Staff
Administrator
Posts: 37018
|
posted March 10, 2007 01:03 PM
 Edited By: Staff on 10 Mar 2007 14:07
Kawasaki One - Two at the Daytona 200 as Honda DNF's with Fueling Problems
 Darkening skies and threatening clouds cleared leaving nothing but sunny skies for fans to watch the Daytona 200 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Honda riders Miguel Duhamel and Josh Hayes traded place in a battle for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place with Suzuki's #34 Michael Barnes, Kawasaki's #15 Steve Rapp and Yamaha's #157 Chaz Davies. Lap after lap these five riders battled through traffic trading lead repeatedly, often entering 3 and 4 abreast into the first turn off the front straight.
With only tenths of a second separating each of the top 5 riders, the battle for position continued throughout the first third of the race. On lap 9, #221 Walter Sipp onboard the Buell XB12R crashed out, ending his race day.
On lap 21 mechanical difficulties plagued team Honda ending the race for #17 Miguel Duhamel and #98 Jake Zemke as both appeared to have run out of gas ending their hopes for winning the race. On lap 22 Honda's #96 Aaron Gobert also appeared to run out of fuel, leaving #1 Josh Hayes barely making it into the pits, running on fumes.
Closer inspection in the paddock revealed that the Honda machines still carried at least 2 liters of fuel, more than enough to have made it to the pits.
Photo: Technicians draining fuel from #17 Bike...
The source of the Honda fuel delivery issue is unknown at this time and Ron Heben, Honda Road Race Manager stated,
"It's one of those things that we have to go back and find out. We did all the fuel mileage and everything this whole week and the temperatures have been pretty similar to today. We have no reason to risk it to go for the exact lap. We kind of have a pretty broad window of where we can lap, do two pit stops, and still finish the race. Obviously, we've got some kind of glitch out there. When we get back, we have to go take a look at it. It's a big disappointment for today because of Honda's success in the Daytona 200, where Miguel is riding. All the other guys - they're positioning to make a great race and put another Honda up font. So, we just have to go back and figure out what happened."
With the race order completely changed due to Honda's fuel issues, Kawasaki's #15 Steve Rapp took the lead, with Yamaha's #40 Jason Disalvo, Yamaha's #157 Chaz Davies and Kawasaki's #12 Ben Attard making up the top four.
As the race progressed Honda's #1 Josh Hayes pitted cautiously hoping to avoid a repeat of his teammate's fuel problems. By lap 55, Kawasaki's #15 Steve Rapp continued to lead with Kawasaki #12 Ben Attard in 2nd and #34 Barnes trading places with #157 Davies for 3rd, carrying the order right to the finish line, with Rapp taking the checkered flag.
Photo: Several liters of fuel that remained in the DNF #17 Honda
MIGUEL DUHAMEL, No. 17 Honda
"We had one more lap to go (before his fuel stop). We didn't run out of fuel. I think we had a fuel pump problem. There was fuel left in the gas tank, it just didn't get to the engine. Extremely unfortunate. The CBR600RR was working. It was the best 200 motorcycle I've ever had here. I was really in control, having a lot of fun out there. I was trying to get a little break on them I almost did it. Then I just really playing around, really in control of my destiny. I think, if it wouldn't have been for what happened, I think we would have had a great Daytona 200 By Honda.
On all four bikes having simultaneous problems
"We have an open book system at Honda. We all did what we thought was the best for the bikes. Obviously, something slipped through the cracks, and almost caused all four of us to be out of it. It's unfortunate, but Josh is still out there and riding good. It's very rare that these things happen. It's like being present to see a comet hit the atmosphere, a small one, hopefully.
The bike was the best I ever had. I really felt that once these guys didn't have me as a target to keep running after me, I really thought that I could drop these guys. I really felt I had a faster bike in the infield. On top end, it was about even, which is great. I was just waiting for the pit stops, so these guys didn't have me to chase around, and start putting some time on them. I really felt, with the two pits, by the end of the race I was going to have it. I thought I was going to get a really big lead. I thought my prophecy was going to be good, about making it a boring race. On the other hand, the guys gave me a great bike. The suspension was wonderful, the tires were great and the bike was working awesome. That's about the only scenario I could see of us not winning this race."
AARON GOBERT, No. 96 Honda
"We calculated wrong on the fuel. Maybe the different weather conditions or something, but we were running low and I came in. At the start, I got run off the track in turn one from Pegram sticking up inside of Zemke in turn one of a 200-mile race. That put me in the grass. I was back in the pack. I was just trying to get through. Then in the end, when they did the pit stop, somehow, the fuel wouldn't empty out. It might have been an electrical problem, but apparently it might have been vapor lock. We're not sure yet."
Source: Bikeland.org
   
|
bigdtd
Needs a job
Interceptors
Posts: 4209
|
posted March 10, 2007 02:56 PM
honda: dohhhhh!
____________
2006 Black ZX-14,6 inches over,16/42, flies out,BMC Street Filter,Brock's Street Meg,Brock's Radial Mount Strap,PClll with Race map,Dynojet LCD w/Techmount, ZX-14 fender eliminator,Pilot Power2CTs,Speedohealer,Pazzo Levers,Cox Radiator Guard, Garmin Nuvi 265WT
|
shane661
Needs a life
Posts: 11494
|
posted March 10, 2007 05:05 PM
Odd to see this sort of thing from Honda. Obviously the bikes did not "run out of fuel". Fuel starvation through superior engineering!! LOL
|
zxbob
Pro
Posts: 1692
|
posted March 10, 2007 08:08 PM
Thats Race'n !
|
nightmare
Pro
ACP Racing
Posts: 1797
|
posted March 10, 2007 10:36 PM
go kawasaki!
____________
2006 ZX14 Ninja "SWINE FLU"
60ft 1.23
8th Mile 5.16
ACP Racing
|
12r1
Expert Class
Posts: 390
|
posted March 11, 2007 07:10 AM
It's sort of lame, to be celebrating a win like that...They did'nt win at all, Honda broke.
I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin'
|
Clip
Parking Attendant
Posts: 4
|
posted March 11, 2007 10:36 AM
Edited By: Clip on 11 Mar 2007 11:36
MIGUEL DUHAMEL, No. 17 Honda:
"We had one more lap to go (before his fuel stop). We didn't run out of fuel. I think we had a fuel pump problem."
All the honda bikes had fuel pump problems Miguel? And at nearly the exact same time no less?!! Give me a break!! The odds would be about the same as me winning the Powerball lottery or greater, LOL!!
The problem was obvious - someone miscalculated fuel / laps for all of the bikes, and they all ran out of fuel. I'm sure Honda is trying to save themselves more embarrassment, but don't lie about it...
It was nice to see the Kawies on top again, and a support team no less! Way to go guys!!!
|
Clip
Parking Attendant
Posts: 4
|
posted March 11, 2007 10:45 AM
Edited By: Clip on 11 Mar 2007 11:46
quote:
It's sort of lame, to be celebrating a win like that...They did'nt win at all, Honda broke.
I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin'
They didn't win? You must have been watching a different race then I was. Josh Hayes (Honda) was still racing at the end - and he was beat fairly. In racing you have mechanicals, pit stop problems, crashes, etc. It's all part of racing... One team didn't have their act together and the other team did, and they won as a result!
I don't care if Miguel was the fastest guy on the track - if you don't complete the race, you can't win... That's racing as they say. It's not just about speed, it's about putting it all together. That is: speed, staying up, consistencey, a reliable bike and good team support. If you don't have all those, don't expect to win. To say that the Kawies "didn't really win" is to ignore the reality of modern racing.
Don't even think about taking anything away from the top three guys who rode their hearts out because of the factories getting caught with their pants down!!!
|
stevewfl
Moderator
Posts: 27920
|
posted March 11, 2007 11:50 AM
quote:
It's sort of lame, to be celebrating a win like that...They did'nt win at all, Honda broke.
I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin'
What are you talking about? You think the broke Honda was the only Honda race team the Kawi beat? Are you OK? What is lame? Did you even watch the race?
Dude I was there at the 200, Kawasaki not only won there but they were king all weekend, including the motocross the night before.
My track bike is a Honda 600RR, but face it-
Honda sucked all weekend. One bike was unreliable and broke the others couldn't win. 
____________
2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
|
philmy3rdleg
Expert Class
Posts: 209
|
posted March 11, 2007 03:51 PM
quote:
It's sort of lame, to be celebrating a win like that...They did'nt win at all, Honda broke.
I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin'
So who should celebrate? That's the stupidest thing I've ever seen posted. Steve Rapp road his ass off and was there the whole time. The Zx6R looked as fast as the orion honda and faster than american hondas bike. Attack runs the Willow 200 every year and knows how important fuel is going to be in this kind of race. Should Spies not get to celebrate because his team is better? So what do you think Rapp isn't as good? If not let me tell you he is a top notch racer as good as any of them. Some riders ride one bike better than others. Take spies for example. He can ride the shit out of a Superbike but gets his ass handed to him in 600s and superstock. Unlike T. Hayden, R. Hayden and Hacking where the opposite is true. Spies might win superstock this year but his team is the only factory team. Maybe this 600 is the match Rapp need to show his skills.
|
Zammy
Expert Class
Posts: 411
|
posted March 11, 2007 04:40 PM
HMMmmmm ,first place trophy HMMmmmm. Sounds like winnin' to me. I didn't see ANYONE near him at the line.
|
Jim K
Expert Class
Posts: 141
|
posted March 11, 2007 05:18 PM
quote:
MIGUEL DUHAMEL, No. 17 Honda:
"We had one more lap to go (before his fuel stop). We didn't run out of fuel. I think we had a fuel pump problem."
All the honda bikes had fuel pump problems Miguel? And at nearly the exact same time no less?!! Give me a break!! The odds would be about the same as me winning the Powerball lottery or greater, LOL!!
The problem was obvious - someone miscalculated fuel / laps for all of the bikes, and they all ran out of fuel. I'm sure Honda is trying to save themselves more embarrassment, but don't lie about it...
It was nice to see the Kawies on top again, and a support team no less! Way to go guys!!!
IF thats how much fuel they had in the tank they had more than 1 lap before they ran out!!! Honda Blew it on this one!!!
____________
Never did get the whole "Harley" thing!
|
worm~hole
Needs a life
Miles to go before I sleep....
Posts: 10623
|
posted March 11, 2007 05:21 PM
...I think Erion Racing are calling it a vapor-lock problem....
____________
“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men
stand ready in the night to visit violence on those
who would do us harm.”
-George Orwell
|
1badzx12r
Needs a life
Posts: 8321
|
posted March 11, 2007 05:50 PM
What does this have to do with a zx14....
____________
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S06nIz4scvI
|
fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
|
posted March 11, 2007 06:20 PM
quote:
They did'nt win at all, Honda broke. I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin'
<<  I'm with this guy.
____________
What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
|
stevewfl
Moderator
Posts: 27920
|
posted March 11, 2007 06:27 PM
I love Honda, but they didn't perform well huh hehe
____________
2010 Concours14
'08 R1 YAMAHA
ZX14 gone!
CBR600RR track bike
|
fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
|
posted March 11, 2007 06:29 PM
Edited By: fish_antlers on 11 Mar 2007 19:37
so if Bubba crashes or his bike breaks, is Chad Reed the "Champion"?
____________
What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
|
philmy3rdleg
Expert Class
Posts: 209
|
posted March 11, 2007 06:56 PM
quote:
so if Bubba crashes or his bike breaks, is Chad Reed the "Champion"?
No, but he wins that race. Just like Rapp won this race. If Bubba crashes in the next three races then yah Chadds the champ. 99% of the time these factory riders get the best team, best parts, fastest bikes, and the most track time. But that 1% of the time when a supported guys team does a perfect job and he rides the wheels off that bike, you guys want to take it from him. You guys are losers.
|
fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
|
posted March 11, 2007 07:05 PM
quote:
If Bubba crashes in the next three races then yah Chadds the champ
even though reed's like 45 second's behind Bubba in every race? How would that be right?
____________
What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
|
philmy3rdleg
Expert Class
Posts: 209
|
posted March 11, 2007 07:13 PM
Because it's the last lap that counts. Just like you need the balls to go faster you also need the smarts to know when your going too fast.
|
chunter
Expert Class
Posts: 195
|
posted March 12, 2007 08:12 AM
"It's sort of lame, to be celebrating a win like that...They did'nt win at all, Honda broke.
I'm a Kawi fan, but that ain't winnin"
seriously....that's why they run em on the track rather than paper
|
k bryant
Needs a job
Sponsor
Posts: 2911
|
posted March 12, 2007 09:57 AM
This is almost funny to read.... Kawasaki won - Period. Debate all you want about. Nothing changes that fact and they "deserve" to celebrate without any kind of "asterik" by the win column.
I don't care if Mat, Ben, Miguel, James, etc. lead every lap, of every race all year long - if they break before the checkered flag and someone else wins, they are the winner and/or champion. The best racers don't always win the race and/or the championship. It's been that way since time began and any top level team and/or rider will tell you that.
|
fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21894
|
posted March 12, 2007 12:46 PM
kb... I'd agree, however I don't .. there's a difference between crashing (rider error) and mechanical failure...
____________
What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
|
philmy3rdleg
Expert Class
Posts: 209
|
posted March 12, 2007 02:30 PM
How is it "mechanical failure" if you run out of gas? Obviously the "rider" needed to come in a lap earlier. When your wife runs out of gas and you have to get your ass off the couch to bring her gas, do you blame the car? If Hondas don't get the same fuel milage as the other brands than maybe their not so deserving.The Stanboli stated they spent the whole time setting up the fuel management system, to use the least amount of fuel while maintaning optimum lap times. Honda can come up with all the excuses they want about what happened and Goliath lovers can give them their own personal trophies of lipstick on their buttholes, but they can't take the real trophies from Richard, Attard, And Rapp.
|
shane661
Needs a life
Posts: 11494
|
posted March 12, 2007 02:32 PM
Edited By: shane661 on 12 Mar 2007 15:52
edit
|
|
|
|
|
HOME
NEW TOPIC