Rider Files

Canadian Miguel Duhamel (17) leads eventual winner Nicky Hayden (69), of Owensboro, Ky., and the rest of the pack that includes Steve Rapp (82), Eric Bostrom (32), Jamie Hacking (92), Kurtis Roberts (80) and Tommy Hayden (22) through Brainerd Int’l. Raceway’s Turn Nine on the first lap of the AMA Superbike race in 2001 in Brainerd, Minn. Series leaders Mat Mladin, of Australia, crashed in Turn Eight and can be seen in the background looking at his downed Suzuki. (Brian J. Nelson photo).

Nicky Hayden, who was just 19 at the time, came out on top in a dramatic AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship race in 2001 at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway. Hayden took his second victory of the season, while series leader Mat Mladin crashed his Suzuki out of the race on the first lap and finished with no points. Second-ranked Eric Bostrom wasn’t able to fully capitalize on Mladin’s mistake however. The Kawasaki rider finished fifth and went from 45-points down to Mladin in the standings to 20 points with just three races remaining in the 2001 series.

The victory marked an early birthday gift for Hayden – he turned 20 the day after the race.

In one of the best finishes of the year, Kurtis Roberts, of Modesto, Calif., pulled alongside Hayden as the riders rounded the last turn. The two actually made contact as they came out of the turn and Hayden was able to hold off Roberts by a bike length. The official margin of victory was 0.005 seconds.

Canadian Miguel Duhamel had an even closer finish over Jamie Hacking, of Greer, S.C., for third. The duo finished side-by-side and the position wasn’t decided until race officials reviewed videotape of the finish.

The top three riders were on Honda RC51s, giving the manufacturer a rare sweep of the Superbike podium.

The race began with last year’s winner Duhamel leading the first lap. Mladin, the two-time defending AMA Superbike champ, never made it around. He crashed his Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR750 in Turn Eight. Even though Mladin was uninjured in the accident, his machine was too badly damaged to continue.

“I made a mistake, that’s all I can say. I don’t know what happened,” said Mladin as he walked back to his motor home in street clothes shortly after the crash.

Mladin, while obviously disappointed, realized that not all was lost in the crash. “That’s the good thing about having a big points lead,” he said. “If you make a mistake you can still have the lead.”

It was the first time that Mladin had crashed out of an AMA Superbike race since a rainy Mid-Ohio race in 1996.

The race came down to a battle between the top six riders – Nicky Hayden, Roberts, Duhamel, Hacking, Bostrom and Steve Rapp. On the final lap Hayden and Roberts swapped the lead four times. Hayden’s narrow win over Roberts was the closest finish of the season.

“It feels good to win two in a row,” said a jubilant Hayden, who now has six-career AMA Superbike wins – 13th on the all-time list. “It’s especially nice with the way it came down on the last lap. I thought I might be able to break away early, but it seemed like these guys were able to hang on no matter how hard I pushed it. It’s incredible to have Hondas 1-2-3.”

Mladin rallied and finished strong enough in the final couple of rounds to win the 2001 champion, his third straight, by 15 points over Eric Bostrom.

Nicky Hayden (center), of Owensboro, Ky., celebrates his AMA Superbike victory Sunday at Brainerd (Minn.) Int’l. Raceway. He is joined on the podium by second-place Kurtis Roberts (left), of Modesto, Calif., and Canadian Miguel Duhamel (right) who finished third, making it a Honda sweep of the top-three positions. It was the second-straight AMA Superbike win of the year for Hayden, who moved to third in the series standings. (Brian J. Nelson photo)

AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championships
Sunday
At Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
Lap length: three miles
1. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 109.727 mph, 21 laps.
2. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 21.
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 21.
4. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSXR750, 21.
5. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX7, 21.
6. Steve Rapp, Ducati 996, 21.
7. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki ZX7, 21.
8. Andreas Meklau, Ducati 996, 21.
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati 996, 21.
10. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha R7, 21.
11. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson VR1000, 21.
12. Michael Smith, Harley-Davidson VR1000, 21.
13. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki GSXR750, 21.
14. Greg Fryer, Yamaha R7, 21.
15. Tony Meiring, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
16. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
17. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
18. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
19. Randall Mennenga, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
20. Anthony Lupo, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
21. Steve Johnson, Aprilia RSV1000, 20.
22. Eric Erling Haugo, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
23. Ken Krebs, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
24. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
25. Scott Hermersmann, Suzuki GSXR750, 20.
26. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki GSXR750, 10.
27. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson VR1000, 9.
28. Mike Walsh, Yamaha R7, 9.
29. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSXR750, 3.
30. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSXR750, 0.

Race Statistics
Time of race: 34 minutes, 26.962 seconds.
Margin of victory: 0.005 seconds.
Lap leaders: Duhamel 1. Nicky Hayden 2-9, 13, 19, 21. Roberts 10-12, 14-18, 20.

Point standings (after 11 of 14 rounds):
1. Mat Mladin (332).
2. Eric Bostrom (312).
3. Nicky Hayden (265).
4. Doug Chandler (263).
5. Miguel Duhamel (251).

(Note: I want to thank Brian J. Nelson for allowing me to use some of his archived photos on the website. Brian, along with his fellow photographer and business partner Tom Riles, have the definitive collection of AMA Superbike Championship photos dating back the beginning of the series. Brian J’s photography can also be seen in this excellent BMW book.)

(News Release)

GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick demonstrated exactly how motivated he is to repeat as the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion in 2010 with a stirring performance this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Entering with a slim 12-point title advantage, Eslick and his primary titles rivals all brought their ‘A-games’ to NJMP, making for a pair of thrilling battles at the front.

Having scored his fourth pole position of the season with a best time of 1:23.564, the Oklahoman duked it out for position with several riders early in Saturday’s 23-lap contest before breaking free of the pack at mid-distance.

However, having asked too much of his tires to make that escape, Danny was relegated to fifth by the time he reached the checkered flag.

Eslick decided to take a more measured approach to Sunday’s race, but once again found himself dicing for the lead at the front of a 10-rider pack once the adrenaline started pumping. He managed to reformulate his strategy just enough, however, and charged into the lead aboard his GSX-R600 sponsored by GEICO Powesports and Lucas Oil on the final lap with a stunning maneuver past a key challenger to score his third victory of the season.

The end result of all the intense weekend action was very little movement at the top of the points race, as Eslick leaves New Jersey Motorsports Park with an 11-point championship lead.

“My plan was totally not what I did today,” Eslick laughed after his inspiring Sunday ride. “Yeah, the outcome was, but plan for the race was to sit back and wait and come in strong over the last five laps. But from the green flag that was out the window. I put my head down and went back-and-forth swapping the lead.

“I knew it was going to be a bunch of guys going for it, there are always a handful of guys in this class. I didn’t know it was ten and I am glad I didn’t! I didn’t look back, I just wanted to go as hard as I could. Really, it seemed pretty uneventful until the last couple laps. Everybody was right up in the front so I knew something exciting was going to happen for sure.”

Commenting on his decisive last-lap pass, Danny said, “I was pretty much committed. If I wasn’t, I probably would have run and hit the side of him and one of us or both of us would have crashed. It could have been really ugly but I was committed before we got there so coming down to the last two races of the championship, it doesn’t get any better or cleaner I guess than that.”

Meanwhile, the RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing team continued their total dominance of the Vance & Hines XR1200 class as Jake Holden powered to pole and his first class victory on Sunday on his Revolution Performance-backed machine. Holden staked a 10.161 second lead at the checkered flag.

Holden was joined on the podium by teammate Travis Wyman in third while Joseph Rozynski and Michael Corbino finished in sixth and eighth, respectively.

With Eslick focused on his SportBike duties, Sunday winner Holden assumed control of the XR1200 championship lead.

Eslick’s quest to be re-crowned as the Daytona SportBike champ will be decided on September 24-26 as the season concludes at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL.

GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki is sponsored by GEICO Powersports, Lucas Oil, Suzuki, Millennium Technologies, Vortex Sprockets, EBC Brakes, and Pilot.

RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Harley Davidson is sponsored by GEICO Powersports, Lucas Oil, Bruce Rossmeyer Destination Daytona, Revolution Performance, Pilot, EBC Brakes, Race Tech, Orient Express, and Pit Bull.

American team captain Kenny Roberts chases British team member Paul Smart at Brands Hatch during the 1974 Transatlantic Match Races. That year was one of the closest Match Races in the history of the popular racing series. The Brits beat the Yanks by just 15 points after six races. (The Jim Greening Collection)

Another in the Jim Greening Match Race Series showing American team captain Kenny Roberts chasing British team member Paul Smart at Brands Hatch during the 1974 Transatlantic Match Races. That year was one of the closest Match Race meetings in the history of the popular racing series. The Brits beat the Yanks by just 15 points after six races.

The British squad was made up of Barry Sheene/Suzuki 750, Paul Smart/Suzuki 750, Stan Woods/Suzuki 750, Peter Williams/Norton 750, Percy Tait/Triumph 750, Mick Grant/Yamaha 700, Barry Ditchburn/Yamaha 700 – reserve: Ron Chandler/Triumph 750.

The Yanks were Kenny Roberts/Yamaha 700, Gene Romero/Yamaha 700, Gary Fisher/Yamaha 700, John Long/Yamaha 700, Yvon DuHamel/Kawasaki 750, Art Baumann/Kawasaki 750, Gary Nixon/Suzuki 750, Dave Aldana/Norton 750 – reserve: Jim Evans/Yamaha 700.

For years Paul Smart was the local hero of Brands Hatch. In the race pictured Smart got the early lead, but Roberts chased him down to take the victory. Roberts won four of the six rounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the depth of the British squad.

This was Roberts’ introduction to European fans. Kel Carruthers, who was tuning for Roberts, said Brands Hatch marshals were horrified to find Roberts’ Yamaha had tires with no tread. The bike featured some of the earliest Goodyear motorcycle slicks.

(News Release)

Bryan Smith leads the pack at the Springfield Mile.

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (September 8, 2010) — For the second-straight week, FLUIDYNE® Powersports’ custom radiator helped propel Bryan Smith and his Ninja 650-based flattracker to victory in an AMA Grand National Twins Mile event, this time in Springfield, Illinois.

“I’ve never won back-to-back nationals, so this is a dream come true for me,” said Smith of his fourth-ever Mile win. The 27-year-old former Harley-Davidson factory rider and AMA 883 champion from Flushing, Mich., is a Mile specialist: “I’m always better on the bigger, faster tracks. And how our bike makes power on the big tracks is a major advantage. Springfield is a really fast, groove track with huge corners. We go almost as fast through them as we do on the straights. We’ve got another Mile this weekend that suits my style even more. It would be awesome to keep the streak alive.”

“Fluidyne Powersports is one of the main components of our program because this racebike is only as good as its Fluidyne radiator,” said Bill Werner, co-owner and tuner of the Monster Energy- and Kawasaki-sponsored team. With the experience of more than 130 wins and 13 championships, Werner is Smith’s ace in the hole. The wily wrench wouldn’t give away his motor’s exact horsepower figure, but did divulge that the Ninja’s vertical Twin makes less torque than its V-Twin competitors, which reduces tire wear. And, as the AMA Hall of Famer says, “In this case, less is more.

In addition to keeping their cool, FLUIDYNE® radiators are also built more rugged to fend off damage. Constructed from aircraft-quality aluminum, structural highlights include thicker materials throughout, a CNC-machined billet filler neck, beaded hose connections for leak-proof sealing and a stainless-steel radiator caps. These components are held together with substantial TIG welds to withstand extreme conditions and produce a crash survival rate far exceeding the OEM parts.

Bill Werner, Bryan Smith and Jay Springsteen (L to R) celebrate their team's Springfield Mile win.

Not only do FLUIDYNE® radiators out-cool and outlast the stock units, they’re much less expensive, come with a one-year warranty and install easily, utilizing the factory mounts and hardware.

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Available for nearly 100 motorcycles, ATVs and side-by-side vehicles, FLUIDYNE® Powersports radiators are also available for custom applications such as this race-winning dirt tracker. Distributed by Parts Unlimited, Tucker-Rocky, WPS, KK Motorcycle Supply, MTA, Southern Motorcycle Supply, CV-4 and IMS Products- FLUIDYNE® Powersports radiators are readily available through thousands of dealers nationwide.

When the heat is on, FLUIDYNE® Powersports radiators keep things cool.For more information, log on to FluidynePowersports.com.

(News Release)

Trey Canard needs to overcome seven points to claim the 250 Class title. (Courtesy Simon Cudby/Racer X)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (September 7, 2010) – After three months of high drama, memorable action and the world’s premier motocross athletes laying it all on the line, the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship will come to an exciting conclusion this Saturday, September 4 with the inaugural Pala Motocross National, from Pala Raceway in Pala, Calif. The facility, located in San Diego’s North County, is the newest venue of American motocross and marks the return of the motocross nationals to San Diego County for the first time in 28 years.

For nearly three decades, the avid motocross community in San Diego County has been void of an AMA Motocross national. Not since the legendary Carlsbad Raceway in the ’70s and ’80s have the world’s best riders descended upon the fifth-most-populous county in the United States for a major outdoor motocross event. Pala Raceway is one of the newest motocross playgrounds in Southern California. Based just outside the sport’s talent hotbeds in Murrieta and Temecula, Pala is focused on providing the best riding facility possible to the thousands of motocross riders in the region. Whether young or old, a novice or a veteran, Pala Raceway offers a variety of tracks for all riders with the mission of eventually becoming the premier motocross destination of California.

Kevin Windham will look to close out 2010 with back-to-back wins. (Courtesy Simon Cudby/Racer X)

With only one round and two motos remaining, the intense 250 Class title fight will take center stage at Pala as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel and GEICO Powersports Honda’s Trey Canard take their battle down to the wire. At Steel City last weekend, the penultimate round of the series, Canard’s second-half dominance continued, winning his fifth overall in the last six races and fending off his championship rival in both motos in the process. Currently, only seven points separates the pair, but Pourcel holds the advantage despite Canard’s momentum, needing just a pair of runner-up efforts in each moto no matter what Canard does in order to secure the championship-by one point! Based on consistency and last week’s performance, that task looks to be well within the Frenchman’s reach, but Canard will no doubt do everything he can to get the upper hand when the final points are tallied.

Last weekend at Steel City, a surprise winner provided a lot of excitement and a heart-warming storyline as 17-year veteran Kevin Windham returned to the top of the 450 Class overall podium for the first time since 2007. The Honda Red Bull Racing rider and fan favorite has enjoyed his return to the outdoor nationals, subbing for the injured Davi Millsaps since Round 7 at Millville. As Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rookie and newly-crowned champion Ryan Dungey stumbled in his attempt to win his tenth race in a row, Windham capitalized, withstanding an aggressive challenge from GEICO Powersports Honda’s Brett Metcalfe, who was in search of his first career win during his rookie campaign in the premier class.

Ryan Dungey will look to bounce back after a rough Steel City event. (Courtesy Simon Cudby/Racer X)

Nonetheless, Metcalfe’s strong runner-up effort helped him pass Honda Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Short for second place in the championship. The Australian rider sits five points ahead of his Honda counterpart and now sits in position to give an impressive 1-2 rookie sweep of the premier class behind Dungey, who already clinched the title.

With only one round remaining in the eight-race MotorcycleUSA.com Women’s Motocross Championship, DNA Shred Stix/Star Racing Yamaha’s Jessica Patterson looks to be in control of her own destiny in search of her sixth women’s motocross title. Despite strong efforts by reigning two-time champion and Honda Red Bull Racing rider Ashley Fiolek, who’s managed to grab the opening moto win the last two rounds, Patterson has found a way to respond to the pressure and take away any advantage her longtime rival has obtained. Currently, 22 points separates the duo and with six wins to who credit in seven rounds, Patterson has placed the pressure firmly on Fiolek. As one of the most determined and resilient riders on WMX history, it will be interesting to see how the defending champion responds at this weekend’s Dunlop Tire WMX Pala National.

Thanks to back-to-back live coverage of the Pala Motocross National exclusively on SPEED, the event will mark just the second time in history that American motocross fans can catch all four motos of the 250 and 450 classes as they happen. Beginning at 4 p.m. ET, a live stream of the first motos of each class can be seen at www.allisports.com/motocross. Live broadcast coverage kicks-off with the final 450 Class moto at 7 p.m. ET, immediately followed by the final 250 Class moto of 2010 at 8 p.m. ET.