Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Sunday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.019
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.202
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:26.476
4. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 1:26.493
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:26.622
6. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 1:27.047
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.052
8. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.991
9. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:28.360
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.562
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.188
12. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.526
13. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.053
14. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:30.220
15. Jeremy Toye, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.074
16. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.436
17. Brian Stokes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.636
18. Chris Voelker, Ducati 996, 1:32.523
19. Byron Barbour, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.603
20. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.725

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Just before 4:00 p.m., a special 10-minute 600cc Supersport practice sessions at VIR had concluded.

The session was called to allow the riders to assess track conditions prior to the start of the race.

The track is obviously in decent condition, seeing as Jason DiSalvo turned a lap in 1:29.780.

The 3-minute horn blew for the race at 4:00 p.m.

Times from the special 10-minute practice session follow:

1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:29.780
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:29.931
3. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:30.090
4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:30.207
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:30.437
6. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:30.439
7. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:30.451
8. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:31.046
9. Ty Howard, Honda, 1:31.533
10. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:32.359
11. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:32.923
12. Chris Rankin, Honda, 1:32.959
13. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:33.676
14. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:33.908
15. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:34.387


Update:

The Supersport race has been shortened from 17 to 12 laps, and the final Superbike race has been shortened from 28 to 20 laps in an attempt to beat darkness and another rainstorm approaching the track.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA Pro Racing Assistant Manager of Sponsorship Implementation Gary Beggrow married Jennifer McBrayer on Saturday, August 30 in Canal Winchester, Ohio.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The Supersport race at VIR, originally scheduled to start at noon and postponed until 12:30 p.m. to allow for a wet practice session, was further delayed by oil on the track.

Young Canadian Chris Peris crashed during the wet practice session after the drain plug fell out of his Honda CBR600RR. The incident extensively oiled turns three, four and five.

A crew member later said that Fernando Peris, Chris’ father, had forgotten to tighten and wire the drain plug.

Just before the rescheduled 2:00 p.m. start, riders took a warm-up lap and then reported to officials that the track was still too slippery from a slurry-like combination of oil-dry, oil and water to proceed. Riders have been sent back into the pits while crews head out to clean the track again, using a fire hose.


This just in:

Oil was apparently spilled on other parts of the track as the crash truck carried Peris’ leaking Honda back to the pits, and the clean-up has spread. But the major concern remained in the area of turns three, four and five.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

Mike Sanchez took two wins at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit during the WERA National Challenge Series races on Sunday. The Shogun Motorsports/Motion Cyclesports rider was competing in his first WERA National event as an Expert.

Sanchez won 750cc Superstock on a Suzuki GSX-R750, passing Tray Batey for the lead on the fourth of eight laps. Batey remained close to Sanchez until he crashed on the final lap. A light rain during the race was too much for Batey’s intermediate tires.

Sanchez later won the Pirelli Formula One race on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Batey, on the Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R750, crashed in turn two on the second lap, putting Sanchez in the lead until the checkered flag.

Between the 750cc Superstock and Formula One races, Batey won the Heavyweight Twins race on his Suzuki TL1000R.

Mark Junge won in Open Superstock on the Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000, leading twice during the race. Junge led off the start but dropped back to third when he slowed down to pass a lapped rider who was leaking fluids. He retook the lead with two laps remaining.

Robert Jensen won the 600cc Superstock race on a Yamaha YZF-R6. He moved into the lead on lap three and was able to hold off Junge on the Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600.

XT Racing’s David Weber won the 750cc Superbike race on a Suzuki GSX-R750 in a race that started on a wet track that got wetter as more rain began to fall on the first lap. Weber took the lead at the start and was never challenged.

Weber also was the first rider across the line in the Expert 600cc Superbike race on a Suzuki GSX-R600, although the combined Expert/Novice race saw Novice Matt Lynn win overall on a Suzuki GSX-R600. Lynn took the lead on lap five and was able to pull away. The race was run on a wet track, and slippery sealer patches throughout the course gave riders a tough choice in tires.

Bradley Champion took his eighth consecutive win in Lightweight Twins, winning by about 17 seconds on his Suzuki SV650.

Three Experts entered the Formula Two race. Martin Musil pulled in after the warm-up lap because he was on slick tires and rain was beginning to fall. Jason Pirtle pulled in after the first lap, and Jason Jenkins was left to win on his Suzuki SV650.

Rain throughout most of the weekend, and wet track conditions and sketchy traction during all of the practice sessions prompted many racers to leave early.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yamaha’s Damon Buckmaster took his first-ever AMA Supersport victory Sunday by beating Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden in a short but exciting back-and-forth battle at Virginia International Raceway.

Buckmaster passed Hayden on the brakes at turn seven on the final lap and beat him to the finish line by less than a bikelength.

Buckmaster’s win and bonus points for leading the most laps and earning the pole position bring him within 15 points of Supersport point leader and teammate Jamie Hacking.

Hacking, who led by 30 points going into the race, finished eighth.

Hayden’s teammate Tony Meiring came from seventh on lap four to claim the final spot on the podium by passing Aaron Gobert on the last lap. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies, Honda’s Miguel Duhamel and Hacking followed Gobert across the line.

The Supersport race start was delayed over four hours due to changing weather, an oil spill, two lengthy clean-up attempts and extra practice sessions. The race was shortened from its original distance of 17 laps to 12 laps to beat an approaching rainstorm.

AMA Supersport Race Results:

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 12 laps
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -0.034 second
3. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -5.926 seconds
4. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, -6.616 seconds
5. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -6.827 seconds
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -6.875 seconds
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -8.016 seconds
8. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -8.388 seconds
9. Jake Zemke, Honda, -16.816 seconds
10. Marty Craggill, Honda, -23.914 seconds
11. Lee Acree, Yamaha, -24.055 seconds
12. Alex Gobert, Honda, -24.634 seconds
13. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -24.661 seconds
14. Ty Howard, Honda, -32.846 seconds
15. Darren Luck, Suzuki, -34.773 seconds
16. Chris Rankin (of Texas), Honda, -41.267 seconds
17. Jason Curtis, Honda, -53.781 seconds
18. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, -55.950 seconds
19. Michael Garofalo, Suzuki, -56.021 seconds
20. Nathan Dressman, Yamaha, -1 lap
21. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, -1 lap
22. Chad Klock, Kawasaki, -1 lap
23. Crash Lowe, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, -1 lap
26. Hector Romero, Yamaha, -9 laps, DNF
27. Adrian Jones, Suzuki, -10 laps, DNF
28. Chris Peris, Honda, -11 laps, DNF
29. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, -12 laps, DNF, crash
30. Mike Hale, Yamaha, -12 laps, DNF, crash
31. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda, -12 laps, DNF, crash


AMA Supersport Point Standings:

1. Hacking, 308 points
2. Buckmaster, 293 points
3. Spies, 228 points
4. Alex Gobert, 217 points
5. Meiring, 216 points
6. Zemke, 215 points
7. Tommy Hayden, 213 points
8. Aaron Gobert, 212 points
9. Roger Lee Hayden, 207 points
10. DiSalvo, 205 points


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

LEE ACREE CARDS STRONG FINISHES AT VIRGINIA

Lee Acree went up against some of America’s most talented roadracers as a privateer this weekend at round ten of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, and came away with two strong finishes in the AMA Supersport and Superstock classes on his Triad Powersport Yamaha R6.

In the Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock event on Saturday, Lee qualified 14th and finished 15th against a field of more powerful 750cc machines. Tire issues kept Lee from taking advantage of the more nimble handling R6 that he was riding. A poor start didn’t help his effort. “My start was at least a tie for career worst,” joked Acree. “My original plan of getting a good start and using turn one to get with the lead pack turned into go to the outside for damage control and try and get back as many people as just went motoring by me on the start. I went by a couple of guys in turn one on the outside and went by a couple more here and there. First, Ciccotto got by me and then Chris (Ulrich). I tried to get by him on the last lap. I got within striking distance and actually got up beside him, but to make the pass would have been potentially detrimental at least to him if not both of us, and I figured where we were in the pack it wasn’t worth punting either one of us. As far as the tires, the rear was a compund that I hadn’t run all weekend and the rear grip wasn’t there. The front was great.”

Lee qualified in seventh position for the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race on Sunday, giving him a second row start. However, rain delayed the start some four hours and the tires that Acree chose did not perform as well as expected. Lee fought with both Roger Lee Hayden and Marty Cragill over tenth place, with Cragill passing Lee on the last lap and pushing Lee to 11th at the checkered flag. “I got an okay start and got down to turn one in about 14th, then tried to get past a couple more exiting turn one, but had to back off because they couldn’t see me. At the end of the first lap is where my progress ended. I was able to go by Roger the first time and was behind Duhamel and just couldn’t match the grip coming off the corners. I finally got Roger and then Cragill came by once and I went back by him. I had some steam on him, but once again, I just didn’t have the grip in the rear. Marty passed me on the last lap going into turn four and I had a chance to pass him back going into seven, but we came up on a lapper and Marty went to the right, which made me have to back off and killed my drive and passing opportunity there. At that point in the race, the right side of the tire just wasn’t there, and coming on the front straightaway I had it as sideways as I cold get it without it throwing me off. The tires were consistent, they were just never great.”

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Anna Johnston announced at VIR that her team, Annandale Racing, would not be back for 2004.

“My heart’s in it. We love racing and the world of motorcyclists and Honda and Michelin and all of our sponsors could not have been better to work with, but it was a decision that Dale (Lemaster) and I made, that we couldn’t meet our internal goals and we didn’t feel confident that we could play catch-up next year. Finances were part of it; we wanted to make it a self-sustaining organization.

“We’re going to take some time off with the change in the economy and see how things work out and maybe come back in the future,” Johnson said.

“We’re going to spend some time in the next few months wrapping the team up and trying to help everyone on the team find out where they want to be. They want to continue in racing, and they’re out looking for jobs. I can certainly highly recommend everyone on the team.”

See related post:

7/29/2003 Analysis: Number Of AMA Teams And Rides Will Decrease In 2004

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final AMA Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:27.506
2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:27.526
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:28.099
4. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:28.149
5. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 1:28.258
6. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:28.507
7. Lee Acree, Yamaha, 1:28.557
8. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:28.584
9. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:28.811
10. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:29.060
11. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, 1:29.293
12. Ty Howard, Honda, 1:29.328
13. Marty Craggill, Honda, 1:29.765
14. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:29.859
15. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:29.921
16. Chris Rankin (of Texas), 1:30.154
17. Darren Luck, Suzuki, 1:30.488
18. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:30.623
19. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:31.746
20. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:31.958
21. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:31.998
22. Heath Small, Yamaha, 1:33.260
23. Michael Garofalo, Suzuki, 1:33.456
24. Nathan Dressman, Yamaha, 1:34.012
25. Chad Klock, Kawasaki, 1:35.401
26. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki, 1:35.485
27. Adrian Jones, Suzuki, 1:35.796
28. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, 1:35.882
29. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda, 1:36.229
30. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, 1:36.333
31. Hector Romero, Yamaha, 1:36.387
32. Crash Lowe, Suzuki, 1:36.963
33. Williams Johnson, Suzuki, 1:37.931
34. Caesar Gonzales, Kawasaki, 1:38.206
35. David Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:43.615

112 percent of fast time: 1:38.007