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AMA Superbike Pole Story and Starting Grid from Colorado

16 August 1997


Chandler on pole for Colorado Superbike race


FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Doug Chandler says that Pikes Peak International
Raceway is one of the toughest tracks on which he's ever raced, but
that didn't keep him from earning the pole for Sunday's Wendy's
Superbike Championships by Suzuki.

Chandler finessed his Kawasaki ZX-7 around the tight and twisty
1.3-mile, 12-turn circuit at an average speed of 84.211 miles per hour
to win his third pole of the year.

Chandler, the defending AMA Superbike champion from Salinas, Calif.,
edged out Canadian Pascal Picotte, who was fastest on his Suzuki
during Friday's qualifying session, where he recorded a speed of
84.040 mph. Tom Kipp, of Chardon, Ohio (83.670 mph), and Miguel
Duhamel, a Montreal native (83.634 mph), will round out the front-row
starters, putting four different brands of motorcycles on the front
row. Kipp rides a Yamaha and Duhamel a Honda.

Duhamel said he considered himself lucky to be on the front row after
destroying his primary bike in a 150 mph practice crash on Friday.

"Just to walk away unscathed from a crash like that is amazing," said
Duhamel, the 1995 AMA Superbike champ. "We had to totally sort out a
new bike and to get it as good as we did for qualifying says a lot
about our crew."

The race Sunday is notable in that it is the first time the AMA
Superbike Series has ever visited Colorado and Pikes Peak
International Raceway, the shortest road course raced in the history
of the Superbike series.

The pole for Chandler gave him a valuable championship point, giving
him at least a bit more of a cushion over second place Mat Mladin, who
qualified seventh, and Duhamel, who is third in the standings but is
coming on strong after winning the last two AMA/MBNA Superbike races.

Chandler was a little concerned that the weather would keep him from
making a run at the pole.

"It started raining a little in the middle of the session, so I
decided to run it as hard as I could right then," said the 31-year-old
Chandler.

"It's was important to have the pole here since the track is so
tight. It's going to be a hectic race with 40 bikes out there. With
the championship on the line, I'm just going to make sure I have a
clean race."

Paul Harrell, from Canyon Country, Calif., won his first career AMA
national in the Pirelli Formula Xtreme final Saturday. Harrell, riding
a Yamaha, pulled away from series leader Andrew Stroud to win the race
by over nine seconds. Local favorite Dan Turner, from Loveland, Colo.,
was third.

Jason Pridmore passed early leader Doug Polen on the third lap of the
Teamline 750cc SuperSport finale, and held off the former AMA and
World Superbike champion to win his sixth race of the season.

FOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Lineup for Sunday's AMA-MBNA Superbike Series race
on the 1.3-mile Pikes Peak International Raceway with rider, hometown
or country, make of motorcycle and qualifying speed:

	1. Doug Chandler, Salinas, Calif., Kawasaki, 84.211 mph.
	2. Pascal Picotte, Canada, Suzuki, 84.040 mph.
	3. Tom Kipp, Chardon, Ohio, Yamaha, 83.670 mph.
	4. Miguel Duhamel, Sarasota, Fla., Honda, 83.634 mph.
	5. Aaron Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Suzuki, 83.480 mph.
	6. Larry Pegram, Baltimore, Ohio, Suzuki, 83.458 mph.
	7. Mat Mladin, Australia, Ducati, 83.240 mph.
	8. Steve Crevier, Canada, Honda, 82.877 mph.
	9. Thomas Stevens, Woodstock, Ga., Ducati, 82.512 mph.
	10. Chris Carr, Valley Springs, Calif., Harley-Davidson, 82.394 mph.
	11. Gerald Rothman, Jr., Manchester, Conn., Ducati, 82.344 mph.
	12. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Kawasaki, 82.287 mph.
	13. Doug Polen, Denton, Texas, Suzuki, 82.026 mph.
	14. Michael Taylor, Canada, Kawasaki, 81.838 mph.
	15. Thomas Wilson, Oregon, Ohio, Harley-Davidson, 81.805 mph.
	16. Jason Pridmore, Ventura, Calif., Suzuki, 81.754 mph.
	17. Tripp Nobles, Macon, Ga., Harley-Davidson, 81.633 mph.
	18. Paul Harrell, Canyon Country, Calif., Yamaha, 81.431 mph.
	19. Eric Moe, Spring Lake, Mich., Kawasaki, 80.807 mph.
	20. Kurt Dimick, Loveland, Colo., Ducati, 79.513 mph.
	21. Jeff Vos, Holland, Mich., Kawasaki, 79.345 mph.
	22. Dale Kieffer, Las Vegas, Suzuki, 79.287 mph.
	23. Ricky Orlando, Lafayette, Colo., Suzuki, 79.140 mph.
	24. James Randolph, Santa Rosa, Calif., Suzuki, 78.781 mph.
	25. Chris Rankin, Austin, Texas, Suzuki, 78.630 mph.
	26. John Jacobi, Noblesville, Ind., Suzuki, 78.416 mph.
	27. Anthony Lupo, San Rafael, Calif., Suzuki, 78.355 mph.
	28. Richard Alexander Jr., Carmel, N.Y., Suzuki, 78.313 mph.
	29. Mark Miller, Long Beach, Calif., Suzuki, 78.295 mph.
	30. Brian Gibbs, Stockbridge, Ga., Suzuki, 78.115 mph.
	31. Jimmy Moore, Eugene, Ore., Suzuki, 77.951 mph.
	32. Shane Clarke, Overland Park, Kan., Suzuki, 77.636 mph.
	33. Dax Snow, St. George, Utah, Suzuki, 77.544 mph.
	34. David Kieffer, Laramie, Wyo., Ducati, 77.376 mph.
	35. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki, 77.142 mph.
	36. Dennis Burke, Brighton, Colo., Suzuki, 76.493 mph.
	37. Brian Lehfeldt, Fort Collins, Colo., Suzuki, 76.151 mph.
	38. Terry Teske, Aurora, Colo., Suzuki, 76.015 mph.
	39. Douglas Vickery, Aurora, Colo., Yamaha, 75.177 mph.
	40. T. Russell Strobridge, Thornton, Colo., Kawasaki, 74.698 mph.