Zemke Takes Mid-Ohio 600 Supersport

AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series
Rounds 13: Lexington, Ohio
July 26, 2003

Mid-Ohio Race One a Heartbreaker for Roberts, Duhamel third

A Kurtis Roberts Superbike win seemed closer than ever on the 26th and
final lap of competition during race one action at Mid-Ohio Sports Car
Course. Before completing the final lap, the Erion Honda rider and Mat
Mladin had exchanged the lead several times, but after Mladin ran wide in
turn seven Roberts got the drive out of the corner that he needed to take
his Honda RC51 to the checkered flag. In the following corner with Mladin
still hot on his heels and only a short portion of the racetrack separating
him from victory, Roberts lost the front end and slid across the Mid-Ohio
run-off. The disappointing low-side ended an exciting race-long battle
between the two riders, but even worse it prevented Roberts from enjoying
his first ever Superbike victory. Remarkably he was able to remount and
still finish seventh.

"I felt really good all weekend," explained Roberts. "There were a number
of places where I could get around Mat (Mladin), and I was just waiting to
see what developed. When I crashed, I had a bigger lead on him than I
thought, and I just ran it in too hard and made a mistake."

Those present to witness the scuffle between Roberts and Mladin dubbed it
the race of the year and they got it in two doses after debris on the
2.4-mile race track forced a red flag on the 18th lap. Up to that point
Roberts, who qualified second, had already engaged himself in a battle for
the lead with Mladin. The restart set up a short sprint to the 26th lap
that only heightened the competition between the two Superbike front
runners and even made the race behind them more interesting.

While the podium seemed to be a lock for Roberts, Mladin and third place
Jason Pridmore, the battle for fourth place was still up for grabs. Red
Riders Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel found themselves in a heated battle
after the restart. The Bostrom and Duhamel dog fight was nearly as exciting
as the battle for the lead but also allowed Pridmore the cushion that he
needed to secure what was then thought to be third place. After the Roberts
mishap, Pridmore inherited second place. Meanwhile, Duhamel finally made a
pass stick on teammate Bostrom with just over a lap remaining. The end
result was a third place finish for the #17 RC51.

Duhamel, a two-time Superbike winner at Mid-Ohio, started the race next to
Roberts on the front row. In the early laps he ran as high as third place,
however as the event approached its mid-point Duhamel found himself back in
fifth. The race stoppage turned out to be a blessing for the Duhamel effort
as crew chief Al Ludington was able to make some changes to the factory
Honda RC51 that allowed his rider to charge harder after the restart.

"That's not the way I would choose to finish third," said Duhamel about
taking the final podium position due to Roberts' crash. "I guess it just
goes to show that anything can happen out here. The restart really worked
to our advantage because Al (Ludington) was able to get me out there on a
better set-up."

Even though Duhamel beat him to the line, Bostrom's fourth place finish was
one of his best this season. The #155 RC51 qualified seventh and started
from second row before working his way to inside the top five. Bostrom's
fourth place finish advanced the Californian to fourth in the series point
standings, just three points behind his brother Eric, who sat out the event
due to injuries. Roberts' crash dropped him to fifth, a mere two points
behind teammate Bostrom.

Roberts has already proven he can win in Ohio. Prior to this year's event,
the talented Californian has enjoyed three victories in three different
classes at Mid-Ohio. Since 1998 Roberts has won the 250 GP, 600 Supersport
and Formula Xtreme classes at Mid-Ohio; all aboard Hondas. Roberts is well
aware that there's still one class left to win at Mid-Ohio and with the
second race of a double-header weekend still in the forecast, it may be
just around the corner.

AMA Superbike Overall Results:
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki
2. Jason Pridmore - Suzuki
3. Miguel Duhamel - Honda
4. Ben Bostrom - Honda
5. Aaron Yates - Suzuki
7. Kurtis Roberts - Honda

AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki - 396
2. Aaron Yates - Suzuki - 371
3. Eric Bostrom - Kawasaki - 350
4. Ben Bostrom - Honda - 347
5. Kurtis Roberts - Honda - 345
6. Miguel Duhamel - Honda ? 332


AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series
Rounds 14: Lexington, Ohio
July 27, 2003

Bostrom Takes Third In Second Mid-Ohio Superbike Race

There's no doubt that Erion Honda's Kurtis Roberts would rather forget his
weekend at Lexington's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. After coming within a
few corners of winning his first Superbike race on Saturday and instead
low-siding in turn eight, Roberts came out swinging in race two of the
double-header weekend, determined to make up for Saturday's heartbreak. The
second race played out similar to the first; Roberts and Mat Mladin built
up a huge lead over the field, and battled for the lead for nearly the
entire 26-lap event. But this time, instead of the race coming down to a
nail-biting final lap, Roberts' day ended prematurely when shifting
problems in his Honda RC51 led to an eventual DNF.

"In the second race, I had shifting problems from the first lap, and it
just got progressively worse," explained Roberts.

The Erion Honda rider battled Mladin until pulling out in the final few
laps. Just like in race one, Jason Pridmore was there to swipe up second
place. The final podium position in race two played out much differently
than in the previous day. Absent from the mix was Miguel Duhamel, whose
third place finish on Saturday could not be replicated after a crash on the
first lap put an end to his race.

"I cannot believe how fast that back end stepped out," said Duhamel,
explaining his first-lap high-side. "It was like I hit something on the
track, a seam or something. The back stepped out so violently that it took
the front end with it. I know exactly what happened, I just don't know why.
My hat's off to Kurtis, though. He rode great this weekend."

With Duhamel watching the race from the pit wall and Kurtis eventually a
non-factor in the final results, that left Ben Bostrom, the lone Red Rider,
to fly the Honda flag in Sunday's final. Bostrom didn't disappoint,
especially when he came out on top of a late race squirmish with Aaron
Yates. The 29-year old Bostrom crossed the stripe in third place, gaining
valuable points on Yates, who currently sits second in the point standings.
Bostrom, who has posted consistent finishes all year, moved up to third on
the leader board after a fourth place finish in race one.

Bostrom shared Duhamel's race one sentiments when he said, "I'd rather take
third place by racing with Mat (Mladin) and Kurtis (Roberts). That's hard
to do when you start on the second row. I'll have to make sure I start up
front with them next time."

With four rounds remaining in the series, the Red Riders now head to Alton,
Virginia's Virginia International Raceway (VIR), a relatively new racetrack
on the Superbike circuit. Since being placed on the AMA schedule in 2001,
Honda's Nicky Hayden has won the event twice. Roberts, Bostrom and Duhamel
plan to keep Honda on top at VIR in what should be another exiting
double-header weekend.

AMA Superbike Overall Results:
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki
2. Jason Pridmore - Suzuki
3. Ben Bostrom - Honda
4. Aaron Yates - Suzuki
5. Jordan Szoke - Suzuki

AMA Superbike Point Standings:
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki - 431
2. Aaron Yates - Suzuki - 398
3. Ben Bostrom - Honda - 376
4. Eric Bostrom - Kawasaki - 350
5. Kurtis Roberts - Honda - 349
6. Miguel Duhamel - Honda - 332


Formula Xtreme Series
Round 8: Lexington, Ohio
July 27, 2003

Zemke Xtreme Runner-up

The Formula Xtreme race was the final event in a long, hot weekend of
racing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Already
victorious in the 600 Supersport Final, Erion Honda's Jake Zemke made a
valiant attempt to pull off a double win for the weekend, but he came up
4.09 seconds short at the completion of the 16th and final lap of the
Formula Xtreme event. Pole setter Ben Spies led the race from start to
finish, while Zemke made up the deficit of starting from the fifth position
on the grid.

As the snarling pack of riders closed in on the first turn of the race,
Zemke soon found himself battling with a handful of other front-runners. By
the time the racers flashed past the start-finish line for the first time,
Zemke was already engaged in a fierce three-man duel as he pressed to move
up from his third-place position. The right to lead this knot of riders
see-sawed back and forth a number of times before Zemke took over second
place for good at about the midway point of the race. Unfortunately, by
that time Spies had long since departed, and although young Jake continued
to hammer out fast lap times, he could not mount a challenge for the race
win.

"The weekend turned out okay I guess," said Zemke after the race. "You
would have never guessed it if you talked to me Friday, Saturday, or even
this morning."

Zemke was quite frank about his qualifying and practice times not being up
to par with the front-runners in the class, but when race time rolled
around, the Honda CBR954RR pilot concentrated on the task at hand and
claimed his sixth Formula Xtreme podium finish in eight rounds. The event
capped off what turned out to be a very successful weekend for the 28-year
old Californian. The runner-up finish allowed him to nail down third place
in the series point standings and also helped him gain ground on second
place on the leader board.

Bruce Transportation Honda's Marty Craggill had a much better outing in the
Formula Xtreme race than he did in the earlier 600 Supersport Final - an
event that saw him crash out in the early going. Aboard the #134 CBR954RR
in the Formula Xtreme Final, Craggill maintained the eighth position for
much of the race before ultimately finishing there. Meanwhile, Erion
Honda's Roger Lee Hayden fell victim to mechanical gremlins and did not
finish the race.

Round nine of the Formula Xtreme Series will take place on August 29-31 at
Virginia International Raceway, a 2.26-mile road course well suited to the
Red Riders and their potent CBR954RR race machines.

AMA Formula Xtreme Overall Results:
1. Ben Spies - Suzuki
2. Jake Zemke - Honda
3. Jason Pridmore - Suzuki
4. Adam Fergusson - Suzuki
5. Josh Hayes - Suzuki
8. Marty Craggill - Honda
11. Jason Curtis - Honda

AMA Formula Xtreme Point Standings:
1. Ben Spies - Suzuki - 250
2. Damon Buckmaster - Yamaha - 229
3. Jake Zemke - Honda - 217
4. Josh Hayes - Suzuki - 215
5. Adam Fergusson - Suzuki - 212
9. Marty Craggill - Honda - 167
10. Roger Hayden - Honda - 135
12. Jason Curtis - Honda - 75
15. Ty Howard - Honda - 61
16. Craig Connell - Honda - 55


AMA/Pro Honda Oils 600cc Supersport Series
Round 9: Lexington, Ohio
July 27, 2003

Zemke Victorious in Mid-Ohio 600 Supersport

In the last decade, Red Riders have dominated the 600 Supersport class at
the famed 2.4-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Honda CBR600 continued
its stranglehold on Mid-Ohio competition this weekend when Erion Honda's
Jake Zemke put his #98 CBR600RR on top of a four-rider duel that ended with
a mere 0.770-second gap separating first through fourth place. The highly
anticipated race win for Zemke comes after a second-place finish in the
previous round at Laguna Seca Raceway and appears to be a turning point for
Jake in a season already filled with drama.

Going into Sunday's Supersport Final, Zemke was actually experiencing more
drama than he would have liked. Between Zemke, Erion teammate Roger Hayden
and Team Honda's Miguel Duhamel, Zemke was the slowest in qualifying.
Duhamel and Hayden qualified fifth and seventh, while Zemke, Erion Honda's
Alex Gobert and Bruce Transportation's Marty Craggill were even further
back in 10th, 11th and 13th, respectively.

Despite his second-row starting position, Hayden launched his #95 Honda
CBR600RR into the lead as the track went green. The fast-starting
Kentuckian held onto the point for the first two laps before being
overtaken by Jamie Hacking and Damon Buckmaster.

Meanwhile, Zemke pressed forward to sixth place by the end of the first
lap, then took over third place on lap six of the 16-lap affair. Hayden
would eventually finish seventh, only 7.7 seconds behind race winner Zemke.

As Zemke closed on the Hacking/Buckmaster battle up front, Miguel Duhamel
was making time after suffering a dismal start. Duhamel, a mainstay in the
CBR600's domination at Mid-Ohio over the years, worked his way up to eighth
place on the seventh lap of race. Unfortunately, on the very next lap,
Duhamel found himself on the ground.

"The front end was pretty soft, and I just bottomed it going into that turn
and lost it," Duhamel explained after the race. "It's too bad too because
the race pace wasn't that fast and I thought we were in pretty good shape
to get up there."

A lap after Duhamel's crash, Zemke seized the lead and turned up the heat,
maintaining a pace that forestalled any counterattacks from Hacking,
Buckmaster and Ben Spies, who had followed the fast-moving Zemke up to the
lead pack earlier in the race. When the train of four riders crossed the
stripe for the 16th and final time, Zemke out-dragged second place Hacking
to the checkers by a scant 0.59 of a second with Buckmaster and Spies
finishing third and fourth.

Hayden was the next Honda to cross the finish line, in seventh, while
Gobert brought his #23 CBR600RR home in 11th. Unfortunately, Duhamel wasn't
the only Red Rider to suffer a crash in the Supersport Final. The first was
actually Craggill, who went down on the fourth lap in the middle of his own
charge through the pack. Luckily, the crash left Craggill uninjured and he
was able to compete in the Formula Xtreme Final later in the afternoon.

Zemke's race win moved the one-time dirt tracker to fifth in the series
point standings, just behind teammate Alex Gobert. With only two rounds
remaining, the series championship is out of reach for Zemke, Gobert and
the rest of the Red Riders, but they still plan on winning races visiting
the podium as the series heads east to Virginia International Raceway in
Alton, Virginia on August 29-31.

600 Supersport Overall Results:
1. Jake Zemke - Honda
2. Jamie Hacking - Yamaha
3. Damon Buckmaster - Yamaha
4. Ben Spies - Suzuki
5. Pascal Picotte - Yamaha
7. Roger Lee Hayden - Honda
11. Alex Gobert - Honda
12. Chris Rankin - Honda
13. Chris Peris - Honda
14. Jason Curtis - Honda

AMA 600cc Supersport Points Standings:
1. Jamie Hacking - Yamaha - 285
2. Damon Buckmaster - Yamaha - 255
3. Ben Spies - Suzuki - 202
4. Alex Gobert - Honda - 198
5. Jake Zemke - Honda - 193
6. Roger Hayden - Honda - 189
11. Jason Curtis - Honda - 141
13. Miguel Duhamel - Honda - 131
15. Chris Peris - Honda - 93
17. Marty Craggill - Honda - 68
18. Ty Howard - Honda - 65