Login | Password dimenticata? | Registrati

Hodgson Moves to Third in the AMA Superbike Championship

In SBK

19 maggio 2008

American Honda's Neil Hodgson took over third place in the AMA Superbike Championship point standings after a difficult weekend at Infineon Raceway in the heart of the California wine country. Teammate Miguel Duhamel sits eighth in points.

The start of the weekend was the best all year for Hodgson. The former World Superbike Champion finished a close third in Friday's first Superbike practice, held in 40 degree heat with track temperatures approaching 66 degrees. But as the track cooled down, Hodgson wasn't able to maintain his early form. He qualified seventh on the grid, one spot in front of Duhamel.

For Saturday's race, Hodgson tried a different, shorter set-up that soon found wasn't an improvement. As soon as the heat took its toll on his tires, the front end began to chatter and the rear did, as well. From then on it was a matter of survival en route to a sixth place finish. The team went with a more conventional set-up on Sunday and the rideability and results improved. Hodgson was battling with Aaron Yates (Suzuki) until a mistake near the end of the race put him out of reach. Hodgson finished fifth and moved up to third in the championship.

Duhamel ran afoul of brakes problems on Saturday. Infineon Raceway has a host of hard Braking corners, many of which are downhill, and the lack of stopping power meant a long day at the office for Duhamel. He finished tenth, but improved to seventh on Sunday once the brake problems were cured.

Now the team has a two week break until the inaugural AMA/World Superbike Championship weekend at Miller Motorsports Park outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Neil Hodgson 6th, 5th
"I had a package that I could race after the tires had gone off. Yesterday (Saturday), we went with a really short bike and the tires went off and it had no feeling. And it would break traction really quick. It just felt horrible to be honest and it just chattered its brains out. Today a little bit of chatter, but a much nicer package that I could race. But unfortunately, I was losing on the last split all my time through the little chicane and the last hairpin. For whatever reason, I just can't get through them. It's a little bit of it's me and a little bit is the engine, I think. It's just a little bit boggy off the bottom. So I basically lost all my time then to Aaron (Yates) and I had to spend the rest of the lap doing everything I could to try to get back in touch. I'd get back in touch Braking into that little chicane and then I'd lose probably three-tenths, four-tenths. Everything I got, you know what I mean. Two laps to go I made a mistake just trying to make time up in those areas and he was gone. Yesterday, the tires went off, like everybody's did. Just lost the setting really. The bike started to chatter its brains out. Wouldn't hold a line anywhere. Fortunately, that was sort of the tail of the race. And it continued to go away, the tire. It were weird. And the harder I tried, the more it chattered. The more it chattered, the wider I went, the slower I went. That said, at the end I was on my own anyway, pretty much."

Pagina 1 di 2