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RACE WATCH

Duhamel golden in California Triple

In what was dubbed "The California Triple," the AMA Superbike Series descended upon Laguna Seca, Willow Springs and Sears Point raceways over three consecutive weekends in late April and early May. Honda's Miguel Duhamel, last seen several weeks earlier on his knees in the chicane at Daytona, got up in a big way out West. Aided by patience, talent and a rocket-fast RC45, the FrenchCanadian departed the Golden State with three victories under his belt.

The results are long since in: Duhamel won all three races and Suzuki's Mat Mladin took the poles (for three extra points in the new scoring system), leaving the Australian tied with reigning champ Doug Chandler for the points lead. Mladin was the sole factory GSXR750 pilot to arrive in California. His teammate Aaron Yates broke his wrist while training on a motocross bike, and isn't expected back until round six at Road Atlanta. "Laguna's proba bly one of my least favorite race tracks," Mladin said. "I've always sort of struggled here."

In contrast, Muzzy Kawasaki rider Chandler was pleased to race close to home. At Laguna, it meant a short commute from adjacent Salinas. "It helps me quite a bit," he said. "It's easy to get up in the morning, be at my house, come down to the track and work. You can't ask for much more than that."

Most riders are fully aware of Chandler's local-hero status at Laguna. "I think he drapes on the Superman cape when he comes here," Duhamel said. "Doug is hell-bent on not letting someone else win here."

"It's like when I go to Road Atlanta," mused Yamaha's Jamie Hacking. "I know where the hell I'm goin'." "I don't think it makes any difference if you're a local or not," countered Mladin. "If you're at the top of your game and you're a professional, it doesn't matter if you live down the street or 12,000 miles away. Doug's done well here, but I don't think it's because Laguna is his home track. I think it's because his riding style suits this racetrack. He's very smooth and calculated, and he always takes the same line. That's what it takes."

Mladin qualified on the pole, ahead of fellow Australian Anthony Gobert and Chandler. Mladin then crashed in Sunday morning practice, leaving him with a knee injury that would nag him throughout the three-event mini-series. Come race time, Duhamel bolted into the lead, while Chandler got hung up behind Hacking, who quickly crashed out. Once clear, Chandler chased down Duhamel, but finished second, some distance in front of Miadin and Duhamel's teammate Ben Bostrom. Gobert struggled home 11th after a poor start.

Moving from picturesque Laguna Seca to the high desert and Willow Springs for round four proved a shock for some riders. "I hate this place," one said bluntly.

Mladin broke the track record twice during Friday practice and qualifying. "I like Willow a lot," he said. "Normally, the blokes with a bit of balls will go pretty fast here."

On Saturday, Willow's infamous wind arrived. "It's the desert," fourtime AMA 250 GP Champion and Superbike rookie (and former track record-holder) Rich Oliver explained. "It's windy, and it's dry, and it's dusty, and that's just the way it is. If you fight it, and you hate it, it's just gonna upset your confidence. I just try to go with it."

"It all depends what the gust is like at the time," Mladin added. "One lap you come through and it feels good, the next lap you do the same thing and you're nearly off the outside of the racetrack."

"The wind was blowing my hairwith my helmet on!" Duhamel joked. "When you're behind, you're thinking, ‘These guys are just so slow.' Then, you get in front and you're just trying to hang on. It's a lot easier to be manly when you're behind someone. I was grinding my handlebar in Turn 9 trying to turn the damn thing."

The wind ebbed for Sunday's race, and the top three (Duhamel, Gobert and Mladin) were all smiles. "This track, I didn't like it that much, but I think it's because I never had it dialedin that good," Duhamel said. "On the Superbike, it's kind of fun because it takes us away from a lot of the chicane tracks that we have around the country. We get some speed going."

"I prefer tighter, twistier tracks," Gobert related. "(Here), you can stay with another guy if you just want to grit your teeth and hold it on."

Despite not having won in four rounds, Mladin rolled into Sears Point with a three-point lead over Chandler, who also was winless. "Sears Point's good, a bit dangerous with walls and stuff around," Mladin said. "A guy who wants to hang it out a bit can do well here. I could have won here in '96 when Aaron Yates won it, I just didn't want to hang it out as much as he did. The layout's unreal-an excellent racetrack. It's just dangerous."

Chandler finished fifth at Willow, and was looking to regain the points lead. He qualified second. "I think it's pretty important to get a good starting position at Sears," he said after qualifying. "The track's fairly tight, and you can get stuck if you don't take off with the front guy."

In earning his fourth pole in five rounds, Mladin set another track record. "We've put a little bit more concentration on qualifying," he admitted. "We're trying to make up for an engine that has a very narrow powerband. Ours is good from 9500 to 12,500 rpm, where the Honda is good from 9500 to 15,000 rpm. With the extra grip (of the qualifying tire), you don't have to worry so much about the powerband. Put the race tire on, though, and the powerband comes back into play."

Chandler gained another point back by leading the most laps in the race, but eventually was overtaken by Duhamel, who took his third-straight victory, and moved into third in the standings.

"To pull three in a row on the competition-guys like Anthony Gobert, Mat Mladin, Doug Chandler-they're really proving that our show is strong," said Duhamel. "I think we're getting a lot more respect for our series. When Anthony came over here, they thought it was gonna be a cakewalk for him-come over here and beat the living hell out of us. And we're gonna cross the t's and dot the i's when we get to Laguna for World Superbike. I've got a bullet between my teeth."

Gobert finished last at Sears, after disappearing into the pits for nearly half the race with engine trouble. "My tactics for this year have changed just a little bit," Gobert had said when he arrived at Laguna Seca. "I'm a little bit more reserved on the bike. I haven't gone out there and said, ‘I'm gonna kill this track,' like I have in the past. You've got to be smart in America. In World Superbike, you just throw it away, then win the next few races and you're back up there. Here, the points system sucks. It's set up to ride with a skirt on, because you can't go and just risk it for the win every time." Gobert left California fifth in points behind Bostrom.

What does the future hold? Look for a big fight for second place. Chandler is smart, and he won't be outridden. Mladin hopes to get his engine sorted by the end of the year and will fight Chandler, Gobert and Bostrom for positions on the podium.

That leaves Duhamel. "You can't go back and change," he said in reference to his Daytona crash, "so I don't even think about it. The only reason I crashed there was because I wanted to win that race so badly. I wanted to win it for myself and for Honda's 50th anniversary. I was trying to be a hero. The bike's working so good now, I can be a lot less on the edge than I had to be in 1995, '96 and '97. The RC45's always been a rocketship, it's just that rocketships don't steer that well! This rocketship has some wings on it. It's not the best-turning bike, but it's good enough for me."

If he stays healthy, Duhamel likely will take the title this year. The RC45 is incredibly fast, and Duhamel has the experience necessary to come home first. He may not have given Honda a victory at Daytona, but his West Coast performances proved that the consolation could be the '98 AMA Superbike Championship.

Paul Seredynski

McGrath wins SX, sets sights on outdoor title

Jeremy McGrath captured an unprecedented fifth AMA Supercross title with his second-place finish at the penultimate round in Dallas, Texas. Then, unburdened by the points race, McGrath won the final round in Las Vegas, Nevada, finishing 51 points ahead of Honda's Ezra Lusk in the final standings. Taking his winning ways outdoors, McGrath currently As a result, McGrath now holds the record for the most SX/MX wins at 69, and if his recent performances are any indication, he may soon break the record for the most national titles. McGrath is currently tied with Broc Glover at six.

leads the points chase in the AMA 250cc National Motocross Series.

McGrath has won more AMA SX championships than any other rider in history. In addition, he is the only person to win the title on different brands of motorcycles. His four consecutive wins from 1993-96 were aboard factory Hondas, and he garnered his most recent championship on a Team Chaparral Yamaha YZ250. McGrath's 52 SX victories puts him far ahead of second-place Rick Johnson, who earned 28 wins en route to two titles.

At the opening round of the outdoor series held at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, McGrath took second overall in the 250cc class, finishing 1-5 in the two-moto format. France's Mickael Pichón finished 5-1 for the overall win. Then, at the second round of the series in Sacramento, California, McGrath took the overall win and the series points lead.

According to AMA SX promoter Pace Motorsports, the series enjoyed a record year in terms of attendance, up 62,000 to nearly 750,000 attendees. It's a jump that must be at least partly attributable to McGrath.

Paul Seredynski

Edwards doubles at Monza World Superbike

American Colin Edwards won his first FIM World Superbike race in Monza, Italy, finishing a tight .083 second ahead of Honda teammate Aaron Slight. The Texan was victorious in the second leg, too, doubling his win tally in one day.

The triumphs proved bittersweet for the lanky "Texas Tornado." Supersport 600 World Series rider and fellow Castrol Honda teammate Michael Paquay of Belgium had been killed earlier in practice. Also, Edwards' father is in poor health. "This win is dedicated to Michael Paquay," he said afterward. "There were two reasons why I had to win: Michael was one and the other was my father. He's ill and may only have a year to live, and I wanted him to see me win a World Superbike race so badly. So I'm happy, but at the same time, I'm sad."

Doohan to race F-1? Not likely...

Four-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan has made it clear that he has no plans to race cars once he retires from motorcycle roadracing. That said, Doohan took time from his hectic schedule to participate in the Williams Formula One team's Champion's Day. In what was heralded as the "Three Tenors of Motorsports," defending F-l title-holder Jacques Villeneuve invited Doohan and 1997 World Rally Champion Tommi Makinen for a day of fun in his Renaultpowered machine at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona, Spain.

Unfortunately, both guests spun the explosively fast car on their first gorounds. "All I could think about was keeping it on the black stuff," Doohan admitted afterward. "If I was more relaxed about coping with the power, I probably wouldn't have spun. I thought about it too much. I was too apprehensive about what others were expecting from me." Only minor damage to the car-and Doohan's pride-ensued, and he was soon back on the track.

"The speed was similar (to his bike's). I felt the same sensation of the corner accelerating towards me," Doohan said. "The difference was the difficulty in relating to the different demands of driving an F-l car. I thought like I was still on the bike. My mind was telling me, ‘Brake, brake.' It was hard for the brain to tell the right foot to keep planted on the floor. But it was a sensational experience."

Makinen also returned to the track after his shunt, and ripped off eight laps, before spinning into a wall at more than 155 mph. The Finn was unhurt. Sadly, the same couldn't be said of the car, which brought the day to an early end.

-Paul Seredynski