Kurtis Robets, Miguel DuHamel and Ben Bostrom on top.

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship: Round One

A Great Race That No One Saw after Rain Disrupts Qualifying and Postpones Racing
Wily Veteran Miguel DuHamel
Leads a Honda Sweep of Daytona 200

Opening Qualifying Session Report
Ben Bostrom on the Pole as Honda V-Twins and
Suzuki 4-Cylinder GSXR1000's take the Front Row at Daytona

Daytona Beach, Florida, USA (Thursday, March 6): Pole position for this weekend’s season opening round of the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship went to former World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom. The American Honda rider posted a time of 1:48.376, to edge out Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda, 1:48.554) and Mladin (1:48.555). Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates will complete the front row of the grid after setting a best time of 1:48.659. Less than one second covered the top nine riders during qualifying, with fellow Australian Anthony Gobert (Ducati Austin) seventh fastest.

Australia’s three times American Superbike champion Mat Mladin, will start from the front row of the grid for this weekend’s 62nd Daytona 200 classic after posting the third fastest time in today’s qualifying session that determined pole position and the remainder of the front row of the grid.

Mladin’s run at gaining pole was disrupted in the closing minutes as he fell from his Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the chicane. At that stage, Mladin had set the fastest time of his session at that point and was preparing to go quicker, but was robbed of the opportunity due to the crash.

“Having the crash with about 15 minutes came at the time when we were starting to put some new tyres on the bike and make a run at a pole position time,” said Mladin, who took pole for the 200 in 2001. “I had a different tyre on the front that I hadn’t had much time on and just lost it on the entry into the chicane. I got back to the pits and on to my spare bike as soon as I could, so that I could make sure that all of my parts were still working at least, but was only able to get a couple of laps in before the session closed.”

Mladin ran a number of solid lap times during the morning’s free practice session as he and his team continued to develop the all-new Suzuki GSX-R1000 that they will be campaigning in this years championship.

“The morning session went well for us today. We know what the bike is capable of doing at the moment, but we’re not happy with that, as I want it to do more. We made more improvements on the bike today from yesterday, but basically we just need to have more track time and get the bike sorted since it is still so new.”

For Mladin and his fellow front row starters, their place on the grid has already been confirmed which means that they will be able to turn their focus on race set up for Sunday’s 57-lap feature. Final Qualifying on Friday the 9th would be rained out, and all riders' grid positions would be determined by their times from Thursday.
Also rained out on Friday were the 600cc Supersport and 750cc Superstock races. The 600cc Supersport was rescheduled and run on Sunday morning before rained postponed the Superbike 200 race and 750cc SuperStock to Monday the 10th.

Daytona 200 – Combined practice times, Thursday, March 6
1. Ben Bostrom (American Honda) 1:48.376 mins; 2. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda) 1:48.554; 3. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:48.555; 4. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:48.659; 5. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) 1:48.695; 6. Ben Spies (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:48.825; 7 Anthony Gobert (Ducati Austin) 1:48.935; 8. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati) 1:49.087; 9. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda) 1:49.280; 10. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki) 1:50.343.

Ben Bostrom back in the saddle on the RC51 saddle with the pole at Daytona. Photo curtesy American Honda.

Miguel DuHamel leads a Honda a 1-2-3 sweep
of the rain delayed Daytona 200 Superbike Race on Monday

Daytona Beach, FL, Monday March 10th, 2003:
Weather, hot and sunny; temperature, 30'; track conditions, dry; crowd 10,000 (estimated).

The wily veteran Miguel DuHamel led a Honda 1-2-3 clean sweep of the rain postponed Daytona 200, America's most prestigious motorcycle race, with a classic slingshot draft pass on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, on a sunny afternoon in Florida. Former World Superbike star Ben Bostrom finished second, after starting from the pole position, a scant 0.069 seconds back, with Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts a shadow third, 0.155 seconds behind DuHamel, all thre mounted on Honda SP-2 / RC51 1000cc V-twin Superbikes.

The race had to be rescheduled from Sunday after a second rain strorm blew through Daytona on Sunday around noon time, just minutes before the start of the race, forcing it to be postponed until Monday. Rain had also postponed the running of both the 600 and 750cc Supersport and Superstock races on Friday, with the 600cc race being run Sunday morning before the rain, and the 750cc race on Monday afternoon after the Superbike race. Spectator turnout for Monday's race was less than 10,000 people, about 1/4th of what Sunday's race might have brought in. The rescheduled live broadcast of the races on Speed Channel were also missed my most fans who were at work on Monday and had no way of knowing when the racse would be run. In World Championship motoryclele racing the races do take place rain or shine. But at AMA Nationals the added expense of rain tires for non factory teamg, and the danger of many tracks which have concrete walls without safe runoff areas like Daytona Speedway, make racing in the rain not an option.

"This is so sweet," the 34-year-old French Canadian said after winning his fourth Daytona 200, and Honda's second in a row. "I was thinking the whole race, 'Just stay in the race, stay focused, stay out there.' This has got to be one of my sweetest wins because there were three guys on the end. There was nothing decided. There was not just one guy against one guy."

The win was Honda's ninth in the Daytona 200 and also the second time the company has swept the Superbike podium. The last time was in 1985 when Freddie Spencer won the race. In addition to winning the 200, Honda riders topped the Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport race (Kurtis Roberts) and the Daytona Supercross by Honda (Ricky Carmichael). DuHamel's victory, and the Honda podium, was a testament to teamwork. The Daytona 200 is the only race in America which features pit stops. DuHamel's crew, led by Al Luddington, worked flawlessly, twice filling his gas tank and changing two tires in less than nine seconds.

The race started from Pit Lane and saw Larry Pegram on The Dream Team Ducati and Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Maladin taking the lead and hold it for a lap, but both quickly faded backwards after lap 2. The race quickly turned into a 6 rider battle for first place between Aaron Yates on the other Yoshimura GSXR1000 Suzuki, Roberts, Ben Bostrom and Duhamel on the Hondas, brother Eric Bostrom on the factory Kawasaki, and Anthony Gobert on the Blue Bayou Team Ducati.

On Lap 15 Gobert had his Ducati 998F 02, a former factory Superbike, out front and in the lead. He was doing a terrific job, particularly since he was on his backup bike, his primary bike having lost its front brake pressure as it was rolled up to the start. Tony led the race for 3 laps until everyone starting pulling in for the first round of pit stops. Emerging back out onto the track after his pit stop, Tony's Ducati quickly began loosing power and started blowing smoke. His race was soon over. "The bike was running great before it went.Maybe it was because the bike wasn't warmed up when we switched over to it on the start." (Editors note: It World Superbike the factory Ducati Corse team always has the team's spare bikes warmed up and running in the pits as the riders go round the track for the sighting lap on their primary bikes).

Another rider deserving much credit for being able to run with the lead pack for much of the race was Eric Bostrom on the factory Kawasaki ZX7RR. The team had been testing all winter with their 750cc Superbike overbored to 805cc as the new AMA Superbike rules allowed, but this seemingly simple modification was adversely affecting the engine's reliability where it couldn't last a race. Eric was forced to run the same stock displacement 750cc Superbike motor from previous years against the other 1000cc factory bikes. Eric was quicker than most of the lead pack in the Daytona infield, and then on the banking he had to exploit catching the draft off the other leader to stay in the hunt and not loose too much of what he had picked up in the infield cours. But Eric never had the necessary power to lead the race on the banking. The same situation would apply to Eric later in the day during the 750cc Superstock race where he was having to run the Kawasaki 636cc ZX6 (which is too big to race in 600cc Supersport with the other manufacturers bikes).

When the second round of pit stops ended, after the 40th of 57 laps, the three Hondas were together at the front, along with the GSXR1000 Yoshimura Suzuki of Aaron Yates. It was a four rider battle for the lead with one four cylinder and three V-Twins. Then Yates blew it. He was in the lead and ran wide in the first turn with 8 laps to go, missing the the corner completely and loosing some 10 seconds before rejoining the race

That left the the three Hondas at the front with Roberts and Bostrom trading the lead back and forth as Duhamel hung back and watched. In the Horseshoe corner Roberts swung our wide on purpose to let the other two pass so he could follow them on the last lap. Bostrom took the bait, but not DuHamel who throttle back a few corners later and let Roberts slip back up to 2nd. Going into the back straignt chicane on the last lap Bostrom had the lead and he knew he was in trouble, shifting down a gear lower to first to try and black his persuers, hoping to get a better jump out onto the banking before the others could recover. It didn't work.

It was down to experience and DuHamel has the most. Already the winningest rider in AMA Superbike and Supersport history, the cagey veteran set up his teammates perfectly. On the run from the chicane to the checkered flag, DuHamel passed Roberts right away then used the unique Daytona draft-pass-slingshot technique to pass Bostrom and secure his fourth win in record time. DuHamel completed the 57 lap, 200 mile race in one hour, 46 minutes, 57.051 seconds, averaging 113.8 mph. The speed was a new record, breaking the
113.631 mph average set by Nicky Hayden in winning last year's Daytona 200.

Two laps from the finish Kurtis (80) holds the lead over Ben (155) and Miguel (17) as spectators (?) jam the fences.

Miguel DuHamel, First Place
"I knew I could draft past one guy, but I didn't want to be behind two. So I thought, 'OK, I've got to do this right.' Kurtis (Roberts) came by me and he was giving himself a little too much of a run. Obviously he was trying to do it for his own win. But I thought he was a little too far, so I used him, got a draft, got by with Ben. Ben got a draft around a lapped rider. Just when I split, Ben came back on me and it was really jarring me. I moved over and I thought, 'Oh no, Kurtis is getting the double draft, watch that guy go around us.' But it heldoff. I was really saving my tires and I think that's what made a difference in the end. I was really saving my tires and I think that's what made a difference at the end."

Ben Bostrom, Second Place
"I tried going into the chicane, I thought they were right behind me, so I downshifted into first to try and throw them off a little bit. Then I really tried to accelerate and get a good drive on the exit there. We didn't have much tire left. It just didn't pan out. The guys rode really well and set me up perfectly. If I had to take it over, I'd just try and get through it the best it could and get a little more engine speed and hope that would give us a couple thousands to win this thing. Miguel has a lot of tenacity and put it up front. You learn a lot from these kind of things. Basically it came down to the third tire with the rest of these guys. That was the deal. These guys let me lead on the last lap. I just put my head down and tried as hard as I could. I tried to backshift down into first in the chicane and throw these guys off. They just hooked me up and went by."

Kurtis Roberts, Third Place
"Miguel did a great job. So did Ben and so did my team and myself. We put our head down there in the middle stint and really rode as hard as we could I was really surprised I was leading there right before I pulled back in and we just didn't have it today for whatever reason. My team did a hell of a job. I take my hat off to them. The bike was perfect all weekend. Who knows what I could have done there on the last lap. But it doesn't matter know. It's a good day for Honda. I thought we would have had it there with a few laps to go. I was kind of surprised with how close they were to me. I wanted to get in here and get a podium for the championship run and I think we can do it now."

Chuck Miller, American Honda Team Manager
"It was a great weekend for Honda, the number one sponsor of the event and to pull off the supercross and supersport and 1-2-3 in superbike. We couldn't' ask for any more. It was incredible. Incredible teamwork too. I was very nervous when they were all battling. Aaron (Yates) was right in the midst of everything and when he ran off in turn one, I figured OK, I felt more confident we were going to pick up the win. But those last five laps when we were watching the boys play, didn't know how nice they were going to be to each other. I'll tell you one thing, these three guys have great respect for each other and they all knew what they had to do and it came down to those last two laps putting themselves in the right spot at the right time. Miguel's the cagey veteran and he knows where to be, when to be there. In the superbike race here, he was sizing everything up. Kurtis rode so strong so well, all weekend. Completely new Kurtis Roberts. The way he rides, his
attitude, his demeanor. And we knew when we got Ben back, Ben's a strong rider. He's hungry to be back here in the United States. What's great about is that all these riders have something to be proud of this weekend.

Results Dayrona 200 Superbike:
1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 57 laps. 1h 46m 57.051s = 183.201km/h; 2. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 5.; 3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 57; 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSXR1000, 5.; 5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX7R, 57; 6. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSXR1000, 57; 7. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSXR1000, 57; 8. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSXR1000, 56.; 9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSXR1000, 56; 10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSXR1000, 5.; 11. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki GSXR1000, 55; 12. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998, 55; 13. Jack Pfeifer, Suzuki GSXR1000, 55; 14. Sandor Bitter, Suzuki GSXR1000, 54; 15. Ricky Orlando, Suzuki GSXR750, 54.
AMA Championship Points:
Miguel Duhamel 37, Ben Bostrom 33, Kurtis Roberts 29, Aaron Yates 27, Eric Bostrom 26, Mat Mladin 25, Ben Spies 24, Michael Barnes 23, Jason Pridmore 22, Shawn Higbee 21, Andrew Deatherage 20, Larry Pegram 19, Jack Pfeifer 18, Sandor Bitter 17, Ricky Orlando 16.

More Daytona Speedweek Roadracing Coverage in Pit Lane News Next Page

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We Want This One...   Introducing the Aprilia Tuono RSV Racing

The RSV 1000 Aprilia Tuono was the first bike to offer current Superbike technoloy in a naked sports package for the street. Now Aprilia has gone one step further with the new RSV Tuono Racing, the world's first competion naked bike! The Aprilia Tuono Racing is a track-ready factory racer, a road bike with a lust for the bends and curbing of the race track, the most sporting street fighter on the market. Aprilia’s policy of producing machines with an unbeatable quality/price ratio has already made the RSV Mille R superbike replica a number one hit with the motorcycling press and sports riders the world over. This latest version of Aprilia’s acclaimed street fighter is the logical continuation of this same policy. The Tuono Racing is more than just the latest addition to the Aprilia range of prestige racers. The Tuono Racing is the world’s first real naked superbike - and more.

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