Millnic Media Honda another podium finish – July 17th, 2007 Grattan, Michigan What turned out to be a very interesting day for the four rider team of Millnic Media Honda, on Saturday 14th round 5 of the WERA/AMA National Endurance, took place at Grattan Raceway near Grand Rapids Michigan. When the teams took to the grid for the six hour endurance event rain was falling. The decision was made to have team principal Melissa Paris start the race from sixth on the grid. Melissa was able to ride in the warm-up session one hour before the race, in the rain, but prior to that she had only ridden four total laps ever in the rain, and those four laps ended in a crash. Melissa was nervous without question, but when the first red flag came out 75 minutes after the race had started she was ripping and had done a great job to keep the CBR600RR in contention for a podium finish. With the rain still falling, but the radar showing clear skies an hour away, Millnic Media Honda recruited local hot shot, semi-retired racer Chris Knight to ride. Chris restarted the race on the Dunlop full rain tires and started picking people off with every passing lap. The track was drying and decisions had to be made. Another red flag came out to temporarily stop the race, so strategy ensued. During a red flag in WERA/AMA competition no one can touch the motorcycle. So with full rains on and a quickly drying track Chris went back out while the team prepared for a full tire change to Dunlop DOT’s. It was decided that Josh Hayes would ride the first dry session. Hayes had not visited Grattan since 1996 and had only arrived the evening before at 9PM. Josh would have to go out in the middle of the race and re-learn the tricky circuit. After a phenomenal stint that saw Knight rip off a 1.28 lap time on rain tires, he was brought in for fuel, rider change and a full tire swap. The crew of Stacey Foster, Wyatt Foster, Stephanie White, Doug McCracken and Cindy Stumpf had everything done and Hayes back on track in just about two minutes. Amazingly, within 7 laps, Hayes who leads the AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme Championships was already turning lap times quicker than anyone in the Middle Weight Superstock class. When race leader and 1000cc mounted Tray Batey went by Hayes, Josh decided to put the hammer down and put in the class fastest lap of the race and the second fastest lap of the race at a 1:21.9 (the fastest lap set by a 1000cc Superbike with slicks was 1.21.3 only .6 faster than the CBR600RR on DOT tires) with 30 laps already on the Dunlop’s. When Josh brought the CBR600RR back in for fuel and rider change, returning to action rider Greg White took the controls. With about 80 minutes remaining in the six hour event White’s job was to hold second in class and six overall. Team Westby had a great day positioning themselves second overall and first in the MSS class by 5 laps. With 40 minutes to go team Westby came by Millnic Media Honda in the “bowl” section of the circuit and then crashed collecting Greg White with them. With less than 30 minutes on the clock by the time clean-up was complete the race was called. Both riders were OK. In the end Millnic Media Honda scored another podium finish, 2nd in class and 6th overall. The team lost some points to Team Westby but remains second in the championship down by about 13 (using the one throw away round.) For more information on the Millnic Media Honda team and the sponsors who support the team check out http://www.mmhracing.com For more information about WERA and the race this weekend check out http://www.wera.com More, from a press release issued by Martin Jessopp Racing: Highside Hinders Jessopp It was another disappointing weekend for the Riders Racing Ducati team when Martin Jessopp succumbed to the terrible weather conditions and crashed heavily out of the Maxxis British Supersport race at Oulton Park. Jessopp had been running strong all weekend on the Ducati 749 and was unlucky not to finish the 14-lap race. He had ridden well throughout the weekend and had made progress with the bike and found a good set up in both the wet and the dry. Friday’s practice was extremely wet and Jessopp suffered a heavy crash at Druids which left the mechanics with a lot of work to do for the afternoon session, he was back out and put in a healthy time which saw him lying in 10th position. Saturday treated the paddock to some glorious sunshine and Jessopp set some extremely good times, fourth fastest in the morning qualifying session and ended up with a grid position of sixth after the afternoon session. Race day however, was once again wet and unfortunately Jessopp was unable to secure a strong start and slipped down the pack to 13th after the first lap. He got his head down and started chipping away at the riders in front of him and was making good progress through the field. A strong pass on Joe Dickinson on lap five saw him move up to 10th but on the following lap disaster struck when he had an almost identical crash to the one he sustained on Friday at Druids, forcing him out the race. A disappointed Jessopp commented “I was gutted to crash again as I’d felt pretty strong all weekend. I wish we could have a dry race as I found a really good set up on my bike for the dry. The weather keeps changing every weekend but we’ve not had a dry one for a long time. It was a big crash I had in the race, thankfully I am ok but I did a lot of damage to the bike. I feel gutted not for just myself but for the whole team as the boys have worked so hard this weekend to get everything right. I’m hoping at some point this season my luck my take a turn for the better and that I can bring home the bike in one piece and get some decent results in the process. I’m trying to keep focussed for Mallory this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Michael Laverty increased his series lead at the eighth round of the British Supersport Championship at Oulton Park when survival was the order of the day in horrendous conditions at the Cheshire venue. The Relentless Suzuki rider now leads team-mate Ian Lowry by 27 points and Honda rival Dennis Hobbs by 33 points. Having qualified on the front row in fourth position in dry conditions on Saturday, Laverty was happy with his race pace, but like everyone else in the paddock, the Toomebridge rider was well aware of the inclement conditions that he would face on Sunday. Peripheral vision and awareness kept Michael upright for the 14 lap race, and while his main rivals were either struggling with the conditions, or finding their way into the many gravel traps, the Pirelli shod Relentless Suzuki pilot rode like a champion elect. Ian Lowry, although finishing in 11th rode a superb race coming from 26th on lap one, scoring enough points to maintain his second place in the series. Michael Laverty: “I spun off the line but when I got settled I did have ideas of going after McGuinness and Hutchinson. A few hairy moments put paid to that; I just rode for solid points as I knew Ian and Dennis were behind me and possibly struggling a little in the conditions. I was comfortable in third but Jamie Robinson came past with a couple of laps to go and I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I had a little problem with my clutch but nothing serious, and as always, the Pirelli / Suzuki combination was strong enough today to help me increase my lead in the series. I’m happy enough with the result.” Ian Lowry: “It was surely a tough day out there in terrible conditions. When I got away I just kept spinning up, and the more riders that came past I tried even harder and just spun my bike up again and again! When I did get going my lap times in the wet were pretty good, so had I got away, I could have run top five. To come from so far back, I suppose I have to be happy enough and Dennis has only gained a couple of points on me in the series.” Philip Neill – Team Principal: “If I am completely honest, today was obviously not the result that we had set out to achieve; it was a shame to lose our 100% podium success rate from this season so far. However, when a motorcycle race is affected by continuous rainfall normal protocol goes out of the window and it becomes a lottery situation, where you can lose or gain a lot of points. Considering the fact that no one has more to lose than the championship leader, Michael did a sterling job this weekend and we leave Oulton Park quite happy. After consistently setting the fastest race tyre times in dry conditions throughout the weekend Michael was quite confident of another top spot. However a bad start and a small problem with his clutch adjuster late in the race ended what looked to be a certain podium finish. “I feel a little bit sorry for Ian as he is obviously not fully enjoying the current spell of wet weather. However his expertise in these conditions will improve with experience; after all, it is only the fourth time that he has competed in a wet race on Supersport tyres. That said, 11th does not reflect the quality of his ride at Oulton. After suffering from wheel-spin off the start line and dropping to 26th position at one stage on the opening lap, he showed how much he has learnt over this past few weeks by working his way through to 11th on the Relentless Suzuki GSX-R 600 in difficult conditions. On a positive note, our main championship rival Dennis Hobbs finished in ninth position and was being caught rapidly by Ian on the last few laps. If you had told me before the season started that Ian Lowry would be in second position in the British Supersport Championship after 8 rounds I would have been extremely happy. “Thanks to Suzuki, Relentless, Pirelli, WP, Putoline Lubricants, Beacon Security and all our other partners for what has so far been a successful season. We now look forward to a continued test programme that will include Cadwell Park on Wednesday prior to the next round at Mallory Park this coming weekend.” Race Results – Maxxis British Supersport Championship: 1 Ian Hutchinson [Honda] 26:03.600; 2 John McGuinness [Honda] +6.233; 3 Jamie Robinson [Honda] +7.205; 4 Michael Laverty [Relentless Suzuki] +8.378; 5 Billy McConnell [Yamaha] +10.765; 6 Aaron Walker [Honda] +17.298. More, from a press release issued by L.O.C. Endurance: LOC ENDURANCE UNLUCKY IN END OF WET GRATTAN SIX HOUR RACE L.O.C contemplated a name change to Team Hard Luck after a disappointing Third in class and 8th Overall at Saturday’s six hour slip and slide at Grattan Raceway in MI. Team standout Jimmy Vanderhaar went out for the start in conditions resembling a tropical monsoon, without the benefit of the warmth. After a couple of laps to judge the conditions Vanderhaar set about chasing down the lead group fronted by Vesrah’s Trey Batey, and Team Westby’s Dane Westby. Vanderhaar’s lap times steadily came down and by the first red flag bike #77 was sitting third overall second in class with a 1:41:77 fastest lap in the rain showing again Bridgestone Rain tires legendary Superiority. After the restart Vanderhaar brought the bike in for fuel and 2006 Teammate Joe Hayes took the bike out riding for J.B. Layman who was unable to compete. Hayes clicked off consistent ever improving laps in the treacherous conditions maintaining the class position in a solid ride after almost a year off the L.O.C Bridgestone shod Yamaha R6. The team gambled a bit and decided to go to DOT tires a bit earlier than the other teams and brought Hayes in for a front and rear tire change and fuel. Vanderhaar took the bike back out to capitalize on the quick tire change and dry conditions while other teams were still circulating on full rains. The strategy worked and Vanderhaar brought the bike in at the end of his stint second in class, fifth overall with a two lap lead on nearest Middleweight Superstock team Millnic Media Honda. Dan Carr began his stint with a comfortable lead and began picking up speed running consistent laps and all looked well until 35 minutes into the stint the bike’s chain came off entering turn three. “At first I thought I caught a false neutral even though I was not shifting at the time.” But the engine died and I rolled off the track into the grass trying like hell to get it into neutral to restart. I couldn’t get into neutral so I finally got off the bike to look around and saw the chain jammed into the area between the swingarm and rear sprocket. I was able to get the chain on the sprocket and roll it backwards to realign it and took off, but the damage was done. Almost two laps lost.” “Unbelievable” “We have had such bad luck this year, especially after the ride Jimmy put down in the rain, everybody has been riding well, it’s the third race we have been in the top 5 overall and lost.” The bad luck continued with insult to injury in the final hour. Team L.O.C. still had time to catch 2nd in class Millnic Media and was taking time away every lap when with more than 40 minutes to go Class leader Team Westby crashed taking out 2nd in class Millnic Media Honda with Greg White aboard. With 35 minutes left grids were issued and the bikes were clear from the track but inexplicably the race was called final reverting to the lap before the crash ensuring the win went to Westby and second in class to Millnic, both bikes involved in the crash that brought out the red flag. Team rider Dan Carr summed up the frustration “Westby, Millnic, everybody ran great races, but how you can crash in Endurance racing with 45 minutes left and not be penalized at all is beyond me” More, from a press release issued on behalf of Team Toyota Fast Company Racing: CREVIER TAKES MOSPORT SUPERBIKE WIN Fast Company rider now second in point standings BRESLAU, Ont. – Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company’s Steve Crevier scored his 24th career Canadian national Superbike win in the fifth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Mosport International Raceway Sunday. In a difficult race that started in the rain but finished under sunny skies, the Maple Ridge, B.C. racer took his Scott Miller-tuned Yamaha YZF-R1 to a 3.693-second victory over Pascal Picotte. It was the first victory for the newest generation R1 in the Canadian national series. “I don’t necessarily consider myself much of a rain rider but I was pretty comfortable out there and the Pirelli tires were working well in the rain,” said the 42-year-old, who is tied for the lead in all-time national Superbike wins with Jordan Szoke. The win was part of an almost perfect weekend for Crevier. He claimed the Inside Motorcycles Pole Position award in both the Superbike and Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike classes for the doubleheader event, and missed breaking the Superbike record at Mosport by just .005 secs. The six-time Canadian Superbike champion finished second in the first Superbike race, held Sunday morning, and placed third in the first of two Pro 600 Sport Bike races on his Yamaha YZF-R6, giving him podium finishes in three of the four events he competed in. He also set the fastest lap in both Superbike races at Mosport. His only setback came in the second Pro 600 race, when he was robbed of his second victory of the season by a jump start penalty. He set the fastest lap in that event. Crevier’s excellent Superbike results moved him into a clear second place in the Parts Canada standings, 48 points behind Szoke with two races to go. A win is worth 50 points. The series resumes at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S. Aug. 10-12. “Things have turned around for us,” said Crevier, who has won more Superbike nationals at AMP than any other rider with six. “The R1 was new to us this year but we’ve learned a bit and sort of figured some things out. We’ll see what we can do from here.” Crevier is also a very close second in the Pro 600 Sport Bike standings, just 10 points behind Szoke, with two races remaining.