AMA: Big Kahuna at Road Atlanta; Superbike Championships
1 June 2000
AMA CHEVY TRUCKS U.S. SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
BIG KAHUNA AT ROAD ATLANTA
PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- The timing couldn't be better for fans attending
the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike
Championship presented by Parts Unlimited at the "Big Kahuna" races at
Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., June 2-4. The stars have aligned to make
this a don't-miss race to be recounted for years.
The Big Kahuna races at road Atlanta will kick-off the first of three
2000 season Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike doubleheader rounds. Series sponsor
Chevy Trucks has added to the race weekend by upping the stakes at the Big
Kahuna, but more on that later.
The big news in the Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship is the
return of 1987-1989 AMA 250 Grand Prix Champion, 1990 FIM World 250 Grand
Prix and 1997 World Superbike Champion John Kocinski. Kocinski will return
to race in the U.S. for the first time since 1989, riding with the Vance &
Hines Ducati team.
Kocinski will take on a field of rivals including Kawasaki's Doug
Chandler and Suzuki's Mat Mladin -- his former teammates on the 1993 Cagiva
World 500cc Grand Prix team. His entrance into the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S.
Superbike Championship sets up a wide-open pair of races for the Big Kahuna
weekend.
In 1998, the "Big Kahuna" race at Road Atlanta was the first-ever AMA
Superbike doubleheader. The popularity of the format -- including two
back-to-back Superbike races Saturday and Sunday -- spurred other tracks,
including Road America and Mid-Ohio, to adopt the doubleheader format in
2000.
Now series sponsor Chevy Trucks has added more excitement to the
doubleheader races by creating the "Like a Rock Challenge," which rewards
the rider who wins the most races or earns the most points among the three
2000 season doubleheaders with a loaded Chevy Silverado pickup.
While Kocinski is a possible winner of the Chevy Silverado, another
racer has already staked his claim to the prize.
"Nicky wants that truck," Earl Hayden was overheard to say while
admiring a Chevy Silverado on display at the races. Earl is the patriarch
of the racing Hayden family, which includes: 19-year old Nicky, riding with
the Honda factory team; 22-year old Tommy, racing with the factory Yamaha
Superbike team; and 16-year old Team Chaparral Suzuki rider Roger Lee.
Earl is not the only one who considers son Nicky a contender in the
Like a Rock Challenge.
Nicky won the highly competitive AMA Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport
Championship in 1999, and he took second-place at the Daytona 200 Superbike
race earlier this season, edged out by a mere 11 thousandths of a second by
Australian Mat Mladin and the Yoshimura Suzuki team.
While Kocinski's arrival has changed the landscape, Hayden and other
top riders still see a window of opportunity, opened by the absence of two
contenders from Big Kahuna races past. Front-runners Anthony Gobert and Ben
Bostrom will be missing this year.
The Australian Gobert won one of the 1998 Big Kahuna races and both
1999 races on a Vance & Hines Ducati, but he now competes in the World
Superbike Championship riding a Bimota. Californian Ben Bostrom took
third-place at both 1998 races with Vance & Hines, and second-place at both
1999 races. He now rides with Ducati in the World Superbike Championship.
Canadian Miguel Duhamel -- who won 1998 Big Kahuna race one and took
second-place in race two -- will be looking to reclaim his place on the
podium this year. Duhamel suffered a crash during the Big Kahuna last year,
which put him out of contention. But he is now fit and competing aboard the
potent new Honda RC51 Superbike this year.
Factory Yamaha pilot Jamie Hacking, of Boiling Springs, S.C., took
third-place in Big Kahuna race one last year. Hacking knows the winding
2.52-mile Road Atlanta course and considers it his home track, having
developed his skills as an amateur racer there.
Mat Mladin, the reigning AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Champ, took
third-place in Big Kahuna race two in 1999, followed by his current Suzuki
teammate, Aaron Yates, of Milledgeville, Ga. Mladin is looking to continue
the championship drive he started with his Daytona win, and hometown
favorite Yates is sure to be looking to be in the limelight this year,
having just missed the Big Kahuna podium last year.
Other Georgia natives competing in the Big Kahuna races include 1993
World Superbike Champion Scott Russell, of Conyers, riding for the factory
Harley-Davidson team, and Tripp Nobles, of Macon, riding with Bell County
Harley-Davidson.
Three-time Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Champion Champ Doug Chandler
and teammate Eric Bostrom are also looking to make a statement at the Big
Kahuna. The factory Kawasaki teammates, both from northern California, are
confident their team has what it takes to lead the field. Earlier this
year, Chandler showed the team's ability to go the distance, taking third
place at the Daytona 200.
The Big Kahuna round at Road Atlanta is known for its great camping
and spectator amenities. Featured activities include a vendor mall, pee-wee
motorcycle demo rides for the kids, and musical entertainment by The New
Immortals.
While there, be sure to stop by the Chevy Trucks tent for rider
autograph sessions, free decals and other giveaway items. And keep your
eyes open for the Chevy Trucks fan team, driving on the track between races
in a Chevy Silverado pickup. Fans who display their enthusiasm for
Superbikes (and Chevy Trucks) are rewarded with official Chevy Truck
T-shirts.
For tickets to the Parts Unlimited Big Kahuna presented by Toyota
Trucks round of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, call
(770) 967-6143.
For immediate post-race results, rider information, AMA Pro Racing
notes and news, check amaproracing.com.
2000 AMA CHEVY TRUCKS U.S. SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
PRESENTED BY PARTS UNLIMITED
Pos. Pts. No. Rider name, hometown Machine
1 36 1 MATHEW MLADIN, AUSTRALIA, SUZ
2 33 69 NICKY HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY HON
3 29 10 DOUG CHANDLER, SALINAS, CA KAW
4 27 17 MIGUEL DUHAMEL, SARASOTA, FL HON
5 26 20 AARON W YATES, MILLEDGEVILLE, GA SUZ
6 25 82 STEVE RAPP, LAFAYETTE, CA DUC
7 24 22 TOMMY HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY YAM
8 23 32 ERIC BOSTROM, GRANADA HILLS, CA KAW
9 22 21 PASCAL PICOTTE, CANADA, QU HD
10 21 72 LARRY PEGRAM, BALTIMORE, OH DUC
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