From a press release issued by WERA Motorcycle Roadracing, Inc.

ARMY OF DARKNESS WINS THEIR FIRST WERA NATIONAL ENDURANCE RACE; SMITH DOMINATES NATIONAL CHALLENGE SPRINTS

JENNINGS, Fla.- The start of the 2004 season for the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series and the National Challenge Series got off to an exciting start at Jennings GP in Florida last weekend, with plenty of surprises and great racing.

After being at the top of the Mediumweight Superbike class for the past five years, Army of Darkness finally got their first overall victory in the six-hour race on Saturday, March 27. Sam Fleming, Scott Brown and Ben Walters piloted the Suzuki GSX-R600, taking the lead in the second hour of the race and holding on to it for the finish.

FDK, another Mediumweight Superbike team, finished second overall in their endurance debut. Matt Lynn, Ryan Elleby and Chris Kessler were also on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Team Velocity Racing won Heavyweight Superstock and finished third overall, with Chuck Ivey, Steven Breckenridge, Reuben Frankenfield and Bradley Champion on a Yamaha YZF-R1.

Vesrah Suzuki won every endurance round in 2003, but oil on the track caused the team to crash in the first half hour of the race. They were too far behind after making repairs to ever challenge for the lead, although they worked their way back up to sixth overall, winning Heavyweight Superbike.

Bells Suzuki II won Lightweight Superbike on a Suzuki SV650, with riders Roger Bell and Myron Bell. Scotty VanScoik, Jean Paul Tache, Chris Normand and Jason Temme rode the CherokeeChallenge.net Yamaha YZF-R6 to the Mediumweight Superstock win.

In the National Challenge Series sprint races the following day, Mike Smith took wins in Open Superstock on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, and 750 Superstock and Formula 1 on a Suzuki GSX-R750.

Bradley Champion won 600 Superstock on a Yamaha YZF-R6, while Larry Pegram took the 600 Superbike win on his YZF-R6. First-year expert Ben Thompson won 750 Superbike on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Tray Batey rode his Suzuki SV1000 to the Heavyweight Twins victory. A Suzuki SV650 crossed the finish line first in two races, as Michael Killingsworth won Lightweight Twins and Mark Brown won Formula 2.

In the novice classes, Corey Brown had the best day with wins in 600 Superstock, 600 Superbike and 750 Superstock on his Suzuki GSX-R600. Daniel Parkerson rode his Suzuki SV650 to victory in both Formula 2 and Heavyweight Twins. Ryan Gordon won 750 Superbike on his Suzuki GSX-R750, and Ross Ryals was the first one across the line in Lightweight Twins on a Suzuki SV650.

Round two of the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series and the National Challenge Series will be held at Nashville Superspeedway, April 30-May 2.

More information about WERA, including results from the weekend, can be found on the web at www.WERA.com.

More, from a press release issued by Team Velocity Racing:

TEAM VELOCITY RACING WINS HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSTOCK, FINISHES THIRD OVERALL IN WERA ENDURANCE AT JENNINGS

JENNINGS, Fla.- Team Velocity Racing took a decisive win in the Heavyweight Superstock class during the six-hour WERA National Endurance Series race at Jennings GP in Florida, earning third place overall.

Chuck Ivey, Steven Breckenridge, Reuben Frankenfield and Bradley Champion rode the Team Velocity Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, completing 228 laps and becoming the only Superstock team to finish in the top five overall.

At the start of the race, Champion was second before taking the lead on lap two. At the completion of the first hour, Team Velocity Racing was still leading the field.

After Champion’s first stint, Ivey, Breckenridge and Frankenfield each took a turn on the Yamaha. Champion and Ivey both rode a second stint at the end of the race.

In addition to the challenges of racing the Superstock class, with a stock gas tank and no quick-change setup for tire changes, Team Velocity Racing had an additional challenge when Champion crashed during his second stint.

Although the team lost no positions because of the crash, the shift lever was bent, making shifting difficult. Champion and Ivey, who finished the race, had to ride using only two gears for the remaining hour and a half.

“Being on a Superstock bike, it’s obviously difficult to compete with seven and eight gallon tanks,” commented Ivey. “We were doing great, considering it’s a brand new bike and trying to get things going. I’m really proud of everybody. The pit stops went as well as could be expected, given Superstock rules. Everybody pulled together and did great.”

“We did really well, considering that Chuck was the only guy that had ridden the bike,” said Champion. “We had to do all the settings and the suspension, and work to get it set up where everybody liked it. And we don’t have any R and D from anybody in the past, so I’m really glad that we ended up where we did based on what we had on our plate.”

“The R1 is a way better bike than I am a rider. I think I’m going to learn to love it,” enthused Frankenfield. “It’s a new experience for me. I think once we all get the hang of the bike we’ll do really well on it.”

Breckenridge said that “the new bike is awesome, and we’re getting great feedback from all four riders. I’m able to help tune the chassis and the suspension to help make it work a lot better. It’s a good thing to come out the first time on the new bike and to have some problems and still finish on the podium overall and win our class.”