From a press release issued by ValuCycle:

WERA and ValuCycle announce Senior Superbike Challenge series for racers age 40 and over.

Canton, GA – January 4, 2004 – WERA is pleased to announce that ValuCycle has been selected to be the title sponsor of the “ValuCycle Senior Superbike Challenge.” The series is open to all riders age 40 and over competing in the Senior Superbike class (formerly known as CORC) at any WERA Sportsman series event. Racers will compete within their respective regions for Regional Championships.

The ValuCycle Senior Superbike Regional Champion will be the racer with the highest point accumulation at the end of the season in each region. The ValuCycle Senior Superbike National Champion will be the rider who wins at the Grand National Final.

Trophies will be awarded to the top 3 finishers at all events in both Novice and Expert divisions, and ValuCycle will award trophies, cash, and gift certificates to each of the top 3 Expert and Novice National finalists.

ValuCycle, Inc. is located in Conyers, Georgia and specializes in the sale of pre-owned motorcycles. Visit their website at www.valucycle.com

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Gregorio Lavilla will replace John Hopkins in continuing tests of the Suzuki GSV-R at Sepang, Malaysia later this month, and may ride the machine again at Phillip Island.

Lavilla’s manager is negotiating a deal with the Suzuki MotoGP team which may also see the popular Spaniard work as a GSV-R test rider throughout 2004, with some wild-card GP entries as well.

Suzuki’s MotoGP program needs a rider to replace John Hopkins in crucial pre-season testing. Hopkins has carried a heavy testing load for Suzuki’s MotoGP program but crashed and fractured both ankles during practice for the Suzuki Crossover Challenge, a Supercross event sponsored by American Suzuki Motor Corp., in San Diego, California almost two weeks ago.

Famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Art Ting installed plates in both of Hopkins’ ankles last week.

Hopkins’ crash enraged various Japan-based officials involved in Suzuki Motor Company’s MotoGP program, who say they did not approve of Hopkins’ Supercross excursion.

Hopkins is an avid motocross rider, and began his motorcycle racing career in motocross. He rides motocross frequently to train and as a way to release stress and frustration related to riding a so-far-uncompetitive machine in MotoGP.

Lavilla is managed by the Zenit company of Barcelona, which also manages Dakar winner Nani Roma and Spanish road racers Pere Riba, Jose David de Gea and Jose Luis Cardoso.

“It’s been two-and-a-half months since I have ridden a racing bike and it is a shame that my chance to ride the Suzuki comes at a time when the others have had several tests, but I look forward to seeing how this bike really is and what it is like to ride,” said Lavilla, quoted in Spanish news reports.

From a press release issued by Clear Channel Entertainment — Motor Sports:

Giant RV to Award Top-Finishing Privateer a 26.5′ Trailer

AURORA, Ill. (February 4, 2004) – Clear Channel Entertainment’s Motor Sports division announced today that southern California-based Giant RV/Weekend Warrior will award the top finishing privateer in THQ World Supercross GP/THQ AMA Supercross Series points a 26.5′, model FB2600 Weekend Warrior trailer.

In addition to the Weekend Warrior trailer, the top-finishing privateer will receive a new Nissan Titan and $25,000 from U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company Pro Privateer Challenge

GIANT RV is a growing company based on the solid foundation of nearly 20 years in the recreational vehicle industry. A privately owned company, GIANT RV has earned a prestigious, well-respected place in the industry being in the top dealers nationwide. This solid foundation has led to strong and consistent growth. GIANT RV currently has six dealerships located in Colton, Corona, Irvine, Montclair, Murrieta, and Palm Desert.

A new facility with a full service department in Lake Elsinore is due to open early March. With over 350 employees, GIANT RV offers the customer the complete RV experience including sales, service, parts, and accessories.

GIANT RV is one of the largest dealers in the country and the largest dealer in California offering the top selling major brands in both motorized and towable products. Featuring Monaco, Fleetwood, National RV, Winnebago, Mandalay, Carriage, Weekend Warrior and more. We have been graced with many awards from the major manufacturers for excellence of service. With current studies showing a definite growth pattern in the RV industry over the next few years, GIANT RV will continue developing strategies for future expansion and added values to the consumer. Our focus is to offer our customers educated information, top quality products, and create an environment that will encourage repeat visits and loyalty from our local communities

From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

World Endurance Keeps on Growing

The 2004 World Endurance Championship is already generating huge interest, ten weeks before the first race of the season.

Seven Manufacturers

Seven different manufacturers are already represented in the championship. Yamaha are making their presence felt, with 2003 world champions Phase One joining several other top teams to run the much improved ’04 R1. The ultra competitive Suzuki France team make a welcome return to the series, adding strength to the proven GSX-R1000’s reputation. Kawasaki have a brand new model in the shape of the ZX10R and a coordinated entry from Bolliger and Diablo GB will make the most of the bike’s abilities. Honda are also back in force, with the Honda Austria putting three well know riders on board the new for ’04 Fireblade.

Benelli see the World Endurance Championship as a vital part of the development of the Tornado Tre, with an official works entry for X-One team. MV Agusta are another returnee to the championship, in the shape of the semi-privateer and very experienced German Burger King Lust team, and there will also be at least one semi-privateer Ducati 999 on the grid for the first race at Assen in April.

Tyre and Team Commitment

The level of professionalism and investment by World Endurance teams is building year-on-year, and this is backed by the growing support that will be seen in the endurance paddock in 2004. Four tyre brands will be involved from the start of the championship, reflecting the tough challenge of long distance racing at the highest level. The teams themselves are also becoming increasingly committed, with most having already begun their pre-season testing programme at circuits in southern Spain.

Rider Opportunity

With the World Endurance year now stretching from test sessions in January through to the final round of the series in October more and more professional riders are looking on the championship as a very real and full-time opportunity to build on their international racing career. There is now a proven path from the academy teams to the upper levels for junior riders, and from World Endurance to World Superbikes for riders who can prove themselves in the increasingly competitive Endurance championship.

58 Hours, 7 Events, 10 Nations

With 58 hours of racing at seven major international events across Europe, Japan and China, and teams from ten nations running bikes from seven different manufacturers and riders from over a dozen countries the World Endurance Championship just keeps on growing.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and Ben Spies were the quickest men during a two-day AMA team test February 3-4 at California Speedway in Fontana, California.

Mladin led all lap times with a 1:26.0 on his 2004-spec GSX-R1000 Superbike, which was just ahead of teammate Aaron Yates’ best of 1:26.1 but slightly slower than the 1:25.70 Mladin turned testing at California Speedway in February of 2003.

“I feel pretty good out here the last couple of days. This is really the first proper test for me. We were at (Sepang) Malaysia, but we didn’t do a whole lot there. This is the first proper test, and I feel pretty good,” said Mladin, who is currently approximately 25 pounds over his normal race weight due to his battle with the fatiguing Epstein-Barr virus preventing him from doing any physical training over the off-season.

“I haven’t been doing a whole lot,” continued the four-time AMA Superbike Champion. “I’ve been really relaxing quite a bit. I’ve been spending a lot of time at work, actually, back home, but not doing too much training. All I’ve really done is just been to the gym a fair bit. Nothing that taxes your system a whole lot. It hurts your muscles, but it doesn’t really tax your system a whole lot. Hopefully, I’ve given it enough time to rid itself out of my body…I haven’t done a whole lot of cardio stuff because I was told not to. I’ve definitely put on some muscle and some fat to go along with it, but I’m not too concerned. Like I said, I’ll be 100 percent fit come Fontana or maybe even Sears Point. If I’m 100 percent by then I’ll be able to sustain it for four or five months. I can handle that no worries.”

Also unable to ride or do any physical training for the last three months following his 186mph crash at Daytona International Speedway and resulting injuries, Spies was happy to have the fastest Superstock (1:27.0) and Supersport (1:28.2) lap times at the small test.

“I’m still not back to riding where I was last year,” Spies told Roadracingworld.com. “I feel fine, but I get sore real fast…My butt’s a little sensitive when I sit down on the bike. And when I have to make transitions, I kind of have to stand up and sit back down on the bike; I can’t really slide across the seat yet. But that’s going to come with time. It hasn’t been that long since the crash and how bad I got hurt.

“It’s pretty cool to come back and be fastest on both bikes after being in that big of a crash and not being able to ride or train at all. I’m just going to be getting faster and faster from here on out, and I should be 100 percent by Daytona.”

Spies’ best Superstock lap time Wednesday compared well with his fastest lap time on his GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme bike (1:26.82) in February of 2003.

Spies also said he likes the new GSX-R600, which Yates found much improved from the under-developed bike he rode at the Dunlop tire test at Daytona last December.

“At Daytona we had an ignition box we were running that didn’t want to run,” said Yates. “They found that going back to the standard one was a bit better.

“The bike’s good. It’s amazing how it handles. It’s like the harder you ride it, the better it goes. It’s got amazing grip. The way it steers around the turns, the longer the turns the better it seems to like it. I’m looking forward to riding it.”

Kawasaki’s two-Hayden effort also netted good lap times on both their ZX-10R Superstock and ZX-6RR Supersport racers. Both Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden were within a few tenths of Spies’ best Superstock and Supersport times and a full second faster than Tommy Hayden’s Supersport testing times from a year ago at Fontana.

“I love the bike (ZX-6RR),” said Roger Lee Hayden. “We hardly changed anything. It’s such a fun bike to ride. It turns really well.”

Older brother Tommy trailed younger brother Roger Lee’s test times slightly, but as is his normal method of operation, Tommy Hayden meticulously worked through tiny details on his bikes rather than vying for fast lap honors. For example, Tommy Hayden spent a great deal of time finding the perfect position for his new Attack Performance rear sets, according to Crew Chief Joey Lombardo.

Tommy Hayden also said the new 17-inch Dunlop slicks were working well at Fontana despite a racing surface made slippery by recent rains.

The lap times turned by No Limits Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore and Jason Curtis were not headline material, but Crew Chief Jeremy Daniel said the team’s first test “went very smooth and was very productive. I’m happy with how everything went, and we’re looking forward to our next test and to Daytona.”


Unofficial Best Lap Times of Two-day Test (as provided by the teams):

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:26.0
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike, 1:26.1
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:27.0
4. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:27.4
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-10R Superstock, 1:27.6
6. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:28.2
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:28.3
8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:28.3
9. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:28.5
10. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R600 Supersport, 1:29.0
11. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6RR Supersport, 1:30.1
12. Jason Curtis, Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superstock, 1:31.1

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Racer Mark Brereton’s recently released DVD is gaining fans. The DVD, titled RoadRACE, contains on-bike footage from several 2003-season WERA races.

Brereton, 31, who moved to the United States from the United Kingdom in 1998 and began racing with WERA in April 2002, compiled the 80-minute DVD from over 30 hours of footage and did all of the production and editing in-house.

According to Brereton, “I wanted to make something entertaining, that showed club level road racing at its purest. I was inspired to a certain extent by a Roadracing World article at the start of the season that was critical of current commercial TV coverage of road racing, at the AMA, World Superbike and Grand Prix levels. So, I wanted to see what I could produce in the way of innovative camera angles, etc.”

RoadRACE features nine different camera positions, including views of the rider’s knee-puck, rear tire from under the bike, rear suspension and foot, as well as the more traditional front- and rear-facing footage. It also features a track library of on-board laps from Barber Motorsports Park, Road Atlanta, Roebling Road Raceway, Virginia International Raceway, Nashville, Jennings GP, Talladega and Carolina Motorsports Park.

The DVD is available at in the sports section of www.customflix.com/205296, and for every DVD sold Brereton donates $5 to the Roadracing World Action Fund. To date the DVD has already generated $1850 for the Action Fund, which promotes the use of soft barriers to increase rider safety.

For 2004 Brereton will film and produce another DVD. “I will film next season as I did this last season. I’m planning to use more camera angles, and to try to be more daring in the placement of the camera. I’m going to buy a second camera to shoot more trackside footage – which has been difficult when the only camera I had is attached to the bike. I’d like to put the camera on a variety of bikes, and capture more racing from other classes, too. I’d like to get many more tracks on film, also.”

From a press release issued by FGSport:

2004 World Superbike Championship

VALENCIA HOSTS TESTS FOR KEY SBK TEAMS

Pre-Season Update

With the factory Ducati Fila and Foggy Petronas teams having tested at Phillip Island in Australia recently, it was the turn of those teams and riders who elected to stay in Europe to conduct their latest series of shakedown tests. Valencia, always a popular testing venue and the scene for the first races of the new season on Sunday 29 February, played host to a number of SBK entries on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 February. It also proved to be the scene for the return of a glittering SBK star from the East – Noriyuki Haga.

The Renegade Ducati rider took his first steps on his Ducati 999R, alongside his new team-mate Leon Haslam, on Monday 2nd, and followed that up with a second day of familiarisation with the big capacity vee-twin and Pirelli tyres.

Haga, an 11-time World Superbike race winner, has had previous SBK seasons on Yamaha and Aprilia machinery and he and his Renegade team, by contrast in its first season of SBK competition, have high hopes for their immediate future in the series.

Another SBK first presented itself at Valencia, when current World Supersport Champion Chris Vermeulen took tentative steps on the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, another machine and rider combination expected to be in the forefront of the action once the racing starts for real. At Valencia the team’s race spec wheels did not arrive on time and thus Vermeulen had to ride a virtually stock chassis set-up for the two-day test, settling for gathering valuable engine data, if not low lap times.

Having gone fastest in pre-season testing at Valencia in December, DFX Ducati runner Steve Martin repeated the feat over the two days of this test, setting a best of 1:36.2 on day two. With no transponders fitted to the machines in this unofficial test session, the lap times were taken manually and Martin’s team-mate Marco Borciani was somewhat shy of his Australian team-mate’s pace, setting a best of 1:37.6.

Second fastest riders on show were the aforementioned Haslam and PSG-1 Ducati rider Pierfrancesco Chili, both on 1:36.8. Chili was giving his 999 a shakedown run in preparation for the final test of the year, again at Valencia on 11-13 February.

Haga came next on the stopwatch, with a 1:37.2, Vermeulen tying with Kawasaki Bertocchi rider Mauro Sanchini on 1:38.3. Ivan Clementi secured a best time of 1:38.6 on his big Kawasaki.

Garry McCoy was not present on the NCR Ducati 999R machine at Valencia, as the team makes preparations for their high-profile assault on the championship.

In World Supersport the current World Champions, Ten Kate Honda, fielded their dynamic 2004 duo, Karl Muggeridge and Broc Parkes. Each was fully on the pace, with Muggeridge fastest of the Supersport riders on 1:38.2. Fabien Foret went second fastest in his debut for the Belgarda Yamaha team, his time of 1:38.3 beating Parkes by 0.4seconds.

Any one of the before mentioned riders could be thought of as a championship favourite and another, Belgarda Yamaha rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh, set a best time of 1:38.8 before crashing and being taken to hospital for checks. His suspected broken ribs proved to be painfully bruised, but luckily not fractured.

All SBK and WSS teams are expected at what will be a closely fought and tense official FGSPORT Winter Test next week, with the final preparations and tyre choices being made in readiness for the 17th straight season of SBK competition – a competition which will commence with the first untimed practice session on Friday 27 February.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Several AMA teams are completing the second day of a two-day Dunlop-team-only test today at California Speedway in Fontana, California.

Yoshimura Suzuki is present with four-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin, Aaron Yates and 2003 AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Ben Spies. Mladin and Yates are riding GSX-R1000 Superbikes, and Yates is also riding a GSX-R600 Supersport machine. Spies is splitting his time between his new GSX-R1000 Superstock bike and his new GSX-R600 Supersport racer, which he has tested previously at Laguna Seca and Spring Mountain Motorsports Park in Pahrump, Nevada.

This is Yoshimura Suzuki’s first testing appearance as a full team this winter.

Kawasaki has brought Tommy Hayden and Roger Lee Hayden to ride their ZX-10R Superstock and ZX-6RR Supersport racebikes. The Kawasaki factory team has had several tests previously this off-season.

Attack Kawasaki’s Tony Meiring is testing brake pads on his ZX-6RR Supersport bike and also making a few laps on Josh Hayes’ ZX-10R Superstock machine. Hayes is at the test, walking with the assistance of crutches, but will not ride.

No Limits Suzuki is also at California Speedway, making its first real test appearance of the off-season. Jason Pridmore and Jason Curtis are riding GSX-R1000 Superstock bikes only. The team’s 2004 model GSX-R600s are expected to arrive at its shop as soon as today, according to Team Coordinator Richie Alexander.

Two-time AMA Superstock Champion Jimmy Moore rode for No Limits Suzuki on the first day of the test but returned to his home in Oregon today to continue working on building up strength in areas of his body he found to be weak while riding on day one of the test, according to Alexander.

The test is also being attended by Dunlop’s Jim Allen, who runs the company’s road racing program, and several Dunlop tire technicians and engineers.

The weather at California Speedway is good with mild temperatures in the 60s, sunny skies and relatively light winds, much better than day one, according to some at the test.

From a press release issued by Infineon Raceway:

Melvyn Record Awarded Promotion at Infineon Raceway; Jerry Wheeler Named Hospitality Coordinator

SONOMA, Calif. – Infineon Raceway employees Melvyn Record and Jerry Wheeler have been awarded promotions within the company, raceway officials announced.

Record has been named Vice President of Marketing. He will oversee the raceway’s overall marketing efforts and will work to expand the fan base in Northern California and outlying markets. Record will also continue research into the makeup and motivation of the fan base and explore new methods for reaching the raceway’s core customers.

Record began at Infineon Raceway in 2000 as the Director of Marketing and has since dramatically increased the raceway’s exposure via special
newspaper sections and relationships with radio and television partners. He previously worked for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) for 10
years and is a resident of Vacaville.

Wheeler, previously a part-time employee, has been named to the full-time position of Hospitality Coordinator. In her new roll, Wheeler
will assist with all aspects relating to the coordination of hospitality, track rental, corporate and community relations events. Wheeler is also a board member for the Sonoma Chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities and had been involved with the raceway for more than 10 years as a community volunteer. Wheeler is a Sonoma resident.