Honda Puts 2 on the Box:

by Jeff Kufalk
Sunday, March 9th, 2003

All eyes were on the new Honda CBR600RR this morning at the Daytona AMA Supersport race, and with just cause. From the drop of the green through the checkered flag, the battle belonged to Honda and Yamaha, with Honda dominating for a majority of the race.

The power and drive of the new CBR600RR was evident, as was the drafting experience of the factory Honda riders which shot them to the lead on many occassions during the race. The finish brought two Honda CBR600RR's to the podium in 1st and 3rd with Roberts and Duhammel respectively. Roberts and Duhammel both pulling classic draft moves to the finish, I don't believe anyone was surprised at Roberts draft on the R6 of Jamie Hacking, but the draft shot that Miguel pulled on a pack of (I believe) 4 riders was nothing short of fantastic.

In the end, the top 5 were:

1. Kurtis Roberts, Honda
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -0.118 second
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -0.283
4. Jake Zemke, Honda, -0.414
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -0.458

From a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway:

PRO HONDA OILS SUPERSPORT QUOTES

Kurtis Roberts, rider of the No. 80 Erion Honda
ON THE LAST LAP
"I went back to third where I needed to be. The lapper got in the way and made Jake (Zemke) get a little antsy and jump on the throttle a little bit. It gave Jamie (Hacking) the gap to where I let him go down the straightaway that far and I passed Jake. I can't say enough about the RR600. That Honda was running. I was just cruising through the infield saving my strength for the 200. I've got to take my hat off to Jamie. He was riding really good through the infield. That's why I was trying to lead so much. I was conserving a lot more energy when I was in the lead then following. Those guys were racing for it.
"I can't say enough about the CBR600RR. It was perfect, I don't think I put a wheel out of place. It was definitely the most patient, smoothest Daytona 600 in a while. The changes to the chicane paid off."

Jamie Hacking, rider of the No. 2 Yamaha
"I'm very delighted for what position we finished. The Yamaha has been running excellent all weekend long. Kurtis is not finishing out the championship season so we're looking good right now. That's the best thing. It's been so frustrating. I come here every single year and just can't seem to pull it off no matter what I do. I'm not going to give it up. Hopefully we'll pull this thing off sometime. It took Earnhardt I don't know how many tries.
"Once again, here I am second. I'm going to start putting those second-place trophies up in the closet because I'm tired of looking at them. I did the best I could. I rode my bike as hard as I could."
ON USING THE LAP RIDER IN THE CHICANE FOR DRAFTING HELP
"I ran him down way to soon. I caught him right at the exit (of the chicane) and he didn't do nothing for me."
ON KURTIS ROBERTS' WINNING PASS
"He just had one helluva run on me. It was unbelievable."

Miguel Duhamel, rider of the No. 17 Honda
"The bike was running good. I was out there really composed and really relaxed. My bike, when I got in the draft, hit the rev limiter a little bit and that's not good. I was having a little trouble with that. I could see Jamie and Jake (Zemke) up there (and thinking) as long as they didn't get away from me. I was just keeping that in mind and trying to figure out a way to get up there. I was hoping more guys in front of me the better because that would help me get a draft. I was so happy just to see how good my bike is. We're definitely in there the whole rest of the season and Kurtis won't be there at all."