The riders take their sighting lap, the sky looks no lighter, so there's no real hope for any drier race than the 250s had. They need this sighting lap more than on a dry track, New Hampshire International Speedway's 1.6 mile road course is covered with standing water and puddles.

The rain is not as bad as during the 250 GP, but it's still raining steady. Colin Edwards' bike is balking on the grid. It's stalled and the crew can't get it restarted. Edwards may miss the 70th Loudon Classic.

Russell, Smith and a charging DuHamel lead the pack through turn one. Dale Quarterley is fourth. DuHamel takes second past Smith, but Smith comes back past the Canadian.

Russell pulls away in the lead. Smith is second, then DuHamel, Quarterley and Jacques Guenette going well on the Yamaha. Jamie James passes Guenette as they head down the front straight for the first time. Crevier is picking his way through the pack, it's his first ride on the Ducati.

Russell continues to pull away, he wheelies on the straights, giving a show for the spectators who are braving the elements to watch the show. Smith is alone in second, then DuHamel, Quarterley, James, Guenette, and Polen. Russell has four second on Smith after three laps. Polen goes past Guenette, and now Sohwa pressures the Canadian. Sohwa goes by to take over sixth.

Quarterley closes in on DuHamel. Quarterley teaches the Penguin Racing School here at NHIS, and he's acknowledged as the most experienced rider on this track. Quarterley passes DuHamel and hangs on for
third. DuHamel looked to the inside in the bowl, but had second thoughts so Quarterley keeps third place.

Russell is running 1:29 laps, well off the pace but ungodly quick considering the conditions. Russell, Smith, Quarterley, DuHamel, James, Polen, Sohwa, and Guenette. Crevier is ninth and now Andrew Stroud has passed Stevens for tenth. James is closing on DuHamel in fourth. Colin Edards arrives on track two laps down, he passes Russell, then Russell takes back the position from the rookie Superbike racer. Edwards sees God and Russell continues alone down the front straight.

Sohwa takes Polen on the inside as they set up for the transition to the back side of the track. Polen is obviously biding his time. He'll go fast only when he has to, and at this time he doesn't.

After thirteen laps, Russell leads Smith, Quarterley, James, DuHamel, Sohwa and Polen. Sohwa looks surprisingly smooth, calm and collected regardless of the conditions. The former Japanese champion gained a lot poise after his 750 Supersports win yesterday.

Smith is trying hard to reel in Russell, but he may be trying too hard as his Honda gets out of shape cresting the hill heading for the bowl. Russell shows he's under full control with a short wheelie down the front straight, continuously stretching his lead.

James now closes on Quarterley. Russell has over six seconds on Smith. another three seconds back to Quarterley, then only two seconds back to James. Quarterley passes his pit sign and gets word on James' charge, so, after wringing it out, he turns up the wick. Besides Quarterley picking up speed, James is held up by traffic so Quarterley gains a bit on the Yamaha.

The traffic is slowing James to the point he's being caught by DuHamel. Russell has a ten second lead and now seems to be easing off a bit. Russell is through the back straight before Smith enters the front straight.

In case you think the rain has stopped, it hasn't. Stroud and Crevier dice for eighth. Stevens is tenth and Sadowski is eleventh. Stroud passes Crevier. Crevier doesn't like it, but there's little he can do in the rain.

Crossed halfway flags at the stripe. Russell leads Smith by twelve seconds. Quarterley is seven seconds back from Smith. then James, DuHamel, Sohwa and Polen. Then Stroud, Crevier, Guenette, Stevens and Sadowski. Russell waves to the announcers in the "tree house" on the back side of the track. Sohwa slices through traffic, still working on his Supersports victory high.

Over twenty seconds separate Smith and Russell, but it's less than three seconds back to Quarterley from Smith. The rain tires are working well, Russell goes 1:26, the fastest lap of the race so far. DuHamel is closing on James. Crevier goes past the tower alone, and there's a question to what happened to Stroud. A rumor says Crevier hit Stroud's kill switch...

Smith slides in turn one, and Quarterley moves onto his rear wheel. Quarterley goes to the outside, and with a backmarker they're three wide going through turn eight, heading back onto the infield. Quarterley takes second from Smith, but after he clears the infield, he drops the Kawasaki in turn three. He looses a handful of places while his bike's on the ground.

Twenty six laps in the book, Russell is away in the lead. Smith has inherited second, then James, DuHamel, Sohwa, Quarterley and Polen. Crevier has problems with his new Italian ride, he stops on pit road, then pushes the bike behind the wall.

Less than ten laps to go. Thirty seconds between Russell and Smith. The battle for third is heating up. James, DuHamel and Sohwa are nose to tail. Quarterley is just out of the frame. James and DuHamel slice through traffic and leave Sohwa and Quarterley to fend for themselves.

DuHamel is right on James' rear wheel, but he doesn't appear to have the advantage to make the pass. James gasses it, as much as he can, and makes a cushion from DuHamel. Sadowski has a problem, he was
running just outside the top ten until water drowned his engine.

Five laps to go and Russell is still pulling away from Smith. the gap is over thirty seconds. James has pulled away from DuHamel, but Sohwa has closed on the Canadian Daytona winner, and that's the race.

Sohwa passes DuHamel. Sohwa set up DuHamel behind a backmarker to take fourth on the back straight. Jamie James' bike appears to be blowing oil. He slips a bit but hangs on. Sohwa and DuHamel close on the wounded Yamaha.

Sohwa takes third place. It's nail biting time watching James ride his broken bike. DuHamel passes James and points at the Yamaha, trying to inform James of his trouble.

White flag for Scott Russell while all eyes are on James. His bike continues to slow, but he keeps it up and heads for the finish.

Russell takes the checkered flag for his third consecutive win at the Loudon Classic. Mike Smith comes home second, and Sohwa takes third. DuHamel, James limped to fifth.