From the British Grand Prix, Donington Park, England, on Saturday, July 7:
“Rain always changes the feel of the tarmac, even after it’s dried. The tarmac had a different quality of grip this afternoon. It was good to have the track time anyway, and we all could have beat our Friday times if the session had lasted just a while longer.”
This is from a Ducati press release, which reveals that Colin Edwards was fastest in World Superbike tests today at Imola’s Enzo & Dino Ferrari Circuit:
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) and Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) set fifth and sixth quickest times on the first day of World Superbike testing at the Enzo & Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola today. The two-day test, which sees the participation of factory teams from Ducati, Honda, Aprilia and Kawasaki, is in preparation for the final round of the championship scheduled at Imola for September 30.
Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada), who has never seen the track before, said that he was looking forward to racing again in Italy (where he has already won three races out of four this year) after completing a massive 92 laps, setting a time of 1:51.53. “This is my first visit to Imola and it’s coming along nicely”, declared the 32-year-old Australian. “The circuit is not too bad and I’m glad we came testing. The track was slippery this morning, but I’m sure tomorrow the grip will be much better. I’m really pleased the last round of the season is in Italy, because it’s close to the Ducati factory and that means there’ll be a good crowd for the race”.
Double Laguna winner Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was a fraction of a second behind Bayliss but the 27-year-old American was suffering with jet-lag after returning from California a couple of days ago. “This is the first day and I’m feeling so tired”, commented Bostrom, who completed 64 laps with a best time of 1:51.80. ” I’ve been here before to do some testing when it was raining, but the track seems decent to me and I’m looking forward to racing here in September”.
Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) crashed out in the morning session, suffering a slight injury to his left collarbone, and the 23-year-old Spanish rider only did a few laps in the afternoon before concluding his day’s testing. “I was going quite well on the old tire but when I put a new one on, I lost the rear end of the bike and highsided at a slow speed. The track is quite nice but very slippery”, commented Xaus, whose best time over 42 laps was 1:53.040.
UNOFFICIAL TIMES:
1. Edwards (Honda) 1:50.12
2. Laconi (Aprilia) 1:50.61
3. Okada (Honda) 1:50.90
4. Corser (Aprilia) 1:51.49
5. BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:51.53
6. BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) 1:51.80
7. Antonello (Aprilia) 1:52.30
8. Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 1:52.70
9. Lavilla (Kawasaki) 1:52.90
10.Parkes (Ducati) 1:52.90
11. XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:53.04.
Here’s Aprilia’s press release on the same test day:
Private tests at Imola in preparation for the last round of the championship on 30 September. The three official Aprilia riders, Corser, Laconi and Antonello get their first taste of the Santerno track.
On 30 September, the final curtain will come down on the World Superbike Championship 2001, here in the “land of motors” at Imola, in the heart of Emilia Romagna. The thirteenth and last round of 2001 will also witness the debut of the Superbikes on the historical track named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari. Today, World Superbike riders got their first taste of the circuit: Many of them are at Imola for the first time and these test sessions are an excellent opportunity to take note of useful references for the September races. The President of Superbike International, Paolo Alberto Flammini, the President of Sagis, Federico Bendinelli, and the mayor of the City of Imola will be officially presenting the event in tomorrow morning’s press conference: They will be opening up what looks all set to be the decisive round for the 2001 title.
The Aprilia riders lost no time doing lap after lap and acquiring precious information. Corser completed 45 laps, Laconi 70 and Antonello, who completed 40, slipped halfway through the afternoon on the fast curve before Rivazza, without too much harm: Just a slight contusion of his right forearm. The official Aprilia test rider will be back on track tomorrow.
Temperatures: morning 27°C/40°C ground – afternoon 29°C/43°C – clear sky, strong wind 16/18 metres a second from southwest.
“A very technical circuit with some blind corners where you can’t see the way out”, said Troy Corser after his debut on the Imola track. “There are also plenty of bumps, so we worked hard on the set-up of the bike to get it just right. Fine-tuning of the bike and the choice of race tires for my schedule but also getting to know the ins and outs of a track that requires enormous concentration.”
“I’m more than happy with today”, said Regis Laconi, who raced here on 250 in ’97 and on 500 in ’98 and ’99, so I know the track well. “There are lots of long curves and that’s where you need a really stable bike. The trajectories are like those of a 500, so I felt completely at ease. We’ve done a great job and the test session programme has got off to a fantastic start.”
It is the first time at Imola for Alessandro Antonello too: “Setting up the bike needed great care since the power of the engine takes a lot of weight off the front, and the exit trajectories tend to be wider, taking you onto the curbs. The changes we made to the set-up today have already obtained their first results. Pity about the slide in the afternoon–but I’m okay and I’ll be back on track tomorrow.”
From an AMA press release:
AMA INVITES ALL MOTORCYCLISTS TO SUPPORT 10TH ANNUAL RIDE-TO-WORK DAY
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) encourages all motorcyclists to participate in the 10th Annual “Ride to Work
Day” on Wednesday, July 18.
“Ride to Work Day shows the American public that motorcycles aren’t just recreational vehicles, but an alternate form of transportation,” said Robert Rasor, President of the AMA.
The AMA believes that motorcycles can play an important role in reducing traffic congestion, especially in large urban areas. As an association committed to protecting motorcyclists’ rights, the AMA also has an interest in demonstrating the size of the motorcycling community to policy makers.
“With the support of millions of American motorcyclists, Ride to Work Day can make a powerful statement about the strength of our voice in the democratic process,” said Rasor.
In 1992, Andy Goldfine, founder of Aerostich Riderwear, launched this annual celebration of two-wheeled commuting, to make the public more aware of commuting motorcyclists. Last year, Goldfine established a non-profit corporation to promote the concept.
Shortly thereafter, the AMA’s Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution to “approve and endorse the value of motorcycles as a vehicle for
daily personal transportation and designate the third Wednesday of July as Ride To Work Day in recognition of that value.”
More information is available from www.ridetowork.org, or from (218) 722-9806.
(This year’s Ride To Work day conflicts with AMA-sanctioned racing activities at Mid-Ohio, which is where we’ll be.)
By David Swarts
One of the coolest things about working at Roadracing World is having access to the archive of back issues, reviewing past seasons, and reflecting on how far people have come. As we look ahead to the July 20-22 AMA Double Header Superbike Weekend at Mid-Ohio, we decided to take a look back at the Mid-Ohio AMA weekend from 1996, five years ago.
It rained on Sunday at Mid-Ohio in 1996 causing some strange results. The Superbike race, along with most of the other races, was red-flagged twice for crashes in the last turn, which sent bikes into the wall on the outside of the turn and bouncing back out onto the track (The wall has since been moved back.) The second red flag stopped the Superbike race short of its full distance, leaving then dominant Honda rider Miguel Duhamel in fourth behind privateer Brett Metzger on his GSX-R750 Supersport bike, Thomas Wilson on the then-two-year-old Harley-Davidson VR1000, and Pascal Picotte on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750.
Notable crashers included Mike Smith on a Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-7R, Larry Pegram on a Fast By Ferracci Ducati 955, current Ducati North America Road Race Manager David Roy on a Suzuki GSX-R750, Jamie James on a Vance & Hines Yamaha YZF750R, and Mat Mladin on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750.
Doug Chandler’s seventh-place finish allowed him to leave Mid-Ohio with the Superbike point lead over Duhamel, Picotte, Kipp, and Mladin.
In 250cc Grand Prix, Team Oliver Yamaha’s Rich Oliver took the third of four consecutive wins at Mid-Ohio en route to his third of four consecutive 250cc Grand Prix Championships. Cliff Tolley was second ahead of Perry Melneciuc. The finish was Melneciuc’s first AMA National podium. (Melneciuc just earned his second podium position during the wet 250cc Grand Prix race at Road America last month.)
Kurtis Roberts, then 18, crashed his PJ1 Yamaha in a 250cc heat race and broke his ankle.
The wet, red-flag interrupted 600cc Supersport race was far from normal. After hours were spent cleaning up an oil spill on the wet track, the re-started race was won by Erion Racing’s Doug Toland followed by Moto Liberty’s Gerald Rothman and Erion’s Andrew Stroud. All three were sponsored by Bridgestone but ran Dunlop DOT-labeled rain tires for the wet race.
Fourth place went to Todd Harrington with class points leader Miguel Duhamel fifth ahead of Marcus Hubbard, Matt Wait, injured-in-practice Thomas Stevens on the Kinko’s Kawasaki ZX-6R, Ken Melville, and Ben Bostrom. Owen Weichel finished 14th, one spot better than 18-year-old Tommy Hayden on a Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-6R. Brian Parriott crashed and finished 21st, still better than Mike Smith’s 28th after a first-lap crash. Nearly everyone crashed at some point in the race.
The wet Harley-Davidson SuperTwins race saw Ben Bostrom pass Matt Wait for the win, three corners from the finish, with Eric Bostrom third. Both Bostroms ran Metzeler Lazer front tires with ME99 rears. Wait used a Dunlop dirt track front tire and a D364 rear. All three rode with high, dirt-track-style bars and put their feet down in corners.
Other notable finishers in the H-D 883 race included Nate “Gator” Wait in fourth, Brian Gibbs in fifth, David Estok in 10th, Richie Morris in 12th, and current 750cc Supersport racer Daigoro Suzuki in 13th.
In Saturday’s dry SuperTeams race Moto Liberty Honda’s Gerald Rothman and Al Salaverria took the win on Bridgestones ahead of Fritz Kling and Ray Yoder on the Dutchman’s FZR1000-engined YZF750 “Yama-Monster.” Doug Polen and Dale Quarterley finished third on the Carry-Andrew-tuned EBSCO Suzuki GSX-R1100, giving the EBSCO the class point lead. (That same GSX-R1100 is still used occasionally by Vincent Haskovec to win WSMC Formula One races at Willow Springs.)
In 750cc Supersport, Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Pascal Picotte continued their domination of the class. Yates won over Picotte followed by Michael Barnes, Mark Miller, and Mark McDaniel, all on GSX-R750s.
For the financial quarter ending June 30, 2001, Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as DMH) has announced a 7.2% growth in total revenue (to $102.5 million, Euro 120.9 million) with 5.6% growth in total sales (to $97.1 million, Euro 114.6 million).
Total revenues for the first half of 2001 are up 5.2% (to $187.8 million, Euro 221.5 million) versus 2000 when total sales were up 2%, (to $184.1 million, Euro 217.1 million).
“These results, however, are not at the extraordinary growth levels that Ducati has achieved in recent years,” said Ducati Chief Executive Officer Carlo Di Biagio in a Ducati press release. “Our outlook suggests challenging selling conditions in the coming months. We would therefore anticipate high-single-digit year-end sales growth versus last year, below our 15% target.”
Racer Bruce Lind has been taken off the ventilator and is breathing on his own again in Monterey Community Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries suffered at Laguna Seca.
Lind apparently crashed in his own water on the first lap of his AMA 250cc Grand Prix heat race 10 days ago, bringing up the question: Why not require two-stroke racebikes to run the fluid-containing fairing lowers used to contain oil with great success on four-stroke racebikes? While the fluid-retaining lowers do not work in every circumstance, for example when one of the engine covers that protrudes from the fairing sides of a GSX-R750 is leaking, they have proven to greatly reduce oil spills and related clean-up time.
There is no reason why such a fairing lower would not be equally effective in containing water lost by a TZ250.
Fluid-retaining fairing lowers were first required by AMA Pro Racing several years ago and rank as one of AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice’s greatest technical innovations, being cheap and effective.
By David Swarts
Fox Sports, already a shareholder in Speedvision, is in the process of buying out other partners in the network to obtain a controlling interest. There has been wide speculation as to what will then happen to the motorcycle portion of the network’s programming. Some say that Speedvision will become the NASCAR Network, others hope that Speedvision, and its motorcycle programming, will remain untouched.
The July 2, 2001 issue of Autoweek magazine reported on the purchase as follows, and referred to Fox Sports Chairman David Hill:
“As for Hill, he said he will be working on the ‘evolution of Speedvision into a NASCAR channel.’ Fox recently agreed to purchase Speedvision in a deal that closes in August.
“We’re looking at various program grids with more NASCAR materials,’ Hill said. ‘We’d like to get all the changes done by February, but that may be a bit optimistic.’ Hill would not rule out a name change for the network, although he noted Speedvision has a strong brand equity.”
Roadracing World called Dan Murphy, President of Speedvision Productions, to get his take on Hill’s comments. Speaking from his Denver, Colorado office, Murphy said, “I’m not completely sure that Mr. Hill was quoted correctly, but I don’t think that Fox would have let us sign off on the deal to air the 2002 Daytona 200 live if they planned on completely shutting motorcycle programming off and turning it into a NASCAR-only channel.”
When asked if he felt that the amount of motorcycle programming on Speedvision would change, Murphy said, “It’s too early to tell. The sale of the network isn’t even finished yet.”
Murphy said that once the sale is complete, Hill will be the man who sits down and makes programming decisions. Asked if he would be one of the people able to provide input to the decision-making process for the new programming schedule, Murphy said, “I’d like to think I would, but Hill will be making the decisions.”
Roadracingworld.com readers who would like to comment on the situation can send an e-mail to David Hill, c/o [email protected]. A petition opposing the elimination of other programming in favor of making Speedvision a NASCAR channel appears on the internet at www.petitiononline.com/svsn/
Officers from the Arizona State Department of Public Safety are apparently applying commercial trucking standards to motorcycle racers pulling race trailers with pick-up trucks, requiring commercial log books, medical cards and DOT numbers.
Racer Chris Ulrich was stopped outside Kingman, Arizona this morning, where he had spent the night after leaving California Sunday evening en route to the AMA National race at Mid-Ohio, and told he had to remain “out of service” for eight hours because he did not have a commercial trucker’s log book. According to Ulrich, Arizona Highway Patrolmen Kurt Russell, badge #4899, said that the “Suzuki” logo on Ulrich’s Suzuki GSX-R750 was proof that Ulrich was running a commercial operation subject to all commercial carrier rules.
Ulrich is driving a Dodge Ram 3500 dually pulling a 40-foot six-wheel trailer–the trailer being owned by Mark Junge and loaned to Ulrich for the season–containing his GSX-R750 and other race equipment as well as living quarters.
According to Arizona Highway Patrol Commercial Vehicles spokesman Charles Blundell, commercial vehicle rules probably should not have been applied to Ulrich and his pick-up truck/trailer combination, and there is no crackdown on racers and their trailers in Arizona. While Blundell said the situation sounded like “a misunderstanding,” Ulrich remains parked at a truck stop outside Kingman and has been ordered to stay there until 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.
But according to Arizona Department of Public Safety officer and media spokesman Steve Volden, any racer who receives contingency money or has any sponsorship is “in furtherance of some sort of commercial enterprise,” which is why Ulrich was put “out of service” for not having a logbook, medical card and DOT numbers.
“Once you’re compensated for the things you do, that’s what puts you in a commercial category,” said Volden.
“The driver of this truck made a couple of factual admissions to the officer,” said Volden. “One that he is sponsored by Suzuki and some sort of brake company and that he received contingency fees when he wins. And that he is a professional racer. He even gave the officer one of his posters. Those admissions are factual indicators that he is in the furtherance of some sort of commercial enterprise, which is why he was put out of service. Which means he has to sit for eight hours before he can drive legally in a commercial venture.”
According to Arizona Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Smith, who as Squad Commander supervises the officer who pulled Ulrich over, “It was a random spot check. Officers saw him going down the road and pulled him over. Under the Federal Motor Carrier law and state statute, if it’s a commercial vehicle we have the right to stop and inspect them without any violations being noted. We do pick-ups all of the time in Arizona. He (Ulrich) does fall under the Federal Motor Carrier regulations due to the fact that he is sponsored by a corporation, Suzuki. He is also sponsored by a brake company. The Federal Motor Carrier laws say anything over 10,001 (pounds), if there’s a trailer involved over 10,001 (pounds). This trailer is 14,700 (pounds). A combination of the pick-up and the gross vehicle weight rating of the trailer brings him up to 25,200 (pounds). So he’s required to have a medical card and carry a log book. The section he falls under of the Federal Motor Carrier laws is 395.8(a) Record and Duty Status, and the one for the medical card is 391.41(a). Then you look at the definitions for things, and they’ll say that that applies to him in these situations.”
When Roadracing World asked Sgt. Smith for advice for other privateer racers driving their own transporters across the country to races, Sgt. Smith said, “What they need to do is check with the Feds and see if their equipment…each state varies. It depends on what they have adopted – that part of the motor carrier laws. Like Arizona is anything over 18,001 (pounds), if it’s a combination, as long as the trailer is over 10,001 (pounds). You get into Utah, it’s anything over 10,001 (pounds) whether it’s a pick-up or just a trailer in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise.”
Roadracing World has also asked Sgt. Smith to define “sponsorship” as used by the Arizona Highway Patrol to determine “commercial enterprise” in cases like this one. Sgt. Smith said he would get back to us on that.
(For the record, Chris Ulrich is not “sponsored by Suzuki” and does not have a contract with Suzuki nor Vesrah (brakes), the endurance team he rides for when not attending AMA Nationals as a privateer. He is, however, guilty of having posters, which he signs and gives out at races, and, in this unfortunate case, at the side of Interstate highways.)
Further Update Information:
This additional information just in from Sgt. Ben Smith of the Arizona Highway Patrol, via phone interview: “The rule is 390.3, and again there is about five-and-a-half paragraphs there, and it says, ‘Exceptions: Unless otherwise specified, specifically provided the rules of this sub-chapter do not apply to:
“And one of those is, ‘Occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise.’
“Now in the back here it says, ‘Does exemption in 390.3(f)3 for the occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise apply to persons who occasionally use commercial motor vehicles to haul cars, boats, horses, etc, to races, tournaments, shows, and similar events even if prize money is offered at these events.’
“Okay, the guidance, ‘The exemption would apply to this kind of transportation if provided (1) the underlying activities are not undertaken for profit, (a) prize money is declared as ordinary income for tax purposes, if (b) the cost of underlying activities is deducted as a business expense for tax purposes and where relevant corporate sponsorship is not involved.’
“I believe this individual at the site at the time of the stop told the officer that Suzuki gave him a monthly, uh, type of a salary. With that in mind, he does not fall under the exemption.”
RW: Without that statement, it would have been more difficult to determine whether he was exempt or not? It would have taken a little bit of investigation?
Sgt. Smith: “Yes. That’s correct.”
RW: Generally do you guys get into it that much?
Sgt. Smith: “Well, not too long ago, we had a guy up on North 93. He was into these racing karts, and it took us about two-and-a-half hours with phone calls. We determined that he was sponsored by a racing kart company there in Oklahoma and the kart manufacturer out of Italy also provided sponsorship for him. Sometimes we can dig, and we can come up with the information. Sometimes we don’t. Another time we spent two hours on a situation and weren’t able to determine it, and let the guy go down the road. It took us about a week. Finally the answer came back, no he wasn’t really, didn’t fall under this guideline.”
RW: Are you guys race-savvy? It sounds like you guys know what’s going on a little bit with racing.
Sgt. Smith: “Right.”
RW: So you guys know the difference between a guy who’s getting a salary from Suzuki or from Chevy and a guy who is rolling a couple of motocross bikes to the local track across the state line?
Sgt. Smith: “Right. There’s a big difference there, yeah. If it’s borderline, we might do some digging for an hour or two, and we still haven’t determined it one way or another we’ll generally kick the guy loose. If you’re doing a story on this you might add in this thing that the officer, he did not cite this individual. All he did was place him out of service for eight hours. Made him stop at a truck stop, place him out of service for eight hours, then he could continue on his trip. He did not cite him for anything. He could have cited him.”
Editorial Opinion: Of course, he could have also applied some of the kind of time the Arizona Highway Patrol is apparently willing to spend to investigate a kart racer, using it to determine that, yes, Chris Ulrich had just spent most of the night at a truck stop after driving six hours from California, putting him well under the “in service” time limits. And he could have then sent Ulrich on his way toward Mid-Ohio with a warning to carry a log book in the future.
Meanwhile, reached by cell phone after serving his eight hours of down time, Chris Ulrich denied ever telling officer Russell that he got a salary of any type. “What would I gain by fabricating something like that?” asked Ulrich. “The guy sort of started out BSing about motocrossing and then started popping questions, but I never said I got a salary. And I never said I was sponsored by Suzuki, I told him that they give me contingency money. The guy completely made that stuff up about me saying I was getting a salary. I never once told him that I was on salary or had a contract with Suzuki. He was trying to say that I worked for Suzuki directly, and I told him that I didn’t.”
In response to this post, racer Jeff Short of Citrus Heights, California sent a FAX to Roadracing World that read, “What a pile of dung the Arizona CHP must be. Don’t they realize holding someone for eight hours is probably more costly than the fine? What a gross intrusion into our personal freedom.”
On the podium: “Yeah, I can’t believe my luck. Ben (Spies) and Jimmy (Moore) were running a really great race. I kind of fell behind there at the start. I cooked my tire a little bit. You know, I couldn’t believe it. I saw Jimmy fall down and thought, ‘Wow! I’m in second place.’ I saw Ben fall down and I was like, ‘Cool! I’m gonna win. I just gotta keep this thing on two wheels.’ “You know, in qualifying we thought I was going to try and put it on pole, and I threw it away a little bit. My plan for the race was to keep my head and get on the box. That was all, you know. I was going to use my head and finish the race. I need the points. “I’ve got to thank Billy Wiese. I gotta thank my father, John Ulrich, Roadracing World magazine, Roadracingworld.com, Vesrah Racing, Suzuki, Metzeler tires, Pirelli. This is great. I said at Road America I would win one. I just kind of got this one handed to me but I was on my wheels at the end of the race. I want to say, ‘What’s up?’ to my mom in the Roadracing World booth and my brother who came out here to help support the magazine. Thanks for all of your support. We’re gonna keep plugging away and try to move up in the Championship. Special thanks to Billy, the Valvoline crew, everybody, Shane Clarke builds my engines, Barry McMahan. This is a great day for me.” At the post-race press conference: “I started racing when I was 13 on a YSR50, and I had no clue where I would end up. This is just a result of my hard work and my father’s opportunities. This win feels really good for me. “In qualifying, I was really happy to be underneath the track record – there were only three guys and I did it on my race tire. I had a little misfortune up at the top of the corkscrew and threw it away. I’ve been crashing a little too much this year learning and getting up to speed. So my plan for the race was to use my head. I was going to try to get off to a decent start, which I didn’t. I got a really horrible start. My launch was good, but I got tangled up with Ben going over the top of the hill and that put me a little wide. So after that, it was like, ‘Okay. Don’t get excited. Don’t throw this away.’ “I saw Richie (Alexander) get the black flag, and he came in. I said, ‘Okay, no problem. I’m in third now’ And I was gapping fourth. I wasn’t gaining too much. I was just holding the gap steady from me to second and gapping fourth. My plan was to stay there, you know? Take what I could get today. “I couldn’t believe my luck when I come around and Jimmy’s bike is flipping in the air. The next lap I come around and there’s a waving yellow in the last turn and Ben’s on the ground. I saw that and thought, ‘Wow! I’ve got a three-second gap to fourth, and I’m gonna win this. Wow!’ “That last lap was a bit unnerving. I broke a little early in a couple of places, looked behind me a couple of times. It feels really good after last weekend when I got run into by another guy and destroyed one of my bikes at VIR, then come here and win. “I’ve got to thank my father John Ulrich, Roadracingworld.com, and Roadracing World magazine, Vesrah Suzuki, Tiger Angel leathers-–I’ve been destroying their stuff all year–Arai helmets, and everybody including Dave Swarts from Roadracing World for driving my truck across the country last week when I couldn’t. “It’s a great day for me. I’m definitely going to savor this one. I’m going to keep the hard work up. You know, if those guys keep making mistakes like that, maybe we’ve got a shot at the Championship. I don’t know. It’s a learning year for me. I think I’m ahead of the curve right now. I’m just out there trying to get a ride for next year so that I don’t have to drive my own truck to the racetrack. I can’t be happier. This is a great day.”
A seminar on proper Air Fence/Air Module use, deployment, mantenance and repair will be held in conjunction with an Air Fence Fund contributor signing at Mid-Ohio on Friday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.
The seminar will be conducted by Alpina Safety Systems representative Dan Lance.
During an Air Fence signing at Laguna Seca on Saturday evening, July 7, Andy Coffey of Air Fence Safety Systems answered questions and explained the basic operation and set-up to a group of Air Fence Fund contributors. The Air Fence section signed at Laguna Seca was set up in front of the concrete barrier hit by Jamie Bowman at Laguna Seca last year, adding a somber note to the signing ceremony.
People who have contributed to the Air Fence Fund and who have not already signed a section of Air Fence/Air Module at Road Atlanta, Road America or Laguna Seca are invited to sign a section of Air Fence and sit in on Lance’s seminar at Mid-Ohio. The Air Fence signing will be hosted by Roadracing World’s John Ulrich.
The exact location of the signing will be announced at the racetrack, and the information will also be posted at Chris Ulrich’s trailer in the paddock on Friday morning.
From the British Grand Prix, Donington Park, England, on Saturday, July 7:
“Rain always changes the feel of the tarmac, even after it’s dried. The tarmac had a different quality of grip this afternoon. It was good to have the track time anyway, and we all could have beat our Friday times if the session had lasted just a while longer.”
This is from a Ducati press release, which reveals that Colin Edwards was fastest in World Superbike tests today at Imola’s Enzo & Dino Ferrari Circuit:
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) and Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) set fifth and sixth quickest times on the first day of World Superbike testing at the Enzo & Dino Ferrari Circuit in Imola today. The two-day test, which sees the participation of factory teams from Ducati, Honda, Aprilia and Kawasaki, is in preparation for the final round of the championship scheduled at Imola for September 30.
Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada), who has never seen the track before, said that he was looking forward to racing again in Italy (where he has already won three races out of four this year) after completing a massive 92 laps, setting a time of 1:51.53. “This is my first visit to Imola and it’s coming along nicely”, declared the 32-year-old Australian. “The circuit is not too bad and I’m glad we came testing. The track was slippery this morning, but I’m sure tomorrow the grip will be much better. I’m really pleased the last round of the season is in Italy, because it’s close to the Ducati factory and that means there’ll be a good crowd for the race”.
Double Laguna winner Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was a fraction of a second behind Bayliss but the 27-year-old American was suffering with jet-lag after returning from California a couple of days ago. “This is the first day and I’m feeling so tired”, commented Bostrom, who completed 64 laps with a best time of 1:51.80. ” I’ve been here before to do some testing when it was raining, but the track seems decent to me and I’m looking forward to racing here in September”.
Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) crashed out in the morning session, suffering a slight injury to his left collarbone, and the 23-year-old Spanish rider only did a few laps in the afternoon before concluding his day’s testing. “I was going quite well on the old tire but when I put a new one on, I lost the rear end of the bike and highsided at a slow speed. The track is quite nice but very slippery”, commented Xaus, whose best time over 42 laps was 1:53.040.
UNOFFICIAL TIMES:
1. Edwards (Honda) 1:50.12
2. Laconi (Aprilia) 1:50.61
3. Okada (Honda) 1:50.90
4. Corser (Aprilia) 1:51.49
5. BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:51.53
6. BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) 1:51.80
7. Antonello (Aprilia) 1:52.30
8. Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 1:52.70
9. Lavilla (Kawasaki) 1:52.90
10.Parkes (Ducati) 1:52.90
11. XAUS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:53.04.
Here’s Aprilia’s press release on the same test day:
Private tests at Imola in preparation for the last round of the championship on 30 September. The three official Aprilia riders, Corser, Laconi and Antonello get their first taste of the Santerno track.
On 30 September, the final curtain will come down on the World Superbike Championship 2001, here in the “land of motors” at Imola, in the heart of Emilia Romagna. The thirteenth and last round of 2001 will also witness the debut of the Superbikes on the historical track named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari. Today, World Superbike riders got their first taste of the circuit: Many of them are at Imola for the first time and these test sessions are an excellent opportunity to take note of useful references for the September races. The President of Superbike International, Paolo Alberto Flammini, the President of Sagis, Federico Bendinelli, and the mayor of the City of Imola will be officially presenting the event in tomorrow morning’s press conference: They will be opening up what looks all set to be the decisive round for the 2001 title.
The Aprilia riders lost no time doing lap after lap and acquiring precious information. Corser completed 45 laps, Laconi 70 and Antonello, who completed 40, slipped halfway through the afternoon on the fast curve before Rivazza, without too much harm: Just a slight contusion of his right forearm. The official Aprilia test rider will be back on track tomorrow.
Temperatures: morning 27°C/40°C ground – afternoon 29°C/43°C – clear sky, strong wind 16/18 metres a second from southwest.
“A very technical circuit with some blind corners where you can’t see the way out”, said Troy Corser after his debut on the Imola track. “There are also plenty of bumps, so we worked hard on the set-up of the bike to get it just right. Fine-tuning of the bike and the choice of race tires for my schedule but also getting to know the ins and outs of a track that requires enormous concentration.”
“I’m more than happy with today”, said Regis Laconi, who raced here on 250 in ’97 and on 500 in ’98 and ’99, so I know the track well. “There are lots of long curves and that’s where you need a really stable bike. The trajectories are like those of a 500, so I felt completely at ease. We’ve done a great job and the test session programme has got off to a fantastic start.”
It is the first time at Imola for Alessandro Antonello too: “Setting up the bike needed great care since the power of the engine takes a lot of weight off the front, and the exit trajectories tend to be wider, taking you onto the curbs. The changes we made to the set-up today have already obtained their first results. Pity about the slide in the afternoon–but I’m okay and I’ll be back on track tomorrow.”
From an AMA press release:
AMA INVITES ALL MOTORCYCLISTS TO SUPPORT 10TH ANNUAL RIDE-TO-WORK DAY
PICKERINGTON, Ohio — The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) encourages all motorcyclists to participate in the 10th Annual “Ride to Work
Day” on Wednesday, July 18.
“Ride to Work Day shows the American public that motorcycles aren’t just recreational vehicles, but an alternate form of transportation,” said Robert Rasor, President of the AMA.
The AMA believes that motorcycles can play an important role in reducing traffic congestion, especially in large urban areas. As an association committed to protecting motorcyclists’ rights, the AMA also has an interest in demonstrating the size of the motorcycling community to policy makers.
“With the support of millions of American motorcyclists, Ride to Work Day can make a powerful statement about the strength of our voice in the democratic process,” said Rasor.
In 1992, Andy Goldfine, founder of Aerostich Riderwear, launched this annual celebration of two-wheeled commuting, to make the public more aware of commuting motorcyclists. Last year, Goldfine established a non-profit corporation to promote the concept.
Shortly thereafter, the AMA’s Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution to “approve and endorse the value of motorcycles as a vehicle for
daily personal transportation and designate the third Wednesday of July as Ride To Work Day in recognition of that value.”
More information is available from www.ridetowork.org, or from (218) 722-9806.
(This year’s Ride To Work day conflicts with AMA-sanctioned racing activities at Mid-Ohio, which is where we’ll be.)
By David Swarts
One of the coolest things about working at Roadracing World is having access to the archive of back issues, reviewing past seasons, and reflecting on how far people have come. As we look ahead to the July 20-22 AMA Double Header Superbike Weekend at Mid-Ohio, we decided to take a look back at the Mid-Ohio AMA weekend from 1996, five years ago.
It rained on Sunday at Mid-Ohio in 1996 causing some strange results. The Superbike race, along with most of the other races, was red-flagged twice for crashes in the last turn, which sent bikes into the wall on the outside of the turn and bouncing back out onto the track (The wall has since been moved back.) The second red flag stopped the Superbike race short of its full distance, leaving then dominant Honda rider Miguel Duhamel in fourth behind privateer Brett Metzger on his GSX-R750 Supersport bike, Thomas Wilson on the then-two-year-old Harley-Davidson VR1000, and Pascal Picotte on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750.
Notable crashers included Mike Smith on a Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-7R, Larry Pegram on a Fast By Ferracci Ducati 955, current Ducati North America Road Race Manager David Roy on a Suzuki GSX-R750, Jamie James on a Vance & Hines Yamaha YZF750R, and Mat Mladin on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750.
Doug Chandler’s seventh-place finish allowed him to leave Mid-Ohio with the Superbike point lead over Duhamel, Picotte, Kipp, and Mladin.
In 250cc Grand Prix, Team Oliver Yamaha’s Rich Oliver took the third of four consecutive wins at Mid-Ohio en route to his third of four consecutive 250cc Grand Prix Championships. Cliff Tolley was second ahead of Perry Melneciuc. The finish was Melneciuc’s first AMA National podium. (Melneciuc just earned his second podium position during the wet 250cc Grand Prix race at Road America last month.)
Kurtis Roberts, then 18, crashed his PJ1 Yamaha in a 250cc heat race and broke his ankle.
The wet, red-flag interrupted 600cc Supersport race was far from normal. After hours were spent cleaning up an oil spill on the wet track, the re-started race was won by Erion Racing’s Doug Toland followed by Moto Liberty’s Gerald Rothman and Erion’s Andrew Stroud. All three were sponsored by Bridgestone but ran Dunlop DOT-labeled rain tires for the wet race.
Fourth place went to Todd Harrington with class points leader Miguel Duhamel fifth ahead of Marcus Hubbard, Matt Wait, injured-in-practice Thomas Stevens on the Kinko’s Kawasaki ZX-6R, Ken Melville, and Ben Bostrom. Owen Weichel finished 14th, one spot better than 18-year-old Tommy Hayden on a Muzzy Kawasaki ZX-6R. Brian Parriott crashed and finished 21st, still better than Mike Smith’s 28th after a first-lap crash. Nearly everyone crashed at some point in the race.
The wet Harley-Davidson SuperTwins race saw Ben Bostrom pass Matt Wait for the win, three corners from the finish, with Eric Bostrom third. Both Bostroms ran Metzeler Lazer front tires with ME99 rears. Wait used a Dunlop dirt track front tire and a D364 rear. All three rode with high, dirt-track-style bars and put their feet down in corners.
Other notable finishers in the H-D 883 race included Nate “Gator” Wait in fourth, Brian Gibbs in fifth, David Estok in 10th, Richie Morris in 12th, and current 750cc Supersport racer Daigoro Suzuki in 13th.
In Saturday’s dry SuperTeams race Moto Liberty Honda’s Gerald Rothman and Al Salaverria took the win on Bridgestones ahead of Fritz Kling and Ray Yoder on the Dutchman’s FZR1000-engined YZF750 “Yama-Monster.” Doug Polen and Dale Quarterley finished third on the Carry-Andrew-tuned EBSCO Suzuki GSX-R1100, giving the EBSCO the class point lead. (That same GSX-R1100 is still used occasionally by Vincent Haskovec to win WSMC Formula One races at Willow Springs.)
In 750cc Supersport, Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Pascal Picotte continued their domination of the class. Yates won over Picotte followed by Michael Barnes, Mark Miller, and Mark McDaniel, all on GSX-R750s.
For the financial quarter ending June 30, 2001, Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as DMH) has announced a 7.2% growth in total revenue (to $102.5 million, Euro 120.9 million) with 5.6% growth in total sales (to $97.1 million, Euro 114.6 million).
Total revenues for the first half of 2001 are up 5.2% (to $187.8 million, Euro 221.5 million) versus 2000 when total sales were up 2%, (to $184.1 million, Euro 217.1 million).
“These results, however, are not at the extraordinary growth levels that Ducati has achieved in recent years,” said Ducati Chief Executive Officer Carlo Di Biagio in a Ducati press release. “Our outlook suggests challenging selling conditions in the coming months. We would therefore anticipate high-single-digit year-end sales growth versus last year, below our 15% target.”
Racer Bruce Lind has been taken off the ventilator and is breathing on his own again in Monterey Community Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries suffered at Laguna Seca.
Lind apparently crashed in his own water on the first lap of his AMA 250cc Grand Prix heat race 10 days ago, bringing up the question: Why not require two-stroke racebikes to run the fluid-containing fairing lowers used to contain oil with great success on four-stroke racebikes? While the fluid-retaining lowers do not work in every circumstance, for example when one of the engine covers that protrudes from the fairing sides of a GSX-R750 is leaking, they have proven to greatly reduce oil spills and related clean-up time.
There is no reason why such a fairing lower would not be equally effective in containing water lost by a TZ250.
Fluid-retaining fairing lowers were first required by AMA Pro Racing several years ago and rank as one of AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice’s greatest technical innovations, being cheap and effective.
By David Swarts
Fox Sports, already a shareholder in Speedvision, is in the process of buying out other partners in the network to obtain a controlling interest. There has been wide speculation as to what will then happen to the motorcycle portion of the network’s programming. Some say that Speedvision will become the NASCAR Network, others hope that Speedvision, and its motorcycle programming, will remain untouched.
The July 2, 2001 issue of Autoweek magazine reported on the purchase as follows, and referred to Fox Sports Chairman David Hill:
“As for Hill, he said he will be working on the ‘evolution of Speedvision into a NASCAR channel.’ Fox recently agreed to purchase Speedvision in a deal that closes in August.
“We’re looking at various program grids with more NASCAR materials,’ Hill said. ‘We’d like to get all the changes done by February, but that may be a bit optimistic.’ Hill would not rule out a name change for the network, although he noted Speedvision has a strong brand equity.”
Roadracing World called Dan Murphy, President of Speedvision Productions, to get his take on Hill’s comments. Speaking from his Denver, Colorado office, Murphy said, “I’m not completely sure that Mr. Hill was quoted correctly, but I don’t think that Fox would have let us sign off on the deal to air the 2002 Daytona 200 live if they planned on completely shutting motorcycle programming off and turning it into a NASCAR-only channel.”
When asked if he felt that the amount of motorcycle programming on Speedvision would change, Murphy said, “It’s too early to tell. The sale of the network isn’t even finished yet.”
Murphy said that once the sale is complete, Hill will be the man who sits down and makes programming decisions. Asked if he would be one of the people able to provide input to the decision-making process for the new programming schedule, Murphy said, “I’d like to think I would, but Hill will be making the decisions.”
Roadracingworld.com readers who would like to comment on the situation can send an e-mail to David Hill, c/o [email protected]. A petition opposing the elimination of other programming in favor of making Speedvision a NASCAR channel appears on the internet at www.petitiononline.com/svsn/
Officers from the Arizona State Department of Public Safety are apparently applying commercial trucking standards to motorcycle racers pulling race trailers with pick-up trucks, requiring commercial log books, medical cards and DOT numbers.
Racer Chris Ulrich was stopped outside Kingman, Arizona this morning, where he had spent the night after leaving California Sunday evening en route to the AMA National race at Mid-Ohio, and told he had to remain “out of service” for eight hours because he did not have a commercial trucker’s log book. According to Ulrich, Arizona Highway Patrolmen Kurt Russell, badge #4899, said that the “Suzuki” logo on Ulrich’s Suzuki GSX-R750 was proof that Ulrich was running a commercial operation subject to all commercial carrier rules.
Ulrich is driving a Dodge Ram 3500 dually pulling a 40-foot six-wheel trailer–the trailer being owned by Mark Junge and loaned to Ulrich for the season–containing his GSX-R750 and other race equipment as well as living quarters.
According to Arizona Highway Patrol Commercial Vehicles spokesman Charles Blundell, commercial vehicle rules probably should not have been applied to Ulrich and his pick-up truck/trailer combination, and there is no crackdown on racers and their trailers in Arizona. While Blundell said the situation sounded like “a misunderstanding,” Ulrich remains parked at a truck stop outside Kingman and has been ordered to stay there until 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon.
But according to Arizona Department of Public Safety officer and media spokesman Steve Volden, any racer who receives contingency money or has any sponsorship is “in furtherance of some sort of commercial enterprise,” which is why Ulrich was put “out of service” for not having a logbook, medical card and DOT numbers.
“Once you’re compensated for the things you do, that’s what puts you in a commercial category,” said Volden.
“The driver of this truck made a couple of factual admissions to the officer,” said Volden. “One that he is sponsored by Suzuki and some sort of brake company and that he received contingency fees when he wins. And that he is a professional racer. He even gave the officer one of his posters. Those admissions are factual indicators that he is in the furtherance of some sort of commercial enterprise, which is why he was put out of service. Which means he has to sit for eight hours before he can drive legally in a commercial venture.”
According to Arizona Highway Patrol Sgt. Ben Smith, who as Squad Commander supervises the officer who pulled Ulrich over, “It was a random spot check. Officers saw him going down the road and pulled him over. Under the Federal Motor Carrier law and state statute, if it’s a commercial vehicle we have the right to stop and inspect them without any violations being noted. We do pick-ups all of the time in Arizona. He (Ulrich) does fall under the Federal Motor Carrier regulations due to the fact that he is sponsored by a corporation, Suzuki. He is also sponsored by a brake company. The Federal Motor Carrier laws say anything over 10,001 (pounds), if there’s a trailer involved over 10,001 (pounds). This trailer is 14,700 (pounds). A combination of the pick-up and the gross vehicle weight rating of the trailer brings him up to 25,200 (pounds). So he’s required to have a medical card and carry a log book. The section he falls under of the Federal Motor Carrier laws is 395.8(a) Record and Duty Status, and the one for the medical card is 391.41(a). Then you look at the definitions for things, and they’ll say that that applies to him in these situations.”
When Roadracing World asked Sgt. Smith for advice for other privateer racers driving their own transporters across the country to races, Sgt. Smith said, “What they need to do is check with the Feds and see if their equipment…each state varies. It depends on what they have adopted – that part of the motor carrier laws. Like Arizona is anything over 18,001 (pounds), if it’s a combination, as long as the trailer is over 10,001 (pounds). You get into Utah, it’s anything over 10,001 (pounds) whether it’s a pick-up or just a trailer in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise.”
Roadracing World has also asked Sgt. Smith to define “sponsorship” as used by the Arizona Highway Patrol to determine “commercial enterprise” in cases like this one. Sgt. Smith said he would get back to us on that.
(For the record, Chris Ulrich is not “sponsored by Suzuki” and does not have a contract with Suzuki nor Vesrah (brakes), the endurance team he rides for when not attending AMA Nationals as a privateer. He is, however, guilty of having posters, which he signs and gives out at races, and, in this unfortunate case, at the side of Interstate highways.)
Further Update Information:
This additional information just in from Sgt. Ben Smith of the Arizona Highway Patrol, via phone interview: “The rule is 390.3, and again there is about five-and-a-half paragraphs there, and it says, ‘Exceptions: Unless otherwise specified, specifically provided the rules of this sub-chapter do not apply to:
“And one of those is, ‘Occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise.’
“Now in the back here it says, ‘Does exemption in 390.3(f)3 for the occasional transportation of personal property by individuals not for compensation nor in the furtherance of a commercial enterprise apply to persons who occasionally use commercial motor vehicles to haul cars, boats, horses, etc, to races, tournaments, shows, and similar events even if prize money is offered at these events.’
“Okay, the guidance, ‘The exemption would apply to this kind of transportation if provided (1) the underlying activities are not undertaken for profit, (a) prize money is declared as ordinary income for tax purposes, if (b) the cost of underlying activities is deducted as a business expense for tax purposes and where relevant corporate sponsorship is not involved.’
“I believe this individual at the site at the time of the stop told the officer that Suzuki gave him a monthly, uh, type of a salary. With that in mind, he does not fall under the exemption.”
RW: Without that statement, it would have been more difficult to determine whether he was exempt or not? It would have taken a little bit of investigation?
Sgt. Smith: “Yes. That’s correct.”
RW: Generally do you guys get into it that much?
Sgt. Smith: “Well, not too long ago, we had a guy up on North 93. He was into these racing karts, and it took us about two-and-a-half hours with phone calls. We determined that he was sponsored by a racing kart company there in Oklahoma and the kart manufacturer out of Italy also provided sponsorship for him. Sometimes we can dig, and we can come up with the information. Sometimes we don’t. Another time we spent two hours on a situation and weren’t able to determine it, and let the guy go down the road. It took us about a week. Finally the answer came back, no he wasn’t really, didn’t fall under this guideline.”
RW: Are you guys race-savvy? It sounds like you guys know what’s going on a little bit with racing.
Sgt. Smith: “Right.”
RW: So you guys know the difference between a guy who’s getting a salary from Suzuki or from Chevy and a guy who is rolling a couple of motocross bikes to the local track across the state line?
Sgt. Smith: “Right. There’s a big difference there, yeah. If it’s borderline, we might do some digging for an hour or two, and we still haven’t determined it one way or another we’ll generally kick the guy loose. If you’re doing a story on this you might add in this thing that the officer, he did not cite this individual. All he did was place him out of service for eight hours. Made him stop at a truck stop, place him out of service for eight hours, then he could continue on his trip. He did not cite him for anything. He could have cited him.”
Editorial Opinion: Of course, he could have also applied some of the kind of time the Arizona Highway Patrol is apparently willing to spend to investigate a kart racer, using it to determine that, yes, Chris Ulrich had just spent most of the night at a truck stop after driving six hours from California, putting him well under the “in service” time limits. And he could have then sent Ulrich on his way toward Mid-Ohio with a warning to carry a log book in the future.
Meanwhile, reached by cell phone after serving his eight hours of down time, Chris Ulrich denied ever telling officer Russell that he got a salary of any type. “What would I gain by fabricating something like that?” asked Ulrich. “The guy sort of started out BSing about motocrossing and then started popping questions, but I never said I got a salary. And I never said I was sponsored by Suzuki, I told him that they give me contingency money. The guy completely made that stuff up about me saying I was getting a salary. I never once told him that I was on salary or had a contract with Suzuki. He was trying to say that I worked for Suzuki directly, and I told him that I didn’t.”
In response to this post, racer Jeff Short of Citrus Heights, California sent a FAX to Roadracing World that read, “What a pile of dung the Arizona CHP must be. Don’t they realize holding someone for eight hours is probably more costly than the fine? What a gross intrusion into our personal freedom.”
On the podium: “Yeah, I can’t believe my luck. Ben (Spies) and Jimmy (Moore) were running a really great race. I kind of fell behind there at the start. I cooked my tire a little bit. You know, I couldn’t believe it. I saw Jimmy fall down and thought, ‘Wow! I’m in second place.’ I saw Ben fall down and I was like, ‘Cool! I’m gonna win. I just gotta keep this thing on two wheels.’ “You know, in qualifying we thought I was going to try and put it on pole, and I threw it away a little bit. My plan for the race was to keep my head and get on the box. That was all, you know. I was going to use my head and finish the race. I need the points. “I’ve got to thank Billy Wiese. I gotta thank my father, John Ulrich, Roadracing World magazine, Roadracingworld.com, Vesrah Racing, Suzuki, Metzeler tires, Pirelli. This is great. I said at Road America I would win one. I just kind of got this one handed to me but I was on my wheels at the end of the race. I want to say, ‘What’s up?’ to my mom in the Roadracing World booth and my brother who came out here to help support the magazine. Thanks for all of your support. We’re gonna keep plugging away and try to move up in the Championship. Special thanks to Billy, the Valvoline crew, everybody, Shane Clarke builds my engines, Barry McMahan. This is a great day for me.” At the post-race press conference: “I started racing when I was 13 on a YSR50, and I had no clue where I would end up. This is just a result of my hard work and my father’s opportunities. This win feels really good for me. “In qualifying, I was really happy to be underneath the track record – there were only three guys and I did it on my race tire. I had a little misfortune up at the top of the corkscrew and threw it away. I’ve been crashing a little too much this year learning and getting up to speed. So my plan for the race was to use my head. I was going to try to get off to a decent start, which I didn’t. I got a really horrible start. My launch was good, but I got tangled up with Ben going over the top of the hill and that put me a little wide. So after that, it was like, ‘Okay. Don’t get excited. Don’t throw this away.’ “I saw Richie (Alexander) get the black flag, and he came in. I said, ‘Okay, no problem. I’m in third now’ And I was gapping fourth. I wasn’t gaining too much. I was just holding the gap steady from me to second and gapping fourth. My plan was to stay there, you know? Take what I could get today. “I couldn’t believe my luck when I come around and Jimmy’s bike is flipping in the air. The next lap I come around and there’s a waving yellow in the last turn and Ben’s on the ground. I saw that and thought, ‘Wow! I’ve got a three-second gap to fourth, and I’m gonna win this. Wow!’ “That last lap was a bit unnerving. I broke a little early in a couple of places, looked behind me a couple of times. It feels really good after last weekend when I got run into by another guy and destroyed one of my bikes at VIR, then come here and win. “I’ve got to thank my father John Ulrich, Roadracingworld.com, and Roadracing World magazine, Vesrah Suzuki, Tiger Angel leathers-–I’ve been destroying their stuff all year–Arai helmets, and everybody including Dave Swarts from Roadracing World for driving my truck across the country last week when I couldn’t. “It’s a great day for me. I’m definitely going to savor this one. I’m going to keep the hard work up. You know, if those guys keep making mistakes like that, maybe we’ve got a shot at the Championship. I don’t know. It’s a learning year for me. I think I’m ahead of the curve right now. I’m just out there trying to get a ride for next year so that I don’t have to drive my own truck to the racetrack. I can’t be happier. This is a great day.”
A seminar on proper Air Fence/Air Module use, deployment, mantenance and repair will be held in conjunction with an Air Fence Fund contributor signing at Mid-Ohio on Friday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.
The seminar will be conducted by Alpina Safety Systems representative Dan Lance.
During an Air Fence signing at Laguna Seca on Saturday evening, July 7, Andy Coffey of Air Fence Safety Systems answered questions and explained the basic operation and set-up to a group of Air Fence Fund contributors. The Air Fence section signed at Laguna Seca was set up in front of the concrete barrier hit by Jamie Bowman at Laguna Seca last year, adding a somber note to the signing ceremony.
People who have contributed to the Air Fence Fund and who have not already signed a section of Air Fence/Air Module at Road Atlanta, Road America or Laguna Seca are invited to sign a section of Air Fence and sit in on Lance’s seminar at Mid-Ohio. The Air Fence signing will be hosted by Roadracing World’s John Ulrich.
The exact location of the signing will be announced at the racetrack, and the information will also be posted at Chris Ulrich’s trailer in the paddock on Friday morning.
