From a press release:

Team Stargel Aprilia Regains Championship Form

The ninth round of the AMA 250GP series at Mid-Ohio saw Team Stargel Aprilia return to their class leading ways.

Acknowledging the importance of the possibility of their first American championship, the Aprilia Race Department in Italy prepared a new engine for the team and delivered it, along with the assistance of former Valentino Rossi engine builder, Fausto Colombo. The new engine proved to be both fast and reliable as the team set the fastest time in Friday morning’s practice session.

After logging the top time in Saturday morning’s practice, Team Stargel Aprilia hoped to capture pole position in the afternoon qualifying session. Turning three laps in the 1:31 range, Chuck Sorensen looked to secure the pole, only to have it snatched away by .07 of a second on the last lap.

Sunday’s race began with Sorensen getting a lackluster start that found him in fourth place going into turn one. He moved into second place to start lap two and immediately set his sights on the leader. On lap three, Sorensen passed for the lead and led the next four laps. After being repassed, Sorensen began to encounter lapped traffic and unfortunately was dealt with some unlucky breaks. The gap from first to second quickly grew to about two seconds and Sorensen wisely brought his Aprilia home to finish second and secure 32 championship points.

It is worth noting that on lap seven Sorensen posted a time of 1:31.141 seconds. This proved to be the fastest lap of the 250GP race.

Recently, the AMA has decided to discontinue the 250GP race effective immediately after the 2003 race season. As for factors in making this decision, they cited a lack of fan support and poor competitiveness of the class. Upon comparing lap times, you will see that Sorensen’s best race lap was a full half-second faster than any lap turned in either the 600 supersport race or the 750 superstock race. In regards to the seeming lack of fan support, Team Stargel Aprilia only wished that they had brought more posters, hats, and t-shirts to Mid-Ohio as hundreds were gobbled up by eager, well-wishing fans.

As the tenth and final 2002 AMA 250GP race at Virginia International Raceway beckons, Team Stargel Aprilia holds a 31 point lead in the championship with 267 points. The team will make every effort to win their fifth race of the season and help Sorensen to claim his third career AMA 250GP title.

Team Stargel Aprilia would like to thank the supporters who make their efforts possible: Aprilia USA, Aprilia Italy, FGF Corse, Dunlop, Performance Powersports, VP Racing Fuels, Castrol, EBC Brakes, Shoei, Helimot, Held Gloves, Daytona Boots, Fox Racing, Smith Sport, TC’s Specialized Graphics, Regina Chains & Factory Pro Tuning, Mr. Fausto Colombo.