ULRICH AND PIETRI ACHIEVE MID-OHIO GOALS FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki enjoyed a highly successful outing at the eighth round of the 2006 AMA roadracing championship series, attaining the goals they had set for themselves heading into the weekend at the undulating 2.4-mile course. After knocking on the door for much of the year, Chris Ulrich picked up his first Superstock top ten of the season, while Robertino Pietri once again broke into the top 15 and stood as the fastest South American rider in attendance. After struggling somewhat in qualifying, Chris claimed the 15th spot on the Superstock grid with a lap of 1:28.442. Ulrich and his crew made some key adjustments to his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 during the Sunday morning warm-up. While he found the speed he was looking for, Ulrich had a big job ahead of him in the race after suffering a pair of poor starts in the once red-flagged and restarted final. On the first lap following the restart, the Californian found himself all the way down in 18th. However, he responded to the early-race frustration by putting together a stirring charge up through the field, systematically working his way up through the pack over the 16-lap final. With two laps to go, Ulrich closed in on John Haner (Suzuki) and successfully completed a bold overtaking maneuver going into the hard-braking Turn 6. After that, he pushed hard to fend off any potential counterattacks and held on for tenth at the flag. Summing up his weekend, Chris said, “It feels good to have a top ten. I’ve been working on it all year. It’s a good reward for my crew and a good reward for me. “In the race, I blew both starts big,” he admitted. “I just put my head down and once I knew where I was and figured it out, I just started passing people. I knew I could get by Haner by the way I was closing in but I also knew it was going to be difficult because he’s really good on the brakes. I just did it. I pulled up next to him and waited until he broke and I broke. I went in there and tucked the front a little bit and made it work. “One the final lap I didn’t know where he was and I didn’t care where he was, I knew as long as I got down off the back straight with him behind me there was no way I was going to let him come back by. I looked back coming out of Thunder Valley and saw he was right there. I ran the thing in there and I tucked the front coming into the Carousel. There was no way he was getting me there.” Ulrich said his charge was a nice way to go into the Virgina round of the series. “We’re going to take this momentum and move on and at VIR we’re going to try to move up a position or two.” Meanwhile, Venezuelan ace Pietri impressed with his ability to quickly learn the Ohio circuit in his first visit to the intimidating venue. He picked up 15th in Saturday’s Superbike final aboard his GSX-R1000 and then successfully leveraged what he learned in that race to score his best Superstock result of the season since his seventh-place finish at the Daytona season opener. After qualifying 18th for the Superstock race with a lap of 1:29.694, Pietri also struggled to get off the line, dropping to 20th early. But like his teammate, Robertino continued to fight and ultimately clawed his way up to 14th by the time the checkered flag was shown. Ulrich was encouraged by Pietri’s performance. “I’m happy with the whole team. Robertino, especially for this being his first time here, did very well. His crew did a very good job of getting him acclimated and keeping him going. I think he’s going to be tough here when we come back for the season finale.” Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action on August 18-20 at Virginia International Raceway for the ninth of eleven rounds on the 2006 AMA calendar. More, from a press release issued by Buell Motorcycle Company: TOP-TEN FINISH FOR BUELL XBRR AND CREVIER AT MID-OHIO Two Buell Dealer Teams Compete on Buell XBRR at AMA Formula Xtreme Event LEXINGTON, Ohio Deeley H-D/Buell Canada rider Steve Crevier placed ninth after a stirring ride aboard a Buell XBRR in the AMA Formula Xtreme race at round eight of the AMA Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Crevier qualified a disappointing 19th for the Formula Xtreme race, a result he attributed to his unfamiliarity with the motorcycle and the course, a track he has not seen in six seasons. “We did not have a good set-up for qualifying on the repaved track,” said Crevier. “But I got more comfortable in practice and the team worked hard on the bike. We changed some suspension settings and it made a huge difference for the race.” Charging up to 13th position on the first lap, Crevier kept moving steadily forward in the first half of the 16-lap AMA national, eventually passing Opie Caylor to take ninth position on lap eight. Crevier spent the rest of the race in a tight battle with Suzuki riders Tony Meiring and Caylor, and Yamaha rider Jason Perez, fending off attacks from each as the trio behind him swapped positions. The race was won by Yamaha factory rider Eric Bostrom. “I got a good start in the race and once the field spaced out a little I was able to pick off quite a few bikes,” said Crevier. “The Buell XBRR is really coming along. With the V-Twin engine it’s easy to put down the power. It’s really exciting to ride.” Classic H-D/BuellMillville H-D/BuellInnovative Motorcycle Research rider Mike Hale qualified a Buell XBRR in 18th position for the Formula Xtreme National, ran as high as 16th and finished 17th after recovering from an off-track excursion. “It’s great to see the XBRR finish in the top-ten at two consecutive AMA Formula Xtreme events,” said Buell Motorcycle Company Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell. “The XBRR is in its first season, as are the teams. We’re in a very early stage of development. I know the teams will keep moving up. I see it in the way they’re dealing with the challenge, the way they’re working, and in their excitement as they make progress and knock off the seconds.” Both teams racing XBRR models received support from Pirelli Tires, Sentry Insurance, Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Screamin’ Eagle SYN3 Synthetic Motorcycle Lubricant, and Harley-Davidson Visa. The Buell XBRR is a limited-edition production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R, which is reworked at the factory into the XBRR for use in closed-course competition. It offers private racers a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform. Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Pull into www.buell.com for the Buell dealer nearest you. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki Motor Corp.: SUZUKI SUPPORT RIDER MICHAEL BARNES ON THE MID-OHIO SUPERSPORT PODIUM BREA, Calif., American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) support rider, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes, earned an impressive third AMA Supersport podium this season after finishing in third place in the exciting event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Sunday, August 6. The 36-year-old Suzuki satellite team rider led the first nine laps of the 16-lap race aboard his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600. In addition to Mid-Ohio, Barnes has been on the Supersport podium at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., this year. He is currently sixth overall in the AMA Supersport title chase. “I just put my head down and tried to keep on doing what I was doing,” said Barnes. “We’ll keep plugging away and see if we can’t do even better next time. I’m real proud of my guys. The M4 EMGO Suzuki team and Pirelli tires have come a long way this season and now we want to get on top of the box.” Barnes and the rest of the Suzuki support teams will next compete in AMA road racing at the Virginia International Raceway double-header event in Alton, Va., the weekend of August 18 – 20.
