DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2007) Ready to once again battle their way to victory, the San Jose BMW Team were the first to enter this year’s season opener of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series, March 3-4 at Daytona International Speedway. “We’re definitely ready to go for it,” says San Jose BMW owner Chris Hodgson. “Our bike is prepped, we’ve been practicing our pit stops every night and the entire team is 100% motivated. Winning the inaugural 8 Hours At Daytona was awesome and now our goal is to start the season off with another victory.” Just like in NASCAR, pit stops in the SunTrust MOTO-ST are all-important and can easily make the difference between winning or losing. “In this event, we will be pitting approximately every 40 minutes,” continues Hodgson. “And each stop will be critical. The rules allow us five people over the wall and doing well requires that all five work in perfect unison, very much like a well oiled machine. We won the 8 Hours At Daytona due to our pit work and we are hoping that once again it will give us the upper hand.” In addition to great pit work, the San Jose BMW team also boasts the racing skill of two top-notch pilots, Brian Parriott of Calistoga, Calif and Nate Kern of Doylestown, Pa. Racing since 1990, Parriott has carved an excellent reputation for himself over the past 17 years. “I’ve been riding bikes since I was five years old,” smiles Parriott. I raced motocross first and then moved into road racing. I’m definitely excited about this up coming season. The MOTO-ST looks like it is going to be an excellent series and I am pleased to be part of the San Jose BMW Team.” Married with a 16-month-old son, Parriott is also an avid golfer and loves to travel. “My wife is from Spain,” he continues, “and we live a ‘Spanish lifestyle’, going to Europe each year and traveling as much as possible. I’m really very lucky as my wife loves racing and comes to every event.” Twenty-nine year old Nate Kern has actually only been racing for the past five years. But once he started, it didn’t take long for him to prove his talent. “I was actually planning to be a history teacher,” explains Kern, who is a huge American history buff. “Then I got hooked on racing and my life took on a different twist. Now, when I am not racing, I spend as much time as possible working with underprivileged and handicapped kids.” Two top-ranked SuperSport riders, a proven winning BMW R1200S and an incredibly motivated crew are the ingredients that combine to make the San Jose BMW Team a top contender in this 500K race at Daytona Showcasing three classes, The Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport class (SST) which includes motorcycles producing between 90-118 horsepower, the BMW Grand Sport Twins class (GST) covering motorcycles producing 75-90 horsepower and Sport Twins (ST) for machines under 75 horsepower, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series offers fans a chance to see some of the best two-wheeled action in the country. To date, this year’s SunTrust MOTO-ST Series will include the 500K season opener, March 3-4 at Daytona International Speedway, the Homestead 500K, April 13-14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the VIR 500K, April 27-29 at Virginia International Speedway, the Road America 500K, July 7-8 at Road America, the Iowa Speedway 500K at Iowa Speedway July 12-13, 2007 and the 8 Hours at Daytona Finale, October 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com. Tickets to the 8 Hours At Daytona may be purchased online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PIT-SHOP.

USCRA is the US Classic Racing Association April 30 – NHIS, Loudon, NH – Riders school / track day May 18-20 – NHIS, Loudon, NH June 11 – NHIS, Loudon, NH September 3 – NHIS, Loudon, NH October 8 – NHIS, Loudon, NH For additional information, go to www.race-uscra.com.

PROTAC USA To Manage Young Gun Elena Myers PROTAC USA President Douglas Gonda has agreed to manage 13-year-old up-and-coming road racer Elena Myers. Myers has signed a long-term deal to be represented by Gonda and is excited about what the future may hold now that he is on her team. “Doug is a really cool guy with a lot of experience helping racers with their careers,” says Myers. “I know mine is just kinda starting but it’s really awesome to have someone working with me who can help guide me and help me make the right decisions.” Gonda has worked with several professional riders and teams, including representing Team Hammer, Inc. (now racing as M4 EMGO Suzuki) for over 20 years.

(The following is the personal opinion of the author, as an individual, and does not represent the official viewpoint of any other person or any organization.) By John Ulrich Recently it has been suggested by a motorcycle racing tabloid writer that I favor Thursday practice being open to all riders with valid AMA Pro licenses because my team makes money running such Thursday practice sessions. (I suppose the next thing the guy will falsely claim is that I had some profit motive for starting and continuing to run–and spending my own money on–the Roadracing World Action Fund, which is responsible for getting the majority of soft barriers such as Airfence deployed at U.S. tracks and events.) It apparently would have been too difficult for the writer of the piece of fiction in question to either pick up the phone and check a few facts, or even to go to roadracingworld.com, type “Thursday Practice” into the search box, and hit the arrow. It’s all there. I am in favor of unrestricted Thursday practice because there is no fair, equitable way to restrict participation. The status quo was obviously no good because in 2006 Josh Hayes could participate while Jason DiSalvo could not, since Jason DiSalvo was categorized as a “factory” rider and Josh Hayes was not, and never mind that they battled long and hard for the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship and that both are well paid by motorcycle manufacturers to race professionally. I am against rules that cannot be fairly and equitably enforced. I am in favor of unrestricted Thursday practice because it is the most economical and practical way for teams and riders to sort out their bikes and for riders to get their heads around going fast prior to the start of official AMA practice on Friday. At events where there was no Thursday practice, riders trying to learn a new track in the first session Friday sometimes encountered factory riders (who had already run stand-alone tests there) flipping them off, kicking and waving their fists as they went by, shaking their heads in disgust. These weren’t incompetent riders drawing the ire of the irate factory few for not magically learning the track in one lap, these were front-running non-factory riders–one being Lee Acree, an AMA 750cc Supersport National winner. I started running a Thursday practice at Brainerd some years ago because there wasn’t one, and I noticed that some riders–my young racing son included–needed more time to get up to a competitive pace than others, and that not everybody could roll off the truck and be competitive in the first Friday practice the way guys like Miguel Duhamel can. My team lost about $1100 on that first Thursday practice, not counting the paperwork and accounting time. The next thing that happened was that opponents of Thursday practice started claiming that I favored Thursday practices because my team (Team Hammer, Inc., now racing as M4 EMGO Suzuki) made money running them (in fact, the one at Brainerd was the only one we did at the time). Believe me, the effort and time that goes into putting on one of those doesn’t make losing $1100 a worthwhile return. But no matter, after a while even an AMA official started claiming that profit motivated me to favor Thursday practice. You can read about that here: ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13459~ Nothing that I do in racing is motivated by profit. If that was my motivation, I wouldn’t BE in AMA Pro Racing. It is a money pit. In 2007, my team will host a combined AMA Pro Practice and Track Ride at VIR on the Thursday before the AMA National there, working with the event promoter and arranging some sponsorship for the day (it’s called a “Suzuki Privateer Appreciation Day”) because the promoter understands that privateers need practice and also because the promoter needs the help to put on the practice. Two years ago, my team also arranged for Fastrack Riders to run a Thursday practice at Fontana because otherwise there wouldn’t be any, and in 2007 it will be held again, called the “Suzuki Privateer Appreciation Day Presented by Team Hammer and Fastrack Riders.” Team Hammer doesn’t make a dime on the day. My team will also host a Track Ride held in conjunction with the Thursday practice put on by the event promoter at Road Atlanta, again, as a means of subsidizing the Thursday racing practice for the promoter. Team Hammer does not make a dime from licensed AMA Pro racers paying Road Atlanta to practice on Thursday prior to the AMA National. The reason this subject is coming up again is because some of the factory few (and their tire sponsor)–who will have participated in more than 20 stand-alone, private test days between the end of the 2006 AMA season and the end of the 2007 AMA season–claim that they are now being forced to also participate in Thursday practice. They aren’t. There is no legal summons, no rule requiring them to participate. Jason DiSalvo will probably want to run Thursday practice, judging by his complaints that he couldn’t last season, but the rest of them can spend the day they way they did in 2006, parking their motorhomes while their teams set up their elaborate hospitality areas. The factory team managers and their tire sponsor claim that allowing riders like DiSalvo to run in Thursday practice will cost them more money. Hey, they could skip some stand-along factory team tests held at AMA tracks and save more than enough to cover anything spent running in every Thursday practice held during the 2007 season. (Currently, one factory team manager admits that his team uses more tires at stand-alone tests than it does at races during a calendar year–we should help the factory teams and their tire sponsor economize by banning unsanctioned, private testing at AMA tracks.) At any rate, this is an old argument, one dredged up every few years by some of the factory few (or their tire sponsor), men who want everything their way, every time, and the hell with the privateers who finish out of the top 15 or anybody who isn’t a member of the moneyed elite of AMA professional road racing. Instead of rehashing everything, I’ll just direct you to some previous posts on the subject, ones found by typing in “Thursday Practice” into this website’s search function, an act that takes a few seconds but is a lot less juicy and scandalous than just making up something and letting it fly without doing any research other than talking to some of the disgruntled factory few or their disgruntled tire sponsor. ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=28006~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=23431~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=22491~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=15611~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=14459~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13584~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13546~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13466~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13460~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13446~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=13438~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=12917~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=12553~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=12543~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=11952~ ~https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=11673~ I’ll close with this thought: If we take care of the privateers and non-factory teams, the guys who own or run teams with semi-trucks (me included) will be fine. The reverse is not always the case…

In the U.S. there has always been a very large gap between youth off road, dirt track, or motocross racing and road racing on full size asphalt circuits. Regardless of talent, experience and background, a young racer must be 16 years of age, on full size machinery to compete on the “big” Road Racing tracks. Well, that was then and this is now! The Washington Road Racing Association (WMRRA) has designed a new race class that targets experienced, young, up-and-coming off road racers that wish to make the transition from pocket bikes, motocross, off road or dirt racing to Road Racing. This new class shall allow them the opportunity to get road racing experience and make the transition from dirt to asphalt much earlier. WMRRA has created the “Young Guns” program, where riders, 10 years or older, can get the opportunity to become road racers and compete on a full size road racing circuit. The Young Guns Racer program will allow these racers to compete aboard existing, readily available and diverse machinery from virtually every major manufacturer. WMRRA decided to allow the use of Motocross as well as GP based chassis in this class. By allowing riders to use existing Motocross framed bikes, the cost of the venture is minimized considerably. Riders will only have to make minimal modifications to run their current off-road bikes compared to having to race very specialized GP style machinery. “We considered this for quite some time because we wanted to make this was as affordable as possible for parents and kids starting out in the sport”, said Young Guns Rider Rep Mario Alvarez, Sr. “As a parent of a Young Guns racer, I know parts availability and cost have a huge impact when it comes to racing.” Bikes allowed to race in this class must be either 85cc two-strokes or 150cc four-strokes. Bikes may use MX style chassis or GP based chassis. Bike must use 17″ rims and road racing tires. Riders must be a minimum of 10 years of age and must hold a current race license with an approved club. More information can be found on the club’s website by visiting www.wmrra.com. The Young Guns class will race in conjunction with four WMRRA race weekends where the kids will race on Saturday and Sunday, making a total of four double header weekends and a full 8 race season. “We are very excited about this class. WMRRA looks forward to seeing these kids compete on the race track and believe that this is the first step to making this class a full fledged contingency based series for the 2008 season. Who knows? We may have the next Nicky Hayden racing out there!” said WMRRA President Allister MacKinnon. The Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) was established in 1974 to sanction and promote area road racing. WMRRA is a non-profit, volunteer run organization with over 500 members. WMRRA’s racing events are held at two venues: Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA and Spokane Raceway Park in Spokane, WA. Close racing action can be seen on a variety of bikes. From the wiley little 125 GP machines – to the insanely fast 180+ hp Formula Ultra superbikes. Singles, Twins, Triples, Harleys, Vintage bikes and the occasional sidecar are pushed to the limit on any given WMRRA weekend. The paddock area is a great place to check out bikes. Motorcycles of every make and model appear on race days. The enthusiast and the curious alike converge on this motorcycle Mecca from all over the Northwest. For more information on the Young Guns class, please visit the WMRRA website at www.wmrra.com