Billy Wiese, who tuned Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich to two AMA podium finishes on a GSX-R750 so far this year–including Ulrich’s recent 750cc Supersport win at Laguna Seca–has opened his own shop in the Northwest suburbs of Houston, Texas. Wiese also worked with Ulrich during his 1999 run to third in the AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series on a Yamaha TZ250. Wiese’s shop, WRW Racing, provides all types of service and repair work for motorcycles and ATVs, including two-stroke engine building and machining. Parts and accessories can also be purchased at the shop, which is open 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays, as Wiese’s race schedule allows. Wiese, a motorcycle mechanic since 1967, is also working toward making his shop a Traxxion Dynamics suspension service center.

WRW Racing is located at 13529 Skinner Rd. #B, Cypress, Texas, (281) 304-6767.

Roadracingworld.com reporter David Swarts was stopped by Arizona Highway Patrol officers on Interstate 40 near Winslow, Arizona yesterday and the 1993 motorhome Swarts was driving to the AMA National at Mid-Ohio was searched for drugs.

Officers found nothing incriminating in the motorhome and released Swarts after about a 30-minute delay.

Officers asked to search the motorhome after examining the registration papers, which show the recently-bought-used motorhome to be owned by Roadracingworld.com Editor John Ulrich, who also owns the pickup truck being driven to Mid-Ohio by Chris Ulrich.

See related post 7/16/01, headlined “Updated Post With Additional Information: Arizona Applying Commercial Trucking Standards To Racers Pulling Trailers With Pick-up Trucks”.

Formula USA Road Racing and Lockhart Phillips USA have teamed up in an interesting new promotion designed to turn more street riders into racers. The program is called “Zero To Hero” and offers half-price tuition at all participating CCS new racer schools and a free, first-race entry.

New racers will still be expected to have a fully race-prepared motorcycle and all of the proper safety gear, but the new promotion helps beginners with the start-up expenses of becoming a motorcycle road racer.

Kevin Elliott, Director of Championship Cup Series racing, is quoted a press release from Formula USA as saying, “Our Road Race Schools are designed for the rider who is already somewhat comfortable with his or her machine, we teach you the rules of racing first, then some of the finer points of going fast around the racetrack at competitive speeds. We show you what to look for and what to avoid on the track as well as the specific racing etiquette that all racers are expected to follow. This makes it so you know what to expect out of the other guy and they know what to expect out of you, thus making your racing experience a safer, more enjoyable one. Our instructors stay involved with the student, sometimes for their entire career, to make sure that any questions the students have are answered by someone who has already been where they are going. This makes a racing school different from a riding school, since you will see your instructor at the track during most every race weekend in your region, not just on those rare occasions when you happen to be at the same track as these traveling riding schools. The Lockhart Phillips ‘Go from Zero to Hero’ program is the first of its kind and we are proud that CCS was chosen by an industry leader such as Lockhart Phillips USA as their partner in this promotion.”

More information is available from CCS at (817) 332-4822.

CCS events included in the promotion are:

California Road Racing Championship
August 11-12 Thunderhill Park, Willows CA
September 1-2 Streets of Willow, Rosamond CA
September 15-16 Phoenix Int’l Raceway
October 6-7 Thunderhill Park, Willows CA
November 10-11 Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA

Florida Road Racing Championship
September 1-2Roebling Road, Faulkville, GA

Great Plains Road Racing Championship
September 8-9 Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, IL
September 15-16Gateway Int’l Raceway, Madison, IL
October 6-7Gateway Int’l Raceway, Madison, IL

Mid-West Road Racing Championship
August 25-26 Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, IL
September 8-9 Blackhawk Farms, S. Beloit, IL
October 6-7Gateway Int’l Raceway, Madison, IL

Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Championship
July 21-22 Roebling Road, Faulkville, GA
August 4-5 Virginia Int’l Raceway, Alton, VA
September 1-2 Roebling Road, Faulkville, GA
September 22-23Rausch Creek Raceway, Valley View, PA
(Non Points)

Southeast Road Racing Championship
July 21-22 Roebling Road, Faulkville, GA
August 4-5 Virginia Int’l Raceway, Alton, VA
September 1-2 Roebling Road, Faulkville, GA

Southwest Road Racing Championship
August 11-12Thunderhill Park, Willows CA
September 1-2Streets of Willow, Rosamond, CA
September 15-16 Phoenix Int’l Raceway
October 6-7Firebird Int’l., Chandler, AZ
October 6-7Thunderhill Park, Willows CA
November- 10-11 Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow, CA

All Dates Are Subject to Change.

* = Double Points
TC = Team Challenge
** = Twin Sprint Event (Friday Riders School)

The CCS event scheduled for August 11-12 at Road Atlanta has been cancelled. A car race has been scheduled instead, according to Kevin Elliott of Clear Channel Motorsports, formerly known as SFX Motorsports, formerly known as PACE Motorsports. Elliott made his remarks in reponse to a racer inquiring about pre-entry for the event, which was on CCS schedules.

But the Road Atlanta schedule shows the dates taken by a Kevin Schwantz school, and sources close to the track say that CCS never scheduled a race on that weekend.

At post time, a Road Atlanta spokesman had not returned a phone call requesting comment.

From an OMS Ltd press release:

OMS Ltd. announced today that Dale Spangler has been named Sales Account Executive for AMA Sports and All Terrain Vehicle Association (ATVA) activities. Last month, OMS Ltd. was appointed by the AMA as the exclusive sponsorship agent for AMA Sports and the ATVA.

Spangler comes to OMS with 20+ years experience in the personal power sports industry ranging from national caliber motocross racer to his most recent position as power sports promotions manager at Smith Sport Optics. Spangler’s primary responsibilities at OMS will include establishing new sponsorships for AMA Sports and the ATVA as well as taking existing sponsorships to a new level.

“It is an honor to be selected for this new position and to join the great staff OMS has assembled,” said Spangler. “I look forward to the challenge of elevating the sponsorship opportunities for AMA Sports and the new ATVA group events and series to a new level of participation and professionalism.”

“Dale’s experience and passion for the industry will be a great asset to the OMS Team as well maximizing promoting the many opportunities available with AMA Sports and All Terrain Vehicle Association activities,” said OMS general manager, Cory Jonson from his Kentucky office.

For more information on sponsorship opportunities of AMA Sports and ATVA activities, please contact Dale Spangler at 859-647-0718.

The latest press release issued by Dr. Rob Tuluie regarding his Tul-aris 780:


Tul-aris Almost Finishes 3rd in First Race

After a difficult launch off the starting line, Tul-aris development rider Steve Johnson rode a great race to chase down and pass Wes Pogue’s GSX-R750 for 3rd place on the second-to-last lap of the CRA Unlimited GP race. Steve made up ground consistently during the race and passed Pogue under braking into turn 10. It was great fun to watch Steve wheelie for several gears out of turn 9 consistently and then make the pass for 3rd into the next turn on the brakes. Most unfortunately, on the penultimate lap a malfunctioning gas tank breather caused the engine to stumble due to fuel starvation and Steve pulled in to avoid engine damage.

Never-the-less, to be racing for a podium position with national-level racers this early in the development process of the bike is a very encouraging sign and testament to Steve’s development and riding abilities, the hard work of the Tul-aris crew and the validity of the design of the Tul-aris. We improved our lap times by over 2 seconds from the last time we were at BIR and are now performing typical set-up work, such as finding optimum tire and suspension combinations. This improvement came without the use of our power valve engine, which is still in development, but rather using our existing non-power valve, Hot Seat Performance 780cc engine, which we set up very safely and which ran faultless for the entire weekend, 64 laps (200 miles) total.

If we can maintain this rate of improvement into the next event, great things are in store. Typically, the rate of improvement at the top level of motorcycle racing is on the order of a second per year, if that. Our current rate is 2 seconds per event! Our biggest advantage at BIR came in the infield section of the track, where Steve was able to lap significantly faster than his competition. Our greatest disadvantage was over the bumpy sections of Brainerd ultra-fast turn 1, where the combination of light weight and high torque made for some very lively exits, costing Steve as much as a second a lap. In addition, we couldn’t realize the same top speed advantage we saw earlier in the year at Daytona as our state of engine tuning was very conservative and focused on mid-range by choice. Once our electronic Polaris power valve cylinders will be ready, this situation will certainly change.

Our next tasks are to perform servo-hydraulic lab tests on the MTS motorcycle simulator to help find a better set-up for BIR’s turn 1, using track data we collected this weekend and to fit the electronic power valve mechanism.

The Tul-aris Team is sponsored by Hot Seat Performance, Ohlins, Michelin, Nutec Fuel, Yoyodyne Titanium, Lofgren Racing/Manley Cycle and AP Racing. Special thanks to Hardy Baehni, Dale Athman, Tim Wirtz, Greg Ericksen, Jim Hubert, Bob Harrington, Don Fox, Ivan, Chris Koenig, and Dave Adolfson.

The Pro Practice sessions scheduled for Thursday, July 19 at Mid-Ohio (run by Fasttrax) and for Thursday, July 26 at Brainerd (run by Team Hammer) will tentatively both use the same session structure, developed by Team Hammer.

The tentative schedule order follows, although at Mid-Ohio where Pro Thunder will not be run, 750 Supersport will be run alone:

8:00-8:30, 30 minutes, 600 Supersport/250 Grand Prix
8:30-9:00, 30 minutes, 750 Supersport/Pro Thunder
9:00-9:30, 30 minutes, Superbike/Formula Xtreme
9:30-10:00, 30 minutes, 600 Supersport/250 Grand Prix
10:00-10:30, 30 minutes, 750 Supersport/Pro Thunder
10:30-11:00, 30 minutes, Superbike/Formula Xtreme
11:00-12:00, 60 minutes, 600 Supersport/250 Grand Prix
12:00-1:00, 60 minutes, Lunch
1:00-2:00, 60 minutes, 750 Supersport/Pro Thunder
2:00-3:00, 60 minutes, Superbike/Formula Xtreme
3:00-3:30, 30 minutes, 600 Supersport/250 Grand Prix
3:30-4:00, 30 minutes, 750 Supersport/Pro Thunder
4:00-4:30, 30 minutes, Superbike/Formula Xtreme
4:30-5:00, 30 minutes, spare time to make up for delays

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A rider hit two cornerworkers during an eight-lap LRRS Expert/Junior Heavyweight Superbike race at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire on Saturday, July 7, injuring one of the cornerworkers seriously.

The incident started when a rider crashed at the exit of turn two, with the rider and his bike ending up in the middle of the track. Cornerworkers displayed waving yellow and debris flags to riders entering the turn as two runners attempted to retrieve the bike and the crashed rider crawled off the track. The cornerworkers worked at righting the bike and getting it moved as race traffic passed on both sides of them. Finally, 76 seconds after the original crash, three riders came out of the corner and approached the cornerworkers holding the motorcycle. One rider went left, one rider went right, and the third rider ran right into both cornerworkers and the crashed motorcycle, at speed. Three bodies and two motorcycles were strewn across the track, and a red flag was then thrown.

Obviously, news of this crash didn’t circulate via a press release from the track. Most people who know about it saw a video of the crash, which was posted on the Internet. Although we don’t know who shot the video, we can direct readers to two internet sites where the video can be seen:

8.98 mb video for lower-speed connections:

www.13x.com/images/T2-owSM.mpg
And also
cuerpo.13x.com/13x/images/T2-owSM.mpg

Sandy MacPherson of the U.S. Marshalls was acting as Race Control that day, according to Loudon Safety Director Jerry Wood, who was not at the track himself that weekend. MacPherson has not responded to an e-mail inquiry seeking comment, but Wood was reached by phone on Tuesday, July 17.

“It was just a bad deal,” said Wood. “Rob Dages was the cornerworker who got hit. Rick Currier was the rider involved. I believe there was a second cornerworker involved, and I don’t have his name right here. He wasn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as Rob. Rick was hurt, too. Rick had a head injury. Everybody is going to be okay, though.

“They were shipped up to Lakes Region Hospital in Laconia, then they were airlifted out to, I think it’s Dartmouth-Hanover out in Lebanon, New Hampshire, a place that does brain trauma because they all got a whack to the head. It ended up being okay. We had heard all kinds of rumors, though.”

On Dages’ own website www.broadsquad.org/rob/turn2.html, it’s reported that he fractured his pelvis and tailbone, broke one rib and bruised many others, suffered serious lacerations to his forearms, and assorted bumps and bruises. While Dages has medical insurance, it covers only 80% of medical expenses and he will be out of work while recovering, so the LRRS and U.S. Marshalls have begun fund raisers to help defray Dages’ medical costs. To find out how you can make a donation, log on to Dages’ website.

“They did the CAT scan on Rick,” said Wood. “The CAT scan was negative, but for some reason he was still having some combativeness that was not normal. So there was some pressure somewhere that wasn’t showing up on the CAT scan. Fortunately, the CAT scan was negative and there was no bleeding on the brain, but it was a pretty severe concussion. He ran right into the downed motorcycle (and flew over the bars) and hit his head on the track.

“It was a scary thing, and we’re looking at the whole thing. Some people feel that it should have been a red flag instead of a waving yellow, and on and on. I haven’t talked to Sandy MacPherson about that yet. Certainly, we’re going to address the problem.

“Many times we have riders that don’t slow down enough on a waving yellow situation. Of course, that’s one of the things that I do in giving them my little lectures and stuff. And so when we get up there we’re gonna talk about that some more to make sure they understand particularly in a spot like that where you really can’t see around the corner and you get a waving yellow and you go around the corner and there’s the stuff.

“I wasn’t there, and I haven’t seen the video yet. I’ve been monitoring the NEAR (New England Area Racers) Listing which is our racing group’s list and talking to people on the phone. Some people just have the feeling that the rule says that there’s no passing under a waving yellow. Other than that you’re all set. You don’t have any other responsibilities. I posted the difference. They (riders) have to pay attention more. They just can’t charge into that situation that hard. So we’re going to have some meetings and make sure that that doesn’t happen again. But sometimes you just have a bad day and that’s what some of this was.”

At some tracks, there are corners that if involved in a situation call for an automatic red flag. Examples would be turn 15 at Indy Raceway Park or the “Tunnel Turn” at Memphis Motorsports Park. Does Loudon have any areas that produce automatic red flags?

“No, there are no automatic red flag situations at Loudon,” said Wood. “They (cornerworkers) work a ‘hot’ track a lot at Loudon, and they are a very well-trained crew. Sandy (MacPherson) runs the thing from the tower up overhead from where she can see everything. Any cornerworker can call red at anytime. All they have to do is say, ‘Stop this.’ and she pulls the red. Obviously, these cornerworkers felt that they had the thing covered, and it just didn’t work out. It’s just one of those deals.

“There’s such a brouhahah going on about Loudon that people are looking to see if something happened. But this had absolutely nothing to do with the racetrack. This was a people and motorcycle thing. Like any other racetrack, it’s hard when you hit your head on it.”

From a Ducati press release following conclusion of testing at Imola today:

Ducati Corse riders Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) concluded the two-day WSBK test session at Imola’s Enzo & Dino
Ferrari Circuit in fifth and sixth position respectively as the top Superbike teams prepared for the final round of the championship here at the end of September.

Double Laguna winner Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was upbeat about his performance today, during which he ran a total of 63 laps with a best time of 1:50.34, declaring that he was pleased with the general race set-up of his Ducati 996R Factory. “I’m really happy with the two days testing we did here at Imola”, declared Bostrom. “I almost found the race tire, we’ve got a couple to choose from, the bike is pretty much set up the way I want it and the gearing is good. We’ve made a good start come race weekend in September.”

Championship leader Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) completed 73 laps today, setting a best time of 1:50.52, but admitted that more work needed to be
done before he could be satisfied with his Imola set-up. “I did a lot of laps and learnt the track but I’ve been wrestling with the bike a little for the past two days and we’re still missing something”, declared the Australian. “The problem now is finding something on the bike to make up another second on the top guys for the race.”

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) did not take part in the second day of testing after crashing yesterday morning. The 23-year-old Spanish rider, who suffered a minor injury to his left shoulder, preferred not to risk aggravating the injury in view of the next round in 10 days time.

The 13 and final round is scheduled for September 30th at Imola, the first time Superbike has competed at the Santerno track in the championship’s 14-year history while the next round is at Brands Hatch (England) on July 29th, where Bayliss will attempt to defend a 53-point lead over his closest rival Colin Edwards (Honda).


UNOFFICIAL TIMES:
1. Edwards (Honda) 1:49.42
2. Laconi (Aprilia) 1:49.70
3. Okada (Honda) 1:49.72
4. Corser (Aprilia) 1:49.93
5. BOSTROM (DUCATI L&M) 1:50.34
6. BAYLISS (DUCATI INFOSTRADA) 1:50.52
7. Antonello (Aprilia) 1:51.22
8. Lavilla (Kawasaki) 1:51.20
9. Yanagawa (Kawasaki) 1:51.30
10. Parkes (Ducati) 1:52.49


From Aprilia’s press release on the same test day:

Last day of tests sessions at Imola. Regis Laconi second quickest time. Another day of intense tests on the Santerno circuit – with the leading World Championship teams perfecting the set-up of the bikes for the final race of the season. Corser and Laconi, the official Aprilia riders, and Antonello, who will be a wild-card in the September races, studied every possible solution to get the perfect set-up for their Aprilia bikes, doing lap after lap in the central hours of the day as rain menaced from above. Laconi, the French Aprilia rider, went round 98 times scoring the second quickest unofficial time in the tests. Corser made fourth, Antonello seventh. All eyes are now firmly on the forthcoming championship races on 29 July at Brands Hatch (UK).

The next date at Imola for the superbikes will be 30 September when the last round of the Championship will be fought out. This was a true return to the origins, for what were to become the forerunners of the Superbikes made their first appearance right here on 23 April 1972, in the historic 200-mile race. The chequered flag then came down on three of the greats in motorcycling: first Paul Smart, then Bruno Spaggiari and Walter Villa.

“We put in some real work, like yesterday, trying out different set-ups,” said Regis Laconi, second fastest in the sessions. “The results we got from different set-ups were fantastic, but I’m still not that close to making a final choice of tires. Some solutions which give you a really fast lap time still need to be tried out for a full race.”

“The set-up of my bike on the Imola circuit has improved no end, and I’m very pleased with the work we’ve managed to do during these sessions,” said Troy Corser. “The choice of tires is also good for a track where you’ve got to brake really violently in a couple of places and, as I was saying yesterday, one that takes all the concentration you can muster. We’ve got a basic set-up for the bike that’s perfect for September, when we’ll need to get the fine-tuning just right for the races. I got a great feeling for the track, even though this is the first time I’ve been out on it.”

“I got into a good rhythm on the track towards evening and scored my best time right in the last minutes of the afternoon,” said Alessandro Antonello. “I did get through my work plan for the RVS Mille ‘Laboratory Bike’, even though of course I was also working to prepare for the last
race in the World Championship, where I’ll be entering as a wild-card”.

No Problem Raceway is a new road course/drag strip that has just opened for business in Belle Rose, Louisiana. The new course is 1.8 miles in length, has a 2000-foot straightaway, and 15-turns, two of which are banked 10 degrees. No Problem Raceway appears to have little, if any, elevation changes.

Members of Texas-based road racing clubs CMRA (a CCS affiliate) and RPM (a WERA affiliate) have sent representatives to inspect No Problem Raceway as a possible venue for their organizations. Both came away saying that the track had some safety concerns for motorcyclists, particularly with drag strip retaining walls where the road course joins the drag strip. According to members of the inspection parties, No Problem Raceway has agreed to temporarily move those retaining walls for motorcycle road racing events. RPM has scheduled a date to race at the new track September 14-16, 2001.

For more information on this new track located near Interstate 10 between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana including photos of the track and layout diagrams, go to www.noproblemraceway.com.