Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Practice Session #1
Friday, October 15
Phillip Island, Australia
Conditions: Wet
1. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:34.676
2. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:34.900
3. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:35.322
4. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:35.418
5. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:35.434
6. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 1:35.494
7. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 1:35.851
8. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:36.210
9. Colin Edwards, Honda, 1:36.249
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:36.276
11. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 1:36.329
12. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:36.828
13. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:37.272
14. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 1:37.482
15. Garry McCoy, Aprilia, 1:37.887
16. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, 1:38.075
17. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:38.783
18. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:38.874
19. James Ellison, Harris WCM, 1:38.994
20. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR, 1:39.005
21. James Haydon, Proton KR, 1:39.570
22. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 1:40.000
23. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, 1:41.185
24. Youichi Ui, Harris WCM, 1:41.383



More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

GOOD SEASIDE MEMORIES FOR PROTON TEAM KR

Proton Team KR approach Phillip Island on an upward trend. Over a gruelling end-of-season routine – four flyaway GPs in four far-flung countries – the V5 machines have shown a new level of maturity that bodes well for future development.

The Mk2 version of the England-made and Malaysian backed motorcycle has shown impressive reliability during the season’s second half, and has finished in the points at four out of the last five races. All these races were gruelling in their own ways – the punishingly hot Qatar GP, for instance, saw seven machines retire with sundry mechanical problems. The Protons didn’t skip a beat all weekend.

The machine is fighting only for the lower points-scoring positions. “We’re still short of our target horsepower and top speed, and we’re also still looking for the right combination of tyre to give us more mid-corner speed,” said the team’s principal, legendary triple champion Kenny Roberts.

“But the machines are running good out in the field, and at the same time, we’re also working hard back in England on developments for the future,” he continued.

Team regular Nobuatsu Aoki will be joined for a third race by British Superbike rider James Haydon, taking the place of the recuperating Kurtis Roberts. Both riders love the sweeping seaside circuit, where fast corners give them a chance to make up for a lack of top speed.

Aoki had a tough race last year, suffering neck injuries when he crashed avoiding another rider in practice, and finishing the race physically exhausted. It’s still a favourite track, and observers recall with awe his extraordinary angles of lean as he rode his lightweight two-stroke Proton KR to seventh among the faster four-strokes in 2002.

Haydon knows the circuit as a 500 GP racer and a Superbike rider. For his third race on the V5 MotoGP machine, he can add accumulated experience on “the fastest bike I have ever ridden” to his chances in the quest to repeat his points-scoring debut at Qatar three weekends ago.

Haydon’s open-minded approach and machine development experience, in addition to that of Aoki’s have added fresh impetus to the team’s morale; while two races have given him the chance to get the machine settings tailored to his personal preferences.

Phillip Island has been a friendly circuit to Proton Team KR over the past two years.

In 2002, the lightweight two-stroke Proton KR triple was fighting a rearguard action against the much more powerful new four-stroke MotoGP machines. McWilliams qualified on pole position, with Aoki also on the front row, finishing tenth and seventh respectively on the outpaced but nimble lightweights.

Last year, riding the new V5 four-stroke, McWilliams qualified tenth and finished 11th. This was the Mk1 machine’s best race, after just half-a-season of shake-down runs that took place out on the GP racetracks.

The Australian GP is the 15th of 16 World Championship rounds, and the last of four flyaway GPs in five weekends: Japan, followed in short order by Qatar, Malaysia and Australia. The last round is at Valencia in Spain on October 31.

NOBUATSU AOKI – PUSH HARD AGAIN
For our team, we have good memories at Phillip Island. I like riding the track. It’s quite unique. Until now, our project has been moving slowly forward. I hope we can show some better results in Australia, as a reward for all the hard work of everybody. I’ll push hard again.

JAMES HAYDON – AT LEAST I KNOW THE WAY ROUND
I’ve been to Australia before so I know the way round, which makes a change from the last two tracks. But over two weekends on the trot, thanks to the good work of the guys in my team, we’ve made a big improvement feel-wise. When I arrived in Malaysia, the front end and I weren’t talking the same language, but by the end of the weekend I felt able to race the bike, rather than just ride it round. I’m looking forward to this one.



125cc Grand Prix Practice Session #1
Friday, October 15
Phillip Island, Australia
Conditions: Wet
1. Casey Stoner, KTM, 1:48.498
2. Gabor Talmacsi, Malaguti, 1:51.298
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:51.304
4. Lorenzo Zanetti, Aprilia, 1:52.047
5. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:53.479
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:53.543
7. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:53.620
8. Sergio Gadea, Aprilia, 1:53.670
9. Mika Kallio, KTM, 1:53.834
10. Mattia Pasini, Aprilia, 1:53.845



250cc Grand Prix Practice Session #1
Friday, October 15
Phillip Island, Australia
Conditions: Dry
1. Sebastian Porto, Aprilia, 1:34.228
2. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 1:34.570
3. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:34.928
4. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:34.985
5. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:35.574
6. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:35.644
7. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:36.283
8. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, 1:36.777
9. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 1:36.939
10. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:37.074

From a press release issued by Dorna Communications:

Phillip Island welcomes MotoGP title climax

The Phillip Island circuit today opened its doors to the MotoGP World Championship paddock and welcomed the climax of one of the most exciting seasons in the history of the sport. With Valentino Rossi just one step away from becoming only the second rider ever to win consecutive titles with different manufacturers and a record of five previous victories at this circuit, the Italian’s legacy on Australian shores promises record crowds.

Rossi needs to finish in the top two positions to secure the premier-class title for the fourth successive season but is taking a cautious approach as he looks to celebrate an historic first season with Yamaha in fitting style.

“We had a bigger advantage earlier in the season but then I crashed in Qatar and within one race it was all open again, so it is not over until it is over” said Rossi, who has a 30-point advantage over Sete Gibernau. “But this is a good place for us and a good place for me. We tested here twice in preseason and already the bike was quite good. It is an old style track, with a lot of different corners and it’s one of the best for the riders – not just me, everybody loves this track.”

Local hero Troy Bayliss is also looking forward to extra support from the home crowd but started the weekend in despondent mood after announcing that he will part company with Ducati at the end of the season. “It’s been a tough season for me and everybody at Ducati so to be leaving at the end of the season is like a final kick in the teeth,” said Bayliss, who won the World Superbike series with the Italian factory before stepping up to MotoGP and scoring three podiums last season.

“I didn’t want the relationship to end because I don’t feel as though I’ve really shown what I can do in MotoGP yet, but that’s racing and you’ve got to take it on the chin. It doesn’t mean I’ll be cruising around for the last two races though. I want to continue to improve the bike and do as well as I possibly can in my home round.”

Bayliss’ former WSB rival Gregorio Lavilla joins the Australian on track this weekend as a replacement for Kenny Roberts at Suzuki. Yukio Kagayama had substituted the injured former World Champion for the last two rounds but factory test rider Lavilla gets his chance this weekend, with Roberts expected to return for the final round at Valencia. Kenny’s younger brother Kurtis is also out and will again be replaced by James Haydon at Proton Team KR.

Away from the paddock, three of MotoGP’s top riders added a bounce to their preparations for the weekend’s action on a visit to a local wildlife centre. Makoto Tamada, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri acquainted themselves with the residents of the Phillip Island Wildlife Park – including kangaroos, wallabies and koala bears.

Meanwhile, Dani Pedrosa said it will take just a couple of laps of the Phillip Island circuit on Friday morning to banish the bitter memories of his last visit to Australia. The Spanish youngster broke both of his ankles in the first free practice session for last year’s 125cc race but is hoping for better luck this weekend as he looks to score the two points he needs to clinch the 250cc World Championship title.

“I’ve got memories but I suppose after a couple of laps they’ll be gone,” said Pedrosa, who will be joined on track by the current World Champion Manuel Poggiali after two races out with a leg injury. “Also, I know they’ve made modifications to the track so I hope everything goes well this year. Last year taught me that if you take your eye off the game for a second you can end up in a bad way. So it is important to keep my concentration and not think about anything other than the race.”

Andrea Dovizioso has no reason to think about anything else this weekend after clinching the 125cc title at Sepang on Sunday. The Italian today said that he was aiming to sign off the season in style before following previous World Champion Pedrosa to the 250cc class in 2005. “My aim is to win the final two rounds and show that I am a true champion,” said Dovizioso. “I will be moving up to 250 next year, hopefully onto the same bike as Dani, and I am really looking forward to that but my focus is on this weekend.”



From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
CINZANO AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX – PHILLIP ISLAND
14TH OCTOBER 2004 – EVENT PREVIEW

FUCHS KAWASAKI HEAD OUT TO THE ISLAND

The Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island brings Fuchs Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann one step closer to the end of the gruelling 16 race MotoGP World Championship.

The Phillip Island race completes what has been a busy schedule of international ‘flyaway’ races – three GPs in as many weekends in Qatar, Malaysia and now Australia.

Only the season-ending Valencia GP in Spain remains after Sunday’s down under race on one of the most popular race tracks on the calendar. Most riders, including the Kawasaki pair, rate the track amongst their favourites.

And both Nakano and Hofmann are eager to show that the fast-flowing, 4.44km Phillip Island circuit, with its panoramic ocean views, will allow them to show the increasing competitiveness of the Ninja ZX-RR.

The Kawasaki squad comes to Phillip Island with the benefit of data collected from the successful pre-season test sessions in February, thus giving riders and technicians a head start on set-up with this year’s all-new ZX-RR chassis.

And the recent introduction and continuing fine-tuning of the Magneti Marelli fuel injection and engine management system has produced more rider friendly throttle response.

Built in the early 1950’s the Phillip Island track retains most of its original layout, a classic design not influenced by increasing use of chicanes on modern circuits. The only major layout change in more than half a century has been the revision to the turn four hairpin, made for safety considerations.

And as part of a continuing program of safety upgrades a recent multi-million dollar investment has resulted in improved run-off areas and gravel traps, plus new entry and exit lanes to the pits.

Typically, the 12 turn Phillip Island rewards rider skill and precise handling, with the often unknown factor of the high winds that can sweep in off the Bass Strait.

Shinya Nakano: #56
“Phillip Island is a fast track, and one of my favourites, so it is always nice to be racing here. I had a very good feeling with the ZX-RR at the pre-season tests and for once we have a lot of set-up data for this track. My two favourite parts are the last corner coming onto the straight and turn one; both are high speed and a lot of fun. In recent months we have made a lot of progress with both electronic and chassis settings on the Ninja ZX-RR, so Phillip Island is going to be an interesting race for us.”

Alex Hofmann: #66
“As always I’m looking forward to racing at Phillip Island. The circuit has a lot of high speed corners which is one of the strong points of the ZX-RR. Being able to carry corner speed is critical to a fast lap here, and I like the combination of third and fourth gear corners; you can have so much fun sliding the bike at 170kph. Sometimes the weather can be a surprise, but like everyone I’m hoping for a dry race with not too much wind.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“At Phillip Island we are expecting a continuation of the strong recent performances by both Shinya and Alex, both of whom did a lot laps at the circuit during pre-season testing. Shinya has been outstanding in qualifying and I again expect to see him towards the front of the grid. The flowing nature of the circuit should suit the Ninja ZX-RR and our new electronics package. As always we are anticipating the strong support of Bridgestone with tyres at this race. Most of the fast corners are left-handers which puts a special demand on tyres.”

From a press release issued by American Suzuki:

Braselton, GA (Oct. 14, 2004) – The 2004 Suzuki Worldwide GSX-R Cup Final kicked off last night with a welcome dinner for all the riders and team representatives from Suzuki distributors around the world. The World GSX-R Cup is taking place in the United States for the first time and will be held in conjunction with the WERA Grand National Final at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.

The Worldwide GSX-R Cup is an event that involves the top privateer riders from around the world who compete and qualify on Suzuki GSX-R’s. There are twenty-three riders from twelve countries represented in this year’s Worldwide GSX-R Cup and each country has sent one to three riders to compete.

The competitors in this event will be riding identically prepared 2004 GSX-R750s that are stock except for a race fairing, seat and side protection, Yoshimura racing exhaust silencer (Tri-Oval SLIP-ON), Goodridge brake lines, Vesrah brake pads, and Dunlop race tires. The teams are allowed limited adjustments to the riding position, suspension and injection settings.

The Countries represented at the 2004 World GSX-R Cup are…
United States
Australia
Germany
Japan
France
Spain
Italy
Switzerland
U.K.
Austria
Canada
South Africa

Riders are also competing for a total purse of $10,000…
1st place: US $3,000
2nd place: US $2,000
3rd place: US $1,000
4th place: US $800
5th place: US $700
6th place: US $600
7th place: US $500
8th place: US $400
9th place: US $300
10th place: US $200

Pole position: US $500

For more detailed information visit www.WorldGSXRCup.com

From a press release issued by Ducati North America:

THE BOSS IS BACK IN TOWN FOR EAST COAST DUCATISTI

Eric Bostrom will make a trip to the East Coast and visit Ducati dealers, do radio interviews, and mingle with local Ducatisti

Cupertino, CA — Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom will be back on the East Coast for a special trip dedicated to his fans.

Eric will be making appearances at two authorized Ducati dealers, Coleman Powersports in Falls Church, VA (outside of Washington, DC) and North American Warhorse in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Eric’s weekend will kick off on Friday October 22, where he can be heard live (and in the studio) on the areas top rated “Afternoon Show” on WHFS FM (99.1) along with host Tim Virgin. Mr. Virgin also happens to be a dedicated Ducatisti who owns a 749 Superbike and is a racing enthusiast. Eric will speak about his 2004 season and life in general as a motorcycle racer. After the studio appearance, Eric will visit Coleman Powerports in Falls Church, and attend what is being billed as the “Rockstar Ducati Riders night” event, which will see numerous activities centered on fashion, motorcycles, and superbike racing. The event is open to all riders, regardless of motorcycle brand.

On Saturday October 23, Bostrom will appear at North American Warhorse in Scranton, Pennsylvania for the Warhorse Rider appreciation day. During his visit in Scranton, Eric will be doing a rare ride on the street with his fans, along with plenty of local police escorts. The event at North American Warhorse will include live entertainment, free food and refreshments, hourly door prizes, a stunt show, and many other activities.

Eric is looking forward to coming back to the East Coast. According to the Boss, “I had such a good time on my last East coast trip that I decided I had to go back. The fans that I met were so knowledgeable and cool that I wish we still had a race in the Northeast to give them. (North American) Warhorse put on such a good Ducati event in the spring that I couldn’t wait to see how they top themselves this time. There were so many people there and they even put up a big Von Dutch display for me; I was just blown away. I hope everyone comes out and sees us there again. DC should be fun too. I’m looking forward to seeing how they do it there. Hope to see lots of Ducatisti at both events.”

If you’d like to meet Bostrom in person for an autograph, join him at either of the following locations or tune into WHFS 99.1 FM.

6:00 pm – 9:00pm
Eric will appear from 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Coleman Powersports
14105 Telegraph Road
Woodbridge, VA 22192
703-497-1500
www.wheretherepoweris.com

Saturday Oct. 23rd
Event runs from 10am – 4pm
Eric will appear from 11:30am – 2:00pm
North American Warhorse
119 Mulberry Street
Scranton, PA 18503
570-346-2453
www.nawarhorse.com

Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. Ducati has won eleven of the last thirteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. The Company produces motorcycles in five market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport; Monster, Sport Touring and Multistrada. The Company’s motorcycles are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European and North American markets. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at http://www.ducati.com.

From a press release issued by Coolskunk Promotions:

Coolskunk Promotions announces a new sponsor Infinity GP Racing for the 2005 season. Infinity GP Racing headed up by Frank Pate; CEO of the Infinity Companies is a corporate sponsor for the USGPRU, a national race series taking place on the East and West coasts over the 2004 season. The sponsorship package will include one of the Infinity GP Racing RS 125 GP bikes to be used by the Coolskunk KyDs Road Racing Development Team in 2005.

According to Philip Rispoli, Founder of Coolskunk Promotions and the Coolskunk KyDs Road Racing Development Team, “this sponsorship is a vote of confidence from the road racing community about our commitment to youth in motorsports. We are excited that the Infinity GP Racing Group would support our efforts.”

Frank Pate, CEO of the Infinity Companies stated, “What Philip has done with the Coolskunk KyDs concept is exactly where I believe we need to apply additional attention. The youth movement for GP Racing in the US can rival that of Europe. Moto GP is to the Europeans what NASCAR is to the Americans. This is a unique opportunity to support a youth team from a developmental level and help bring the sport and its future stars to the forefront of the industry.”

Coolskunk Promotions continues to seek additional companies to represent in 2005 and welcomes product sponsorship and/or race discounts as well as financial support for the Flat Track and Road Race teams.

For more information contact Philip Rispoli, Coolskunk Promotions telephone: 603 479 1259 or email at [email protected] check us out on the web at www.coolskunk.com


About Coolskunk KyDs Racing

CoolSkunk KyDs is a sports promotion organization that has formed a racing club dedicated to the pursuit of life learning values in competitive youth motor sports. Our vision includes helping to bring out the passion, flexibility, excitement and demonstrated appetite for success and adventure, waiting to be exposed in our youth.

About the Infinity Companies

The Infinity Companies were formed for the overall management of every Infinity business venture… The Infinity Companies are not just a combination of key management personnel, but also key financial partners with a like-minded viewpoint on business and success.

Infinity Companies have invested in, managed, and financed directed and overseen dozens of different ventures in numerous industries. With over 3 dozen years combined experience within the group in various areas, from finance to M&A, International to Domestic, Energy to Art, the company and it’s directors have been involved with just about every conceivable aspect of business.

With a strength in entrepreneurial enterprise, and a love for growing existing companies to a new plateau of production, the company is best suited with any venture which has unlimited, yet predictable growth potential.

The plans we have for the future are seen by some of the world as very achievable, by the rest…impossible! We challenge you to look for yourself and see if you are one of the few who see life the same as we do. www.infinityinvesting.com/affiliates.htm

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Vesrah Suzuki’s Tray Batey won two races Thursday, during day two of the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta.

Riding his Pirelli-shod GSX-R750, Batey won the Sportsman B Superstock National Championship by winning the eight-lap, winner-take-all final by 10 seconds over Jeff Wood (in his first ride on his new Arclight Suzuki GSX-R750) and GSX-R600-mounted Lee Acree, third.

Acree came back to win the Sportsman C Superstock final over Wood and Smith.

Batey was even more dominant in the Heavyweight Twins Superstock National Challenge Series finale, riding his SV1000 to a 16-second victory. Frank Shockley and Roger Bell raced nose-to-tail for second place, but Bell’s Suzuki SV1000 didn’t have the horsepower of Shockley’s Aprilia Factory R. Still, Shockley beat Bell for second by only 0.087-second at the line.

Earlier in the day, Shockley took a narrow victory over Bell in the Sportsman Heavyweight Twins Superbike sprint and beat Dale Burroughs in Wednesday’s Sportsman Senior Superbike (a.k.a. Formula 40) race.

Batey also won Wednesday’s Sportsman Heavyweight Twins Superstock race over his teammate Mark Junge and Shockley.

In spite of having back surgery 10 days earlier, Dave Yaakov won Wednesday’s Sportsman Lightweight Superbike and Lightweight Supersport sprints and Thursday’s final round of the Lightweight Superstock National Challenge Series on his CAD Racing Suzuki SV650.

Other Expert race winners Thursday included: 16-year-old Tristan Schoenewald in Sportsman C Superbike, Heath Small in Sportsman B Superbike, and Mike Smith in Sportsman A Superstock.

Other Expert race winners Wednesday included: William Mayfield in Vintage Six Heavyweight, Chris Thompson in Vintage Six Lightweight, Joe Pomery in Formula Two-stroke, Tim Joyce in Vintage Four and Vintage Three, Brian Kcraget in Formula Two, Dale Burroughs in Vintage Seven Heavyweight, Bryan Nelson in Vintage Seven Lightweight, Stuart Carter in Formula 500cc, Eric Cook in Vintage Two, Doug Bowie in 350cc GP and 250cc GP, Andrew Weiss in D Superstock, “Ted” Cobb in Super Motard and Clubman, “Buff” Harsh in Vintage One, John Rickard in 500cc GP and Dick Gruhn in Vintage Five.


More, from a press release issued by Moto Britalia:

Cobb takes 2 National Championships at Road Atlanta

This year’s WERA Grand National Final saw the return of Ted “Cannonball” Cobb, aboard Moto Britalia’s Yamaha 450 Super Motard. After winning 5 of 6 races during the regular season, Cobb dominated the Expert Super Motard race at the GNF, winning by 46.977 seconds ahead of second place. “I have to give credit to Moto Britalia for building one super fast Motard” said Cobb. “The harder I pushed it, the better the bike worked. Hats off to Bob Henderson, who did the final tune on the engine before the race, the bike ran awesome!”

Cobb also took the overall win in the combined 125cc GP, Clubman race. After three red flags, the race was postponed until the end of the day. Under changing weather conditions, and starting from the second wave, Cobb worked his way up thru the 125cc GP bikes to take the overall win in the shortened 6 lap final. ” I didn’t think we would get the race in” said Cobb. “It was getting pretty dark, and then by lap 2 it started to rain over in the back section. I just kept my head down and the bike was hooking up really well.” Cobb, who is an instructor with the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School, also said “I didn’t want to do anything stupid out there, I’m leaving next week to do a School in Japan with Schwantz, and I need to be in one piece!”

More information about Ted Cobb and Moto Britalia can be found at www.motobritalia.com

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich underwent surgery Thursday night at Dr. Art Ting’s Fremont, California clinic, to repair shoulder damage incurred in a crash in the Supersport race at VIR last Sunday as well as to remove a plate from his lower left leg, broken at the end of 2003.

The surgery will effectively end Ulrich’s injury-plagued 2004 racing season.

From a press release issued by Las Vegas Racing:

AMA Superbike privateer Jack Pfeifer will return to racing this coming weekend at the Willow Springs Toyota 200. The last couple of months Jack has been cycling to stay in shape while making a full recovering from surgery. Jack will be riding his old 4th Place Daytona 200 finishing 2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 equipped with a modified ’98 GSX-R750 quick-change swingarm.

We will be conducting volunteer pit crew auditions all day Friday and Saturday morning before the 200-mile race on Sunday. Pit crew jobs may consist of front or rear tire changers, fuel person, fireman, and many others all the way up to waterboy. So if you would like to help out a very talented road racer during this pit stop demanding event, see Jack. Just look for the #4 Suzuki on Pirellis or the black “Las Vegas Racing” gear in the pits.

From a press release issued by Mystery School:

Mystery School’s Rich Oliver and long time mechanic Robert Ward will be teaming up again to race the Roadracing World 250/50 event at Willow Springs this weekend, Oct. 15-17.

Rich comments on how it all came together, “I had a few parts left over, and one of my Yamaha 250’s, so we thought we would take it out and run at the Willow event. My other bike is sitting in a display at the Barber Museum, so I rebuilt this TZ250 that I had here at the house. We think it should run pretty well.

‘I’m really going to enjoy taking it out, it’s been a full year since I had a chance to road race, although I’ve been riding almost every day in the Mystery School. It’s going to be exciting to race again at one of my favorite tracks, where we’ve had so much success in the past.

‘I’ve really got to thank Willow Springs, the WSMC, and Roadracing World for making this 250 Grand Prix event happen. Our school sponsors jumped on board, and we really appreciate all their help in this one time race effort! Special thanks to Yamaha for helping us stock up on our spare parts to get us through this event, and Dunlop for sending all the tires we need.”

The Willow Springs 250/50 will run Sunday morning
before the Toyota 200 mile race, October 17th, 2004

Rich won the 250 event last year, broke the 250 track record with a lap of 1.21.6 and finished 4th in the 200.