Ricci Motorsports’ Anthony Lupo became the second rider to test new sections of Air Fence deployed at Road Atlanta when he crashed during Friday’s 750cc Supersport qualifying.

Lupo slid into Air Fence sections positioned in front of the concrete wall outside turn 12, at about 100 mph.

“I was manning the watches and looking for Tony to come by,” said Ricci’s Sean Lindseth. “He was due, and all I saw was smoke and a sliding motorcycle. He was just flying down the hill really.”

Crew men on pit lane shouted at the sight of the crash. By the time people not initially looking in that direction turned their heads to look, Lupo’s bike was at least 20 feet in the air after missing the Air Fence and bouncing off a tire wall.

Lupo himself slid into the first of several new Air Fence modules positioned in the turn. Afterwards, Lupo walked into the ambulance, having suffered a concussion.

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Grant Lopez and Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore will both ride in the 15-lap Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme final Saturday despite each crashing and suffering injuries in Friday’s action.

Lopez crashed in turn 12 at over 100 mph, dislocating his shoulder and chipping a bone in his shoulder socket in Friday’s first practice. “We’ll see,” said Lopez when asked about whether he will ride the entire length of
the race. Lopez rode in Saturday morning’s Formula Xtreme practice session with his shoulder heavily taped and the handlebars of his GSX-R1000
slightly adjusted for the injury by tuner Todd Fenton.

“I can do eight laps,” said Pridmore after riding in Saturday morning’s Formula Xtreme practice with a broken left collarbone supported by a brace under his leathers. Pridmore highsided coming down left-hand turn four during Friday’s FX qualifying session. Pridmore’s injury was compounded by delays in the the local emergency room and his not getting back to his motor home at the race track until after 11:00 p.m. local time.

If either Lopez or Pridmore can complete eight laps of the race, they can retire and still collect some Championship points as there are only 23 entries in the Formula Xtreme class and points are paid down to 30 positions

Times for each class will be added to this post as available.

Final Superbike Qualifying Saturday Morning:
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:22.735
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:23.257
3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:23.226
4. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:23.246
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:23.999
6. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:24.190
7. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:24.231
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:24.385
9. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:24.431
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:24.716
11. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:24.744
12. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:24.799
13. Mike Smith, H-D, 1:25.029
14. Jordan Szoke, H-D, 1:25.380
15. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, 1:25.406
15. Pascal Picotte, H-D, 1:25.455
16. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 1:27.400*
17. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:27.701*
18. Brian Parriott, Suzuki, 1:27.765*
19. Vince Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:27.453*
20. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:29.064

*Rider on 750cc Supersport racebike




Formula Xtreme Saturday Morning Practice:

1. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.405
2. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR929RR, 1:25.657
3. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:25.970
4. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR929RR, 1:25.981
5. Mark Miller, Honda CBR929RR, 1:26.485
6. Rich Alexander, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.453
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:28.929
8. Steve Grigg, Kawasaki 840, 1:29.090
9. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.141
10. Grant Lopez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:29.290
11. Troy Vincent, Suzuki, 1:30.868
12. Billy Ethridge, Suzuki, 1:31.466
13. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, 1:31.660
14. Robert Hilliard, Suzuki, 1:33.393
15. James Compton, Yamaha, 1:34.474
16. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:34.542
17. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:35.441



750cc Supersport Saturday Morning Practice Times:

1. Mike Ciccotto, 1:26.889
2. Chris Ulrich, 1:27.928
3. Ben Spies, 1:28.346
4. Richie Alexander, 1:28.424
5. Vincent Haskovec, 1:29.214, Suzuki GSX-R600
6. Brian Parriott, 1:29.254, Suzuki GSX-R600
7. Gabriel Henning, 1:29.381
8. Lee Acree, 1:29.423, Suzuki GSX-R600
9. Daigoro Suzuki, 1:29.488
10. Scott Brown, 1:29.753
11. Jimmy Moore, 1:29.830, Suzuki GSX-R600
12. Tony Meiring, 1:29.898
13. Mauro Cereda, 1:30.082
14. David Ortega, 1:30.784
15. Brian Stokes, 1:30.883

Note: All riders on Suzuki GSX-R750s except where noted.


600cc Supersport Saturday Morning Practice Times:

1. Aaron Yates, 1:26.689, Suzuki
2. Jamie Hacking, 1:27.141, Suzuki
3. Kurtis Roberts, 1:27.304, Honda
4. Josh Hayes, 1:27.385, Honda
5. Eric Bostrom, 1:27.670, Kawasaki
6. Brian Parriott, 1:27.824, Suzuki
7. Jake Zemke, 1:27.943, Honda
8. Tommy Hayden, 1:28.024, Yamaha
9. John Hopkins, 1:28.124, Suzuki
10. Miguel Duhamel, 1:28.184, Honda
11. Roger Lee Hayden, 1:28.417, Honda
12. Aaron Gobert, 1:29.422, Yamaha
13. Lee Acree, 1:29.482, Suzuki
14. Jimmy Moore, 1:29.649, Suzuki
15. Vincent Haskovec, 1:30.347, Suzuki
16. Steve Patterson, 1:30.364, Suzuki
17. Edward Ted Cobb, 1:30.680, Suzuki
18. Scott Gardner, 1:31.156, Yamaha
19. Scott Brown, 1:31.490, Suzuki
20. Brian Livengood, 1:31.511, Yamaha


250cc Grand Prix Saturday Morning Practice Times

1. Rich Oliver, 1:26.646, Yamaha
2. Chuck Sorensen, 1:28.332, Yamaha
3. Perry Melneciuc, 1:29.736, Yamaha
4. Roland Sands, 1:30.110, Yamaha
5. Simon Turner, 1:30.522, Yamaha
6. Michael Hannas, 1:30.927, Yamaha
7. Jimmy Filice, 1:31.106, Yamaha
8. Ed Marchini, 1:31.206, Yamaha
9. Derek King, 1:31.557, TSR Honda
10. Cory West, 1:32.626, Yamaha
11. Ben Walters, 1:32.816, Yamaha
12. Greg Esser, 1:32.905, Honda
13. William Himmelsbach, 1:33.078, Yamaha
14. Ed Sorbo, 1:33.097, Yamaha
15. Chris Pyles, 1:34.312, Yamaha


600cc Supersport Final Qualifying:
1. Anthony Gobert, 1:26.797, Yamaha
2. Eric Bostrom, 1:26.870, Kawasaki
3. Aaron Yates, 1:27.068, Suzuki
4. Jamie Hacking, 1:27.071, Suzuki
5. Tommy Hayden, 1:27.109, Yamaha
6. Joshua Hayes, 1:27.676, Honda
7. Lee Acree, 1:27.827, Suzuki
8. Kurtis Roberts, 1:27.833, Honda
9. Roger Lee Hayden, 1:27.910, Honda
10. Brian Parriott, 1:27.955, Suzuki
11. John Hopkins, 1:27.994, Suzuki
12. Miguel Duhamel, 1:28.124, Honda
13. Aaron Gobert, 1:28.228, Yamaha
14. Jake Zemke, 1:28.460, Honda
15. Jimmy Moore, 1:29.178, Suzuki
16. Vincent Haskovec, 1:29.297, Suzuki
17. Damon Buckmaster, 1:29.630, Yamaha
18. Edward Ted Cobb, 1:29.883, Suzuki
19. Daigoro Suzuki, 1:30.300, Kawasaki
20. Steve Patterson, 1:30.687, Suzuki


Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert’s time of 1:26.797 breaks Aaron Yates’ 2000 lap record of 1:27.538. Josh Hayes was the fastest from the odd-numbered qualifying session, but his time was only good enough for sixth-fastest overall.

Yamaha’s Max Biaggi, Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts and Honda’s Valentino Rossi qualified fastest for the tomorrow’s 500cc Grand Prix at LeMans, France.

500cc Qualifying Times Follow:

1. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 1:38.421
2. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:38.668
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:38.852
4. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:38.891
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:39.093
6. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 1:39.115
7. Norike Abe, Yamaha, 1:39.132
8. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 1:39.247
9. Alex Criville, Honda, 1:39.275
10. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, 1:39.366*
11. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Proton, 1:39.651
12. Toheu Ukawa, Honda, 1:39.973
13. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:40.062
14. Steve Gibernau, Suzuki, 1:40.312
15. Jose Luis Cardoso, Honda, 1:40.509
16. Chris Walker, Honda, 1:40.869



125cc Qualifying Times Follow:

1. Youichi Ui, 1:47.494
2. Manuel Poggiali, 1:47.582
3. Lucio Cecchinello, 1:47.949
4. Jaroslav Hules, 1:48.097
5. Noboru Ueda, 1:48.104
6. Toni Elias, 1:48.155
7. Mirko Giansanti, 1:48.283
8. Gino Borsoi, 1:48.344
9. Angel Nieto, Jr. 1:48.451
10. Arnaud Vincent, 1:48.629

*crashed in practice, broke scaphoid


250cc Qualifying Times Follow:

1. Daijiro Katoh, Honda, 1:41.065
2. Tetsuya Harada, Aprilia, 1:41.108
3. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:41.328
4. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:41.595
5. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:41.840
6. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, 1:41.895
7. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 1:42.117
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:42.181
9. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:42.184
10. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:42.225

Reigning AMA Grand National Dirt Track Champion Joe Kopp Tries Pavement At Road Atlanta

Reigning AMA Grand National Dirt Track Champion Joe Kopp, 32, is at Road Atlanta trying his hand at road racing. “I’ve wanted to try it for a couple of years now,” said Kopp.

Kopp attended Kevin Schwantz’s new riding school on Wednesday May 18, rode in promoter practice Thursday, and was riding as #143 in 600cc and 750cc Supersport practice Friday. “I don’t know if I’m going to race or not. I’m going to practice and qualify and see how comfortable I am out there. If I’m comfortable, I’ll race,” said Kopp.

Although he rode a stock Suzuki GSX-R600 in the Schwantz school Wednesday, Kopp will be riding an ex-Eric Wood Kawasaki ZX-6R purchased for him by
Darrell Jones of Jones Powersports, Columbia, Missouri. Kopp said that he was still trying to gain confidence in his Dunlop tires, but Kopp’s 1:34 lap times showed that he was well on his way to success after only two days of pavement riding, and only one on his Kawasaki.



Michael Barnes And Team Take 12th In World Endurance

Former Formula USA Champion Michael Barnes co-rode with Wim Van Achter and Herman Verboven Suzuki to a fifth in the Superbike class and 12th overall in the 40-entry, 6-hour FIM Endurance World Championship race at Brno, Czech Republic. Barnes said that the team would have finished higher had it not been for tire troubles on a drying track forcing two unscheduled pit stops early in the race. “We might have been on the box if it wasn’t for those two extra stops,” said Barnes. The Boca Raton, Florida resident confirmed that he would be riding the rest of the World Endurance rounds for Herman Verboven Suzuki with the exception of Suzuka. “Few of the World Endurance regulars actually compete at Suzuka,” reported Barnes. “There are so many one-off, factory and wild card teams from Japan that the points you get there is not worth the expence of the trip.”



Riders Meeting Notes

During the Riders Meeting Friday, AMA Superbike Racing Operations Manager Ron Barrick said that, as usual, there would be no intentional stopping or riding without a helmet on track. Barrick also warned against doing celebratory burn-outs in the victory circle area. Barrick did advise that AMA officials are considering designating an area near winners circle where riders could safely do victory burn-outs.



Injured Renfrow Won’t Ride

Former AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion Randy Renfrow planned to race this weekend at Road Atlanta and rode in promoter’s practice Thursday May 17, but packed up and went home to Virginia before AMA practice started Friday. “I crashed during a track day at Summit Point and busted up some ribs. Another guy went down in front of me and I fell with him,” said Renfrow on Thursday.

Renfrow attempted to ride but could not perform comfortably and left the track the same day. Renfrow’s departure and inability to ride healthy was a shame because there is one of the best 250cc Grand Prix fields at Road Atlanta this weekend.

AMA officials and crewmen deployed 15 new Air Fence/Air Module sections at Road Atlanta Thursday evening, with the help and guidance of Alpina Safety Systems Managing Director Ingo Hopfgartner and Consultant Ben Tidswell. Hopfgartner is based at Alpina headquarters in Austria; Tidswell, based out of Colorado, mainly works with Alpina air modules used at ski racing venues.

Joining the work crew in moving haybales was AMA Pro Racing Director of Competition Merrill Vanderslice, along with Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick.

Vanderslice aggravated an existing back condition and was in pain Friday morning at the track.

Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Grant Lopez took his GSX-R1000 under the existing Formula Xtreme lap record in the opening laps of official practice at Road Atlanta Friday morning, then crashed and dislocated his right shoulder.

Lopez fell in turn 12 and slid into Alpina Air Module/Air Fence deployed outside the turn, in front of a concrete wall.

Lopez ended up underneath the Air Module. Alpina Managing Director Ingo Hopfgartner said that the Air Fence had been installed correctly and had worked properly, then re-deployed itself over Lopez after Lopez impacted and collapsed the fence. This feature allows the Air Fence to handle multiple rider impacts, with the module center section reinflating automatically after impact, even if a rider is still lying at the base of the module.

Prior to crashing, Lopez turned a 1:25.479 lap time. The official class lap record is 1:25.601.

Lap times from the session follow:
1. Grant Lopez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.479
2. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:25.713
3. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:26.051
4. Roger Lee Hayden, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.518
5. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.592
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:26.601
7. Mark Miller, Honda CBR9292RR, 1:26.663
8. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:26.760
9. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR929RR, 1:26.844
10. Rich Alexander, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:27.298
11. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.744
12. Steve Grigg, Kawasaki 840, 1:30.120
13. Billy Ethridge, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.546
14. Jamie Thompson, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:33.204
15. Troy Vincent, Suzuki GSX-R, 1:33.308
16. Justin Garvin, 1:33.655
17. John Ross, Suzuki, 1:35.002
18. Robert Hilliard, Suzuki, 1:36.547
19. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:36.547
20. Stephen Tuel, Yamaha, 1:37.489
21. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:38.340
22. Daniel Smallwood, Suzuki, 1:38.753
23. James Compton, Yamaha YZF-R1, 1:38.968

Grant Lopez will attempt to make a provisional start in tomorrow’s Formula Xtreme race despite suffering a dislocated and chipped right shoulder in a crash this morning.

Lopez was originally though to have broken his upper right arm in the crash. X-rays at the local medical center revealed the dislocation, complicated by a bone chip out of the shoulder socket.

Doctors repositioned the shoulder and a subsequent X-ray showed that the bone chip went back into place.

Lopez returned to the track and informed Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki that he will attempt to ride in tomorrow’s race to salvage some points. AMA officials have said that Lopez is entitled to a provisional start under AMA rules.

Only 23 riders have entered the Formula Xtreme race at Road Atlanta, with points paid down 30 places.

If Lopez can make the start and finish at least half of the race (or eight of 16 scheduled laps), he will be eligible to receive points.

Lopez will decide (whether or not he will try to race), tomorrow morning.

After returning to the track from the hospital, Lopez admitted that he was anxious to run on the pace immediately because he had not been allowed to practice on Thursday. Lopez usually practices on Thursday and works up to speed, but AMA rules banned him from practice because he is currently in the top 10 in 600cc Supersport points. As a result, Lopez said, he was “in a bit of a hurry” and simply lost the front over ripples in turn 12. Lopez attempted to compensate by applying throttle but then slid the rear, and finally lost the front again and crashed.

“I never got into the wall,” Grant Lopez said of his big crash during Formula Xtreme practice this morning, which saw him slide at over 100 mph into the Air Fence modules lining a concrete wall outside turn 12.

“I was sliding head first with my arms out,” Lopez said, “and went into the Air Fence. My arm hooked on the (bottom) outside edge of the Air Fence. I never got into the wall.”

Lopez suffered a dislocated right shoulder and a bone chip in the shoulder socket.