Kenny Kopecky, WSMC #27 Willow Springs Motorcycle Club Round 6 – June 19, 2005 Rosamond, CA In reaching the halfway point of the 2005 WSMC roadrace series at Willow Springs on Sunday, San Diego’s Kenny Kopecky slightly extended his overall point lead while repeating last months winning rides in BOTT Middleweight, BOTT Heavyweight, Formula Twins and 750 Superbike classes. “This was the second of three important double points event the club puts on each year, and we’re very happy to have been successful on a day that I wasn’t nearly as comfortable on the track as last month. The bikes ran fine and the tires were great. I’m probably just a little more reserved in the windy conditions then my younger competitors.” Kopecky stated at the end of the day. While his Ducati Oceanside prepared bikes again ran flawlessly, Kenny ran into a clearance issue with a new exhaust on his 749. “We’ve been working to get a bike with more power, and Sunday it was a bit better but not yet at the level we expect. I was really surprised in my first race on it (650 Superbike) to have some hard part contact on the ground in a couple of the turns and my hesitation made it a bit easier for Michael Beck and Mickey Lane to drive past. We were able to pull back up on Mickey late in the race and nearly passed him early in the final lap but thought the better of the move I was headed for in turn 1 with some lapped traffic. It was a strong race and we know this bike can only get better.” Kopecky finished a close 4th to Lane in the largest expert field of the day with over 30 starters. Jason Perez won, running away from the field easily. In the following Formula Two event Kopecky led briefly but was unable to match Mark Watts and Michael Beck in the final laps and finished 3rd, this time ahead of Lane. Kenny added “We wern’t surprised at the winds, but the relativly cool temperatures were unexpected. We’re still looking forward to the truly hot weather out there this summer…the heat keeps me a little looser and I feel good in it!” The next WSMC roadrace is Round 7 on July 15-17, 2005. More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: Eric “GoGo” Gulbransen wins at Thunderhill with Munroe Motors/Harmon Bros Racing/Tag Team 2005 Ducati 749R AFM Road Race Championship, Thunderhill Raceway, CA, June 19th Thunderhill Raceway, CA June 20th, 2005 – On a beautiful day in Northern California with warm and sunny skies, fluffy white clouds dot the horizon and the roar of racing motorcycle engines send up red-winged blackbirds from the grasses lining the 15 turn road course. The second race of the day kicks off at 11am with the Open Twins class starting behind Open Production. Lined up on the third spot on the Twins grid, Eric “GoGo” Gulbransen guns the 2005 749R Ducati V-twin as the green flag drops. Feeding the clutch in viciously, the little Ducati-that-could leaps ahead of the 1000cc competition lined up alongside and takes the holeshot into turn one. Watching from the pit wall, the Munroe Motors/Tag Team/Harmon Bros Racing crew can scarcely contain themselves as GoGo pulls a half-a-second lead before turn two arrives. The six-lap race goes by quickly running at about 1 minute 56 seconds per lap. The colorful combination of stars and stripes Vanson leathers and bodywork, painted in patriotic acknowledgement of the support given by Ducati North America, is easy to follow. By the midpoint, GoGo has pulled a lead of three seconds and has eased into a steady race pace, preserving tires and engine. Behind him, noted WERA racer Mark Junge of Vesrah Racing on a Suzuki 1000, starts to distance himself from the third place Aprilia RSV Mille of Jack Pfeiffer, and slowly cuts into Eric’s three second lead. By the start of the white flag final lap, Mark has drawn up to within one and a half seconds of GoGo, and closes to less than one second as the riders skate over the top of the Cyclone turn five. Sensing the threat, GoGo craftily stuffs the nimble 749R up the inside of a lapped rider in the right-to-left transition entering turn six, forcing the rider to slow, and thereby slowing Mark Junge down who can’t pass the lapped rider until turn 8. “I was watching our pit signals and knew I needed to throw some back markers at whoever was dogging me,” said GoGo later on in the pit. The resultant gap leaves GoGo a clear run through the last few corners, and obviates any possibility of a draft pass to the checkered flag by the larger displacement 1000cc bikes behind him. GoGo takes the checkered flag punching the air in victory as the team members jump up and down in excitement on the pit wall. “We’re back!” Eric exclaims as he pulls his helmet off at the pit wall. The disappointment of his crash at the previous AFM Open Twins round at Infineon is forgotten in the joy of beating the bigger twins at Thunderhill a fast track where the team felt the little 749R would be at the greatest disadvantage to the 1000’s. “It’s all the bike” GoGo disclaims, “¦this Ducati absolutely rocks”. Follow the team’s progress at ~http://www.gotagteam.com~. More, from a press release issued by Buell: ESTOK PUTS BUELL ON THUNDERBIKE PODIUM AT LOUDON CLASSIC Four Buell Riders in Top Ten at Formula USA Thunderbike National LOUDON, N.H. (June 19, 2005) Millville & Wildwood Harley-Davidson/Buell rider David Estok rode to a third-place finish aboard a Buell Firebolt at the Formula USA Thunderbike National in the 82nd Annual Loudon Classic, held at New Hampshire International Raceway. Estok qualified third, putting him in the front row on the grid, but he had a tough start and fell back to sixth. He fought hard to get back up to the front pack by the middle of the 12-lap race. The race was won by Eric Wood on a Ducati. Pole-sitter Richard Doucette was second aboard a Suzuki. Defending Thunderbike series champion Bryan Bemisderfer, riding for Evo-Twin Racing/Harding Harley-Davidson, initially qualified fourth but was disqualified when his motorcycle failed to complete the mandatory post-qualifying dyno test. Bemisderfer had to start the race from the back row behind 26 riders, and worked hard to finish ninth. Williams Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Randy Rega was seventh on a Buell Firebolt. Kenwood/Sirius Satellite Racing rider Sam Rozynski was tenth, also on a Buell Firebolt. With 27 entries, the Thunderbike field was the largest of the four Formula USA National races of the day. Nine of the Thunderbike entries were Buell motorcycles. After four of eight Formula USA Thunderbike National events, CAD Cycles rider David Yaakov, who placed fifth at Loudon on a Suzuki, leads in series points with 100. Estok’s podium finish boosted his total to 87 points. Bemisderfer now sits in third with 80. The next event on the Formula USA schedule is June 24-26 at Virginia International Raceway near Alton, Va. The Formula USA National Thunderbike series is a horsepower-to-weight ratio restricted class, open to a variety of production-based motorcycles. Buell-mounted riders compete in the eight-event 2005 Thunderbike series race for a share of the $70,500 contingency fund posted by Buell Motorcycle Company. 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. For the Buell dealer nearest you, pull into www.buell.com.
