From a press release issued by USGPRU:
USGPRU West Coast Round 3 (Las Vegas) Results
ODENTON, MD. May 5, 2004. The USGPRU National 125GP and 250GP Championships descended on the Classic Racecourse of Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV this past weekend. Infinity Companies sponsored the Las Vegas Hooters as umbrella girls turning up the heat a notch on the already-blistering heat on the USGPRU racers.
Surprise participant Erik Dadej set the fastest lap time during Saturday 125GP qualifying with 1.35.922 followed by Series veteran Carlos Neves just 0.077 seconds behind. Following Neves in qualifying was Jon Schendel with the third fastest lap time of 1.36.104. Young Gun Jonathan Schendel took fourth in qualifying to fill out the first row. Competition for Sunday would prove to be fierce with the top six riders qualifying less than half a second of pole setter Dadej.
Vincent Rolleri of Huntington Beach, CA running amateur plates laid down an impressive 1.34.076 in qualifying for the 250GP pole position, followed by Mark Watts of Santee, CA., and Bruce Lind of Snohomish, WA. Eric Dadej managed a 4th place grid position on his Honda RS125.
The 125GP race opened with the charming Las Vegas Hooter girls keeping riders cool under the shade of umbrellas on the hot grid. Led by Neves, a six-bike freight train took off with Dadej, Mike Orien of Bothell, WA., John Hjelm of Morrison, CO., and the Schendel father-son team from Lake Elsinore, CA in tow. Schendel Jr. was quick to join the front of the pack by the third lap and for a time it appeared the Schendel’s would clinch the first and third spots with Dadej squeezed in between in second. Neves managed to motor by Schendel Sr. to capture third place on the penultimate lap. No excitement was lost behind the leaders as furious battles took place in both mid-pack and at the tail end of this screaming train.
The 250GP race delighted race fans with an intense race for the podium finishes. Mark Watts took the hole-shot followed by Rolleri and 40 year racing veteran, Bruce Lind on his Yamaha TZ250. On the fifth lap Rolleri went wide in turn 1 only to make a spectacular save as he crossed the race line in turn two in front of Watts and Lind where it became a heated one-two race. Lind dove under Watts on the brakes in turn 6 on the seventh lap and held him off thru the end. The battle for third ensued with Rolleri, Robin Clark of San Diego, CA, Scott McNew of Tijeras, NM, and Quentin Wilson of Chatsworth, CA. Rolleri managed to hold off them off and retain his third place position.
Round 4 of the USGPRU National Championship is scheduled at Summit Point, New Hampshire on May 29-31.
The USGPRU would like to extend special thanks to CCS for hosting the event and to Infinity Companies for making this weekend a memorable event with the umbrella girls from Hooters. Series sponsors also include Motion Pro, Silkolene, EBC, 888-Fastlap, Speedfiber bodywork, Dunlop, GPC Moto, Bridgestone, Hjelm Motorsports, Redline Cycle Imports, Acid Cigars, and Rev’it! USA.
About USGPRU
The USGPRU, a chartered member of the AMA, is the officially recognized Motorcycle Grand Prix Road Racing US National Championship series. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net
Final Results:
125GP
1. Jonathan Schendel, Lake Elsinore, CA
2. Erik Dadej, San Diego, CA
3. Carlos Neves, South San Francisco, CA
4. Jon Schendel, Lake Elsinore, CA
5. Mike Orien, Bothell, WA
6. John Hjelm, Morrison, CO
7. Scott McNew, Tijeras, NM
8. Josh Herrin, Glendale, CA
9. Phil Krenn, Pacifica, CA
10. Kirk Snell, Santa Ana, CA
11. Robert Johnson, Idaho Springs, CO
12. Don Roberts, Ogden, UT
13. Joel Manes, Oak Park, CA
14. Ryan Ferris, Wildomar, CA
15. Brian Hees, Palmdale, CA
16. Dan Johnson, San Francisco, CA
17. Frank Pate, Frisco, TX
18. John Lee, Oakland, CA – DNF
19. Scott Bourke, Pasadena, CA – DNS
250GP
1. Bruce Lind, Snohomish, WA
2. Mark Watts, Santee, CA
3. Vincent Rolleri II, Huntington Beach, CA
4. Scott McNew, Tijeras, NM
5. Erik Dadej, San Diego, CA
6. Quentin Wilson, Chatsworth, CA
7. Robin Clark, San Diego, CA
8. Josh Herrin, Glendale, CA
9. Joel Manes, Oak Park, CA
10. Mike Lytle, Pasadena, CA
11. Gordon Wood, Mission Viejo, CA
12. Elaine Seasly, Tucson, AZ
13. Frank Pate, Frisco, TX
14. Andrew Edwards, Idaho Falls, ID – DNF
15. Dylan Benjamin, Brisbane, CA – DNS
More, from a press release issued by Team Embry:
Team Embry’s Matt Lynn Takes his First Expert Win at Nashville; Shatters Track Record
Nashville, Tenn.- First-year expert Matt Lynn earned his first victory of the season during round two of the WERA National Challenge Series at Nashville Superspeedway, setting a new track record on his way to a last-lap pass for the win.
Lynn won the ten-lap Formula 1 race on the Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R1000. The 19-year old racer from Ballground, Ga., was in second place by the end of the second lap. The only rider ahead of him was veteran racer Tray Batey, who is the reigning Formula 1 champion.
As the race progressed, Lynn began to close the gap between himself and Batey. Lynn was just behind Batey at the start of the final lap, and he was able to make an inside pass in the last turn. Lynn rode onto the banked front straight in the lead to take his first victory as an expert.
On the eighth lap of the race, Lynn turned a fast lap of 1:01.796, beating the previous record by nearly half a second.
“To race against Tray is an honor. I’ve looked up to him since I started road racing,” enthused Lynn. “The whole Formula 1 race, I was thinking of something that my dad said, that if I can follow Tray I can learn from him. That’s what I did; I followed him.”
Nashville Superspeedway has become a special place for Lynn, who earned his first two novice-class wins at the track in 2003, in his first full season of roadracing. The former motocross racer feels that his positive outlook has helped him every time.
“I have a lot of fun at Nashville, and I kept a positive attitude there,” explained Lynn. “I think I wasn’t going as fast there last year, so I learned some more about the track in practice this time. I had a positive attitude in practice, even when it was raining Sunday morning. I knew I was going to do somewhat good but I didn’t expect to do this well!”
Lynn earned second place in 600 Superstock on his Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R600. “For the longest time we had a big train going,” commented Lynn. “Then Robert (Jensen) passed me and I tucked in behind him. I thought about what I was doing and was patient.”
In Open Superstock, Lynn rode his GSX-R1000 to a finish of seventh against some of the toughest competitors in WERA. Lynn was running in fifth but he lost several positions when he had to check up behind another rider.
Lynn’s next race weekend will be at WERA’s Cycle Jam at Virginia International Raceway, May 21-23.
More, from a press release issued by DXS Diablo Suzuki:
DXS Diablo News
For the second time this year, the DXS Diablo Suzuki racing team headed to California to compete in round 3 of the AMA Superbike Championship at Sears Points’ Infineon Raceway. We knew our team was sharp. This US AMA racing (testing for us) confirmed that we are ready for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship, which is scheduled to begin this May 20th.
Adding to his convincing results from the prior round at Fontana, Steve Crevier took an impressive 6th place finish in the Sunday AMA Superbike race and earned his second top privateer title this season. In Formula Extreme, Crevier was on a charge. After running 3rd for several laps he finished the race 4th just half a second behind the 3rd place finisher. Teammates Jeff Williams and Michael Leon finished 12th and 18th respectively.
Crew Chief Jamie Bruines and teams’ mechanics proved that they are well on top of their mark with the preparations of the DXS Diablo Suzuki GSXR.The bikes’ horsepower and weight limits are close to the Canadian rules. Further fine tuning of our Suzukis with the teams’ newly acquired dynamometer will only maximize our competitive strength.
Racing at top level is essential to acquire chassis and suspension “sweet numbers”. On hand to oversee development of their new rear shock, Elka Suspension offered the expertise of engineer Stéphane Lépine, who contributed to the teams’ efforts. Fork expert Lee Tinkler of Pro-Tech Suspension was also of great assistance. They really contributed to the teams’ efforts. Both suspension specialists will be working with us for all the events of the 2004 season.
We still have hard work ahead of us but our teams’ energy has never been better!
More, from a press release:
California Bay Area privateer Brien Whitlock qualified and finished his debut AMA US Superbike race at one of the toughest tracks in the US – Infineon Raceway.
Whitlock, riding his 2003 Suzuki GSX-R600 in Formula Xtreme and 2003 GSX-R1000 in Superbike, worked side by side with RACE TECH’s on road suspension gurus Kevin Shockency and Randy Aczevedo to achieve 18th and 21st respectively.
Utilizing RACE TECH’s privateer budget Data Acquisition System labeled the ‘Shock Clock’, helped to sort out this track’s array of suspension and tire-wear nightmares.
Brien stated “It was a long day on Sunday with the Superbike race and Formula Xtreme Race immediately following, This is monumental for me, I can’t believe two short years ago I was only watching from the cyclone fence in turn one at Infineon Raceway. Thank you to my wife, family, Team IMR pit crew, EBC, Klotz, Sidi, American Suzuki, the AMA and all its hard-working turnworkers and staff, RACE TECH and CRS (Pirelli Tires). Without their support, this weekend would not have been possible.”