Soup
NewsFeaturesStoreRacingPointsClassifiedsNavigation
Utah '07 Super Seven
spies has a "perfect" weekend
by evan williams
Saturday, June 30, 2007

Jake Zemke earned the podium twice for Honda in Superbike
1. Ben Spies, Suzuki -- It wasn't even close. Spies won pole, led the most laps, and took victory in each Superbike race. He also did the same thing in Superstock to cap off a "perfect" weekend, points-wise. No one's doubled in Superbike and won a support race the same weekend since Miguel Duhamel did it for Honda in 2004 at VIR.

It was a big weekend for Spies, who came into the event leading the points by two but feeling the pressure after Mladin put his stamp on more races in 2007.

2. Aaron Gobert, Erion Honda -- Gobert won the FX race in Utah, backing up his Elkhart Supersport win with a fine ride in the other 600cc class. It's been a strange year for Gobert, with early DNFs putting him out of title contention. Still, Aaron has done his part as the summer heated up and found a high level of competitiveness.

Gobert also took fourth in Supersport.

3. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki -- Hacking is now fully back in the Supersport championship race. He trails Josh Hayes by 11 (and Roger Hayden by two) in the points after a victory. Hacking's Utah win has helped erase the Barber DNF that put his championship defense in doubt.

The Hacker sprung away from a tough pack to win by over five seconds at Miller. He has three seconds and two wins in class this year.

Hacking also put in a tough fight with Miguel Duhamel in Saturday's Superbike race but was deemed to have jumped the start in Sunday's race.

4. Jake Zemke, American Honda -- Zemke was third on Saturday and second on Sunday in Superbike, putting himself on the podium both times. Zemke wasn't seriously challenged in either race and put in a solid weekend for the Honda team.

Jake, now third in Superbike points, was clearly the best of the non-Spies/Mladin Superbike class last weekend. He bested all the challengers: his teammate Duhamel, Rog Hayden with his newfound speed and front row qualifying performance, and Yamaha's Eric Bostrom who crashed out of Saturday's race. But when it was said and done, Jay-Z was the man spraying champagne after both races.

5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda -- Duhamel had a big-time crash on Friday at Utah, but won two tough battles in the races. He bested Jamie Hacking for fifth on Saturday, despite the Kawasaki rider hounding him much of the contest.

On Sunday, Miguel sniped Mladin late to take the last podium spot.

6. M4 EMGO Suzuki -- The Supersport race saw some tough battles and none was fiercer that the fight for second place. Erion Honda's Aaron Gobert and Kawasaki's Roger Hayden fought with this team's Geoff May and Martin Cardenas.

May took the spot, using a patient strategy that saw him save his moves until the end. Cardenas, replacing the injured Michael Barnes, has been a revelation since joining the squad. The South American former GP rider took a third in that race as well as a close fifth (a tick over three seconds behind the winner) in FX.

7. Tie: Mat Mladin, Suzuki; Chaz Davies, Celtic Yamaha; Ben Bostrom, Graves Yamaha -- Davies earned his first AMA podium in FX with a stout run that saw him just 0.284 seconds away from a win.

Mladin bled points to Spies in Superbike at Utah but ran hard despite a tire problem on Saturday to finish second. He then had the crazy charge on Sunday, from last on the grid after a crash to fourth place.

As the lone Yamaha contender in Superstock, Bostrom beat all the Suzukis but one in Tooele.

The Super Seven is our very unscientific and totally subjective list of the top seven people, or groups of people, who stood out at the most recent race meeting.

ENDS

Post this story to: digg

Return to News
 
 

PRIVACY POLICY | HOME | RETURN TO TOP

© 1997 - 2007 Hardscrabble Media LLC