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.

From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Walker’s Shanghai surprise

Chris Walker flew the flag for Foggy PETRONAS Racing at this weekend’s PETRONAS Shanghai International Race Festival in China.

With FPR owner Carl Fogarty out of action with a knee injury sustained in a Jet-Ski accident last week, and with Troy Corser hit by a stomach bug in China, Chris rode the PETRONAS FP1 race and road bikes around the specially constructed street circuit as part of the build-up to the inaugural Formula One Chinese Grand Prix on 26 September 2004 in Shanghai.

THE FPR team was joined by Sauber PETRONAS F1 driver, Felipe Massa, F1 test driver Neel Jani, as well as the PETRONAS EON rally team, in performing demo laps as back-up to the main highlight of the festival – a DTM German Touring Car race.

Chris, who also took the opportunity to try out the F1 car seat for size, said: “This was a real experience and I was pleased to put on a show for PETRONAS and all their guests. The surface did not have too much grip so I wasn’t able to perform some of my usual tricks but the crowd reacted well and I wish everyone well for the first Chinese Grand Prix in September.”

PETRONAS also used the festival to announce the launch of its range of premium grade automotive and motorcycle engine oils in China on 14 July 2004, officially entering the country’s lubricants market.

PETRONAS’ Vice-President of Oil Business, Datuk Anuar Ahmad said: “This festival gave us an excellent communications tool for building awareness of our brand and it opens up some good business opportunities for the PETRONAS group. To be able to demonstrate Formula One on the streets of Shanghai to the local population is an excellent way to prepare them for their first ever Formula One Grand Prix in September.”

From a press release issued by Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course:

HONDA RIDERS ROLL TO MID-OHIO

DUBLIN, Ohio – As the AMA Superbike Championship returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, Honda’s “Red Riders” will be riding for more than just pride during the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, July 23-25.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel and Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke are chasing points leader Mat Mladin, and with a Wiseco Superbike doubleheader in store for the weekend, points are at a premium. Forgotten, but not gone, during this season has been 1998 AMA Superbike Champion and ex-World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom, who snuck up on many to win at Laguna Seca Raceway during the last superbike round.

Duhamel is no stranger to Mid-Ohio, with seven race wins (including the 1995 Superbike race and 5 Supersport races) at the circuit. As the all-time wins leader on a Superbike with 30, other racers know that Duhamel will be a contender at every track. The crafty veteran hopes to use that to his advantage.

“Psychologically, maybe it’s a little bit intimidating for the competition,” said Duhamel. “I hope so, but I’m racing some tough guys. Mat (Mladin)’s really tough, and Jake (Zemke) has proven to be a seasoned veteran in his first year, which is amazing. Then you’ve got Ben (Bostrom), who’s starting to show some real speed, so it’s going to be tough.”

More important than psychological advantages has been Duhamel’s fitness entering this season. Though Duhamel has climbed to the top of the podium more than any one in Superbike history, he has managed just one AMA Superbike title.

“I woke up and said ‘hey, I’ve only got one Superbike Championship – that (stinks)!” said Duhamel. “I came into the season seriously wanting a Superbike Championship. In winter testing, I knew the CBR1000RR was going to fit my riding style really well.”

Fitness has played a part in the resurgence as well.

“I figured I needed to get stronger, and I started training about two years ago by myself and then figured I might need a professional. I hired the CTS people, the same people that are working with Lance Armstrong. It’s a lot of cycling and training and I feel great.”

Zemke, in his rookie season on a Superbike, has surprised many fans, but not himself with his success.

“Coming into the season, I knew I had a great team,” said Zemke. “The (Erion Honda) guys have just been phenomenal and they finished off the season strong last year with Kurtis (Roberts). We’ve been competitive pretty much every race this year, and it’s put us right in the thick of things. Obviously, we’re going to have our work cut out here. Mat (Mladin)’s going to be strong, Miguel’s going to be strong.”

Zemke acknowledged the difficulty of riding at Mid-Ohio during the July heat.

“Mid-Ohio is always hot and humid. We’ve tried it out now and it’s quite a bit smoother than it was before,” said Zemke. “They’ve smoothed out the concrete patches and it’s actually like riding on a brand new racetrack.

“It is actually surprising. Before, the track was quite rough and, actually, that was what I liked about it,” a smiling Zemke continued. “But all the grinding work on all the concrete patches has been amazing; you can’t even feel the seam between the asphalt and the concrete.”

American Honda’s Ben Bostrom, after some early season struggles, captured a win during the last Superbike round at Laguna Seca. The 1998 AMA Superbike Champion declared himself “back” after the weekend, which also included a win in Formula Xtreme.

“Mid-Ohio is a tough track because there are a lot of elements that go into it,” said Bostrom. “They’ve done a really nice job of shaving the track down. All of a sudden it’s become one of the smoother tracks we come to, which is pretty neat.”

Duhamel and the American Honda team urges Mid-Ohio spectators not to miss this year’s Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, including the Wiseco Superbike 100 races on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

“We have the best show, honestly. I really believe we have the best show. This year’s racing has been the tightest and most competitive ever, and if you don’t show up this year you’re really going to miss something.”

For tickets or more information on the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, contact Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 1-800-MID-OHIO or www.midohio.com.

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a 2.4-mile, 15-turn permanent road racing circuit in Lexington, Ohio. Located 60 miles north of Columbus and 75 miles south of Cleveland near Mansfield, the track has been called the most competitive in the U.S. and annually hosts a diversity of locally, regionally and nationally sanctioned racing events for amateur, club and professional riders and drivers. Mid-Ohio’s 2004 schedule features seven spectator events, including the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire (July 23-25), Mid-Ohio Road Racing Classic (August 6-8), Unlimited Audio and Accessories presents the Triple Crown Tuner Challenge (August 21-22) and SCCA National Championship Runoffs(r) presented by Kohler (September 20-26).

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, TrueSports, Inc. is a privately held motorsports entertainment enterprise. The company owns and operates Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and The Mid-Ohio School, and promotes a wide variety of motor racing, driver instruction, corporate, and family entertainment events throughout the year.