More, from a press release issued by TOBC Racing:
TOBC Racing’s Taylor Knapp Notches Two Podiums In MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 At Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, AL – Aboard his all-new #44 TOBC racing YZF-R1, Taylor Knapp had a solid weekend at Barber Motorsports, qualifying seventh on Saturday for the combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 starting grid, then finishing second in Superstock 1000 in Sunday’s Race 1 and reaching the podium a second time on Sunday with a third-place result in Race 2. Taylor has been a model of consistency this season, as he’s finished on the podium in seven out of the ten Superstock 1000 races thus far.
“It’s been going really good this year, so far,” Taylor commented. “I was running a pretty good pace today, and I was comfortable with it. I got into a good battle (with Superbike rider Danny Eslick), and I’m looking forward to seeing what this R1 can do when I get a little bit of clear track in front of me. But, I’m happy to get second for TOBC racing and for Yamaha.
“Race 2 was pretty similar to Race 1 for me. Danny and I battled it out again, stuffing each other back and forth, and it was actually a lot of fun. He was better than me in some spots, but I was able to get the best of him in other areas on the track. All in all, I’m very happy with two podiums. It was a good weekend for us, and we’re looking forward to going to Utah.”
TOBC racing will be back in action for round six of the MotoAmerica series, which will take place at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT, on June 26 through 28.
Watch Round 5 Of The MotoAmerica Championship On CBS Sports Network
MotoAmerica Round 5 from Barber Motorsports Park will air on Sunday, June 21, at 3:00 PM EST with a replay later that day at 8:00 PM EST, and a second replay on Wednesday, June 24, at 10:00 PM EST.
For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedul…
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
Josh Day Finishes Fourth In Superstock Race 2 At Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, AL – The Yamalube/Westby Racing Team had a better weekend in the high heat and humidity at Barber Motorsports Park than they did two weeks ago in the unseasonably cold temperatures and rain at Road America.
Rider Josh Day did suffer a tipover in Sunday’s Superstock 1000 Race 1, but he came back strong later in the day and finished fourth in Race 2 aboard his #00 Yamaha YZF-R1.
“We struggled most of the weekend trying to get some feeling in the front, and we were still chasing it all through the races today,” Josh said. “I had a weird crash in Race 1 that ended our race early. For Race 2, we made the decision to go with the same setup that we had in Race 1. I got off to a good start and was running seventh overall until around lap eight or nine. For some reason, I had a big drop in front-tire grip, and a couple of riders got by me, which unfortunately put me back to P4 at the end.
“I can’t thank the whole Yamalube/Westby Racing Team enough for all the hard work they do, and for the faith they have in me to get the job done. I’m looking forward to moving on to Miller Motorsports Park and building on where we are now and the development that we’ve done on our R1.”
Watch Round 5 Of The MotoAmerica Championship On CBS Sports Network
MotoAmerica Round 5 from Barber Motorsports Park will air on Sunday, June 21, at 3:00 PM EST with a replay later that day at 8:00 PM EST, and a second replay on Wednesday, June 24, at 10:00 PM EST.
For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedul…
More, from a press release issued by Geiger Global Media:
GEICO Suzuki rider Chris Ulrich races to two top-seven finishes
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — GEICO Suzuki racer Chris Ulrich persevered to a pair of top-seven finishes in the MotoAmerica (AMA/FIM) Superbike Challenge on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, bouncing back from a difficult weekend at Road America.
Electronics gremlins forced Ulrich off the track in both Road America events two weeks ago, but he showed good pace, persistence, and physical fitness in finishing sixth in the first Superbike race at Barber and seventh in the second.
“I’m proud of the team,” Ulrich said. “We did a good job in the situation we’re in. I rode hard and now we can refine this package and move on to (the next race at) Miller (Motorsports Park). We know what we have and can make it better. We know it’s going to be consistent, and we’re going to be able to do the laps that we need in practice to be able to get results in the race.”
Ulrich and Team Hammer still had issues with the new Suzuki’s electronic control unit, forcing Ulrich to a second bike for the two races. The team has had no issues with the “black box” for more than two years but has gone through three this season alone.
“We had another Magneti Marelli ECU die this morning, and we essentially had to go to the ‘kit’ bike with one lap in the warm-up on it,” Ulrich said. “When the bike was working we could go faster, so we concentrated on that. The circumstances being what they are, it was still a pretty good day.”
Ulrich’s sixth-place finish in the first race could have been higher, but the scheduled 23-lap race was cut to 15 laps after a long red flag.
“It was a shame for us because I think the result would’ve been a little better,” Ulrich said. “We would’ve probably been top-eight (overall) in that race. The red flag stopped it for a crashed rider putting some fluid down on the track and it got called after 15 laps.”
Ulrich then battled for a top-six spot early in the second before settling for seventh in the Superbike class.
“I rode hard and did the best we could,” Ulrich said. “We had an issue in the second race with some engine-braking stuff, just chattering the back. I was with the group that was fighting over sixth for five, six laps and I just started fading off the back of it. I couldn’t stay there and maintain that, and that was the difference between being in the thick of that fight and finishing where I finished.”
Ulrich survived temperatures in the 90s and humidity above 60 percent Sunday, as his fitness allowed him to maintain speed throughout the day.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Ulrich said. “If you do your preparation you’ll be OK, and that’s what I did. It helped that the first race was cut short a little bit. That made it a little easier in the second race. Still, 40 minutes in the heat twice a day, wearing leathers, is definitely challenging physically, but I was up to it today.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer PR:
TOP FIVE FOR ANTHONY IN ALABAMA
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki’s David Anthony and his Team Hammer crew battled through adversity at Barber Motorsports Park to score two more strong results in MotoAmerica Supersport action.
The Australian’s weekend looked promising from the opening session, as Anthony hustled his GSX-R600 Supersport machine around the Birmingham, Alabama racecourse at a second-place clip. He continued his strong form in the opening qualifying session, throwing down a 1:28.171 to post the fourth best mark provisionally.
However, Saturday’s second session saw Anthony crash early and heavily damage his primary racebike. He was forced to contest the day’s race on a backup machine but still managed to soldier on to a sixth-place result.
He came back stronger on Sunday thanks to the long hours and hard work of his crew. Anthony took advantage to pick up his sixth top-five finish of the season.
Anthony said, “The weekend started off pretty strong — we were at the pointy end from the beginning. However, I crashed early in qualifying and that was it for us. It dropped us to fifth on the grid, and worse than that, it destroyed the bike. So I raced on the back-up bike and it didn’t go to plan. It was a pretty uneventful race and I just circulated.
“My guys worked all night to build me a new bike, and gave me a machine I liked. I kept the leaders in sight for the first third of the race, but there was nothing I could really do. So I focused on securing fifth to the checkered flag, despite seeing “+0” pretty much the whole way.
Anthony and Team Hammer will be back on track in two weeks’ time as the 2015 MotoAmerica Championship next travels to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, on June 26-28.
This year marks Team Hammer’s 35th consecutive season of operating as a professional road racing team. During that time, racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 59 AMA Pro National races, have finished on AMA Pro National podiums 137 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, (the most recent in 2012), as well as two FIM South American championships. The team has also won 133 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and won 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won the F-USA Championship four times.
More, from another press release issued by Team Hammer PR:
MOMENTUM FOR MELISSA PARIS AFTER BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK ROUND
M4 MPH Suzuki’s Melissa Paris entered the Barber Motorsports Park round of the 2015 MotoAmerica season riding high, buoyed both by the recent support she’s received from her fan base and the achievement of her career-best equaling finish of eighth last time out. Paris left Birmingham, Alabama with her momentum intact, as she continued to progress with another solid outing during the weekend’s Supersport competition.
Paris showed strong pace on her Team Hammer Contract Services supported GSXR-600, getting down to personal best lap times around the tight course, ultimately qualifying 13th at 1:31.994. She then proceeded to slash nearly a half second off in Saturday’s race en route to a promising 13th place result. She backed that up with another points paying finish in Sunday’s Supersport contest, coming home in 14th.
“Saturday was a pretty good day at the track for me,” she said. “I got down to a decent time in qualifying; the best I’d ever gone at this track. My goal was to improve in the race on that and get faster. I got one of the worst starts ever, but it turned out to be a good race, actually. I went faster in a hot race than I ever have, and I made a couple of moves I was proud of. I was very happy with the race and looking to move up into the next group. On Sunday, I struggled and for sure I didn’t make the progress I wanted. I’m disappointed not to go forward again but I won’t let that take away from the progress that’s been happening.”
Paris explained that her Barber Motorsports Park performance was particularly inspired due to the tremendous support she enjoyed during a recent successful crowdfunding campaign to secure the funding she required to complete the ’15 season.
Paris said, “Over the past month or so, we had the Dark Horse Pros campaign and it ended just before the weekend started. Over 300 people contributed and that meant a lot to me. Now I can finish the season and I am feeling very inspired. I feel like I am racing for the people that helped me.”
She has no plans of slowing down now, with an eye toward lifting her game ahead of the Miller Motorsports Park round, which will take place on June 26-28 in Tooele, Utah. She said, “Between races, I am going to do some flat track. The races are short and it puts you in a mindset of being aggressive on the start. That’s the plan, to get more aggressive on my starts for the next races.”