The Rider Files

Rich Oliver, racing the No. 97 Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 GP bike, gets the jump at the start of a WERA Pro Formula USA race at Willow Springs Raceway, in Rosamond, Calif., in April of 1991. Starting alongside Oliver is Muzzy Kawasaki’s Scott Russell (22), Valvoline Suzuki’s Britt Turkington (28) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Chuck Graves (24). (Larry Lawrence photo)

Rich Oliver, racing the No. 97 Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 GP bike, gets the jump at the start of a WERA Pro Formula USA race at Willow Springs Raceway, in Rosamond, Calif., in April of 1991. Starting alongside Oliver is Muzzy Kawasaki’s Scott Russell (22), Valvoline Suzuki’s Britt Turkington (28) and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Chuck Graves (24).

The race ran in extremely windy conditions. That wind had a major effect on the ultra-light GP machine of Oliver’s. “Every time I would brake hard for turn one the back wheel would start to come off the ground,” explained Oliver. “The cross wind in that turn was really upsetting the chassis. It got really hairy in there a couple of times.”

Oliver battled with several riders for the lead, including Mike Smith and Graves, before getting a handle on the heavy winds and pulling away to a 4.56 second margin of victory.

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.

Mike Harth (7), Cam Roos (16) and Jamie James (10) race together coming out of turn six at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., during the 1989 AMA 750cc Supersport race. This was an infamous race where a crash started by David Sadowski getting too hot into turn five resulted in Doug Chandler and Jamie James crashing out of the race. Sadowski (who ran off the track, but didn’t go down in the incident) famously walked over to the Yoshimura Suzuki pits after the race, turned his cheek to James and told him to go ahead and punch him as hard as he could because he deserved it. James didn’t take him up on the offer. Roos got past Harth to finish fourth, behind Scott Russell, Sadowski and Scott Zampach.

Mike Harth (7), Cam Roos (16) and Jamie James (10) race together coming out of turn six at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., during the 1989 AMA 750cc Supersport race. (Larry Lawrence photo)

(News Release)

Lucas Oil Roadracingworld.com RMR Suzuki’s Elena Myers gained valuable experience during an up-and-down weekend of AMA Pro SuperSport racing at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Having already claimed the runner-up position in the West Region championship, Myers headed to NJMP to compete in the East Region finale to further her rapid progress as a professional racer.

Qualifying in 10th at 1:27.582 aboard her GSX-R600, Elena again proved to be an even stronger racer than qualifier in Saturday’s final. Dicing up as high as fifth in Saturday’s final while clocking lap times more than a half-second quicker than her qualifying best, she eventually earned eighth place.

Sunday’s race went south early, however, as she was taken out by a fellow competitor just a couple of turns after the green light on the opening lap.

Commenting on her weekend, Myers said, “I went out with a good base set-up but we’ve been having issues with the rear of the bike pumping all weekend. Actually, it’s a problem that has come up before and we’ve been trying really hard to fix it but we still haven’t quite solved it yet.

“Final qualifying didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but I felt like I was riding really well in the race other than a few little problems. However, Sunday’s race didn’t go very well. I had the line and was committed to the turn and another ride came in and shoved me out of the way. I had it saved — almost — but it flipped over and I was stuck under the bike for like a minute. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to go back out after that.”

The 2010 AMA Pro SuperSport season ends in a combined East/West winner-take-all shootout at Barber Motorsports Park on September 24-26 to determine the national champion. Elena is excited about the prospects of the high stakes weekend.

“I’m looking forward to the weekend for sure,” she remarked. “It’s an amazing opportunity. We’re going to do a couple track days before the weekend there and we should have a good set-up for the race. I’ve got to get real strong over the next couple of weeks and just be prepared for a big weekend.”

(News Release)

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki followed up Martin Cardenas’ inspiring Saturday victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park with two additional podium results on Sunday, including the first AMA Superbike podium of John Hopkins’ career.

Cardenas’ quest for the 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike crown found him once again battling a deep pack for the win on Sunday. With ten riders contending in the lead group well into the contest, Cardenas bid his time in trademark fashion, regularly running in seventh and eighth position before making his customary late climb to the front.

The former Spanish Supersport champion struck in the opening turn of the penultimate lap, making a bold maneuver to leap from fourth to first place aboard his GSX-R600, but he was unable to hold his line after braking so deeply. Martin was shuffled back down to fifth but caught a break on the final lap when two of his competitors fell just ahead of him, allowing him to score his 11th podium finish of the ‘10 season.

With just the Barber Motorsports Park finale left in play, Cardenas is a close third in the title chase with 344 points, 12 removed from first and with the tiebreaker on his side.

After the race, Martin said, “I thought that I could pull the move off but I went in a little bit too deep and it wasn’t possible. I lost my chance to win the race with that move because a couple guys came through and pushed me back a few more positions. Going into the last lap I was fifth, but fortunately for me a couple riders in front of me crashed into one another, which allowed me to finish third. It’s an okay result; it would have been better to win, but it wasn’t possible this time. I will try next time.

“My bike was working good again today just like yesterday. I’d like to thank the M4 Monster Energy Suzuki team for the great effort and we’ll try again in the next race.”

Meanwhile, Hopkins enjoyed a landmark achievement in the day’s Superbike contest that symbolized his return to form following a long, arduous process overcoming nagging wrist issues.

Hopkins got away with the front group at the start of the race but dropped all the way down to 13th after running off track. A red flag gave him a second chance to make his mark and John took full advantage. Picking off rider after rider until arriving in fourth place, the former MotoGP star made a successful last-lap assault on the podium to come home in third, his first-ever AMA Superbike podium result.

Hopkins remarked, “It was a really good race, but first and foremost, it’s just really good to be back on a motorcycle. Three-and-a-half months ago three doctors, including one who has done most of my surgeries, told me I had to retire. But we kept searching and I found my new doctor, and he made a big operation — a complete wrist reconstruction — and we were 50/50 on it. Three and a half months later, here I am racing a motorcycle. It feels great.”

Talking in detail about his race, John explained, “I made a mistake before the red flag. I lost the rear and ran off the track and I was back in 12th or 13th place. But the restart gave me another chance. From there I just had to make a lot of passes and come up through the field. I went in deep on the brakes in Turn 1 on the last lap to move into third and just rode defensively through the last lap, and here we are on the podium.

“I just have to say thanks to my mechanics and the whole team for putting this all together. I hope this is just the start of good things to come. It’s been a long last couple years, but I sure had fun today. I hope we can continue that.”

Chris Ulrich had a memorable outing as well. Uncertain if he’d even be able to compete on Sunday following Saturday’s terrifying high-speed crash, Ulrich not only took to the track, he fought inside the Superbike top ten.

Extremely stiff and sore, Chris gritted his teeth and fought for eighth position, coming up a mere 0.114 seconds short of the spot at the flag. His ninth-place finish solidified his eighth-place championship ranking with just the season finale remaining on the calendar.

“I could have done without the red flag,” Ulrich admitted. “I felt like I could have worked my way up but I stiffened up a little after the red flag. I was gaining a little on the front group but I was still looking for a new line through the last corner because I didn’t need to be doing another 130mph tumble. I figured one out but it was a little bit too late to really take advantage.

“I had a good little fight for eighth, but it was a tough day. It hurts to bend. It hurts to tuck in. I was suffering pretty badly physically and I’m just happy to have made it through and have a bit of time to go home now and get some treatment and heal up.

Team M4 Monster Energy will be chasing championship glory at the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season finale at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on September 24-26.

(News Release)

Martin Cardenas earned his seventh of the season, most of any rider in the category, which also equals his class-leading mark of 2009.

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas registered yet another brilliant come-from-behind victory today at New Jersey Motorsports Park to close to within striking distance in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship fight.

Starting from the outside of the front row after qualifying fourth fastest at 1:23.683, Cardenas opened the contest running in the midst of a deep lead freight train typical of the unpredictable class.

Cardenas survived an early scare when a rival crashed out of the race at speed just in front of him, bringing out the red flag. A cautious restart saw the Colombian shuffled down to eighth position as the race began to take shape again, but Martin systematically worked his way up through the field aboard his GSX-R600 racebike, ultimately arriving at the front on lap 17 of 23.

Showing a superior capacity to lay down fast laps on worn tires, Cardenas put his head down and managed to open a small amount of breathing space en route to victory.

The win is his seventh of the season, most of any rider in the category, which also equals his class-leading mark of 2009.

Martin said, “On the first start I made a good launch. I was in second but lost some positions on the way and was in something like sixth place when a rider crashed in front of me. I was very close to him and lucky not to hit him or his bike. I didn’t make a good start after the red flag because I was very cautious as it’s very easy to crash in the opening turn.

“I started to work my way up to the front and I moved into the lead around six or seven laps from the end. I tried to put in a good rhythm and ride fast and maybe try to put a little bit of gap to second guy. It was a small gap but it was good enough to win today.

“My bike worked really good. My rear tire was sliding a bit too much early in the race, but I think when the race went on and the grip went off for everyone it leveled off the race, which was good for me. Thanks to M4 Monster Energy Suzuki and all the guys that helped me.”

Cardenas’ stunning performance saw him make a major move in the developing title fight. He made up 12 points on the leader and now sits second in the championship, just two points shy of first with just three races left in the 2010 season.

Meanwhile, John Hopkins backed up his promising American Superbike front row qualifying position (fourth, 1:21.048) with a strong ride in the race. Getting away in sixth position, ‘Hopper’ guided his GSX-R1000 up to fourth position by lap 13 before coming home with a top-five result in the end, taking the checkered flag in fifth.

It was a more difficult day for Chris Ulrich. Ulrich qualified 11th fastest at 1:22.316 but expected a considerably better race result after displaying encouraging race pace. Looking capable of meeting those expectations, Chris battled up to seventh position but suffered a scary 125-mph crash out of the race on lap nine. After the contest Chris was transported to a local hospital to be checked out for precautionary reasons but apart from plenty of bruising and soreness, proved to have no further damage. He will try to race again tomorrow.

“I got a rippin’ start to the race and we had a good pace,” said Ulrich. “I found myself behind John Hopkins and another rider and I was looking to make a move for position. I had a big crash when I hit the curb and it overloaded the tire. I went down and it flipped me into the air when I hit the other curb. It wasn’t a good place to crash.

“I was happy to be wearing my Dainese chest protector and I was happy to walk away,” continued Ulrich. “I am really sore but we’re going to give it a shot on Sunday. The pace of the first eight laps was encouraging. We’ve been consistent all year but I’m really encouraged we could stick with the lead group.”

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will fighting for additional honors at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday.