From a press release issued by Himmelsbach Racing:

Champion Sportbike Club new associate sponsor of Himmelsbach Racing

Himmelsbach Racing is heading to Barber Motorsports Park with hopes of continuing a podium streak that began at Virginia International Raceway and give new sponsor Champion Sportbike Club their first podium. “We went 3 for 3 at VIR and that was great! We are looking to keep the Team Challenge points lead and get another great result in the main events on Sunday.” Said Michael Himmelsbach. “Our new sponsor Champion Sportbike Club is a newly formed sport riders club featuring a Track School and Track-Ride program. Champion is open for membership and gives members an opportunity to start saving through Alliance Partners on parts, accessories, services and will announce the 2005 track schedule soon. Champion can be contacted via email: [email protected]”


Himmelsbach Racing is in great standing in the Formula USA Championship. In team Challenge the team is 2nd overall and 1st in GTU. Mike is currently 3rd in both F-USA Sportbike and F-USA Superbike championships.

From a press release issued on behalf of Dunlop by PR firm Vreeke & Associates:

Buffalo, NY—Dunlop U.K. has analyzed the KR108 tires involved in three recent on-track incidents and believes to have isolated the issue through common date of manufacture.

In order to keep pace with the ongoing development of today’s 1000cc Superstock machines, which place high demands on rear tires primarily, certain construction changes were made to these previously proven tires for this year’s Daytona AMA (American Motorcyclist Association) races. Based primarily on the results of performance at Daytona, these changes were applied to all standard production 17″ KR108’s beginning with the 11th week of 2004’s production.

As a result, Dunlop has suspended sales and is proactively reaching out to replace any KR108 tires manufactured prior to the 11th week of 2004. Dunlop believes these construction changes improve the performance characteristics of the KR108.

Tires being replaced include all versions of 195/70R17 KR108 with a date code prior to week eleven of 2004. The date code can be found in a stenciled oval located on the left-hand side of the tire. The stencil includes four digits. For example, 4803 would represent the 48th week of 2003. Codes from 1104 forward incorporate the new standards and would not need to be replaced.

For assistance in replacing the older version of the KR108 with tires of the new construction, contact Dunlop’s race distributors at the numbers below:

Sport Tire Services: (805) 434-4810
Race Tire Services: (615) 641-2234


About Dunlop Tires
Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please contact visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.

From a press release issued by Repsol:


Three-week break to regain strength and prepare the intense second half of the 2004 season

After nine GPs staged so far, 18 free practices, 18 qualifying practices and eight countries visited, the World Championship has reached its halfway point and finally the well-deserved summer holidays. In fact, we speak about holidays but in reality, we should be talking about a couple of days to rest, that, for most of the riders, are nothing but a small “break” in the Championship to heal the wounds of the battles, regain strength and make a balance of the first half of the season. We talked to the Repsol riders in England to know their plans for the coming weeks.

Nicky Hayden

What are your plans for the holidays?
“The season so far hasn’t been the way I would have liked, so I don’t think that I should be rewarding myself with big vacations. After England I’ll go home to the States and work-out a lot to get back stronger.”

Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme?
“No, there’s not much time left for inactivity, but to dedicate some time to yourself and disconnect a bit from the pressure and the press. I’ll keep on training to keep my physical shape. The season is being hard and we shouldn’t neglect the physical shape.”

Do you miss racing during holidays?
“Of course, I’m a race rider! A couple of weeks of rest are good, but I’m sure that after some days at home I’ll be looking forward to get back, counting the days to Brno.”

Make a balance of this first half of the season.
“There are a lot of positive things to highlight. We didn’t have a good start, but the motorbike, the team and I have been working hard and we’ve been improving race by race. We keep on fighting and we won’t give up.”

What’s been the best so far?
“Two consecutive podium finishes have been highly satisfying.”

And the worst?
“Probably the mechanical problem we had in Barcelona. I felt very motivated and I was convinced of being able to get on the rostrum, but we had bad luck.”

Prospects for the rest of the season.
“The latest races have been better, but what I’m really looking for is my first victory in the class. Podium finishes are good, but I want more. We’re working hard and I’m sure that we’ll get back stronger after the break.”

If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
“Victory. The bike is working well; I only want to get good results to get more confidence. I can make it.”

Alex Barros

What are your plans for the holidays?
“I’m going to spend these days in Brazil – it’s winter now, over there – with my family. My son does kart racing, so I’ll join him at the training or at races. I’ll basically use the holidays to be with my family. I also have my office there so I’ll have a look around to see how everything is going. I also want to see if my new prepared car is ready to start having fun with it.”

Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme?
“No, not at all, in fact I don’t call these days holidays. They are only a couple of days to rest before restarting activity. The season hasn’t finished yet, so we have to keep on working, focussed and not neglecting the physical shape. It would be different if we were talking about November, then we may be talking about holidays. It’s too early.”

Do you miss the races during holidays?
“Maybe after two weeks. I don’t at the beginning, because I get back home, with my children, my family…But once you’ve spent two weeks only working out, away from the races, you start missing it.”

Make a balance of this first half of the season.
“It hasn’t been a good first half. I expected much more. I wasn’t physical at a hundred percent at the beginning and I had to be patient, but two or three races later, when I began to feel well, the crashes came and the lack of good results.”

What’s been the best so far?
“Racing with the Repsol Honda Team, any rider’s dream come true.”

And the worst?
“With no doubt, the crashes, that hindered us from getting better results.”

Prospects for the rest of the season.
“Good ones, I hope. I personally think that things are going to be better in the second half. We started with some problems, but things started to get better in Germany already. I can’t tell the same about last Sunday in England, but things went well during practice. So I think that the prospects are good.”

If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
“We have good power, but what I would really like is a little bit more traction and the bike turning better in angles.”

Rubens Xaus

What are your plans for the holidays?
“Everyday is a holiday for me! I have several plans but nothing definite. First I’ll spend some days at home, to see the family and friends. Then I’ve planned a trip to the USA, actually to San Antonio, to visit some good friends and then to Los Angeles, invited by one of my sponsors, the X-Games (Supercross, supermotard, skate, BMX…). Then I’ll come back and spend some days in Alicante and in Andorra before going to Brno.”

Do holidays mean absolute inactivity or do you continue with your fitness programme?
“Holidays means calmness, but I like sports and everywhere I go I look for a fitness centre to workout a couple of hours. If I don’t workout I don’t feel well, it’s like brushing your teeth or eating, it’s part of every day life. I also do Supermotard, wakeboard, paddle… The truth is that I hardly ever stop.”

Do you miss the races during holidays?
“It isn’t a long break. A little bit less than three weeks and I won’t stop at any moment. Last year I had a one and a half month holiday and I really felt it. From the physical and the mental point of view it’s better for me if the races are one immediately after the other. You’re more tired but you don’t have time to get distracted. The hardest part is that you’re hardly ever at home.”

Make a balance of this first half of the season.
“I entered the “big circus”, and I’m positively surprised because I’ve met a lot of marvellous people that have treated me very well. When I arrived, my credentials were of a little irregular rider but I’ve proven that I’m a good rider. I’ve been riding among the best and my aim was and still is to learn every day. I wanted to get on this bike and I made it. I’m in a small team, not a factory team like the one I was used to be when I raced on Superbikes the last four years, but I’m satisfied, happy and having fun. We’ve made better and worse races, but always fighting, trying to finish in the points.”

What’s been the best so far?
“Having been able to lead a MotoGP race in Mugello, even if it was only a bit over a lap, and having been able to race in Barcelona in front of my people. Making all those who followed me before feel a bit prouder of me. When they speak about Ruben Xaus now, the others know who they’re talking about.”

And the worst?
“The bad luck I had during the first races and the suffering during the last races because I didn’t know the circuits. We had progressed a lot since the start of the season and it seems that we’ve got a bit stuck lately. The bike is not a new bike, it’s last year’s bike and it’s normal to have some trouble. In addition, those are bikes that have been ridden by people that didn’t know them either and that have been in other people’s hands. It’s like a second-hand car, it always has something…”

Prospects for the rest of the season.
“Very similar to the beginning of the season. There will be some difficult and some easier races. What I have to do is to keep on working hard. I’ll try to be among the top ten on the tracks I know and to learn and avoid mistakes to try to score on those I don’t know.”

If you could ask for something new for Brno, what would it be?
“I want everything to work out fine. I won’t ask for a better bike because I couldn’t make the right use of it now, but maybe I would ask for more softness and a better traction.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Scott Carpenter is leaving Inova Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia today and is headed home to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Carpenter, 43, underwent surgery yesterday to screw together his pelvis, which was broken in three places in a crash during a WERA National Challenge Series 750cc Superstock race at Summit Point Raceway Sunday.

Carpenter was originally transported to a hospital in Winchester, Virginia but was flown by helicopter to Fairfax Sunday night.

“I appreciated all the calls from everybody and all the support,” Carpenter told Roadracingworld.com today.

Carpenter said he highsided after hitting something slick on the racetrack, and that his racebike landed on top of him. He had no injuries other than the broken pelvis.

The WERA veteran is sponsored by RonAyers.com and Pirelli.

From a press release issued by CCS:

CCS at Shenandoah Cancelled September 4-57

The Mid-Atlantic regional Championship Cup Series event originally scheduled at Summit Point Raceway’s Shenandoah Circuit September 3-4-5 has been cancelled due to more construction delays with the new facility.

All CCS motorcycle events at Summit Point Raceway have been moved by Bill Scott Racing from the original 2.1 mile Summit Point Circuit to the Shenandoah Circuit in 2004 including the events scheduled for September 3-5 and October 8-10.

Bill Scott Racing and Summit Point Raceway management expects that Championship Cup Series will be the first group to race at the new facility when CCS motorcycle racing debuts at the Shenandoah Circuit on October 9-10.

The cancellation puts even more emphasis on the CCS event scheduled for Barber Motorsports August 14-15 which also includes the Formula USA series, both are double point paying rounds for the Mid-Atlantic region of CCS.

Bill Scott of Summit Point Raceway commented that “Weather related construction delays have placed final completion, (pending final state and county inspections) on or about the date of our next event in September and the risk of missing the target date is just too great.”

Scott also said “We really enjoy having the CCS events here, and we are dissappointed this has happened, we will do everything we can to make sure the October event is a success for all of us.”

Don’t forget about the Lockhart-Phillips USA Sport Rider Days scheduled at race tracks around the country. Street riders can find “Track Days” in all regions including 4 new affiliates; Fastrax in the Great Lakes Region, Church of Speed in the Southern Region, as well as Keigwin at the Track and SoCal Track Days in California and Nevada.

These LP USA track days focus on street riders but also offer licensing clinics for those that want to take the next step. Regardless of where you live, you can find a Lockhart Phillips USA sponsored Track Day near you! Just visit FormulaUSA.com or CCSracing.com for dates and location!

Lockhart Phillips USA Sport Rider Days are also open to Dealerships and provide great customer service incentives. Contact Formula USA / CCS with inquiries regarding “Dealer Days”.

From a press release issued by series organizers:

PICOTTE TARGETS REPEAT

TORONTO, ON Pascal Picotte is going for an encore performance at this weekend’s sixth round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, NS.

A victory at AMP last year put the Granby, QC racer into the points lead for good en route to his first series title. Should he manage the feat again this weekend, Picotte would have an almost insurmountable advantage in the 2004 national Superbike standings.

Riding the Team Yamaha / Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1 Picotte has an 89-point lead over his closest rival in the series standings, Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke with two rounds to go. A total of 56 points is available at each Parts Canada Superbike round. Following Sunday’s race the tour moves on to Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant Aug. 22 and Shannonville Motorsport Park Sept. 5.

Picotte is also trying to grab a share of history at AMP by winning his fifth straight Parts Canada Superbike round. He swept both ends of doubleheaders at Race City Motorsport Park and Mosport International Raceway earlier this season.

Only Szoke and Steve Crevier have won five in a row in the history of Canadian Superbike racing. Crevier did it first in 1992 and Szoke equaled that mark in 2002.

While Picotte is the defending AMP Superbike winner, the track has been good to Szoke recently as well. The last time he was here, in 2002 the Honda Canada / Fast Company Honda CBR1000RR rider matched Crevier’s mark of five consecutive national Superbike wins and clinched his second career title.

Szoke is in a tight scrap for second in the Parts Canada Superbike standings, however. He is only three points ahead of Calgary rider Clint McBain (Coors Light Racing / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000), five in front of Maple Ridge, BC’s Crevier (DXS Diablo Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000) and 10 ahead of Kevin Lacombe of Granby, QC (Lacombe Racing Yamaha YZF-R1).

With five career AMP victories, Crevier has won more Superbike nationals at AMP than any other racer but he is coming off a nasty crash at the most recent race at Mosport.

This weekend’s action will also include the sixth round of the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Championship. Picotte is the defending champion in that category as well and leads the standings by 65 points over Crevier with McBain in third.

AMP will also host the fourth round of the six-race International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Championship. Yamaha riders Rudy Raposo of Mississauga, ON and Darren James from North Vancouver are in a tight points battle after James edged Raposo for the win last time out at Mosport.

Qualifying for all three national classes will take place Saturday afternoon with races on Sunday.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Oct. 2 at 3:30 p.m. EDT and on Quebec’s RDS on Oct. 9 at 11:30 a.m EDT. The action will also appear in one-hour format this fall on TORONTO1 and A-Channel stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.


All Time Atlantic Motorsport Park Superbike Wins

Steve Crevier (Maple Ridge, BC) 5
Don Munroe (Halifax, NS) 3
Rueben McMurter (London, ON) 2
Jordan Szoke (Brantford, ON) 2
Gary Goodfellow (Vancouver, BC) 1
Miguel Duhamel (Repentigny, QC) 1
Michel Mercier (Thetford Mines, QC) 1
Mark Kowalski (Kitchener, ON) 1
Pascal Picotte (Granby, QC) 1

Atlantic Motorsport Park Fast Facts

…In addition to being his fifth straight triumph, a win on Sunday by Pascal Picotte would give him 13 career national Superbike wins, putting him alone in third place on the all-time list just one win behind Jordan Szoke. Steve Crevier leads with 22 victories.

…Last season marked the 11th time in Canadian Superbike history that the AMP winner has gone on to claim the national title. It was also the fourth straight time that has happened. Before Picotte last year, Crevier did it in 2000 and 2001 and Szoke accomplished the feat in 2002.

…Last year’s race around the tight and challenging AMP circuit continued a long tradition of spectacular battles at the track. Picotte edged Crevier for the win by just under half a second after a racelong scrap that at one point included no fewer than 10 motorcycles.

2004 Point Standings

Parts Canada Superbike: 1. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha) 259; 2. Jordan Szoke (Honda) 170; 3. Clint McBain (Suzuki) 167; 4. Steve Crevier (Suzuki) 165; 5. Kevin Lacombe (Yamaha) 160

Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike: 1. Pascal Picotte (Yamaha) 246; 2. Steve Crevier (Suzuki) 181; 3. Clint McBain (Suzuki) 173

International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike: 1. Rudy Raposo (Yamaha) 115; 2. Darren James (Yamaha) 111; 3. Tyler Kennedy (Honda) 92

Provisional Weekend Schedule

Saturday August 7

2:05 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Qualifying

2:50 p.m.-3:50 p.m. International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Qualifying

4:00 p.m.-4:45 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Qualifying

Sunday August 8

1:00 p.m. Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Race 16 laps

2:00 p.m. International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike Race 12 laps

3:00 p.m. Parts Canada Superbike Race 22 laps

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Roadracingworld.com’s Melissa Berkoff is the first woman participant to stand on the overall podium in a WERA National Endurance Series race.



There was some question as to whether or not a woman finished on the podium in a 1976 24-hour in Las Vegas. But research by Roadracing World Editor John Ulrich and long-time motojournalist Art Friedman revealed that Mary McGee rode with a team that finished 5th overall in the November, 1976 WERA 24-Hour at Las Vegas.

At the time, McGee was the Western Advertising Manager for Motorcyclist magazine, held an AFM Expert license and was an experienced desert racer. She rode in the 24-hour with several other Motorcyclist magazine staffers, on a Suzuki GS750. The team ran out of tires and parked the bike after 12 hours, restarting at the very end and crossing the finish line to qualify as official finishers, at 5th overall.

Berkoff and her team–Neighbor Of The Beast–finished third overall, second in the Mediumweight Superstock class, on a Yamaha YZF-R6 in a 6-hour race Saturday, July 31 at Summit Point Raceway in Summit Point, West Virginia.

The WERA National Endurance Series has been in existence for 30 years.



See related posts:

8/2/2004 Roadracingworld.com’s Melissa Berkoff Makes History As First Woman Participant On Overall Podium In A WERA National Endurance Series 6-Hour

7/31/2004 Updated Post: Team Velocity Racing Wins WERA National Endurance 6-hour At Summit Point

From a press release:

4th Annual BSB Charity Football Match – Riders XI v Media XI – Friday 13th August 2004 – Northallerton Town FC – Kick Off 7.45pm

CHARITY SOCCER MATCH GETS GEARED UP FOR ACTION

A football match with a difference gets underway next weekend when the annual Superbike Riders versus Motorsport Media charity game kicks off at Northallerton Town Football Club on Friday 13th August.

Coinciding with the visit of the British Superbike Championship to Croft Circuit next weekend, the cream of British road racers will take on a team from the Media in a match which will raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Superbike stars Sean Emmett, Dennis Hobbs and James Ellison will join forces with a host of support class riders as they bid for victory against a Media team comprising of Journalists, TV Presenters and Photographers under the floodlights.

Also attending but not on the playing staff will be Rizla Suzuki stars John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama as well as HM Plant Honda Racing duo, Michael Rutter and Karl Harris.

BBC Commentator Barry Nutley will act as MC during the evening as well as keeping fans entertained during the match with his observations from the touchline

Sponsored by Croft Circuit in association with NYRRSC and Electrocare of Northallerton, kick off is at 7.45pm with admission costing just £3.00 each. Afterwards a raffle and auction will take place in the club house.

Meanwhile, a reminder that Croft Circuit will host the official BSB test and media day tomorrow (Thursday 5th August) whereby all the top teams and riders will be in attendance throughout the day which starts at 9.30am and is open to the general public at a cost of £5.00 each.

From a press release:

TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLES (AMERICA) LTD. SETS SALES RECORD

US New Units Sales top 1,000 in July

NEWNAN, Georgia – August 4 2004 – Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., announced today that new retail sales topped 1,000 units in July, marking the company’s fourth consecutive month of record breaking sales. TMA also sold more than 7,500 units for the 12 months ended July 30, which is another US sales record for the Hinckley, UK based motorcycle manufacturer.

Interest in Triumph’s new products including the Thruxton 900 and the Rocket III has generated an avalanche of positive press in both enthusiast and general interest media alike. This in turn has created renewed awareness and interest in the Triumph brand, which has brought thousands of new customers into Triumph showrooms.

“The performance of our dealers these past few months has been nothing short of amazing.” said Todd Andersen, Marketing Vice President, Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd. “With their help, we were able to leverage the interest created by the Rocket III into record-breaking retail sales.”

Triumph expects this sales momentum to continue into the fall. With Rocket III deliveries still ramping up, they look forward to extending their record-breaking sales pace through the end of the year.

Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triumph Motorcycles, Ltd, a manufacturer of Triumph motorcycles and accessories. Triumph Motorcycles (America) Ltd., is located in Newnan, GA and services the Triumph dealer organization throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.