It may be a new season, but the same teams were at the front of the field during the season-opening six-hour WERA/Dunlop National Endurance Series race held at JenningsGP Saturday. Battling rain and constantly-changing track conditions, Tray Batey, Mark Junge and John Jacobi gave Vesrah Suzuki the overall and Heavyweight Superbike win on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
The race was started 45 minutes after the track was inundated with rain and walnut-sized hail. The wet track but drier weather made tire choice a challenge, but Vesrah got it right by sending Batey out on full rains. He took the lead at the start and pulled away from the field.
The track was beginning to dry when the first and only red flag came out for a crash after 21 minutes of racing. The first hour was nearly complete when the race was finally restarted.
Another round of rain that began at the halfway mark and lasted for about five minutes further complicated the tire situation, sending a lot of teams to the pits for another change.
As Vesrah extended their lead to an eventual six-lap margin of victory, a number of teams held the second and third overall spots. At the checkered flag, Army of Darkness (AOD) took second overall and the Mediumweight Superbike win with Ben Walters, Sam Fleming and Robert Jensen riding a Suzuki GSX-R600.
Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield, Steven Breckenridge and Mark Crozier finished less than a minute behind AOD, taking third overall and first in Heavyweight Superstock on the Team Velocity Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Dixie Mafia made the move from Lightweight Superbike to Mediumweight Superstock for 2005, putting Bruce Stanford, Derek Keyes and Chris Pyles on a Suzuki GSX-R600. They won the class in their first outing, finishing fifth overall.
Ross Ryals, Tim Birdsong and Van Salt rode the Collegiate Bookstores Suzuki SV650 to the Lightweight Superbike win, finishing 13th overall. They battled with Ghetto Customs into the final hour, before finally pulling away to a two-lap lead.
RESULTS
1. Vesrah Suzuki (Tray Batey/John Jacobi/Mark Junge), Suz GSX-R1000, Heavyweight Superbike, 228 laps.
2. Army of Darkness (Sam Fleming/Ben Walters/Robert Jensen), Suz GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 222 laps.
3. Team Velocity Racing (Chuck Ivey/Reuben Frankenfield/Steven Breckenridge/Mark Crozier), Yam YZF-R1, Heavyweight Superstock, 222 laps.
4. Red Star (William Lindsay/Brett Champagne/Ben Thompson/Larry Denning), Yam YZF-R6, Mediumweight Superbike, 221 laps.
5. Dixie Mafia (Bruce Stanford/Derek Keyes/Chris Pyles), Suz GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superstock, 219 laps.
6. Four Feathers Racing (Scotty VanScoik/Chris Normand/Matt Lynn), Yam YZF-R6, Mediumweight Superstock, 219 laps.
7. Bells Suzuki II (Myron Bell/Roger Bell), Suz GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 216 laps.
8. Velocity Crew Racing (Kevin Perkins/Paul Youngman), Suz GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 215 laps.
9. Need A Sponsor (Aaron Aaronson/Shawn Hill/Bob Shy), Yam YZF-R6, Mediumweight Superstock, 214 laps.
10. Racers of Deal’s Gap (Rob Seneker/Jacob Hendrix/Noah Hendrix/Greg Pruiett), Hon CBR600RR, Heavyweight Superbike, 214 laps.