Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

This weekend’s Grand Bayou Festival of Speed, January 11-12, at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana will be the first major event put on by local racing team Church of Speed. The competition is to include road racing, drag racing and a stunt show.

The road racing portion of the Festival of Speed is open to racers who have a license with any of the major road racing organizations. Graduates of a racing school offered by the Church of Speed will be eligible, as well.

Saturday, January 11, will consist of practice and qualifying. The 20-lap races will be held on Sunday, and will include Heavyweight and Middleweight classes for both Experts and Novices. A Lightweight race will be combined Expert and Novice.

Organizers say that in each Expert class, the winner will receive $1000, while second place wins $500 and third gets $400. The payback goes through 10th place.

The feature race of the weekend will be a second Expert Heavyweight race. The race length will be extended to 25 laps, and the winner will receive $1200. Second place earns $750 and third receives $450. The winnings for the rest of the top 10 finishers will be the same as the shorter races.

In races with at least 40 entries, there will be a $300 holeshot award.

The Church of Speed expects to raise the money through entry fees and participating sponsors.

In the Novice classes, the winner will receive products from sponsors of the weekend, including EBC brakes and Silkolene. The winner will also get three sets of tires from the vendor of their choice.

All races will feature a LeMans start, in which riders are positioned on one side of the starting grid, with their bikes lined up on the other side. On the start, they have to run across the track to their bikes.

According a track spokesman, the cornerworkers for the weekend will consist of both veteran Church of Speed workers and many of the cornerworkers from the track’s car racing and track day events.

Haybales have been placed in impact zones throughout the track and both Airfence and haybales will be used in turn 14. The right-hand turn leads onto the front straight, which doubles as the runoff area for the track’s drag strip. Riders have to pass through a gap in a concrete wall that lines the drag strip, making the turn the primary safety concern at the facility for motorcycle racers.