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 2:24.692
17. Anthony West, Aprilia, 2:25.134
18. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 2:25.496
19. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 2:26.008
20. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 2:26.560
21. Erwan Nigon, Aprilia, 2:26.613
22. Tomoyoshi Koyama, Yamaha, 2:26.730
23. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 2:27.281
24. Christian Gemmel, Honda, 2:27.509

107 percent of fastest time: 2:27.585

DNQ. Henk vd Lagemaat, Honda, 2:28.804
DNQ. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 2:28.988
DNQ. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 2:29.312
DNQ. Eric Bataille, Honda, 2:31.048
DNQ. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 2:32.767
DNQ. Joan Olive, Aprilia, 2:33.222

From a press release issued by Norm Viano, Lawdog Sports Management:

BOSS NEWS – 4/5/03

After a disappointing 5th place finish at Daytona, Eric Bostrom is ready for this weekend’s Superbike race at California Speedway where he’s qualified the Kawasaki ZX-7RR just off the front row.

“I’m looking forward to getting back to racing again. Especially after a bad race like Daytona. It just never feels good to leave on a poor finish. Then you have to sit around and wait another month before you get another shot at winning. It’s not sat real well with me this last month and it’s given me a little extra fire and intensity in my training, so I’m looking forward to the race. I’ve been training pretty hard and riding bikes quite a bit. I know we’re ready and hoping that the Kawasaki is up to the challenge because Fontana requires a lot of motor.”

In between the races, Eric did get the opportunity to catch the Phillip Island World Superbike race on Speed Channel. “The race at Phillip Island was actually really exciting. I didn’t think the series would be as fun as it was to watch. And it is also good news to see Dunlop trying to get back on track there. It looks like they might have made lots of improvement over the winter time, and that’s especially good for us going into Laguna Seca here in a couple months to have a good tire to try and win a world championship race on.

“I just want to wish all the troops that are fighting over in Iraq right now all the best in returning home as quickly and safely as possible.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Tommy Hayden took the checkered flag first in the AMA Superstock race at California Speedway in Fontana, California Saturday on his 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6RR, but at post time (7:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time), AMA Pro Racing had not produced official results for the Superstock race, which started around 4:00 p.m..

In fact, who finished second and third in the Superstock race was in question at the podium ceremony and in the post-race press conference even though Corona Extra Suzuki’s Adam Fergusson and Hayden’s teammate Tony Meiring clearly crossed the line second and third, respectively.

Unofficially, Meiring got the holeshot and held off Hayden, Fergusson and Team EMGO Taiwan’s Chris Caylor, while a multi-bike pile-up in the turn three-four chicane on the first lap knocked several top riders out of the race for the win.

The cause of the chain-reaction incident was not clear, but it left Mike Ciccotto on the ground, John Haner with a bent rear wheel, Chris Ulrich and Josh Hayes off the track and Jason DiSalvo with minor bike damage. Ciccotto re-mounted to finish 25th, Haner fought a vibration to finish eighth, DiSalvo worked back up to ninth, Hayes unofficially finished 10th and Ulrich came back from 37th to salvage 12 points for 19th-place.

Hayden and Fergusson passed Meiring and battled for the first half of the race, while Meiring raced for third with Caylor for most of the race. Hayden eventually pulled away from Fergusson, and Meiring gapped Caylor in lapped traffic.

At the start of lap 16 of a scheduled 17, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Matt Furtek, who was fighting for 10th with Matt Wait, crashed at the exit of the turn one chicane when his bike’s steering damper failed. The race was stopped for Furtek’s fall.

Official AMA Superstock Race Results (issued at 7:30 p.m. PST):

1. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 14 laps
2. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -3.604 seconds
3. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -9.645 seconds
4. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, -9.801 seconds
5. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, -11.235 seconds
6. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, -11.236 seconds
7. Jamie Stauffer, Yamaha YZF-R6, -20.119 seconds
8. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, -20.498 seconds
9. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, -20.542 seconds
10. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -24.618 seconds
11. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6, -24.643 seconds
12. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R750, -27.938 seconds
13. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, -34.309 secondsd
14. Chris Peris, Honda CBR600F4i, -37.278 seconds
15. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki GSX-R750, -42.737 seconds
16. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R750, -42.857 seconds
17. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, -45.654 seconds
18. Jason Perez, Suzuki GSX-R600, -51.831 seconds
19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, -61.979 seconds
20. Mickey Lane, Suzuki, -70.309 seconds
21. Scott Simpson, Suzuki, -72.374 seconds
22. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, -77.943 seconds
23. Eric Haugo, Suzuki GSX-R750, -78.686 seconds
24. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -79.462 seconds
25. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, -80.388 seconds (penalized 10 seconds)
26. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki GSX-R750, -81.004 seconds
27. C. Rolland, Suzuki, -85.603 seconds
28. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R750, -87.116 (penalized 20 seconds)
29. B. Musselman, Suzuki, -87.947 seconds
30. Matt Furtek, Suzuki GSX-R750, -87.948 (penalized for causing red flag)
31. D. Bell, Suzuki, -1 lap
32. J. Chisum, Suzuki, -1 lap
33. S. Alexander, Kawasaki, -1 lap
34. M. Simon, Suzuki, -1 lap (penalized 10 seconds)
35. Chris Siglin, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap (penalized 10 seconds)
36. Brian Stokes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -9 laps
37. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10 laps, DNF, crash

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.308
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.097
3. Marty Craggill, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.204
4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.434
5. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.448
6. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.068
7. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.276
8. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:28.626
9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:28.914
10. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:30.219
11. Craig Connell, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.425
12. Ty Howard, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.425
13. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.979
14. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.186
15. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.272
16. James Randolph, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.409
17. Lenny Beckman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.746
18. Jason Curtis, Honda CBR954RR, 1:33.101
19. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.523
20. Sandor Bitter, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:33.658

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies earned the pole position for the Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final by lapping California Speedway’s 2.3-mile infield road course in a new record time of 1:25.945.

The previous record was held by defending AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Jason Pridmore at 1:26.027 from 2002.

Spies missed the beginning of the session with fuel pump problems before turning his fast lap late in the red-flag-interrupted 35-minute qualifying period.

Graves Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking, who said he wasn’t completely comfortable with his set-up yet, saved his best effort for his last lap and qualified second with a time of 1:26.528 on his YZF-R1.

Corona Extra Suzuki’s Adam Fergusson, a California Speedway first-timer, qualified third with a time of 1:26.590 on his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp made steady progress all weekend on his two-day-old 2003-model GSX-R1000 and was happy with the fourth-fastest time of 1:27.091.

The 17-lap AMA Formula Xtreme final is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Sunday.


AMA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Results:

1. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.945
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:26.528
3. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.590
4. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.091
5. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.104
6. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.395
7. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:27.415
8. Marty Craggill, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.671
9. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.689
10. Craig Connell, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.692
11. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR954RR, 1:27.845
12. Doug Chandler, Honda CBR954RR, 1:28.805
13. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.476
14. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.171
15. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R1000,1:30.502
16. Jason Curtis, Honda CBR954RR, 1:30.713
17. Mark Ledesma, Honda CBR929RR, 1:30.858
18. James Randolph, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.780
19. Lenny Beckman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.789
20. David Guy, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.982
21. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.374
22. Sandor Bitter, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.734
23. Mickey Lane, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.539
24. Eric Haugo, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.718
25. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.950
26. Steve Engelbrecht, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.112
27. Danny Eslick, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.227
28. Mark Simon, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.719
29. James King, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.148
30. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.386
31. Michael Kosta, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.392
32. Alex McElyea, Honda CBR929RR, 1:35.592
33. Nathan Hester, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.823
34. David Bell, Aprilia RSV1000, 1:36.004

112 Percent Of Fast Time: 1:36.258

DNQ. Michael Dantonio, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.925
DNQ. Christopher Ancien, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.217
DNQ. Stephen Hewitt, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.599
DNQ. Tony Cook, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:40.261