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Rapp Wins Superstock At Brainerd, Hayes Survives Bird Strike For Second

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Rapp Wins Superstock At Brainerd, Hayes Survives Bird Strike For Second

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Steve Rapp won his second straight AMA Superstock race, and Josh Hayes survived a 170-mph Turn One collision with a seagull and a resultant off-track excursion to finish second for the second straight race. And points leader Vincent Haskovec was again third.

Hayes showed up on the podium with a bird bone sticking straight out of the hump of his leathers, and the front of Haskovec’s bike was splattered with blood and guts.

Rapp said he ducked his head to miss the bird, which was one in a group of four or five which had landed on the track. Haskovec said after the post-race press conference that he wished cornerworkers had scared the birds away before the lead group arrived in the corner.

“Don’t even think about a triple,” said Haskovec, referring to Rapp’s two-race win streak. “The next one is mine.”

Chris Ulrich started last, pitting after he lost his right knee puck–critical to save front-end slides in Turn One–on the warm-up lap, then rolling back out onto the track moments before the start, stopping well behind the grid, and finished 11th, almost side-by-side with 10th-place Brian Stokes. Local hero Robert Jensen ran fourth early-on but DNF with a transmission failure.

Results
AMA Superstock
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
June 29
13 laps

1. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, Michelin
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, Dunlop, -0.143 second
3. Vicent Haskovec, Suzuki, Pirelli, -2.537
4. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, Pirelli, -15.260
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, Dunlop, -15.929
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop, -16.292
7. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, Pirelli, -17.064
8. John Dugan, Suzuki, Dunlop, -19.560
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, Dunlop, -21.470
10. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, Pirelli, -28.208
11. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, Michelin, -28.292
12. Jake Holden, Suzuki, Dunlop, -31.995
13. Steve Atlas, Suzuki, Michelin, -37.376
14. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, Dunlop, -37.505
15. Alex Gobert, Honda, Dunlop, -38.898
16. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -54.635
17. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, -58.827
18. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, -58.958
19. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki, -59.311
20. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, -74.600
21. David Bell, Suzuki, -90.907
22. Matt Malterer, Suzuki, -90.926
23. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, -107.213
24. James Kerker, Honda, -129.683
25. Jessica Zalusky, Suzuki, -1 lap
26. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Chris Peris, Honda, -5 laps
28. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF, mechanical
29. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, -10 laps, DNF, crash

Superstock Series Point Standings
After 7 of 11 races
1. Haskovec, 204 points
2. Tommy Hayden, 195
3. Josh Hayes, 190
4. Adam Fergusson, 177
5. Tony Meiring, 169
6. Jason DiSalvo, 169
7. Opie Caylor, 162
8. Mike Ciccotto, 145
9. Jimmy Moore, 142
10. Steve Rapp, 125
11. John Haner, 119
12. Chris Ulrich, 113
13. JJ Roetlin, 85
14. Brian Stokes, 80
15. Jordan Szoke, 76
16. Matt Furtek, 72
17. Jake Holden, 62
18. John Dugan, 59
19. Tom Wertman, 56
20. Hawk Mazzotta, 55

Note: The Superstock race was moved to after the Live TV window for the Superbike race, due to a rain delay earlier in the day.

More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

RAPP VICTORIOUS AGAIN IN BRAINERD SUPERSTOCK

Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp won his second consecutive Suzuki Genuine Parts Superstock race on Sunday, emerging victorious after a race-long battle on the 3.0 mile Minnesota circuit. Rapp, a former series runner-up, won the 13 lap final by a scant 0.143 seconds. It was quite a follow-up to his Elkhart Lake win just two weeks ago.

“That’s like almost my whole entire AMA win total in two weekends!” laughed Rapp, who has in fact doubled his Superstock win total in the past month. “It was awesome. I knew it would be a tough race, and I was prepared for a battle every lap, every single corner. And it turned out that way.” Rapp not only had to race the competition, he also was forced to fight the local wildlife. A heard of seagulls obstructed the lead pack at the end of the race, nearly causing several of the lead riders to crash.

After being at the top of the time sheets most of the weekend, Rapp used his Michelin tires to make a late charge. “The team is really fantastic, and I think working with them has really helped my riding. The results are proving that.”

Chris Ulrich finished eleventh in the Superstock final despite being the last man to leave the grid after an equipment problem caused some pre-race drama. “I lost my knee puck,” Ulrich said. “I didn’t really know what to do, since I use my knee for feel more than most riders. By the time we had everything sorted out, the field had gotten the green light. I feel great for the team because Steve won again, but I wish my race had gone differently because of all the progress we’ve made lately.

“I guess the only thing you can do is chalk it up to bad luck. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just raced,” commented the second generation competitor. “Despite all that, I built a lot of confidence over the weekend. Passing guys in the race, making a few set-up changes on the bike, getting my shoulder a little healthier, it all helped me become a confident rider again. I’m ready to go to Laguna Seca, a race I won two years ago. I wish it was tomorrow.”

The team’s third rider, Matt Furtek, crashed out of Sunday’s Superstock final.

A rain delay early Sunday afternoon caused the Superstock race to be rescheduled to accommodate TV schedules, and Rapp elected to concentrate on the Superstock feature.

The team will race next at Laguna Seca, July 10-13.

Sunday Morning Practice Times From Brainerd

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Sunday Morning Practice Times From Brainerd

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

600cc Supersport
1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:40.303
2. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:40.353
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:40.465
4. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:40.507
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:40.577
6. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:40.656
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:40.821
8. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:41.021
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:41.153
10. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 1:41.226
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:41.723
12. Roger Lee Hayden, 1:41.798
13. Marty Craggill, 1:42.012
14. Larry Pegram, Honda, 1:42.758
15. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:42.975
16. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:43.302
17. Gary Carter, Yamaha, 1:44.619
18. Jason Hobbs, Yamaha, 1:44.828
19. Chris Rankin, Honda, 1:44.834
20. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:45.642
21. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:46.076
22. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, 1:46.753
23. Bradley Frey, Yamaha, 1:47.421
24. Hector Romero, Yamaha, 1:48.423
25. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, 1:48.983
26. Steven Skoog, Kawasaki, 1:49.799
27. Gordy Halsey, Yamaha, 1:49.972
28. Christopher Flores, Suzuki, 1:51.136
29. Tim Mitchell, Yamaha, 1:51.543
30. Jessica Zalusky, Yamaha, 1:51.568
31. David Guy, Suzuki, 1:51.808
32. Mike Petersen, Yamaha, 1:52.041
33. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, 1:52.041
34. Peter Bohlig, Suzuki, 1:54.263




250cc Grand Prix
1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:41.056
2. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:41.360
3. Simon Turner, Honda, 1:44.549
4. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:45.775
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:46.660
6. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:46.837
7. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:48.081
8. John France, Honda, 1:48.542
9. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:49.012
10. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:49.237
11. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:49.402
12. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:49.555
13. Steve Scott, Yamaha, 1:49.589
14. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:50.646
15. Shawn Murray, Honda, 1:50.774
16. Glen Christianson, Yamaha, 1:51.772
17. Mark Stiles, Yamaha, 1:51.920
18. Sohn Wehseler, Yamaha, 1:52.391
19. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:52.835
20. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:52.886
21. Jeff Japs, Yamaha, 1:54.910
22. Justin Long, Yamaha, 1:56.468
23. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:57.977




750cc Superstock
1. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:39.731
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:40.032
3. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:40.303
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:40.324
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:40.636
6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:40.667
7. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:41.178
8. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, 1:41.204
9. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:41.336
10. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:41 612
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:41.782
12. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:41.865
13. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:42.155
14. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:42.726
15. Steve Atlas, Suzuki, 1:42.886
16. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:43.540
17. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, 1:44.103
18. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, 1:44.640
19. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki, 1:44.882
20. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, 1:44.994
21. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:45.097
22. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:47.434
23. Matt Malterer, Suzuki, 1:48.225
24. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, 1:48.230
25. Jessica Zalusky, Suzuki, 1:48.283
26. James Kerker, Honda, 1:48.781
27. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, 1:50.423
28. Jason Peters, Suzuki, 1:58.792


Superbike
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:35.705
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:36.559
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:36.605
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:36.911
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:36.964
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:37.253
7. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, 1:37.327
8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:38.747
9. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, 1:38.485
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:39.631
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:39.708
12. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:39.818
13. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:40.488
14. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:40.650
15. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, 1:41.015
16. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:41.248
17. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:41.538
18. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:41.544
19. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:42.525
20. Chris Voelkler, Ducati, 1:42.533
21. Wes Good, Suzuki, 1:42.700
22. David Duprey, Suzuki, 1:42.996
23. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:43.028
24. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:43.047
25. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, 1:43.311
26. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, 1:43.413
27. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:43.659
28. Rob Christman, Suzuki, 1:43.667
29. Monte Nichols, Suzuki, 1:43.945
30. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, 1:44.146
31. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, 1:44.343
32. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha, 1:44.498
33. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:44.587
34. Paul Heinen, Yamaha, 1:45.292
35. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:45.656
36. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki, 1:46.370
37. Brian Boyd, Suzuki, 1:49.442



Updated Post: Acree, Harwell, Bilansky, Eric Wood Win Formula USA Races At VIR

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Updated Post: Acree, Harwell, Bilansky, Eric Wood Win Formula USA Races At VIR

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Lee Acree, Scott Harwell, Dan Bilansky and Eric Wood each won a Formula USA feature event Sunday at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Triad Powersports’ Acree won the twice-red-flagged, 28-lap Sportbike main event on his new, Pirelli-sponsored Yamaha YZF-R6. Bettencourts/Argo Cycle’s Jeff Wood chased Acree the entire race, but when victory seemed out of his grasp, Jeff Wood began short-shifting his Honda CBR600RR to ensure that he finished the race with enough fuel to complete his mandatory, post-race dyno run. Kneedraggers.com Yamaha’s Matt Wait, who rode in pain due to a two-week-old broken shoulder blade, was happy to finish several seconds back in third.

The Sportbike race was stopped first when Eric Wood crashed his Kosco Buell in VIR’s turn 16. Wood’s Buell slid back across the track at turn 17 and knocked Andrew Nelson off his Z Tech Cycle Honda CBR600RR.

Eric Wood and Nelson were running fourth and fifth, respectively, in the lead pack at the time of their crashes.

Argo Cycles/Bettencourt Suzuki’s Scott Greenwood crashed on the next lap in debris left on the track by the Wood/Nelson crash.

Greenwood was uninjured and, after repairs, was able to continue in the restarted race.

Eric Wood’s Buell was essentially broken in half, and he suffered relatively minor injuries to both feet and ankles that kept him from continuing on his back-up bike.

Nelson and his Honda were both too battered to return to action Sunday, but neither bike nor rider suffered permanent damage.

The 100-kilometer Sportbike race was stopped a second time, near the halfway point, when David Rose lost the rear of his Yamaha and spun out on the racetrack. Rose restarted the final leg of the race from the back of the grid but retired before the end due to damage from the crash.

Arclight Suzuki’s Dave Stanton finished fourth in Sportbike in front of Greenwood, Formula USA Grand National Championship point leader Nate Wait, Mike Hale (who was hampered by transmission troubles), Celtic Racing’s Des Conboy, Shaun Fields on his new Yamaha and Smith Brother Harley-Davidson’s Jason Smith.

Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell, who is still nursing a two-week-old broken right hand, sat out the long Sportbike race to concentrate his energy on the Superbike final, and the strategy paid off. Harwell swapped the lead several times with former teammate Acree until the final run to the line. Harwell, riding a Superbike-spec GSX-R600, powered past Acree and his new Supersport-spec Yamaha in the last dash to the flag to take the win.

Acree finished second well ahead of second-row-starter Jeff Wood, Matt Wait, Stanton, Hooters Suzuki’s Michael Himmelsbach (who also rode at the front of the Sportbike field until a rearset broke mid-race), Greenwood, Hale, Conboy and Tripp Nobles on a Tilley Harley-Davidson/Buell X1 ex-AMA Pro Thunder machine.

Nobles and Kosco Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Dave Estok raced nose-to-tail for all 14 laps of the Thunderbike final with Nobles taking the checkered flag first by half a bikelength over Estok. However, Nobles and Estok each disregarded meatball flags calling them in for stop-and-go penalties during the race, and each were docked one lap in the final results.

Nobles had lined up in the wrong grid spot, and Estok had jumped the start.

Nobles and Estok each protested the scoring of the Thunderbike race, each protest was denied and each rider appealed.

The Thunderbike race win went to Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Dan Bilansky over Cyco Cycles’ Derek Keyes and Hovey Performance Engines’ Steve Keener. Both Keyes and Keener rode 700cc Suzuki SV650 Superbikes.

Harding Harley-Davidson’s Bryan Bemisderfer ran with Nobles and Estok early-on but retired while running third when his fuel tank overflow catch bottle spilled, causing smoke and motovating officials to give Bemisderfer a black flag.

Earlier in the day, Woodcraft/Barden Bearing’s Eric Wood won the Expert Unlimited Grand Prix race on his Dunlop-equipped Suzuki GSX-R750. Wood won the 14-lap race by 16 seconds.

Joe Spina and Scott Carpenter raced for second in Expert Unlimited Grand Prix until Carpenter got pinched off by a slower rider late in the race. Spina took the runner-up position with Carpenter salvaging third.

Euro Shop of Waco’s 16-year-old Ryan Andrews rode his Aprilia RS125R to victory in the 14-lap USGPRU final over NESBA.com’s Brian Kcraget and Kneedraggers.com’s Scott Moxey.

Race Results:

Sportbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6, 28 laps
2. Jeff Wood, Honda CBR600RR
3. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6
4. David Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R600
5. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Nate Wait, Kawasaki ZX-6R
7. Mike Hale, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Des Conboy, Suzuki GSX-R600
9. Shaun Fields, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Jason Smith, Kawasaki ZX-6RR

13. David Rose, Yamaha YZF-R6, -7 laps, DNF, mechanical
14. Brett Champagne, Honda CBR600RR, -15 laps, DNF, crash

16. Chad Simons, Yamaha YZF-R6, -15 laps, DNF, crash
17. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki GSX-R600, -16 laps, DNF, mechanical

19. Nicky Cummings, Honda CBR600RR, -19 laps, DNF, crash

22. Eric Wood, Buell XB9R, -23 laps, DNF, crash
23. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600RR, -23 laps, DNF, crash

Sportbike Point Standings:

1. Jeff Wood, 97 points
2. Greenwood, 82 points
3. Matt Wait, 62 points
4. Conboy, 52 points
5. Nate Wait/Stanton, TIE, 33 points
7. Robert Jensen/Acree, TIE, 26 points
9. Harwell/Smith, TIE, 20 points

Superbike:

1. Scott Harwell, Suzuki GSX-R600, 14 laps
2. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6
3. Jeff Wood, Honda CBR600RR
4. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6
5. David Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki GSX-R600
7. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R600
8. Mike Hale, Yamaha YZF-R6
9. Des Conboy, Suzuki GSX-R600
10. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1
11. Dave Ebben, Suzuki GSX-R600
12. Shaun Fields, Yamaha YZF-R6
13. Jason Smith, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
14. Ryan Andrews, Yamaha YZF-R6
15. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
16. Adam Vella, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
17. John Lemak, Suzuki GSX-R600, -5 laps, DNF

Superbike Point Standings:

1. Matt Wait, 64 points
2. Jeff Wood, 63 points
3. Harwell, 61 points
4. Greenwood, 46 points
5. Conboy, 38 points
6. Acree, 28 points
7. Himmelsbach, 24 points
8. Robert Jensen, 20 points
9. Stanton, 19 points
10. Craig Connell, 16 points

Thunderbike:

1. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB9R, 14 laps
2. Derek Keyes, Suzuki SV700
3. Steve Keener, Suzuki SV700
4. Ray Bowman, Suzuki GSX-R750
5. Ray Silika, Suzuki SV650
6. Walt Sipp, Buell X1
7. Arthur Wagner, Honda CBR600F2
8. Jeff Johnson, Buell X1
9. Joseph Rozinski, Buell X1
10. David White, Suzuki SV650
11. Nate Kern, BMW R1100S
12. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1, -1 lap
13. Dave Estok, Buell XB9R, -1 lap
14. Jeff Harding, Buell X1, -1 lap
15. Greg Avello, Buell XB9R, -1 lap
16. Rhiannon Lucente, Honda CBR600F2, -1 lap
17. Jason Rice, Suzuki SV650, -2 laps
18. Patrick Wakefield, Buell X1, -2 laps
19. Sam Rozynski, Buell X1, -4 laps
20. Randy Rega, Suzuki SV650, -5 laps
21. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell X1, -6 laps, DNF, mechanical
22. Darren Danilowicz, Suzuki SV650, -7 laps, DNF, crash

24. Dave Yaakov, Suzuki SV650, -14 laps, DNF, crash

Thunderbike Point Standings:

1. Estok, 67 points
2. Bemisderfer, 44 points
3. Bilansky, 41 points
4. Wagner, 39 points
5. Rozynski, 36 points
6. Keyes, 31 points
7. Johnson, 27 points
8. Ed Key/Bowman, TIE, 25 points
10. Rick Doucette, 21 points

Expert Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 14 laps
2. Joe Spina, Suzuki GSX-R750
3. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R750
4. John McGarity, Suzuki GSX-R1000
5. Russell Masecar, Suzuki GSX-R1000
6. Arthur Wagner, Suzuki GSX-R750
7. Thomas Eckfeldt, Ducati 996
8. Joe Ribeiro, Suzuki GSX-R750
9. Jason Moss, Yamaha YZF-R1
10. Mark Morgan, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap

15. Chris Rankin of Maryland, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10 laps, DNF, crash
16. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR954RR, -10 laps, DNF

Expert Unlimited GP Point Standings:

1. Eric Wood, 52 points
2. Michael Barnes/Robert Jensen/Alex Barrera, TIE, 26 points
5. Wagner, 25 points
6. McGarity, 24 points
7. Brian Stokes/Eric Gulbransen/Shawn Conrad/Spina, TIE, 20 points

USGPRU 125cc Grand Prix:

1. Ryan Andrews, Aprilia, 14 laps
2. Brian Kcraget, Honda
3. Scott Moxey, Honda
4. Dale Greenwood, Honda
5. John Klaras, Honda
6. Reet Das, Honda
7. David Deggendorf, Honda
8. Frank Guadagnino, Honda, -1 lap
9. Samantha Cotter, Honda, -1 lap
10. Mark Johnson, Honda, -1 lap

Amateur Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Hector Jimenez, Honda CBR600
2. J. Michael Branson, Suzuki GSX-R750
3. Donny Kelley, Honda CBR600
4. Brian Logan, Yamaha YZF-R6
5. William Meyers, II, Kawasaki ZX-7
6. Ned Brown, Yamaha YZF-R6
7. Jason Lewis, Honda CBR600
8. Stephane Reynolds, Honda CBR600
9. Stuart Vernon, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Geoff Gray, Honda 1000

Amateur Unlimited GP Point Standings:

1. Jimenez, 56 points
2. Meyers, 37 points
3. Henry Chin, 26 points
4. Mark Nelson/Kevin Ruopp, TIE, 25 points
6. Michael Shallcross, 21 points
7. Branson/David Loikits, TIE, 20 points
9. Bruce Villerup, 17 points
10. Kelley/Robert Collins/Brian Shaw, TIE, 16 points

More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

LEE ACREE WINS FORMULA USA SPORTBIKE RACE AT VIRGINIA

Lee Acree won the feature 28-lap Sportbike event during round four of the Formula USA National Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway, and he also finished a close second to Scott Harwell in the Superbike event that followed. Lee was the fastest qualifier in both classes after qualifying sessions held Sunday morning. Acree rode his nearly-stock Triad Powersport-sponsored 2003 Yamaha R6 on Pirelli DOT race tires in both events.

The Sportbike event was red-flagged twice for incidents on the VIR course. Acree ran with early leader Jeff Wood after the original and first re-starts. “I was content to let Jeff lead,” said Acree. “I didn’t want to push too hard early on.” On the second re-start, Acree led the entire race, except once when Wood passed in turn four and Acree re-passed immediately in turn six. After that, Lee pulled out to win by almost five seconds at the end. Acree’s bike made 110.4 horsepower in the mandatory post-race inspection, safely within the 115 horsepower limit for the class.

In the 14-lap Superbike race, Acree led most of the laps across the finish line, but he knew it was going to be difficult to shake Scott Harwell. “On the last lap, I went into turn one first,” said Acree. “Scott passed me back, then we caught a lapper going under the bridge (turn seven). I passed Scott going into the rollercoaster, but he followed me through the last few corners and passed me right before start-finish.

“This new Yamaha is incredible,” said Acree after both races. “I hadn’t even started it before last Thursday. The motor is still bone-stock, I put on the Graves pipe and the Dynojet box. Ohlins installed a standard fork kit last Monday and I put one of their shocks on it. Even the brake lines are stock, but the Vesrah pads were really good. This all came together in a very short amount of time, my sponsors really came through with getting me product in a hurry.”

More, from a press release issued by USGPRU:

In a race as hot as the Virginia weather, Ryan Andrews set an incredible pace aboard his Aprilia and held off Brian Kcraget for the win in the USGPRU 125cc race at VIR. Andrews got a great start from pole position with Kcraget hounding him for most of the race. As the laps wound down Ryan used lappers to his advantage and pushed the pace faster than his qualifying time to secure the win. Scott Moxey was close to the leaders early but ended up running a lonely race for third ahead of Dale Greenwood. The battle for 5th was contested until the end with John Klaras able to hold off Reet Das and David Deggendorf to take the position.

The USGRPU race was run in conjunction with the F-USA “Festival of Speed” at VIR.

USGRPU is sponsored by: CCS/F-USA, Motion Pro, Braking USA, Silkolene, VP fuels, EBC, GPStar, Bridgestone tires, and Hjelm Motorsports.

For more information, visit our website at www.USGPRU.org.

Updated Post: Where To Write Moore And Connell

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Updated Post: Where To Write Moore And Connell

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jimmy Moore remains hospitalized in Minneapolis following surgery, while Craig Connell has been released from a local hospital and plans to fly to San Jose, California today to see Dr. Art Ting, who will operate on Connell’s broken upper arm Monday.

Moore crashed in turn one during Thursday practice at Brainerd International Raceway, slid about 230 yards over wet grass and hit a tree, rupturing his spleen, breaking an upper arm and fracturing a hip.

Connell crashed Friday during Formula Xtreme qualifying, breaking his arm.

“I just remember going into turn three and
thinking, ‘Oh, shit!’ said Connell. “Something had definitely gone wrong. From that point I just tried to work out where I was going to go and what I was going to do. I lost consciousness for about three minutes according to the medical personnel, but the CAT scan said everything was apparently OK. I broke my right humerus (upper arm) right in the middle with about 1 cm of displacement. The arm has been put back in place now. I’m flying out this afternoon to California. Dr. Arthur Ting is going to see me at my hotel tomorrow night and look at the X-rays, then he’s going to operate at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.”

Early reports said Connell lost an axel, but while team manager Anna Johnston said it was definitely a mechanical problem, it was unclear what went wrong. “It lost a lot of parts in the accident, and we’re piecing it together now. When we find out what went wrong, we’ll issue a press release.”



Jimmy Moore
c/o Morgan Broadhead
American Suzuki Motor Corp.
PO Box 1100
Brea, CA 92822-1100
e-mail [email protected]

Craig Connell
c/o Annandale Racing
PO Box 529
Cresson, TX 76035
e-mail [email protected].




Meanwhile, Ty Howard is hanging out with injury-hit Annandale Racing, rolling around the garage area on a mechanic’s chair. Howard broke his hip at Pikes Peak and underwent surgery in Colorado before flying home to Texas. Howard said he used crutches until about two weeks ago.


Acree Takes Formula USA Sportbike, Superbike Pole Positions At VIR, Estok On Thunderbike Pole

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Acree Takes Formula USA Sportbike, Superbike Pole Positions At VIR, Estok On Thunderbike Pole

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Formula USA Qualifying Results:

Sportbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha, 1:30.079*
2. Jeff Wood, Honda, 1:30.571
3. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, 1:30.929
4. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki, 1:31.222
5. David Rose, Yamaha, 1:31.407
6. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:31.564
7. Eric Wood, Buell, 1:31.576
8. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:31.707
9. Chris Rankin of Maryland, Suzuki, 1:31.781
10. Nate Wait, Kawasaki, 1:31.909
11. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, 1:31.917
12. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:32.076
13. Brett Champagne, Honda, 1:32.437
14. Nicky Cummings, Honda, 1:32.604
15. Dave Stanton, Suzuki, 1:32.918
16. Shaun Fields, Yamaha, 1:33.260
17. Jason Smith, Kawasaki, 1:33.504
18. Trey Vonce, Suzuki, 1:34.873
19. John Lemak, Suzuki, 1:36.268
20. Adrian Jones, Yamaha, 1:36.272

*New lap record

Des Conboy, Suzuki, 1:34.629, DQ, went behind pit wall

Superbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha, 1:30.078
2. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, 1:30.436
3. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:31.154
4. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, 1:31.161
5. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:31.524
6. Jeff Wood, Honda, 1:31.763
7. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki, 1:31.823
8. Dave Stanton, Suzuki, 1:31.840
9. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:32.004
10. Dave Ebben, Suzuki, 1:32.483
11. Tripp Nobles, Buell, 1:32.591
12. Brett Champagne, Honda, 1:32.675
13. Chris Rankin, Suzuki, 1:32.937
14. Shaun Fields, Yamaha, 1:33.979
15. Des Conboy, Suzuki, 1:35.098
16. Ryan Andrews, Yamaha, 1:35.367
17. John Lemak, Suzuki, 1:36.623
18. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki, 1:37.877
19. Jason Smith, Kawasaki, 1:40.016
20. Adam Vella, Suzuki, 1:41.979

Thunderbike:

1. Dave Estok, Buell XB9R, 1:33.699*
2. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1, 1:33.699
3. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell X1, 1:35.915
4. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB9R, 1:36.485
5. Dan Danilowilz, Suzuki SV650, 1:36.679
6. Dave Yaakov, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.007
7. Steve Keener, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.288
8. Jeff Johnson, Buell X1, 1:37.514
9. Derek Keyes, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.699
10. R. Silika, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.907
11. Joseph Rozynski, Buell X1, 1:38.182
12. Randy Rega, Suzuki SV650, 1:38.258
13. Jason Rice, Suzuki SV650, 1:38.401
14. Arthur Wagner, Honda CBR600F2, 1:38.684
15. Nate Kern, BMW R1100S, 1:39.005
16. Darren James, Buell X1, 1:39.291
17. David White, Suzuki SV650, 1:40.107
18. Walt Sipp, Buell X1, 1:40.362
19. Sam Rozynski, Buell X1, 1:40.982
20. Jeff Harding, Buell X1, 1:43.119

*Awarded pole position based on second-fastest lap time.

Expert Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.577
2. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR954RR, 1:31.290
3. Joseph Spina, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.644
4. Chris Greer, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.799
5. Tim Bemisderfer, Honda CBR954RR, 1:33.931
6. Chris Rankin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.354
7. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.527
8. Trevor Prater, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.787
9. Thomas Eckfeldt, Ducati 996, 1:34.936
10. Russell Masecar, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.045

USGPRU 125cc Grand Prix:

1. Ryan Andrews, Aprilia, 1:35.021
2. Brian Kcraget, Honda, 1:35.733
3. Scott Moxey, Honda, 1:37.031
4. Dale Greenwood, Honda, 1:38.551
5. J. Laras, 1:40.361
6. David Deggendorf, Honda, 1:40.783
7. Reet Das, Honda, 1:42.218
8. Mark Johnson, Honda, 1:43.635
9. Joseph Melchionda, 1:44.405
10. Samantha Cotter, Honda, 1:46.161

Updated Post: Zongshen Wins Albacete 12-Hour

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Updated Post: Zongshen Wins Albacete 12-Hour

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI ONE-TWO AT ALBACETE 12 HOUR

Suzuki GSX-R1000s finished in first and second place at the Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas round of the FIM World Endurance Championship, with nine GSX-Rs scoring championship points.

The race was won by the Zongshen Team No.1 bike of Warwick Nowland, Stephane Mertens and Igor Jerman, with their team-mates on the Zongshen No.2 bike in second place. Suzuki GB Phase One finished in sixth place after racing their 2003 model GSX-R1000K3 for the first time at the Albacete race.

Suzuki GB Phase One team manager Russell Benney was very happy with the result: “The debut of the GSX-R1000K3 was fantastic – it was every thing we wanted it to be. We were amazed that the development of last year’s bike could be superseded, but this bike just does everything and more. The handling was very easy to set up and the engine was 100% bullet proof all weekend. We had a couple of small errors by our riders which set us back but in the end we came through to sixth place and picked up some valuable points to carry through to the next round at the A1 Ring in three weeks time.”

The race was a 12 hour event run non-stop through the night at the demanding Spanish circuit. Temperatures soared during qualifying giving some teams tyre and handling problems, but the night race was declared a success by competitors and spectators alike. An “Endurance Fiesta” was laid on for the public, and many British endurance fans made the event part of their Spanish holiday. The next round of the Championship is a six hour race at the A1-Ring in Austria on the 20th of July.


More, froma press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Albacete 24 Horas Nocturnas

Zongshen First and Second, Spanish Yamaha Folch Third

The Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas has been won by Suzuki Zongshen No.1 (Nowland, Mertens, Jerman), with Suzuki Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil, Bontempi, Lerat) second and Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez, Tomas, Rodriguez) third.

Zongshen No.1 were a clear lap ahead of their team mates at the end of the race. Folch Endurance continuously pressed Zongshen 2 throughout the final hour, but were unable to close the gap between second and third to less than twenty nine seconds. Together with Suzuki Police Nationale and Suzuki GB Phase One the two Zongshen bikes and Folch Endurance had set the pace for the whole race.

Suzuki GB Phase One faltered after only half an hour when a simple crash cost them four laps and left them in last place. After battling back to the top ten, a brake problem and then a collision with another bike dropped them down the standings again.

Police Nationale were competing for the lead of the race until just after three o’clock in the morning, at half race distance. Their engine suffered a terminal failure and they were forced to retire from a race which they had felt they had a good chance of winning.

Fourth place went to Yamaha GMT94 and fifth to Yamaha Endurance Moto 38. The two YZF-R1 teams ran an incident free race but will be disappointed to have missed out on a podium position. Suzuki GB Phase One worked their way back to sixth place in the final hour of the race, but this result will see them slip further behind Zongshen 1 in the championship standings.

Seventh place in the race went to Yamaha Austria, who were running a more standard but more reliable engine than in previous rounds. The pressure will be on them to produce a result at the next round, their home event. In eighth place was the number eight Kawasaki of Bolliger Team, and rounding out the top ten were the two junior teams. Phase One Juniors finished a lap ahead of the Trackdaze 11 Juniors despite pressure during the closing hours.

Only four teams did not complete the race, despite its very competitive nature and the demands of the Albacete circuit. This was the first time that Zongshen have scored a first and second position in the same race.

Press Conference Quotes:

Zongshen No.1 – Warwick Nowland: “We had break problems in warm-up and at the start of the race. We’d fitted a new system for the race; a gamble that didn’t quite come off but it ended up working quite well. It felt different to the system used in qualifying so I had no confidence.”

Zongshen No.1 – Stephane Mertens: “This is a very demanding track – very technical. The most difficult thing for me was keeping 100% concentration; this was very important.”

Zongshen No.1 – Igor Jerman: “The only problem I had was with the suspension, but the bike got better and better with time. At the end it was quite good – maybe we should do some longer races with this set-up…”

Zongshen No.2 – Piergiorgio Bontempi: “I’m happy with second place because we had some problems during the race; with brake pads and a couple of stop and go penalties for speeding in pit lane. The biggest problem was the temperature.”

Zongshen No.2 – Bruno Bonhuil: “The circuit was very tiring, but the illumination was good. This first and second place is a great result for the team after five years of trying.”

Folch Endurance – Javier Rodriguez: “It was difficult to compete with the World Endurance teams; our refuelling was not so fast, for example.”

Folch Endurance – Oriol Fernandez: “It was very difficult to stay with the championship teams in the first hour; we made the wrong tyre choice and they went off after thirty minutes.”

Folch Endurance – David Tomas: “My mission was to always try and do the same lap times as my team mates – to keep us competitive.”

2003, July 29
Race Result – Top Ten

1st: Suzuki Zongshen 1 (Nowland – Mertens – Jerman) CHN

2nd: Suzuki Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil – Bontempi – Lerat) CHN – 1 lap

3rd: Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez – Tomas – Rodriguez) SPA – 30 seconds

4th: Yamaha GMT94 (Scarnato – Holon – Foti) FRA – 4 laps

5th: Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 (Brian – Morrillon – Cuzin) FRA – 6 laps

6th: Suzuki GB Phase One (Lindstrom – Ellison D – Ellison J.) GBR – 12 laps

7th: Yamaha Austria (Truchsess – Wilding – Saiger) AUT – 13 laps

8th: Kawasaki Bolliger Team (Kellenberger – Stamm – Nystrom) SUI – 15 laps

9th: Suzuki Phase One Junior (Fincher – Jessop – Notman) GBR – 20 laps

10th: Suzuki Trackdaze 11 (Falcke – Hutchins – Pilborough) GBR – 21 laps

Championship Standings – Top Ten

1. Zongshen 1, CHN, Suz GSX-R1000, 91 points

2. Suzuki GB – Phase One, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 66 points

3. Zongshen 2, CHN, Suz GSX-R1000, 45 points

4. Yamaha GMT94, FRA, Yam YZF-R1, 43 points

5. 22 Police Nationale, FRA, Suz GSX-R1000, 33 points

6. Bolliger Team, SUI, Kaw ZX-9R, 28 points

7. Trackdaze 11, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 26 points

8. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, AUT, Yam YZF-R1, 25 points

9. Yamaha Endurance Moto 38, FRA, Yam YZF-R1, 24 points

10. Phase One Junior, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 20 points

Duhamel Wins Supersport Race At BIR

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Duhamel Wins Supersport Race At BIR

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


AMA 600cc Supersport Results
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
13 laps

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -0.182 second
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -3.882
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -6.450
5. Rob Jensen, Yamaha, -6.627
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -7.151
7. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -17.021
8. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -18.828
9. Alex Gobert, Honda, -18.954
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -19.685
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, -19.734
12. Marty Craggill, Honda, -21.394
13. Larry Pegram, Honda, -34.059
14. Jason Curtis, Honda, -34.501
15. Chris Rankin, Honda, -41.633
16. Gary Carter, Yamaha, -49.297
17. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, -60.453
18. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, -74.176
19. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, -74.390
20. Bradley Frey, Yamaha, -88.852
21. Tim Mitchell, Yamaha, -90.358
22. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, -90.579
23. James Kerker, Honda, -106.867
24. Peter Bohlig, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Eric Haugo, Suzuki, -1 lap
26. Christopher Flores, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Steven Skoog, Kawasaki, -1 lap
28. Gordy Halsey, Yamaha, -1 lap
29. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, -1 lap
30. Jake Zemke, Honda, -2 laps
31. Jessica Zalusky, Yamaha, -4 laps
32. Chris Peris, Honda, -11 laps
33. Hector Romero, Yamaha, DNF
34. David Guy, Suzuki, DNF
35. Mike Petersen, Yamaha, DNF
36. Jason Hobbs, Yamaha, DNF


Series Point Standings
After 7 of 11 Races
1. Jamie Hacking, 214 points
2. Damon Buckmaster, 199
3. Tommy Hayden, 160
4. Alex Gobert, 157
5. Jason DiSalvo, 155
6. Ben Spies, 146
7. Aaron Gobert, 142
8. Tony Meiring, 142
9. Roger Lee Hayden, 139
10. Jake Zemke, 129
11. Doug Chandler, 110
12. Jason Curtis, 109
13. Miguel Duhamel, 105
14. Jamie Stauffer, 103
15. Ty Howard, 65


After the race, AMA tech officials ordered teardowns of the top three machines plus Jensen’s Yamaha and Tommy Hayden’s Kawasaki.


Yates Wins Superbike At BIR; Shredding Tires Send Mladin And Ben Bostrom Into Pits

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Yates Wins Superbike At BIR; Shredding Tires Send Mladin And Ben Bostrom Into Pits

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates won the AMA Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway by 2.714 seconds, his lead shrinking from more than 6 seconds after he slowed the pace.

Yates had good reason to ease the pace, since Mat Mladin and Ben Bostrom both pitted for new rear Dunlop tires during the race, their tires visibly losing large sections of tread rubber but continuing to hold air.

Mladin’s rear tire came apart on lap 12 of 21 while he raced Yates for the lead. Bostrom’s came apart a few laps later, while he ran in fourth.

Yates slowed his pace to 1:38s while Kurtis Roberts and Miguel Duhamel closed in, continuing to run 1:37s.

Duhamel passed Roberts on the last lap to finish second.

On the podium, Yates reported that his rear wheel started to vibrate during the race; he attributed it to a lost wheel weight, but he may have just been being diplomatic, since vibration is typically the first sign that a tire is starting to come apart.

Mladin, Bostrom and Yates ran a Dunlop 902 rear tire.

Jordan Szoke also had a tire problem, with a Dunlop 732 rear tire, but stayed on the track and finished with the center section of the tread chunked out.

Results
AMA Superbike
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
June 29
21 laps

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -2.714 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -2.840
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -8.661
5. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, -21.247
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -32.958
7. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -49.270
8. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -54.419
9. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -54.700
10. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -64.375
11. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -74.470
12. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -88.892
13. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Rob Christman, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Wes Good, Suzuki, – 1 lap
17. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Chris Voelker, Ducati, -1 lap
21. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, -1 lap
23. Monte Nichols, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. Paul Heinen, Yamaha, -1 lap
25. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha, -1 lap
26. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, -1 lap
28. David Duprey, Suzuki, -1 lap
29. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, -1 lap
30. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, -1 lap
31. Brian Boyd, Suzuki, -1 lap
32. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -2 laps
33. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, -3 laps
34. John Dugan, Suzuki, -10 laps


AMA Superbike Point Standings
After 11 of 18 races
1. Eric Bostrom, 321
2. Mat Mladin, 318
3. Aaron Yates, 313
4. Kurtis Roberts, 301
5. Ben Bostrom, 293
6. Miguel Duhamel, 278
7. Shawn Higbee, 229
8. Jason Pridmore, 225
9. Larry Pegram, 211
10. Vincent Haskovec, 180
11. Jordan Szoke, 162
12. Michael Barnes, 161
13. Geoff May, 133
14. Anthony Gobert, 131
15. Scott Jensen, 124


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist:

TYRE WOES CONTINUE TO HAMPER MLADIN

Brainerd, Minnesota, USA (Sunday, 29 June) – On numerous occasions this year Mat Mladin has proven to be the fastest rider in the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship, but his ability to convert that speed into consistent championship point scoring positions continues to be hampered by untimely tyre problems.

This weekend’s eleventh round of the championship held at the fast Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota, proved to be another one of those instances, where after leading the opening half of the race, he was forced to pit for a new rear tyre, before fighting his way back into seventh place at race end.

Having led ten of the opening twelve laps, Mladin’s rear Dunlop tyre began to deteriorate rapidly and a lap later was forced to enter the pits to have it replaced. He rejoined the race in twelfth place before putting on yet another determined ride back up through the field to take seventh, but more importantly, he kept himself within striking distance of championship points leader Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) who after finishing fourth today, holds a three point lead over the Australian.

“What can I honestly say about it,” said Mladin. “I felt that the tyres would not be a problem this weekend because Dunlop have been busy trying to remedy the situation and had brought a new batch of tyres to the round for us to use. But that’s how it goes. I’m obviously not happy. We tried really hard to get the bike suited to the track and felt that we had come up with a pretty good package. Early in the race I felt comfortable while dicing with Aaron (Yates) and was starting to sneak a break on him, but then the tyre went and that was that. It’s been so frustrating this year knowing that you have been in a strong position on the track and then losing a whole bunch of points because I’ve had to pit for a tyre.”

The race win in today’s race went to Mladin teammate Yates, who took victory by 2.714 seconds from American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel, who got the better of Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts on the final lap.

Mladin, the three-times AMA Superbike champion, had been the fastest rider leading into the race, topping the time sheets in each of the practice and qualifying sessions where he earned his 29th career AMA pole position. The point he scored for grabbing pole elevated him to a tie for the championship lead with Bostrom leading into today’s race.

With seven races remaining in this years championship, Bostrom leads with 321 points, three clear of Mladin, with Yates moving to third with a total of 313.

The AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship heads to California for the combined AMA / World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca Raceway on July 12 – 13, with the AMA competitors taking part in their twelfth round of the championship on Saturday, before the pair of international races takes place on Sunday.


DiSalvo Turns 10-second Lap At Brainerd

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DiSalvo Turns 10-second Lap At Brainerd

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

According to AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring monitors, Jason DiSalvo has just turned a lap at 10.244 seconds in the opening Superstock practice at Brainerd.

Steve Atlas is second on the monitors at 11.237, followed by Jamie Stauffer at 11.422, Matt Furtek at 11.661, and Tony Meiring at 11.833.

The existing lap record in Superstock is 1:39.697.

At post time, 7 minutes remained in the 17-minute practice session.


This just in, from a reader, via e-mail:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

I knew those Superstock bikes were getting fast but to see them knock close to a-minute-and-a-half off the record lap time is very impressive. Is the AMA now going to make it a 100-lap race so we get at least 10 minutes of entertainment?

Keep up the good reports,

Mike Hughes
Rockford, Illinois



Zongshen Suzuki On Pole For World Endurance 12-hour At Albacete

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Zongshen Suzuki On Pole For World Endurance 12-hour At Albacete

From a press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas

Final Qualifying and Grid Positions

As expected, qualifying times were faster this morning than yesterday, with the track and air temperatures lower and perhaps closer to the conditions we can expect in the race.

Oriol Fernandez on the Folch Endurance Yamaha set the pace at the start of the first session, going straight into the 1:33s. Gwen Giabbani on the Police Nationale Suzuki followed suit, leaving Suzuki Zongshen No.1’s Warwick Nowland with a best time of 1:35.9. On the final lap of his session Nowland dropped his time to 1:34.225, but he was definitely not happy: “We’re still having brake problems. Just as I’m starting to turn in it feels as though the brakes are going away. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Police Nationale’s Gwen Giabanni was much more confidant: “The track and the tyres are working much better this morning. For the race, I think we will start with times around 1:34, and then maybe ease off into the 1:35s.”

Yamaha Endurance Moto 38’s Davide Morrillon led the second group’s session, until Piergiorgio Bontempi for Zongshen 2 and then David Tomas for Folch Endurance lowered their times into the 1:34s. Zongshen 1’s Stephane Mertens could not match Bontempi’s times, despite following him for a final flying lap on qualifying tyres. Bontempi set pole positon with a time of 1:33.067, to the applause of his team.

Piergiorgio Bontempi: “The bike is very good, but it’s not perfect. We were working on a compromise all of yesterday. Now maybe we can win.”

The final group’s session saw Ullastres for Police Nationale beat his team mate Giabbani’s time and move ahead of Folch Endurance, but he was not able to improve on Bontempi’s pace.

There was a real contrast between the approaches of Suzuki GB Phase One and Zongshen Team. Phase One are second in the championship – ten points behind their main rivals Zongshen No.1 – but were happy to settle for fifth on the grid based on their performance yesterday. In the next pit to Zongshen, they were treating this morning very differently.

While Zongshen were chasing every tenth of a second, Phase One spent their time meticulously stripping and preparing their Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Team manager Russell Benney explained: “This is the first proper endurance race of the season, so preparation is everything. We’re taking a normal endurance racing approach; a day spent preparing the bikes will be much more important than pole position. I also don’t want to risk the riders; we saw a lot of crashes yesterday – including our own Dean Ellison – and it’s just not worth it.”

Zongshen’s team manager Michel Marqueton takes a different view: “For us, pole position is very important; for the team as well as the riders. It’s big news in China so there is a lot of prestige. I always get very nervous in qualifying. Bontempi is an ex-World Superbike riders and always wants pole whatever it takes.”

With a Spanish rider in second place and Folch Endurance in third everything is set for a classic showdown when the race starts tonight.

2003, June 28
Top Ten Provisional Grip Positions

1st: Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil – Bontempi – Lerat) CHN – 1:33.067

2nd: Suzuki Police Nationale 22 (Giabbani – Blora – Ullastres) FRA – 1:33.690

3rd: Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez – Tomas – Rodriguez) ESP – 1:33.717

4th: Suzuki Zongshen 1 (Nowland – Mertens – Jerman) CHN – 1:33.825

5th: Suzuki GB Phase One (Lindstrom – Ellison D – Ellison J.) GBR – 1:35.215

6th: Yamaha GMT94 (Scarnato – Holon – Foti) FRA – 1:35.278

7th: Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 (Brian – Morrillon – Cuzin) FRA -1:35.401

8th: Yamaha Austria (Truchsess – Wilding – Saiger) AUT – 1:35.966

9th: Suzuki Phase One Junior (Fincher – Notman – Jessop) GBR – 1:36.852

10th Suzuki KFM Herber (Herber – Bursa – Persson) GER – 1:37.038

Rapp Wins Superstock At Brainerd, Hayes Survives Bird Strike For Second

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Steve Rapp won his second straight AMA Superstock race, and Josh Hayes survived a 170-mph Turn One collision with a seagull and a resultant off-track excursion to finish second for the second straight race. And points leader Vincent Haskovec was again third.

Hayes showed up on the podium with a bird bone sticking straight out of the hump of his leathers, and the front of Haskovec’s bike was splattered with blood and guts.

Rapp said he ducked his head to miss the bird, which was one in a group of four or five which had landed on the track. Haskovec said after the post-race press conference that he wished cornerworkers had scared the birds away before the lead group arrived in the corner.

“Don’t even think about a triple,” said Haskovec, referring to Rapp’s two-race win streak. “The next one is mine.”

Chris Ulrich started last, pitting after he lost his right knee puck–critical to save front-end slides in Turn One–on the warm-up lap, then rolling back out onto the track moments before the start, stopping well behind the grid, and finished 11th, almost side-by-side with 10th-place Brian Stokes. Local hero Robert Jensen ran fourth early-on but DNF with a transmission failure.

Results
AMA Superstock
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
June 29
13 laps

1. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, Michelin
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, Dunlop, -0.143 second
3. Vicent Haskovec, Suzuki, Pirelli, -2.537
4. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, Pirelli, -15.260
5. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, Dunlop, -15.929
6. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, Dunlop, -16.292
7. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, Pirelli, -17.064
8. John Dugan, Suzuki, Dunlop, -19.560
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, Dunlop, -21.470
10. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, Pirelli, -28.208
11. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, Michelin, -28.292
12. Jake Holden, Suzuki, Dunlop, -31.995
13. Steve Atlas, Suzuki, Michelin, -37.376
14. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, Dunlop, -37.505
15. Alex Gobert, Honda, Dunlop, -38.898
16. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -54.635
17. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, -58.827
18. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, -58.958
19. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki, -59.311
20. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, -74.600
21. David Bell, Suzuki, -90.907
22. Matt Malterer, Suzuki, -90.926
23. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, -107.213
24. James Kerker, Honda, -129.683
25. Jessica Zalusky, Suzuki, -1 lap
26. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Chris Peris, Honda, -5 laps
28. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, -9 laps, DNF, mechanical
29. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, -10 laps, DNF, crash

Superstock Series Point Standings
After 7 of 11 races
1. Haskovec, 204 points
2. Tommy Hayden, 195
3. Josh Hayes, 190
4. Adam Fergusson, 177
5. Tony Meiring, 169
6. Jason DiSalvo, 169
7. Opie Caylor, 162
8. Mike Ciccotto, 145
9. Jimmy Moore, 142
10. Steve Rapp, 125
11. John Haner, 119
12. Chris Ulrich, 113
13. JJ Roetlin, 85
14. Brian Stokes, 80
15. Jordan Szoke, 76
16. Matt Furtek, 72
17. Jake Holden, 62
18. John Dugan, 59
19. Tom Wertman, 56
20. Hawk Mazzotta, 55

Note: The Superstock race was moved to after the Live TV window for the Superbike race, due to a rain delay earlier in the day.

More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

RAPP VICTORIOUS AGAIN IN BRAINERD SUPERSTOCK

Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp won his second consecutive Suzuki Genuine Parts Superstock race on Sunday, emerging victorious after a race-long battle on the 3.0 mile Minnesota circuit. Rapp, a former series runner-up, won the 13 lap final by a scant 0.143 seconds. It was quite a follow-up to his Elkhart Lake win just two weeks ago.

“That’s like almost my whole entire AMA win total in two weekends!” laughed Rapp, who has in fact doubled his Superstock win total in the past month. “It was awesome. I knew it would be a tough race, and I was prepared for a battle every lap, every single corner. And it turned out that way.” Rapp not only had to race the competition, he also was forced to fight the local wildlife. A heard of seagulls obstructed the lead pack at the end of the race, nearly causing several of the lead riders to crash.

After being at the top of the time sheets most of the weekend, Rapp used his Michelin tires to make a late charge. “The team is really fantastic, and I think working with them has really helped my riding. The results are proving that.”

Chris Ulrich finished eleventh in the Superstock final despite being the last man to leave the grid after an equipment problem caused some pre-race drama. “I lost my knee puck,” Ulrich said. “I didn’t really know what to do, since I use my knee for feel more than most riders. By the time we had everything sorted out, the field had gotten the green light. I feel great for the team because Steve won again, but I wish my race had gone differently because of all the progress we’ve made lately.

“I guess the only thing you can do is chalk it up to bad luck. If I had to do it all over again, I would have just raced,” commented the second generation competitor. “Despite all that, I built a lot of confidence over the weekend. Passing guys in the race, making a few set-up changes on the bike, getting my shoulder a little healthier, it all helped me become a confident rider again. I’m ready to go to Laguna Seca, a race I won two years ago. I wish it was tomorrow.”

The team’s third rider, Matt Furtek, crashed out of Sunday’s Superstock final.

A rain delay early Sunday afternoon caused the Superstock race to be rescheduled to accommodate TV schedules, and Rapp elected to concentrate on the Superstock feature.

The team will race next at Laguna Seca, July 10-13.

Sunday Morning Practice Times From Brainerd

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

600cc Supersport
1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 1:40.303
2. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:40.353
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:40.465
4. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 1:40.507
5. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:40.577
6. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:40.656
7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:40.821
8. Alex Gobert, Honda, 1:41.021
9. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:41.153
10. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 1:41.226
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:41.723
12. Roger Lee Hayden, 1:41.798
13. Marty Craggill, 1:42.012
14. Larry Pegram, Honda, 1:42.758
15. Jason Curtis, Honda, 1:42.975
16. Chris Peris, Honda, 1:43.302
17. Gary Carter, Yamaha, 1:44.619
18. Jason Hobbs, Yamaha, 1:44.828
19. Chris Rankin, Honda, 1:44.834
20. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, 1:45.642
21. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, 1:46.076
22. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, 1:46.753
23. Bradley Frey, Yamaha, 1:47.421
24. Hector Romero, Yamaha, 1:48.423
25. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, 1:48.983
26. Steven Skoog, Kawasaki, 1:49.799
27. Gordy Halsey, Yamaha, 1:49.972
28. Christopher Flores, Suzuki, 1:51.136
29. Tim Mitchell, Yamaha, 1:51.543
30. Jessica Zalusky, Yamaha, 1:51.568
31. David Guy, Suzuki, 1:51.808
32. Mike Petersen, Yamaha, 1:52.041
33. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, 1:52.041
34. Peter Bohlig, Suzuki, 1:54.263




250cc Grand Prix
1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:41.056
2. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:41.360
3. Simon Turner, Honda, 1:44.549
4. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:45.775
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:46.660
6. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:46.837
7. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:48.081
8. John France, Honda, 1:48.542
9. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:49.012
10. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:49.237
11. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:49.402
12. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:49.555
13. Steve Scott, Yamaha, 1:49.589
14. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:50.646
15. Shawn Murray, Honda, 1:50.774
16. Glen Christianson, Yamaha, 1:51.772
17. Mark Stiles, Yamaha, 1:51.920
18. Sohn Wehseler, Yamaha, 1:52.391
19. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:52.835
20. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:52.886
21. Jeff Japs, Yamaha, 1:54.910
22. Justin Long, Yamaha, 1:56.468
23. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:57.977




750cc Superstock
1. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:39.731
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki, 1:40.032
3. Robert Jensen, Suzuki, 1:40.303
4. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:40.324
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 1:40.636
6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 1:40.667
7. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:41.178
8. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, 1:41.204
9. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:41.336
10. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:41 612
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, 1:41.782
12. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, 1:41.865
13. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:42.155
14. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:42.726
15. Steve Atlas, Suzuki, 1:42.886
16. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:43.540
17. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, 1:44.103
18. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, 1:44.640
19. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki, 1:44.882
20. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, 1:44.994
21. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:45.097
22. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:47.434
23. Matt Malterer, Suzuki, 1:48.225
24. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, 1:48.230
25. Jessica Zalusky, Suzuki, 1:48.283
26. James Kerker, Honda, 1:48.781
27. Michael Kosta, Suzuki, 1:50.423
28. Jason Peters, Suzuki, 1:58.792


Superbike
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:35.705
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:36.559
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:36.605
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:36.911
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:36.964
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:37.253
7. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, 1:37.327
8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:38.747
9. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, 1:38.485
10. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 1:39.631
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:39.708
12. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:39.818
13. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:40.488
14. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:40.650
15. Opie Caylor, Suzuki, 1:41.015
16. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:41.248
17. Matt Furtek, Suzuki, 1:41.538
18. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki, 1:41.544
19. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, 1:42.525
20. Chris Voelkler, Ducati, 1:42.533
21. Wes Good, Suzuki, 1:42.700
22. David Duprey, Suzuki, 1:42.996
23. John Dugan, Suzuki, 1:43.028
24. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:43.047
25. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, 1:43.311
26. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, 1:43.413
27. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:43.659
28. Rob Christman, Suzuki, 1:43.667
29. Monte Nichols, Suzuki, 1:43.945
30. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, 1:44.146
31. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, 1:44.343
32. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha, 1:44.498
33. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:44.587
34. Paul Heinen, Yamaha, 1:45.292
35. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:45.656
36. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki, 1:46.370
37. Brian Boyd, Suzuki, 1:49.442



Updated Post: Acree, Harwell, Bilansky, Eric Wood Win Formula USA Races At VIR

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Lee Acree, Scott Harwell, Dan Bilansky and Eric Wood each won a Formula USA feature event Sunday at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Triad Powersports’ Acree won the twice-red-flagged, 28-lap Sportbike main event on his new, Pirelli-sponsored Yamaha YZF-R6. Bettencourts/Argo Cycle’s Jeff Wood chased Acree the entire race, but when victory seemed out of his grasp, Jeff Wood began short-shifting his Honda CBR600RR to ensure that he finished the race with enough fuel to complete his mandatory, post-race dyno run. Kneedraggers.com Yamaha’s Matt Wait, who rode in pain due to a two-week-old broken shoulder blade, was happy to finish several seconds back in third.

The Sportbike race was stopped first when Eric Wood crashed his Kosco Buell in VIR’s turn 16. Wood’s Buell slid back across the track at turn 17 and knocked Andrew Nelson off his Z Tech Cycle Honda CBR600RR.

Eric Wood and Nelson were running fourth and fifth, respectively, in the lead pack at the time of their crashes.

Argo Cycles/Bettencourt Suzuki’s Scott Greenwood crashed on the next lap in debris left on the track by the Wood/Nelson crash.

Greenwood was uninjured and, after repairs, was able to continue in the restarted race.

Eric Wood’s Buell was essentially broken in half, and he suffered relatively minor injuries to both feet and ankles that kept him from continuing on his back-up bike.

Nelson and his Honda were both too battered to return to action Sunday, but neither bike nor rider suffered permanent damage.

The 100-kilometer Sportbike race was stopped a second time, near the halfway point, when David Rose lost the rear of his Yamaha and spun out on the racetrack. Rose restarted the final leg of the race from the back of the grid but retired before the end due to damage from the crash.

Arclight Suzuki’s Dave Stanton finished fourth in Sportbike in front of Greenwood, Formula USA Grand National Championship point leader Nate Wait, Mike Hale (who was hampered by transmission troubles), Celtic Racing’s Des Conboy, Shaun Fields on his new Yamaha and Smith Brother Harley-Davidson’s Jason Smith.

Arclight Suzuki’s Scott Harwell, who is still nursing a two-week-old broken right hand, sat out the long Sportbike race to concentrate his energy on the Superbike final, and the strategy paid off. Harwell swapped the lead several times with former teammate Acree until the final run to the line. Harwell, riding a Superbike-spec GSX-R600, powered past Acree and his new Supersport-spec Yamaha in the last dash to the flag to take the win.

Acree finished second well ahead of second-row-starter Jeff Wood, Matt Wait, Stanton, Hooters Suzuki’s Michael Himmelsbach (who also rode at the front of the Sportbike field until a rearset broke mid-race), Greenwood, Hale, Conboy and Tripp Nobles on a Tilley Harley-Davidson/Buell X1 ex-AMA Pro Thunder machine.

Nobles and Kosco Harley-Davidson/Buell’s Dave Estok raced nose-to-tail for all 14 laps of the Thunderbike final with Nobles taking the checkered flag first by half a bikelength over Estok. However, Nobles and Estok each disregarded meatball flags calling them in for stop-and-go penalties during the race, and each were docked one lap in the final results.

Nobles had lined up in the wrong grid spot, and Estok had jumped the start.

Nobles and Estok each protested the scoring of the Thunderbike race, each protest was denied and each rider appealed.

The Thunderbike race win went to Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Dan Bilansky over Cyco Cycles’ Derek Keyes and Hovey Performance Engines’ Steve Keener. Both Keyes and Keener rode 700cc Suzuki SV650 Superbikes.

Harding Harley-Davidson’s Bryan Bemisderfer ran with Nobles and Estok early-on but retired while running third when his fuel tank overflow catch bottle spilled, causing smoke and motovating officials to give Bemisderfer a black flag.

Earlier in the day, Woodcraft/Barden Bearing’s Eric Wood won the Expert Unlimited Grand Prix race on his Dunlop-equipped Suzuki GSX-R750. Wood won the 14-lap race by 16 seconds.

Joe Spina and Scott Carpenter raced for second in Expert Unlimited Grand Prix until Carpenter got pinched off by a slower rider late in the race. Spina took the runner-up position with Carpenter salvaging third.

Euro Shop of Waco’s 16-year-old Ryan Andrews rode his Aprilia RS125R to victory in the 14-lap USGPRU final over NESBA.com’s Brian Kcraget and Kneedraggers.com’s Scott Moxey.

Race Results:

Sportbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6, 28 laps
2. Jeff Wood, Honda CBR600RR
3. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6
4. David Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R600
5. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Nate Wait, Kawasaki ZX-6R
7. Mike Hale, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Des Conboy, Suzuki GSX-R600
9. Shaun Fields, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Jason Smith, Kawasaki ZX-6RR

13. David Rose, Yamaha YZF-R6, -7 laps, DNF, mechanical
14. Brett Champagne, Honda CBR600RR, -15 laps, DNF, crash

16. Chad Simons, Yamaha YZF-R6, -15 laps, DNF, crash
17. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki GSX-R600, -16 laps, DNF, mechanical

19. Nicky Cummings, Honda CBR600RR, -19 laps, DNF, crash

22. Eric Wood, Buell XB9R, -23 laps, DNF, crash
23. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600RR, -23 laps, DNF, crash

Sportbike Point Standings:

1. Jeff Wood, 97 points
2. Greenwood, 82 points
3. Matt Wait, 62 points
4. Conboy, 52 points
5. Nate Wait/Stanton, TIE, 33 points
7. Robert Jensen/Acree, TIE, 26 points
9. Harwell/Smith, TIE, 20 points

Superbike:

1. Scott Harwell, Suzuki GSX-R600, 14 laps
2. Lee Acree, Yamaha YZF-R6
3. Jeff Wood, Honda CBR600RR
4. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6
5. David Stanton, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki GSX-R600
7. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki GSX-R600
8. Mike Hale, Yamaha YZF-R6
9. Des Conboy, Suzuki GSX-R600
10. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1
11. Dave Ebben, Suzuki GSX-R600
12. Shaun Fields, Yamaha YZF-R6
13. Jason Smith, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
14. Ryan Andrews, Yamaha YZF-R6
15. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
16. Adam Vella, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap
17. John Lemak, Suzuki GSX-R600, -5 laps, DNF

Superbike Point Standings:

1. Matt Wait, 64 points
2. Jeff Wood, 63 points
3. Harwell, 61 points
4. Greenwood, 46 points
5. Conboy, 38 points
6. Acree, 28 points
7. Himmelsbach, 24 points
8. Robert Jensen, 20 points
9. Stanton, 19 points
10. Craig Connell, 16 points

Thunderbike:

1. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB9R, 14 laps
2. Derek Keyes, Suzuki SV700
3. Steve Keener, Suzuki SV700
4. Ray Bowman, Suzuki GSX-R750
5. Ray Silika, Suzuki SV650
6. Walt Sipp, Buell X1
7. Arthur Wagner, Honda CBR600F2
8. Jeff Johnson, Buell X1
9. Joseph Rozinski, Buell X1
10. David White, Suzuki SV650
11. Nate Kern, BMW R1100S
12. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1, -1 lap
13. Dave Estok, Buell XB9R, -1 lap
14. Jeff Harding, Buell X1, -1 lap
15. Greg Avello, Buell XB9R, -1 lap
16. Rhiannon Lucente, Honda CBR600F2, -1 lap
17. Jason Rice, Suzuki SV650, -2 laps
18. Patrick Wakefield, Buell X1, -2 laps
19. Sam Rozynski, Buell X1, -4 laps
20. Randy Rega, Suzuki SV650, -5 laps
21. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell X1, -6 laps, DNF, mechanical
22. Darren Danilowicz, Suzuki SV650, -7 laps, DNF, crash

24. Dave Yaakov, Suzuki SV650, -14 laps, DNF, crash

Thunderbike Point Standings:

1. Estok, 67 points
2. Bemisderfer, 44 points
3. Bilansky, 41 points
4. Wagner, 39 points
5. Rozynski, 36 points
6. Keyes, 31 points
7. Johnson, 27 points
8. Ed Key/Bowman, TIE, 25 points
10. Rick Doucette, 21 points

Expert Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 14 laps
2. Joe Spina, Suzuki GSX-R750
3. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R750
4. John McGarity, Suzuki GSX-R1000
5. Russell Masecar, Suzuki GSX-R1000
6. Arthur Wagner, Suzuki GSX-R750
7. Thomas Eckfeldt, Ducati 996
8. Joe Ribeiro, Suzuki GSX-R750
9. Jason Moss, Yamaha YZF-R1
10. Mark Morgan, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1 lap

15. Chris Rankin of Maryland, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10 laps, DNF, crash
16. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR954RR, -10 laps, DNF

Expert Unlimited GP Point Standings:

1. Eric Wood, 52 points
2. Michael Barnes/Robert Jensen/Alex Barrera, TIE, 26 points
5. Wagner, 25 points
6. McGarity, 24 points
7. Brian Stokes/Eric Gulbransen/Shawn Conrad/Spina, TIE, 20 points

USGPRU 125cc Grand Prix:

1. Ryan Andrews, Aprilia, 14 laps
2. Brian Kcraget, Honda
3. Scott Moxey, Honda
4. Dale Greenwood, Honda
5. John Klaras, Honda
6. Reet Das, Honda
7. David Deggendorf, Honda
8. Frank Guadagnino, Honda, -1 lap
9. Samantha Cotter, Honda, -1 lap
10. Mark Johnson, Honda, -1 lap

Amateur Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Hector Jimenez, Honda CBR600
2. J. Michael Branson, Suzuki GSX-R750
3. Donny Kelley, Honda CBR600
4. Brian Logan, Yamaha YZF-R6
5. William Meyers, II, Kawasaki ZX-7
6. Ned Brown, Yamaha YZF-R6
7. Jason Lewis, Honda CBR600
8. Stephane Reynolds, Honda CBR600
9. Stuart Vernon, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Geoff Gray, Honda 1000

Amateur Unlimited GP Point Standings:

1. Jimenez, 56 points
2. Meyers, 37 points
3. Henry Chin, 26 points
4. Mark Nelson/Kevin Ruopp, TIE, 25 points
6. Michael Shallcross, 21 points
7. Branson/David Loikits, TIE, 20 points
9. Bruce Villerup, 17 points
10. Kelley/Robert Collins/Brian Shaw, TIE, 16 points

More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

LEE ACREE WINS FORMULA USA SPORTBIKE RACE AT VIRGINIA

Lee Acree won the feature 28-lap Sportbike event during round four of the Formula USA National Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway, and he also finished a close second to Scott Harwell in the Superbike event that followed. Lee was the fastest qualifier in both classes after qualifying sessions held Sunday morning. Acree rode his nearly-stock Triad Powersport-sponsored 2003 Yamaha R6 on Pirelli DOT race tires in both events.

The Sportbike event was red-flagged twice for incidents on the VIR course. Acree ran with early leader Jeff Wood after the original and first re-starts. “I was content to let Jeff lead,” said Acree. “I didn’t want to push too hard early on.” On the second re-start, Acree led the entire race, except once when Wood passed in turn four and Acree re-passed immediately in turn six. After that, Lee pulled out to win by almost five seconds at the end. Acree’s bike made 110.4 horsepower in the mandatory post-race inspection, safely within the 115 horsepower limit for the class.

In the 14-lap Superbike race, Acree led most of the laps across the finish line, but he knew it was going to be difficult to shake Scott Harwell. “On the last lap, I went into turn one first,” said Acree. “Scott passed me back, then we caught a lapper going under the bridge (turn seven). I passed Scott going into the rollercoaster, but he followed me through the last few corners and passed me right before start-finish.

“This new Yamaha is incredible,” said Acree after both races. “I hadn’t even started it before last Thursday. The motor is still bone-stock, I put on the Graves pipe and the Dynojet box. Ohlins installed a standard fork kit last Monday and I put one of their shocks on it. Even the brake lines are stock, but the Vesrah pads were really good. This all came together in a very short amount of time, my sponsors really came through with getting me product in a hurry.”

More, from a press release issued by USGPRU:

In a race as hot as the Virginia weather, Ryan Andrews set an incredible pace aboard his Aprilia and held off Brian Kcraget for the win in the USGPRU 125cc race at VIR. Andrews got a great start from pole position with Kcraget hounding him for most of the race. As the laps wound down Ryan used lappers to his advantage and pushed the pace faster than his qualifying time to secure the win. Scott Moxey was close to the leaders early but ended up running a lonely race for third ahead of Dale Greenwood. The battle for 5th was contested until the end with John Klaras able to hold off Reet Das and David Deggendorf to take the position.

The USGRPU race was run in conjunction with the F-USA “Festival of Speed” at VIR.

USGRPU is sponsored by: CCS/F-USA, Motion Pro, Braking USA, Silkolene, VP fuels, EBC, GPStar, Bridgestone tires, and Hjelm Motorsports.

For more information, visit our website at www.USGPRU.org.

Updated Post: Where To Write Moore And Connell

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Jimmy Moore remains hospitalized in Minneapolis following surgery, while Craig Connell has been released from a local hospital and plans to fly to San Jose, California today to see Dr. Art Ting, who will operate on Connell’s broken upper arm Monday.

Moore crashed in turn one during Thursday practice at Brainerd International Raceway, slid about 230 yards over wet grass and hit a tree, rupturing his spleen, breaking an upper arm and fracturing a hip.

Connell crashed Friday during Formula Xtreme qualifying, breaking his arm.

“I just remember going into turn three and
thinking, ‘Oh, shit!’ said Connell. “Something had definitely gone wrong. From that point I just tried to work out where I was going to go and what I was going to do. I lost consciousness for about three minutes according to the medical personnel, but the CAT scan said everything was apparently OK. I broke my right humerus (upper arm) right in the middle with about 1 cm of displacement. The arm has been put back in place now. I’m flying out this afternoon to California. Dr. Arthur Ting is going to see me at my hotel tomorrow night and look at the X-rays, then he’s going to operate at 4:00 p.m. on Monday.”

Early reports said Connell lost an axel, but while team manager Anna Johnston said it was definitely a mechanical problem, it was unclear what went wrong. “It lost a lot of parts in the accident, and we’re piecing it together now. When we find out what went wrong, we’ll issue a press release.”



Jimmy Moore
c/o Morgan Broadhead
American Suzuki Motor Corp.
PO Box 1100
Brea, CA 92822-1100
e-mail [email protected]

Craig Connell
c/o Annandale Racing
PO Box 529
Cresson, TX 76035
e-mail [email protected].




Meanwhile, Ty Howard is hanging out with injury-hit Annandale Racing, rolling around the garage area on a mechanic’s chair. Howard broke his hip at Pikes Peak and underwent surgery in Colorado before flying home to Texas. Howard said he used crutches until about two weeks ago.


Acree Takes Formula USA Sportbike, Superbike Pole Positions At VIR, Estok On Thunderbike Pole

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Formula USA Qualifying Results:

Sportbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha, 1:30.079*
2. Jeff Wood, Honda, 1:30.571
3. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, 1:30.929
4. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki, 1:31.222
5. David Rose, Yamaha, 1:31.407
6. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:31.564
7. Eric Wood, Buell, 1:31.576
8. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:31.707
9. Chris Rankin of Maryland, Suzuki, 1:31.781
10. Nate Wait, Kawasaki, 1:31.909
11. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, 1:31.917
12. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:32.076
13. Brett Champagne, Honda, 1:32.437
14. Nicky Cummings, Honda, 1:32.604
15. Dave Stanton, Suzuki, 1:32.918
16. Shaun Fields, Yamaha, 1:33.260
17. Jason Smith, Kawasaki, 1:33.504
18. Trey Vonce, Suzuki, 1:34.873
19. John Lemak, Suzuki, 1:36.268
20. Adrian Jones, Yamaha, 1:36.272

*New lap record

Des Conboy, Suzuki, 1:34.629, DQ, went behind pit wall

Superbike:

1. Lee Acree, Yamaha, 1:30.078
2. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, 1:30.436
3. Andrew Nelson, Honda, 1:31.154
4. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, 1:31.161
5. Mike Hale, Yamaha, 1:31.524
6. Jeff Wood, Honda, 1:31.763
7. Michael Himmelsbach, Suzuki, 1:31.823
8. Dave Stanton, Suzuki, 1:31.840
9. Matt Wait, Yamaha, 1:32.004
10. Dave Ebben, Suzuki, 1:32.483
11. Tripp Nobles, Buell, 1:32.591
12. Brett Champagne, Honda, 1:32.675
13. Chris Rankin, Suzuki, 1:32.937
14. Shaun Fields, Yamaha, 1:33.979
15. Des Conboy, Suzuki, 1:35.098
16. Ryan Andrews, Yamaha, 1:35.367
17. John Lemak, Suzuki, 1:36.623
18. Marcus Winfree, Suzuki, 1:37.877
19. Jason Smith, Kawasaki, 1:40.016
20. Adam Vella, Suzuki, 1:41.979

Thunderbike:

1. Dave Estok, Buell XB9R, 1:33.699*
2. Tripp Nobles, Buell X1, 1:33.699
3. Bryan Bemisderfer, Buell X1, 1:35.915
4. Dan Bilansky, Buell XB9R, 1:36.485
5. Dan Danilowilz, Suzuki SV650, 1:36.679
6. Dave Yaakov, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.007
7. Steve Keener, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.288
8. Jeff Johnson, Buell X1, 1:37.514
9. Derek Keyes, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.699
10. R. Silika, Suzuki SV650, 1:37.907
11. Joseph Rozynski, Buell X1, 1:38.182
12. Randy Rega, Suzuki SV650, 1:38.258
13. Jason Rice, Suzuki SV650, 1:38.401
14. Arthur Wagner, Honda CBR600F2, 1:38.684
15. Nate Kern, BMW R1100S, 1:39.005
16. Darren James, Buell X1, 1:39.291
17. David White, Suzuki SV650, 1:40.107
18. Walt Sipp, Buell X1, 1:40.362
19. Sam Rozynski, Buell X1, 1:40.982
20. Jeff Harding, Buell X1, 1:43.119

*Awarded pole position based on second-fastest lap time.

Expert Unlimited Grand Prix:

1. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.577
2. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR954RR, 1:31.290
3. Joseph Spina, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.644
4. Chris Greer, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:32.799
5. Tim Bemisderfer, Honda CBR954RR, 1:33.931
6. Chris Rankin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.354
7. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.527
8. Trevor Prater, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:34.787
9. Thomas Eckfeldt, Ducati 996, 1:34.936
10. Russell Masecar, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:35.045

USGPRU 125cc Grand Prix:

1. Ryan Andrews, Aprilia, 1:35.021
2. Brian Kcraget, Honda, 1:35.733
3. Scott Moxey, Honda, 1:37.031
4. Dale Greenwood, Honda, 1:38.551
5. J. Laras, 1:40.361
6. David Deggendorf, Honda, 1:40.783
7. Reet Das, Honda, 1:42.218
8. Mark Johnson, Honda, 1:43.635
9. Joseph Melchionda, 1:44.405
10. Samantha Cotter, Honda, 1:46.161

Updated Post: Zongshen Wins Albacete 12-Hour

From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI ONE-TWO AT ALBACETE 12 HOUR

Suzuki GSX-R1000s finished in first and second place at the Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas round of the FIM World Endurance Championship, with nine GSX-Rs scoring championship points.

The race was won by the Zongshen Team No.1 bike of Warwick Nowland, Stephane Mertens and Igor Jerman, with their team-mates on the Zongshen No.2 bike in second place. Suzuki GB Phase One finished in sixth place after racing their 2003 model GSX-R1000K3 for the first time at the Albacete race.

Suzuki GB Phase One team manager Russell Benney was very happy with the result: “The debut of the GSX-R1000K3 was fantastic – it was every thing we wanted it to be. We were amazed that the development of last year’s bike could be superseded, but this bike just does everything and more. The handling was very easy to set up and the engine was 100% bullet proof all weekend. We had a couple of small errors by our riders which set us back but in the end we came through to sixth place and picked up some valuable points to carry through to the next round at the A1 Ring in three weeks time.”

The race was a 12 hour event run non-stop through the night at the demanding Spanish circuit. Temperatures soared during qualifying giving some teams tyre and handling problems, but the night race was declared a success by competitors and spectators alike. An “Endurance Fiesta” was laid on for the public, and many British endurance fans made the event part of their Spanish holiday. The next round of the Championship is a six hour race at the A1-Ring in Austria on the 20th of July.


More, froma press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Albacete 24 Horas Nocturnas

Zongshen First and Second, Spanish Yamaha Folch Third

The Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas has been won by Suzuki Zongshen No.1 (Nowland, Mertens, Jerman), with Suzuki Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil, Bontempi, Lerat) second and Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez, Tomas, Rodriguez) third.

Zongshen No.1 were a clear lap ahead of their team mates at the end of the race. Folch Endurance continuously pressed Zongshen 2 throughout the final hour, but were unable to close the gap between second and third to less than twenty nine seconds. Together with Suzuki Police Nationale and Suzuki GB Phase One the two Zongshen bikes and Folch Endurance had set the pace for the whole race.

Suzuki GB Phase One faltered after only half an hour when a simple crash cost them four laps and left them in last place. After battling back to the top ten, a brake problem and then a collision with another bike dropped them down the standings again.

Police Nationale were competing for the lead of the race until just after three o’clock in the morning, at half race distance. Their engine suffered a terminal failure and they were forced to retire from a race which they had felt they had a good chance of winning.

Fourth place went to Yamaha GMT94 and fifth to Yamaha Endurance Moto 38. The two YZF-R1 teams ran an incident free race but will be disappointed to have missed out on a podium position. Suzuki GB Phase One worked their way back to sixth place in the final hour of the race, but this result will see them slip further behind Zongshen 1 in the championship standings.

Seventh place in the race went to Yamaha Austria, who were running a more standard but more reliable engine than in previous rounds. The pressure will be on them to produce a result at the next round, their home event. In eighth place was the number eight Kawasaki of Bolliger Team, and rounding out the top ten were the two junior teams. Phase One Juniors finished a lap ahead of the Trackdaze 11 Juniors despite pressure during the closing hours.

Only four teams did not complete the race, despite its very competitive nature and the demands of the Albacete circuit. This was the first time that Zongshen have scored a first and second position in the same race.

Press Conference Quotes:

Zongshen No.1 – Warwick Nowland: “We had break problems in warm-up and at the start of the race. We’d fitted a new system for the race; a gamble that didn’t quite come off but it ended up working quite well. It felt different to the system used in qualifying so I had no confidence.”

Zongshen No.1 – Stephane Mertens: “This is a very demanding track – very technical. The most difficult thing for me was keeping 100% concentration; this was very important.”

Zongshen No.1 – Igor Jerman: “The only problem I had was with the suspension, but the bike got better and better with time. At the end it was quite good – maybe we should do some longer races with this set-up…”

Zongshen No.2 – Piergiorgio Bontempi: “I’m happy with second place because we had some problems during the race; with brake pads and a couple of stop and go penalties for speeding in pit lane. The biggest problem was the temperature.”

Zongshen No.2 – Bruno Bonhuil: “The circuit was very tiring, but the illumination was good. This first and second place is a great result for the team after five years of trying.”

Folch Endurance – Javier Rodriguez: “It was difficult to compete with the World Endurance teams; our refuelling was not so fast, for example.”

Folch Endurance – Oriol Fernandez: “It was very difficult to stay with the championship teams in the first hour; we made the wrong tyre choice and they went off after thirty minutes.”

Folch Endurance – David Tomas: “My mission was to always try and do the same lap times as my team mates – to keep us competitive.”

2003, July 29
Race Result – Top Ten

1st: Suzuki Zongshen 1 (Nowland – Mertens – Jerman) CHN

2nd: Suzuki Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil – Bontempi – Lerat) CHN – 1 lap

3rd: Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez – Tomas – Rodriguez) SPA – 30 seconds

4th: Yamaha GMT94 (Scarnato – Holon – Foti) FRA – 4 laps

5th: Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 (Brian – Morrillon – Cuzin) FRA – 6 laps

6th: Suzuki GB Phase One (Lindstrom – Ellison D – Ellison J.) GBR – 12 laps

7th: Yamaha Austria (Truchsess – Wilding – Saiger) AUT – 13 laps

8th: Kawasaki Bolliger Team (Kellenberger – Stamm – Nystrom) SUI – 15 laps

9th: Suzuki Phase One Junior (Fincher – Jessop – Notman) GBR – 20 laps

10th: Suzuki Trackdaze 11 (Falcke – Hutchins – Pilborough) GBR – 21 laps

Championship Standings – Top Ten

1. Zongshen 1, CHN, Suz GSX-R1000, 91 points

2. Suzuki GB – Phase One, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 66 points

3. Zongshen 2, CHN, Suz GSX-R1000, 45 points

4. Yamaha GMT94, FRA, Yam YZF-R1, 43 points

5. 22 Police Nationale, FRA, Suz GSX-R1000, 33 points

6. Bolliger Team, SUI, Kaw ZX-9R, 28 points

7. Trackdaze 11, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 26 points

8. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, AUT, Yam YZF-R1, 25 points

9. Yamaha Endurance Moto 38, FRA, Yam YZF-R1, 24 points

10. Phase One Junior, GBR, Suz GSX-R1000, 20 points

Duhamel Wins Supersport Race At BIR

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


AMA 600cc Supersport Results
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
13 laps

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda
2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, -0.182 second
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -3.882
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, -6.450
5. Rob Jensen, Yamaha, -6.627
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, -7.151
7. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda, -17.021
8. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki, -18.828
9. Alex Gobert, Honda, -18.954
10. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, -19.685
11. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki, -19.734
12. Marty Craggill, Honda, -21.394
13. Larry Pegram, Honda, -34.059
14. Jason Curtis, Honda, -34.501
15. Chris Rankin, Honda, -41.633
16. Gary Carter, Yamaha, -49.297
17. Giovanni Rojas, Yamaha, -60.453
18. Kevin Gordon, Suzuki, -74.176
19. Dirk Sanchez, Kawasaki, -74.390
20. Bradley Frey, Yamaha, -88.852
21. Tim Mitchell, Yamaha, -90.358
22. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, -90.579
23. James Kerker, Honda, -106.867
24. Peter Bohlig, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Eric Haugo, Suzuki, -1 lap
26. Christopher Flores, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Steven Skoog, Kawasaki, -1 lap
28. Gordy Halsey, Yamaha, -1 lap
29. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, -1 lap
30. Jake Zemke, Honda, -2 laps
31. Jessica Zalusky, Yamaha, -4 laps
32. Chris Peris, Honda, -11 laps
33. Hector Romero, Yamaha, DNF
34. David Guy, Suzuki, DNF
35. Mike Petersen, Yamaha, DNF
36. Jason Hobbs, Yamaha, DNF


Series Point Standings
After 7 of 11 Races
1. Jamie Hacking, 214 points
2. Damon Buckmaster, 199
3. Tommy Hayden, 160
4. Alex Gobert, 157
5. Jason DiSalvo, 155
6. Ben Spies, 146
7. Aaron Gobert, 142
8. Tony Meiring, 142
9. Roger Lee Hayden, 139
10. Jake Zemke, 129
11. Doug Chandler, 110
12. Jason Curtis, 109
13. Miguel Duhamel, 105
14. Jamie Stauffer, 103
15. Ty Howard, 65


After the race, AMA tech officials ordered teardowns of the top three machines plus Jensen’s Yamaha and Tommy Hayden’s Kawasaki.


Yates Wins Superbike At BIR; Shredding Tires Send Mladin And Ben Bostrom Into Pits

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates won the AMA Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway by 2.714 seconds, his lead shrinking from more than 6 seconds after he slowed the pace.

Yates had good reason to ease the pace, since Mat Mladin and Ben Bostrom both pitted for new rear Dunlop tires during the race, their tires visibly losing large sections of tread rubber but continuing to hold air.

Mladin’s rear tire came apart on lap 12 of 21 while he raced Yates for the lead. Bostrom’s came apart a few laps later, while he ran in fourth.

Yates slowed his pace to 1:38s while Kurtis Roberts and Miguel Duhamel closed in, continuing to run 1:37s.

Duhamel passed Roberts on the last lap to finish second.

On the podium, Yates reported that his rear wheel started to vibrate during the race; he attributed it to a lost wheel weight, but he may have just been being diplomatic, since vibration is typically the first sign that a tire is starting to come apart.

Mladin, Bostrom and Yates ran a Dunlop 902 rear tire.

Jordan Szoke also had a tire problem, with a Dunlop 732 rear tire, but stayed on the track and finished with the center section of the tread chunked out.

Results
AMA Superbike
Brainerd International Raceway
Brainerd, Minnesota
June 29
21 laps

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki
2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -2.714 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -2.840
4. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -8.661
5. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati, -21.247
6. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -32.958
7. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -49.270
8. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -54.419
9. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -54.700
10. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -64.375
11. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -74.470
12. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -88.892
13. Brian Stokes, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Rob Christman, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Wes Good, Suzuki, – 1 lap
17. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. JJ Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Chris Voelker, Ducati, -1 lap
21. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Jeff Bostrom, Suzuki, -1 lap
23. Monte Nichols, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. Paul Heinen, Yamaha, -1 lap
25. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha, -1 lap
26. Roger Hendricks, Suzuki, -1 lap
27. Jason Knupp, Suzuki, -1 lap
28. David Duprey, Suzuki, -1 lap
29. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, -1 lap
30. Dr. Jeff Purk, Suzuki, -1 lap
31. Brian Boyd, Suzuki, -1 lap
32. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -2 laps
33. Eric Dooyema, Suzuki, -3 laps
34. John Dugan, Suzuki, -10 laps


AMA Superbike Point Standings
After 11 of 18 races
1. Eric Bostrom, 321
2. Mat Mladin, 318
3. Aaron Yates, 313
4. Kurtis Roberts, 301
5. Ben Bostrom, 293
6. Miguel Duhamel, 278
7. Shawn Higbee, 229
8. Jason Pridmore, 225
9. Larry Pegram, 211
10. Vincent Haskovec, 180
11. Jordan Szoke, 162
12. Michael Barnes, 161
13. Geoff May, 133
14. Anthony Gobert, 131
15. Scott Jensen, 124


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin’s publicist:

TYRE WOES CONTINUE TO HAMPER MLADIN

Brainerd, Minnesota, USA (Sunday, 29 June) – On numerous occasions this year Mat Mladin has proven to be the fastest rider in the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship, but his ability to convert that speed into consistent championship point scoring positions continues to be hampered by untimely tyre problems.

This weekend’s eleventh round of the championship held at the fast Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota, proved to be another one of those instances, where after leading the opening half of the race, he was forced to pit for a new rear tyre, before fighting his way back into seventh place at race end.

Having led ten of the opening twelve laps, Mladin’s rear Dunlop tyre began to deteriorate rapidly and a lap later was forced to enter the pits to have it replaced. He rejoined the race in twelfth place before putting on yet another determined ride back up through the field to take seventh, but more importantly, he kept himself within striking distance of championship points leader Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) who after finishing fourth today, holds a three point lead over the Australian.

“What can I honestly say about it,” said Mladin. “I felt that the tyres would not be a problem this weekend because Dunlop have been busy trying to remedy the situation and had brought a new batch of tyres to the round for us to use. But that’s how it goes. I’m obviously not happy. We tried really hard to get the bike suited to the track and felt that we had come up with a pretty good package. Early in the race I felt comfortable while dicing with Aaron (Yates) and was starting to sneak a break on him, but then the tyre went and that was that. It’s been so frustrating this year knowing that you have been in a strong position on the track and then losing a whole bunch of points because I’ve had to pit for a tyre.”

The race win in today’s race went to Mladin teammate Yates, who took victory by 2.714 seconds from American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel, who got the better of Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts on the final lap.

Mladin, the three-times AMA Superbike champion, had been the fastest rider leading into the race, topping the time sheets in each of the practice and qualifying sessions where he earned his 29th career AMA pole position. The point he scored for grabbing pole elevated him to a tie for the championship lead with Bostrom leading into today’s race.

With seven races remaining in this years championship, Bostrom leads with 321 points, three clear of Mladin, with Yates moving to third with a total of 313.

The AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship heads to California for the combined AMA / World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca Raceway on July 12 – 13, with the AMA competitors taking part in their twelfth round of the championship on Saturday, before the pair of international races takes place on Sunday.


DiSalvo Turns 10-second Lap At Brainerd

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

According to AMA Pro Racing Timing & Scoring monitors, Jason DiSalvo has just turned a lap at 10.244 seconds in the opening Superstock practice at Brainerd.

Steve Atlas is second on the monitors at 11.237, followed by Jamie Stauffer at 11.422, Matt Furtek at 11.661, and Tony Meiring at 11.833.

The existing lap record in Superstock is 1:39.697.

At post time, 7 minutes remained in the 17-minute practice session.


This just in, from a reader, via e-mail:

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

I knew those Superstock bikes were getting fast but to see them knock close to a-minute-and-a-half off the record lap time is very impressive. Is the AMA now going to make it a 100-lap race so we get at least 10 minutes of entertainment?

Keep up the good reports,

Mike Hughes
Rockford, Illinois



Zongshen Suzuki On Pole For World Endurance 12-hour At Albacete

From a press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Albacete 12 Horas Nocturnas

Final Qualifying and Grid Positions

As expected, qualifying times were faster this morning than yesterday, with the track and air temperatures lower and perhaps closer to the conditions we can expect in the race.

Oriol Fernandez on the Folch Endurance Yamaha set the pace at the start of the first session, going straight into the 1:33s. Gwen Giabbani on the Police Nationale Suzuki followed suit, leaving Suzuki Zongshen No.1’s Warwick Nowland with a best time of 1:35.9. On the final lap of his session Nowland dropped his time to 1:34.225, but he was definitely not happy: “We’re still having brake problems. Just as I’m starting to turn in it feels as though the brakes are going away. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Police Nationale’s Gwen Giabanni was much more confidant: “The track and the tyres are working much better this morning. For the race, I think we will start with times around 1:34, and then maybe ease off into the 1:35s.”

Yamaha Endurance Moto 38’s Davide Morrillon led the second group’s session, until Piergiorgio Bontempi for Zongshen 2 and then David Tomas for Folch Endurance lowered their times into the 1:34s. Zongshen 1’s Stephane Mertens could not match Bontempi’s times, despite following him for a final flying lap on qualifying tyres. Bontempi set pole positon with a time of 1:33.067, to the applause of his team.

Piergiorgio Bontempi: “The bike is very good, but it’s not perfect. We were working on a compromise all of yesterday. Now maybe we can win.”

The final group’s session saw Ullastres for Police Nationale beat his team mate Giabbani’s time and move ahead of Folch Endurance, but he was not able to improve on Bontempi’s pace.

There was a real contrast between the approaches of Suzuki GB Phase One and Zongshen Team. Phase One are second in the championship – ten points behind their main rivals Zongshen No.1 – but were happy to settle for fifth on the grid based on their performance yesterday. In the next pit to Zongshen, they were treating this morning very differently.

While Zongshen were chasing every tenth of a second, Phase One spent their time meticulously stripping and preparing their Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Team manager Russell Benney explained: “This is the first proper endurance race of the season, so preparation is everything. We’re taking a normal endurance racing approach; a day spent preparing the bikes will be much more important than pole position. I also don’t want to risk the riders; we saw a lot of crashes yesterday – including our own Dean Ellison – and it’s just not worth it.”

Zongshen’s team manager Michel Marqueton takes a different view: “For us, pole position is very important; for the team as well as the riders. It’s big news in China so there is a lot of prestige. I always get very nervous in qualifying. Bontempi is an ex-World Superbike riders and always wants pole whatever it takes.”

With a Spanish rider in second place and Folch Endurance in third everything is set for a classic showdown when the race starts tonight.

2003, June 28
Top Ten Provisional Grip Positions

1st: Zongshen No.2 (Bonhuil – Bontempi – Lerat) CHN – 1:33.067

2nd: Suzuki Police Nationale 22 (Giabbani – Blora – Ullastres) FRA – 1:33.690

3rd: Yamaha Folch Endurance (Fernandez – Tomas – Rodriguez) ESP – 1:33.717

4th: Suzuki Zongshen 1 (Nowland – Mertens – Jerman) CHN – 1:33.825

5th: Suzuki GB Phase One (Lindstrom – Ellison D – Ellison J.) GBR – 1:35.215

6th: Yamaha GMT94 (Scarnato – Holon – Foti) FRA – 1:35.278

7th: Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 (Brian – Morrillon – Cuzin) FRA -1:35.401

8th: Yamaha Austria (Truchsess – Wilding – Saiger) AUT – 1:35.966

9th: Suzuki Phase One Junior (Fincher – Notman – Jessop) GBR – 1:36.852

10th Suzuki KFM Herber (Herber – Bursa – Persson) GER – 1:37.038

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