AMA: Kurtis Roberts captures 600 Supersport Championship
3 October 2000
2000 AMA Roadracing series, Willow Springs International Raceway, Rosamond, California, September 30 - October 1, 2000 I. Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Series, Round 9 Erion Racing's Kurtis Roberts forced his way past both series points leader Eric Bostrom and Jamie Hacking in the second-to-last turn of the last lap to not only win the finale but also win the series championship on his CBR600F4. Trailing in third place after leading much of the race, Robert's move capped the most exciting race of the nine-race season. "I've been sick this week so having to lead so many laps and force myself to go fast wore me down with about five laps to go," explained Roberts. Bostrom ran up on Hacking going into turn eight and went to the outside. That was the opening that Roberts needed, and he suddenly ran his Rick Hobbs/Danny Hull/Masahiro Iizuka-prepared F4 up the inside of both rivals. "It was the only thing I could do so I had to do it. I knew there was room there. I figured I was going to win or all three of us were probably going to be in the dirt. "From Daytona on," added Roberts, "I've said I wanted to win this championship. That was my shot to win the championship." Bostrom and Roberts actually ended up tied in final points, with Roberts earning the title -- his second of the year to go along with his Formula Xtreme crown -- by virtue of his three wins compared to Bostrom's two. Roberts' first 600 championship marks the eighth for Honda in the class. Willow Springs AMA/Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Results, Top Finishers 1. Kurtis Roberts-Honda 2. Jamie Hacking-Yamaha 3. Eric Bostrom-Kawasaki 4. Nicky Hayden-Honda 5. Miguel Duhamel-Honda 8. Jake Zemke-Honda 31. Josh Hayes-Honda AMA/Pro Honda Oils 600 SuperSport Series Final Point Standings, Top Riders 1. Kurtis Roberts-Honda-276 points 2. Eric Bostrom-Kawasaki-276 points 3. Jamie Hacking-Yamaha-248 points 4. Tommy Hayden-Yamaha-239 points 5. Miguel Duhamel-Honda-238 points 8. Jake Zemke-Honda-179 points 11. Nicky Hayden-Honda-156 points 12. Josh Hayes-Honda-156 points II. Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, Round 12 Team Honda's Nicky Hayden picked up his fourth win of the season in the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, leading from the fifth lap to the finish at Willow Springs International Raceway on his Dan Fahey/Davey Jones/Merlyn Plumlee-tuned RC51. Hayden's quartet of winner's trophies matched defending champ Mat Mladin's victory total, but it wasn't enough to dethrone the Australian, who rode a relatively conservative pace to finish the race in eighth place. Since Mladin led Hayden by 19 points going into the finale, that was enough to secure the championship for Mladin, 388-383. Teammate Miguel Duhamel retired on lap six with bike problems. Hayden's victory established a new race record, his 34:08.280 breaking Duhamel's 25-lap time of 34:13.090 set en route to his win two years ago. His win also gives Honda its fourth Superbike victory at Willow in five races. "I'm really happy with the race, that we finished the year with a win," Hayden exclaimed. "To get a win and get to build on this for next year, hopefully we can keep the momentum going. All in all, I think it was a pretty good year." And since this was his first season in the Superbike class, that's fair warning for the competition. Willow Springs AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Results, Top Finishers 1. Nicky Hayden-Honda 2. John Kocinski-Ducati 3. Steve Rapp-Ducati 4. Aaron Yates-Suzuki 5. Eric Bostrom-Kawasaki 20. Miguel Duhamel-Honda AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship Final Point Standings, Top Riders 1. Mat Mladin-Suzuki-388 points 2. Nicky Hayden-Honda-383 points 3. Aaron Yates-Suzuki-348 points 4. Eric Bostrom-Kawasaki-336 points 5. Doug Chandler-Kawasaki-275 points 9. Miguel Duhamel-Honda-248 points III. eSportbike.com Formula Xtreme Series, Round 8 Bruce Transportation Group's Jake Zemke rode to a seemingly effortless victory at the final round of the Formula Xtreme Series on his Erion Racing-backed Honda CBR929RR at Willow Springs Raceway on Saturday. In winning for the first time, Zemke took the checkered flag 5.459 seconds ahead of the runner-up, Erion Racing's Josh Hayes on another 929, marking Hayes' fourth second-place finish of the season. Erion Racing's Kurtis Roberts did not compete, having already clinched the class championship in the previous race in Colorado Springs. Zemke's win put him closer to Roberts in the final point standings, finishing second overall while Hayes finished third in points -- a Honda sweep for the new-for-2000 CBR929RR. Willow Springs AMA/eSportbike.com Formula Xtreme Results, Top Finishers 1. Jake Zemke-Honda 2. Josh Hayes-Honda 3. Vincent Haskovec-Yamaha 4. Mark Miller-Yamaha 5. Grant Lopez-Suzuki AMA/eSportbike.com Formula Xtreme Series Final Point Standings, Top Riders 1. Kurtis Roberts-Honda-254 points 2. Jake Zemke-Honda-233 points 3. Josh Hayes-Honda-222 points 4. Grant Lopez-Suzuki-191 points 5. Steve Grigg-Kawasaki-186 points