MBNA SUPERBIKE: Hacking tops 600 Supersport qualifying
31 July 1999
Jamie Hacking will start from the pole for Sunday's Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport final. Riding a factory Yamaha R6, Hacking blistered the old 600 SuperSport mark of 1:43.526, set last year by Aaron Yates, when he clocked in a 1:41.810 in the first qualifying session Saturday. Hacking will be joined on the front row by brothers Nick Hayden (Erion Honda) and Tommy Hayden (Yamaha) as well as Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda. The tailwind helped 10 riders run under Yates' old track record. "It's amazing that we were able to go so much faster than last year," said Hacking, who is third in the series standings. "I think I could have even gone faster if we'd put a fresh rear tire on the bike late in the session. We had a big tail wind on the front straight, so we were probably pushing 160 miles per hour. Maybe that record will stand for a while." WAIT'S DUCATI HAS HIGHEST TOP SPEED IN SUPERBIKE PRACTICE -- Matt Wait's Ferracci Ducati 996 hit 185 mph on the front straight during Saturday morning's practice session. Wait's machine had the fastest top radar speed of any Superbikes during the session. A number of bikes hit 184 mph including Ben Bostrom's Vance & Hines Ducati, Eric Bostrom's factory Honda RC45, Larry Pegram's Ferracci Ducati and Anthony Gobert's Vance & Hines Ducati 996. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR750 Superbikes of Mat Mladin, Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Steve Crevier generally hit the 181 to 183 mph range. The factory Yamaha R7s of Rich Oliver and Jamie Hacking and the Muzzy Kawasakis of Doug Chandler and Aaron Yates ranged from 179 to 181 mph. Scott Russell's Harley-Davidson VR1000 topped out at 179 mph. CHAPARRAL SUZUKI RIDERS LEAD THE WAY IN 750 SUPERSPORT QUALIES -- Chaparral Suzuki teammates Damon Buckmaster and Tom Kipp qualified first and second Saturday for the Lockhart Phillips 750 SuperSport final. It marks the first pole of the season for Australian Buckmaster who missed much of the early season after getting injured in a motocross training accident. Buckmaster's time of 1:41.859 breaks a three-year-old 750 SuperSport record of 1:42.081 set by Pascal Picotte. Jimmy Moore and Jake Zemke round out the front row starters. HIGBEE THUNDERS TO POLE -- Tilley Harley-Davidson Buell rider Shawn Higbee earned the pole for the Progressive Insurance Pro Thunder final by easily winning his heat race over Dave Estok on the Motorcycle Online Buell. Eric Wood, winner of two races this year, dominated the first qualifying heat and will start second on the grid Sunday. Series leader Shawn Conrad will have to start from the back of the grid after burning a clutch in his Ducati forcing him to drop from the race. Higbee said that his bike was starting to ping on the last lap and sounded apprehensive about the final. "We have to figure out a way to make it last the entire race. The speeds are so high at this track that it generates a great deal of heat in the engine. It's going to be a challenge for our crew." BOSTROM SHATTERS TRACK RECORD, GAINS CRUCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINT -- At Brainerd International Raceway Ben Bostrom earned his third MBNA Superbike pole of the season and more importantly gained a crucial championship point in his quest to defend his title. On the final lap of Saturday's qualifying session Bostrom clicked off a remarkable lap of one minute, 36.070 seconds at 112.418 mph on his Vance & Hines Ducati setting a new motorcycle track record. Series leader Mat Mladin kept Ducati from sweeping the front row by qualifying his Yoshimura Suzuki in second with a time of 1:36.410 at 112.022 mph. Third in series Anthony Gobert took third in qualifying on his Vance & Hines Ducati with lap at 1:36.418. Matt Wait earned the first front row Superbike start of his career by nailing down the fourth spot with time of 1:36.587 at 111.816 mph on the Ferracci Ducati. "My brother (Eric) won his first AMA Superbike national here last year, maybe I can do the same," said Bostrom, who won a World Superbike round three weeks ago in Monterey, Calif.. "My confidence has been pretty high since winning at Laguna. I had Mid-Ohio pretty much wrapped up before we had bike problems and I feel good about my chances here." HAYDEN WINS HIS SIXTH FORMULA XTREME FINAL -- In what is becoming almost routine, Erion Honda's Nick Hayden made yet another dramatic last-lap pass this time on Graves Yamaha rider Paul Harrell to win his sixth Sunoco Race Fuels Formula Xtreme race of the season. The race came down to a three-way battle between Hayden, Harrell and Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Josh Hayes. On the last lap Hayden made a bold inside move approaching turn nine and slipped underneath Harrell to take over the lead which he held to the finish. By making great late-braking maneuvers Hayes managed to be right there at the end, but the rear sprocket on his Suzuki threw a few teeth preventing him from making good drives out of the turns. The victory for Hayden keeps him at least mathematically alive in the series chase going into the final round at Pikes Peak. Kurtis Roberts finished fifth on another Erion Honda and holds a 30-point lead over his teammate going into the last race next month in Colorado. SORENSEN TAKES YET ANOTHER 250 GRAND PRIX POLE -- Racing at the site of his first AMA national win five years ago, Chuck Sorensen continued to flaunt his dominance in the Mazda Trucks 250 Grand Prix Series by winning his heat race and the pole in convincing fashion. Sorensen beat Modenas 500cc GP rider Mike Hale by over 12 seconds in the first 250 GP qualifying heat. Veteran Randy Renfrow won the second heat race over local favorite Bryan Okubo of Lakeville, Minn. Renfrow will start second on the grid for Sunday's final. BUCKMASTER BREAKS THROUGH, KIPP THE CHAMP -- It was a very good day for the Chaparral Suzuki team in Lockhart Phillips 750 SuperSport competition. Australian Damon Buckmaster, finally recovered from pre-season injuries, broke through to win his first AMA national. Meanwhile, Chaparral's Tom Kipp rode to a conservative fifth-place finish which was good enough to earn him his third 750 SuperSport title. Buckmaster rode a flawless race, leading from start to finish and crossing the line 8.396 seconds ahead of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki's Grant Lopez. Cycle Gear Suzuki ace Jake Zemke took third, his fifth-straight podium finish in the series. While Buckmaster won easily, the battle between Lopez and Zemke was intense. The two traded second place back and forth several times on the final lap with Lopez edging out Zemke at the flag. "It's been a long time coming and then some," said Buckmaster, a former Australian Supersport champion. "This season didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped, but it feels great to finally get a win. A lot of people question me when I came back from my injuries so early and I wanted to prove I could still win races." Ironically, it was Kipp who was brought in to ride for Buckmaster just two weeks prior to the opening of the season. "I feel incredibly fortunate to be in the position to even race this year, much less win the championship," said Kipp, who last won a 750 title back in 1995. "My goal is to get back into Superbike racing and I hope that winning this title will give me that chance."