Duhamel Uses Last-Lap Pass for Win at AMA Infineon
Raceway
Duhamel Uses Last-Lap Pass
to Win Supercuts Superbike Challenge
SONOMA, Calif. May 2, 2004; Honda's Miguel Duhamel used a
thrilling last-lap pass to take the victory on Sunday at Infineon
Raceway in the AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge. The event was part of
the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown weekend, presented by Cycle Gear.
Duhamel closed a 1.9-second gap on leader Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) over
the final lap and passed the rookie AMA Superbike rider on Turn 11 for
the victory. Duhamel popped a wheelie on his Honda CBR1000RR in
celebration as he took the checkered flag.
It was Duhamel's first victory of the year and the 27th AMA Chevrolet
Superbike victory of his career, second on the all-time list to
Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin, who placed fourth after starting on the
pole. It was also Duhamel's fifth career Superbike win at Infineon
Raceway, a track record. Duhamel doubled his pleasure later in the day
with a win in the 17-lap feature for Lockhart Phillips USA Formula
Xtreme.
"It was an incredible (Superbike) race," Duhamel said. "Obviously my
Honda CBR1000RR was the best bike out there. Jake ran a great race. It
did cross my mind that second place isn't so bad, but then I said, 'no'
and I wanted to see what the bike could do. I gave it everything I
could. I figured the fans thought the race was over, but I wanted to do
something exciting for the fans. I just tried to reel him in and I was
able to catch him."
It was a bittersweet finish for Zemke, who led 23 of the 28 laps and was
seeking his first career Superbike win. "I thought I had that one. I
went by on the white-flag lap and thought he was way back there, but he
caught me," Zemke said.
The win snapped Mladin's stranglehold on the AMA Chevrolet Superbike
Championship, ending his win streak at four. He won Saturday's 98 Rock
Superbike Challenge at Infineon Raceway and still tops the point
standings after five rounds on the 2004 season with 177 points. Duhamel
is second (153), with Zemke third (150).
"For the first few laps of the race, Mat's Suzuki GSX-R1000 wasn't
running
properly," said Peter Doyle, Mladin's crew chief. "When we got the red
flag, we tried to fix it the best we could. And I believe that we made
it better, but obviously it wasn't good enough for Mat to go for the
win."
Aaron Yates (Suzuki) took third place with Mladin fourth and
Ben Bostrom (Honda) fifth. Other winners on the day included Suzuki's
Ben Spies (Pro Honda Oils Superstock), and Yamaha's Jamie Hacking
(Repsol Superstock Series).
AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge
SONOMA, Calif. (May 2, 2004) - Following are official results from
Sunday's AMA Supercuts Superbike Challenge, part of the Kawasaki AMA
Superbike Showdown weekend at Infineon Raceway, May 1-2. The race
spanned 28 laps:
1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR, 28.
2. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR, 28.
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
4. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda CBR1000RR, 28.
6. Steve Crevier, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 28.
8. Larry Pegram, Yamaha YZF-R1, 28.
9. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
11. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
12. Clint McBain, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
13. Ken Hill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
14. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
15. Robert Christman, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 28.
16. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
17. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
18. Cory Denton West, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
19. Jack Pfeifer, Honda CBR1000RR, 27.
20. Thomas Montano, Ducati 999R, 27.
21. Brien Whitlock, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
22. Jason Curtis, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
23. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
24. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
25. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
26. J J Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
27. John Wilson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
28. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR1000RR, 27.
29. Garry Combs, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
30. James King, Yamaha YZF-R1, 27.
31. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
32. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 27.
33. Chris Siglin, Yamaha YZF-R1, 19.
34. David Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 17.
35. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999R, 15.
36. James Randolph, Yamaha YZF-R1, 10.
37. Jeff Williams, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.
38. Kenyon Kluge, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 7.
39. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha YZF-R1, 6.
40. Mark Foster, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 5.
41. Opie Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R1000, DNS.
42. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R1000, DNS.
43. Rob Mesa, Suzuki GSX-R1000, DNS.
44. Mike Krynock, Ducati 999R, DNS.
RACE TIME: 65:40.81 min.
WINNER'S AVG. SPEED: 59.342 mph
WINNER'S AVG. LAP TIME: 2:20.743
LAP LEADERS: Zemke 23 (2-7, 11-27)
Duhamel 4 (8-10, 28)
Yates 1 (1)
Red flag on Lap 7.
