From a press release issued by Safety First Racing:

Safety First Racing is proud to report a successful raffle held Saturday, July 17th, to benefit the “Safety First” helmet program for kids.

The raffle was held in conjunction with a Customer Appreciation Day at Sportland Motorsports in Urbana, Illinois.

Safety First Racing owner, Kevin Hanson, gave his account of the day: “The day was a huge success. We had our new race hauler and Suzuki GSX-R1000 racebikes on display. Team rider, 16-year-old Jesse Janisch, drove down from Wisconsin and was present to sign autographs and visit with customers. Sam Selle, owner of Sportland Motorports, really went out of his way to make it a great day by giving away several door prizes, free food, and having a band play in the afternoon, on top of several financing and discounted promotions.”

The highlight of the day was the raffle drawing for a new Suzuki SV650S, an AMA Road Atlanta trip and a new Suomy Helmet. Winners included:

1st prize–2004 Suzuki SV650S: The winner, Marcy McAnnally, a Champaign, Illinois State Farm agent, said her husband was extremely excited about getting a new motorcycle after she purchased the winning ticket.

2nd prize–airfare, hotel, crew passes for 2 at AMA Road Atlanta round: The winner, Champaign Police Lieutenant Holly Nearing, actually donated the prize to a co-worker and her 11-year-old son who is a huge motorcycle fan and has never been to a motorcycle race.

3rd prize–Suomy Spec 1R helmet: The winner, Derrick Cantrell, stated that he saw a post about the raffle on Roadracingworld.com and just wanted to make a donation to the “Safety First” program.

Safety First Racing would also like to thank the following sponsors of the raffle for all of their help: American Suzuki, Suomy, Champaign Cops for Kids, 1-800 Motorcycle, Sportland Motorsports and Parts Unlimited.

From a press release:

VP RACING ADDS TO SALES & TECH SUPPORT STAFF FOR ATLANTIC REGION

NEWARK, DE (July 21, 2004) – VP Racing Fuels, Inc., an industry leader in the production and distribution of racing fuels and other performance products, named Mike Farr as a Sales Representative, based out of VP’s Delaware office. Farr will join the Sales & Technical Support Staff in VP’s Atlantic region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Eastern Ohio, Ontario and Quebec.

Farr has been involved with motorsports his entire career, primarily as a service and sales representative for two major shock absorber manufacturers – Carrera and Pro Shocks. With an emphasis on dirt and asphalt circle track racing during his 20+ year career, Farr has been involved with many notable racers and racing teams, including Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, Alan Kulwicki and Dale Earnhardt, as well as Scott Bloomquist, Chub Frank, Donnie Moran, Jackie Boggs and many others. “Mike will be a tremendous resource to our Atlantic region customers due to his vast knowledge of the racing industry,” said Jim Kelly, Regional Manager for VP’s Atlantic region. “Mike is one of the most respected manufacturer reps in the business with a reputation for success through hard work . And like many of his colleagues here at VP, he himself was, and is, a racer. So he knows the sport and the business of racing and will be a real asset to our customers in helping them determine the best fuel and other VP performance products for their respective applications.”

Farr began drag racing as a teenager in northern Pennsylvania, gradually moving to oval track racing in the Sportsman division. “They were almost like a Late Model–a Late Model chassis with no front on it, like an IMCA Modified,” explained Farr. “I drove the Sportsman for two years then jumped into a DIRT Modified and drove that at Sharon and Raceway 7.” Farr continued to race competitively until the mid 80’s when he began his career as a manufacturer’s representative. His current racing efforts are primarily recreational.

Farr has received many honors during his career, including the “All-Star Circuit of Champions Dirt Late Model Appreciation Award” in 1987; the 1995 “Man of the Year Award” from the Renegade Dirt Car Racing Series; and in 2003, he was nominated for the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in the “Lifetime Achievement” category.

“I’m very excited to be coming on board with VP Racing,” exclaimed Farr. “VP has a reputation for manufacturing the best racing fuels in the industry, and as a long-time VP customer myself, it’s much easier to represent a product I truly believe in.”

The official fuel of NHRA Championship Drag racing, VP Racing has fueled champions in virtually every racing category and class — from drag racing and circle track to motocross, off-road, off-shore and even airplane racing. Throughout its 29-year history, VP Racing has earned a reputation for producing high quality racing fuels with superior power and consistency – as illustrated by the NHRA Pro Stock Champions who have made VP their fuel of choice for 27 consecutive years, a record unmatched by any major sponsor in the industry. In addition to fuels, VP’s product line includes synthetic oils, 2-cycle lubricants, performance chemicals, traction compounds and racing-related accessories – each designed to produce the most power and best performance in their respective racing applications. More information can be obtained from VP’s website – vpracingfuels.com.

From a press release issued by Camel Honda:

British GP – MotoGP

Two wins in two races for Camel Honda team

Last Sunday, barely two weeks after the success of Makoto Tamada in Rio, the Camel Honda team celebrated another victory, this time by Max Biaggi at the Sachsenring, before moving on to Great Britain with the satisfaction of being the the only team in MotoGP to have won with both riders at the halfway point in the championship. After the big handshake with which Max congratulated Makoto on the lap of honour in Brazil, in Germany it was the turn of the Japanese rider to race to hug his team-mate underneath the podium, joining the whole team in its moment of joy. The season continues non-stop however, and the team are already thinking about the challenging, ‘two-faced’ Donington Park circuit. The challenge of the British track lies in its peculiar design, the fast and flowing first part is then undone by the slow second-half which culminates in a series of near-180º corners.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“After the last two splendid races for our team, the world championship is in the balance. We have to remain 100% concentrated so we maintain our competitive level for the second, crucial half of the season. Max is going through his best phase as a Honda rider and with our team, and that’s so important as we prepare to tackle the decisive second part of the year. Makoto has also developed superbly and his results have contributed greatly to the teams championship standings. I’m sure that the pair will continue to provide a lot more satisfaction in the weeks to come.

Max Biaggi #3: (Michelin Tyres)
“The German race was brilliant, and so important too, but now it’s a time to be looking forward. This championship is living up to all expectations and is as hard-fought as ever. This means it is important to keep our feet on the ground, and continue to work calmly and meticulously on our next objective. At the end of the day, all these races in quick succession haven’t bothered me, because they have given those riders that have made mistakes or have had bad luck to make up for it straight away, whilst those that have gone well can keep their rhythm going. Donington is a track I like quite a bit, but to be fair all the tracks are fantastic when you manage to get the bike working as you want it to. That’s why the first aim as ever will be to get the set-up even better than in the last two races, where thanks to the great work done by the team and by Honda, this has been achieved successfully.”

Luca Montiron – Camel Honda (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“Donington will be an important chance for us to see if we can get a good consistent performance out of the tyres at all the tracks. The front group was quite distant once again at Sachsenring, and even though this gap has been cut back since the beginning of the year, the hard work must continue. Makoto has already shown he is capable of winning, now we have to get him into a position where he can prove this once more.”

Makoto Tamada #6: (Bridgestone Tyres)
“I don’t like the Donington track too much, but that was also the case in Sachsenring and once I found a good set-up there it felt a lot better! This will probably be the case again in England. In the Germany race I enjoyed a good fight-back ride, but sixth place isn’t what I’m aiming for. The bike is going really well, if we can also get the tyres to be just as competitive, I’m certain that there will be a lot more tracks that I will enjoy more.”

From a press release:

Spectrum Motorsports Announces Summer Bike Night Schedule

Spectrum Motorsports/Spectrum Honda/Polaris will have a monthly bike night the last Tuesday of each month. Each bike night will have a theme with the hours being from 6:00 PM till 8:00 PM. The bike nights will always have the two dogs and a soda for a buck along with a DJ.

July’s bike night is Tuesday, July 27th starting at 6:00 PM and a $300 gift certificate will be raffled off.

From a press release:

BOSTROM CONCENTRATES ON MAKING PROGRESS AT MID-OHIO

Lexington (Ohio) – July 21, 2004: This weekend’s Mid-Ohio race will be followed by a six-week break in the AMA Superbike race schedule, and the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team is aiming to enter the hiatus on a positive note.

Currently fourth overall in the points, Eric Bostrom accepts that the search for the ideal set-up on his Michelin-shod Ducati 999R will continue this weekend on a circuit he does not favor, but remains upbeat and motivated to help the team make progress in the series.

“Although I’ve won at Mid-Ohio before, it’s never been a favorite track of mine, but it’s a pretty track and it always has a great crowd,” said the 27-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada. “I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work to finish where we want to finish this year, but we did test there and we should be closer as a result. I’m just going to go out and put my head down and ride 110%.”

Although there are only three double-header rounds remaining in the AMA Superbike schedule, the 27-year-old from Las Vegas, Nevada is committed to staying in top form and to approaching each remaining race with complete focus.

“I’ve been training hard on the bicycle since Laguna and paying close attention to the Tour de France, which has me motivated and I’ve been putting in nice endurance runs with Ben. Basically, I’ve been out there on my bike every day since I’ve been home, and I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve been in a long time.”

The Circuit
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was founded in 1962 and is located between Columbus and Cleveland in Lexington, Ohio. Set on 330 acres, the 2.4 mile (3.86 km) track is twisty and technical, with elevation changes and difficult off-camber sections. One of the unusual characteristics of the track is the concrete patches. Due to the horsepower of the Indy cars that ran at Mid-Ohio, the asphalt was replaced with concrete in high “g” corners. Although the track surface has been recently ground down to level the transition between concrete and asphalt, the different surface types will still create challenges for the riders.

POINTS: 1. Mladin 391; 2. Duhamel 381; 3. Zemke 372; 4. E Bostrom 288; 5. May 262; 6. B Bostrom 247; etc.

From a press release issued by Jardine:

North American Record Annihilated at Jardine West Coast HP Dyno Shootout!

Long Beach, CA – In a stunning end to an already record-breaking weekend, JE Pistons’ John Noonan on his Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa land speed bike obliterated the existing North American record for horsepower registered at a Dyno Shoot-Out, Sunday, July 18, 2004. At 545 horsepower, Noonan surpassed the current record by 31 hp!

A crowd of hundreds packed the Jardine booth as Noonan arrived straight from El Mirage where he had set another record, Land Speed at 209.980 mph in the MBG-1650 class, just that morning. Noonan made several staggering passes at the dyno shootout record. With help from show emcee and Jardine VP, Kerry Bryant, as well as the hoots and hollers from the audience, Noonan put down 416 on his first pull and landed at the magic number of 545.1 hp on his second run. He backed it up with 537 hp moments later on his encore run.

“No one has ever seen anything like this,” said Bryant. “There isn’t anything in this parking lot, except perhaps the engines on the Queen Mary behind us here, that can even touch this!”

Noonan attributes his achievement to the help of various supporters.

“I would like to thank the many people that made this happen,” Noonan said. “JE Pistons and Carrillo Rods for supplying us with the best parts available, Velocity Racing Turbosystems, my girlfriend and crew chief, Michelle, for all her support and assistance, and of course Jardine Performance Products for letting me use and abuse their dyno!”

Noonan went on to thank many others with whom he shares this victory: APE Race Parts, Millennium Technologies, American Suzuki, Worldwide Bearings, Sparkplugs.com, Carpenter head porting, PM Racing, SATO Racing, Robinson Industries, Arcane Worldwide Racing, Web Camshafts, Airtech Bodywork, and Hanks fire service.

Jardine Performance Products co-sponsors the annual Los Angeles Calendar Motorcycle Show and will return next year with their heavily attended and highly anticipated West Coast HP Dyno Shootout.

From a press release issued by Hjelm Motorsports:

July 16th -18th
Mosport International Raceway, Toronto, Ontario Canada

A great weekend for the Hjelm Motorsports team ends with their first national victory.

Under threatening skies HMS rolled into Mosport for the CanAm 125GP double header weekend run in conjunction with the Canadian Superbike Series. HMS was there along with 23 other American and Canadian riders looking for some of that Canadian cash.

Friday, July 16th
After one 20-minute round of practice on Friday morning it was qualifying time in the afternoon. John Hjelm riding the HMS 2000 Honda RS125 wound up 4th-fastest with a 1:35:42. First was Eddy Brunet followed by Angela Hiba and Scott Moxey (all three into the 1:34s). Four other riders right behind John were in the 1:35 range as well. At least it was a front-row start, which was a good beginning to the weekend.

Saturday, July 17th
Weather called for intermittent showers in the area. The schedule showed one 20-minute session in the morning and the first of two races at 5:00 in the afternoon. In the practice session Moxey dipped into the 1:33s, going really well for his first time at Mosport.

There was a combination of races and qualifiers run before the 125GP race. Due to the showers that came and went during the day, causing havoc (red flags) in the events leading up to the 125 race (not to mention lightning in the area) the race was postponed until Sunday morning. The organizers did this as a safety concern.

Sunday, July 18th
Race One:
What was to be a practice session in the morning was now a two-lap warm-up with five minutes to make adjustments before the shortened-to-8-laps (from 10 laps) race. Angela Hiba got a great start. After following her into turn one, John Hjelm passed her between turns one and two to take the lead. It was shorted-lived lead, though, as Brunet drafted past on the long back straight. It was a close race between Hjelm and Brunet as they pulled a gap on Moxey and Hiba. Hjelm tried to get past Brunet in a few spots but never had the opportunity to make it stick. On the penultimate lap a backmarker caused a little separation between Brunet and Hjelm and Hjelm could not make up the distance on the last two laps, and Brunet went on for the win. This race got off in the dry and it just started to sprinkle some drops of moisture in the closing laps. Still, second was Hjelm Motorsports’ best finish at a CanAm series race. Thanks to the tuning work of Al Hjelm, the bike ran perfectly during the race.

Race one results:
1) Eddy Brunet, Lachine, QC Can.
2) John Hjelm, Morrison, CO USA
3) Scott Moxey, Moorestown, NJ USA
4) Yvan Desy, Napean, ON Can.
5) Angela Hiba, Brampton, ON Can.

Race Two:
This was the second race after lunch. Right about the beginning of the first race after lunch a light rain started, then the weather cleared enough to allow a dry line to appear on the track. About 25 minutes before the start of the 125GP race it was raining lightly again. Hjelm decided there was not enough water to go to rain tires. “We went out on the sighting lap with the slicks and they worked pretty well in the conditions,” John Hjelm said.

As the riders pulled up to the grid, the officials decided to allow a 20-minute time period for tire changes should anyone want. “We put the rains on only because that is what all the others were using rather than take a gamble,” was Al Hjelm’s thoughts. John Hjelm commented that “at least we will be on even ground with the others this way.” It rained for the 20 minutes up till the start and halfway through the race so it ended up being a good choice. The disadvantage the slicks would have given at the start of the race probably could not be made up in the closing stages as the rain let up.

John Dempsey got off the line first and started to pull away. The HMS Honda was running third until turn 5b when Christian Rose fell down right in front of Hjelm. About halfway Hjelm, with Brunet on his tail, started to catch Dempsey. Hjelm passed Dempsey between turns one and two to take the lead with three laps to go. Hjelm Motorsports had their first national victory!

John Hjelm’s comments were, “That is what it is all about, it’s the greatest feeling to run the victory lap with the checkered flag and to see all the fans cheering for you. I am looking forward to Mont Tremblant next month.”

Race two results:
1) John Hjelm, Morrison, CO USA
2) John Dempsey, Brampton, ON Can.
3) Eddy Brunet, Lachine, QC Can.
4) Yvan Desy, Napean, ON Can.
5) Joseph Melchonda, Roslindale, MA USA

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

AMA PRO RACING ON TV THIS WEEK
(All times Eastern)

AMA Chevrolet Motocross Championship,(125cc/250cc) Unadilla Valley Sports Center, New Berlin, Ohio – Saturday, July 24, 12-2 p.m. ESPN2

AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport presented by Shoei, Mid-Ohio, Lexington, Ohio – Sunday, July 25 1-2 p.m. LIVE SPEED Channel

AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship, Mid-Ohio, Lexington, Ohio – Sunday, July 25 (Race 1) 2-3 p.m. SPEED Channel

AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship, Mid-Ohio, Lexington, Ohio – Sunday, July 25 (Race 2) 3-4 p.m. SPEED Channel

All times subject to change. Check local listings

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Michael D. Green

AHRMA’s Vintage race weekend at Mid-Ohio was dominated by veteran David Roper. Roper won three of the feature races on Saturday and repeated his feat on Sunday to take home six first-place trophies. His first win on both days came on his 250 Aermacchi in the 250GP class. Jonathan White on a 250 Ducati was Roper’s only challenger, but White was not able to match Roper’s pace and settled for a safe second. Roper was truly dominant in the 350GP class on Tom Marquart’s Yetman-framed Honda beating Canadian Paul Germain by over 30 seconds on both days.

Many of the top riders in the 500 Premier class were absent from the Mid-Ohio event, and Roper cruised to victory on Maurice Candy’s Manx Norton replica on both days of racing. Roper beat Chuck Davis on his Manx Norton replica by 35 seconds on Saturday. Roper slowed his pace slightly on Sunday, but he still beat Wes Orloff on his Honda CB450 by over 20 seconds.

Results are at http://www.ahrma.org/results/rr2004-14-15.htm

The AHRMA race weekend was held in conjunction with the AMA’a Vintage Motorcycle Days. AHRMA’s activities included two days of Vintage motocross along with vintage dirt track racing and Vintage observed trials. There was plenty of actvity for the Vintage afficianado away from the racetrack. The giant swap meet held a record 970 vendors. BMW was the featured marque of the weekend. Vintage BMW enthusuasts showed up in their thousands, putting their own stamp on the weekend. There were lectures and demonstations all weekend along with a BMW-mounted stunt rider, Rhett Rotten’s Wall of Death, and a live rock band. Vintage Motorcycle Days continues to grow year after year. A journalist estimated that 20,000 people were at the racetrack on Friday, the busiest of the three days, with a third of those riding BMWs.