Competition Accessories Ducati has announced a unique promotion where a lucky fan can get join the team’s Superbike crew during the final AMA race of the 2001 season, at Virginia International Raceway September 28-30.

The winner of the “Pit Crew Weekend” will get an all-expenses-paid trip for two to the Virginia International Raceway round of the AMA Chevy Trucks Championship in Danville, Virginia. The prize includes air travel, hotel accommodations, pit crew credentials, and an official Competition Accessories Ducati team shirt.



There is no cost or purchase required to enter the contest. For more information and details, log on to the Competition Accessories website at www.competitionaccessories.com or call 1-800-543-8208.

Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge and Glenn Szarek rode a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to win the fourth round of the WERA National Endurance Series, a 4-hour at Virginia International Raceway in Danville Saturday. Loudoun Motorsports Racing was second, 12 seconds behind Vesrah, followed by Team Clinton Cycles, Velocity Crew Racing and Army of Darkness.

The win gave Vesrah the overall series points lead. Former points leader Team Pennzoil was credited with 28th overall after both Chris “Opie” Caylor and Wade Buffington crashed during the first hour, Caylor suffering a separated right shoulder and Buffington suffering a broken right collarbone and a broken right elbow.

Although it was raining at the start of the race, the rain stopped and the track dried out after the first hour.

Results follow:

1. Vesrah Suzuki, Suzuki GSX-R1000, HWSB, 128 laps
2. Loudoun Motorsports Racing, Suzuki GSX-R750, HWSS, 128 laps
3. Team Clinton Cycles, Yamaha YZF-R6, MWSS 124 laps
4. Velocity Crew Racing, Suzuki GSX-R600, MWSB, 123 laps
5. Army Of Darkness, Suzuki GSX-R600, MWSB, 122 laps
6. J&J Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R750, HWSS, 122 laps
7. Triad Racing, Suzuki GSX-R600, MWSS, 121 laps
8. Neighbor Of The Beast, Suzuki GSX-R600, 121 laps
9. Intrepid Racing, Suzuki SV650, LWSB, 120 laps
10. racersupply.com, Suzuki GSX-R750, HWSB, 120 laps
28. Team Pennzoil, Suzuki GSX-R750,HWSB, 89 laps

HWSB = Heavyweight Superbike class
MWSB = Mediumweight Superbike class
HWSS = Heavyweight Superstock class
MWSS = Mediumweight Superstock class

Photos by Brian J. Nelson.

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Photos Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Copyright 2001 Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA riders will not ride in the rain at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire despite the recent application of traction sealer, and some are suggesting that the track be taken off the AMA schedule entirely.

“We’re not going to,” said AMA Superbike Operations Manager Ron Barrick Friday morning when asked if the AMA will run races in the rain at NHIS. “The track is aware and is going to work with us. We’re going to stay as long as we can to run the race. It it’s Saturday, we’ll try to run the race on Sunday. If it’s Sunday, we’ve got Monday.”

While the weather at NHIS is currently clear, thunderstands are forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Several riders are adamently against racing in the rain at Loudon, or, for that matter, at racing at the track at all.

“It ain’t gonna happen,” said Jamie Hacking of the possibility of racing in the rain. “None of us are going to do it. It’s too dangerous. We shouldn’t be here in the dry. We had Phoenix taken off our schedule, and we feel this one has to be taken off for the same reason. It’s slick, bumpy, walls, there’s trees, there’s rocks. I’m sure you’ll get the same answer from anybody you ask.”

Local star Eric Wood had a different view, praising the sealer and other improvements, saying “Absolutely, without a doubt (the track can be raced in the rain). This place is way safer. I wouldn’t hesitate to send my own son out there. This place is no more dangerous than any other place I’ve ever been.”

Superbike Champion Mat Mladin objected strongly when AMA Media Relations Contractor Larry Lawrence suggested that Mladin should have at least given the track some credit for safety improvements in a highly critical interview published in this morning’s Manchester Union Leader newspaper.

“Have any of the walls been moved?” Maldin asked Lawrence in the press room at NHIS. “The track hasn’t made any improvements to make the track safer.”

Mladin also said, “I feel the motorcycles have outgrown the racetrack,” and said of the sealer applied to the track surface, “All the sealer has done is cover up the bumps.” Maldin also complained about gooey asphalt used to fill in cracks and joints in the pavement.

As Lawrence objected and said that he felt Mladin’s comments were “to the detriment of the sport,” Mladin said “It’s my personal opinikon that the motorcycles have outgrown the racetrack and I don’t care if you don’t like it, Larry.

“Tell you what. Get on the back of my bike, we’ll go out and I’ll knock you off and then you can hit a wall and see how you like it,” said Mladin before walking out of the pressroom.

At least one rider, roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich, crashed after hitting the gooey asphalt applied to fill cracks and seams in the pavement, during practice yesterday. Another problem encountered during Thursday practice involved a large section of pavement which had come loose from its base at the apex of one corner in the esses, like a toupee gone awry. The piece of asphalt was marked with red spray paint before Friday practice started, and track Safety Director Jerry Wood hoped to glue the section back down with an epoxy compound during the lunch break.

Aaron Yates topped the first Superbike qualifying session at Loudon, Friday afternoon. Times follow:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:10.022
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:10.065
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:10.405
4. Doug Chandler, Kawasaki, 1:10.819
5. Steve Rapp, Ducati, 1:11.119
6. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:11.228
7. Anthony Gobert, Yamaha, 1:11.229
8. Pascal Picotte, Harley-Davidson, 1:11.423
9. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:11.483
10. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki, 1:11.887
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:12.106
12. Andreas Meklau, Ducati, 1:12.163
13. Tommy Hayden, Yamaha, 1:12.549
14. Jordan Szoke, Harley-Davidson, 1:12.774
15. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, 1:13.115*
16. Mike Smith, Harley-Davidson, 1:13.352
17. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:13.646*
18. Rich Alexander, Suzuki, 1:14.043*
19. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki, 1:14.274*
20. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:14.434*
21. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 1:14.480*
22. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, 1:15.023*
23. Michael Gallagher, Suzuki, 1:15.150*
24. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:15.522
25. Michael Niksa, Suzuki GSXR750, 1:15.723*
26. Richard Neenan, Jr., Suzuki, 1:15.818*
27. Mauro Cereda, Suzuki, 1:15.939*
28. David McIntyre, Suzuki, 1:16.168*
29. David Dandrea, Suzuki, 1:16.559*
30. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, 1:17.058*

*750c Supersport entrant on 750cc Supersport machine

Munroe Motors, a San Francisco, California dealership known for sponsoring AMA Pro Thunder and Isle of Man racer Tom Montano, recently filled an order for 22 sidecar rigs built to look like a television set on wheels for a promotional campaign.

The machines were ordered by Seismicom.com, an advertising agency working for Ultimate TV, a new interactive television service from Microsoft. The promotional plan calls for riders, dressed in matching outfits, to ride the sidecars through major city centers, attracting attention for Ultimate TV.

Munroe Motors had three weeks to source, supply, build, and deliver the machines with sidecars, which were based on Royal Enfield 500cc Bullets built in India.

Anthony Gobert crashed his Yamaha YZF-R7 in the first half of the first Superbike qualifying session at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire Friday afternoon.

The session was red-flagged and restarted after Gobert was transported to Concord Hospital for X-rays.

According to Yamaha Crew Chief Tom Houseworth, Gobert suffered a suspected broken right arm and a suspected hyperextended neck. But, Houseworth said, “everything works.”

Gobert crashed in turn eight, a fast right-hand kink in the back section of the course.

Doctors in the Infield Care Center at NHIS later reported that Gobert suffered a compound fracture of his right elbow.

But X-rays at the hospital revealed that Gobert had not broken his elbow, although bone was visible with the skin torn away, and that he did not have a hyperextended neck. But he did separate his shoulder.

1. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:12.428
2. Tom Kipp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:12.579
3. Roger Hayden, Honda CBR929RR, 1:12.764
4. John Hopkins, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:13.008
5. Grant Lopez, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:13.420
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha YZF-R1/R7, 1:13.447
7. Josh Hayes, Honda CBR929RR, 1:13.676
8. Mark Miller, Honda CBR929RR, 1:13.974
9. Rich Alexander, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:14.062

Despite injurying a foot when he crashed during qualifying, Kawasaki Canada’s Owen Weichel took his first-ever Canadian Superbike win in a wet race at Race City Motorsports Park in Calgary, ALberta, Canada. Before his tumble, Weichel earned the pole position with a time of 1:17.847 on the 2.0-mile Race City circuit. Weichel’s crew was up until 3:00 a.m. in the morning repairing the Toronto rider’s crashed ZX-7RR, and Weichel rewarded them with a 5.348-second victory over Yamaha YZF-R6-mounted Jean-Francois Cyr. Riding three weeks after breaking his pelvis, Francis Martin placed third on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, while defending Canadian Superbike Champion Steve Crevier finished fourth on his Honda RC51.

After two of seven rounds complete, Weichel now leads the point standings over Crevier, 106 to 96.

RESULTS
PARTS CANADA SUPERBIKE:
1. Owen Weichel, Kawasaki ZX-7RR
2. Jean-Francois Cyr, Yamaha YZF-R6
3. Francis Martin, Suzuki GSX-R1000
4. Steve Crevier, Honda RC51
5. Michael Taylor, Honda RC51
6. Ben Pilon, Yamaha YZF-R1
7. Kevin Lacombe, Yamaha YZF-R6
8. Greg Boki, Yamaha YZF-R1
9. Frank Trombino, Yamaha YZF-R1
10. Andrew Nelson, Honda CBR600F4i

POINT STANDINGS (After 2 of 7 rounds, all 7 count):
1. Weichel, 106 points
2. Crevier, 96 points
3. Martin, 74 points
4. Cyr, 71 points
5. Taylor, 67 points
6. Benoit Pilon, 52 points
7. Martin Hamel, 34 points
7. Nelson, 34 points
9. Jeff Williams, 27 points
9. Trombino, 27 points

Weichel’s expertise in the wet conditions carried over to the Yoshimura 600cc Sport Bike race. Riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R, the defending class Champion again beat second-place Cyr and his Yamaha YZF-R6. Suzuki’s Clint McBain was third on a GSX-R600.

Yamaha’s Frank Trombino and McBain had a terrific battle in the International Motorcycle Supershow Open Sport Bike final. Trombino and McBain battled down to the wire with Trombino, riding a YZF-R1, scoring the victory by 0.364-second ahead of McBain on a GSX-R1000. Honda’s Michael Taylor finished third on a CBR929RR.

The Parts Canada Superbike Championship is next in action 6/17-18 on the runways of Namao Airport in Edmonton, Alberta.

According to New Hampshire International Speedway Safety Director Jerry Wood, 35 pieces of Air Fence/ Alpina Air Module were installed at the track Wednesday, June 13.

“I went around with Hugh Fleming this morning and suggested the places that I thought it would best put, and that’s where they put it,” said Wood in a June 13 telephone call. “Then if Ron Barrick gets here and wants something moved around, we have an extra 400 haybales as well as that stuff. So we’ll be able to adjust it and make everybody happy. We sure do have a lot of Air Fence now.”

The new Air Fence sections are in addition to several permanent sections of Air Fence Bike barriers already purchased by the Speedway for use in Loudon club races. “The track bought a whole ton of the Air Fence Bike product, which is not portable. It lays in place,” said Wood. “It has proven to be really, really effective. You can absolutely drill that stuff, and you not only save the rider, but you save the bike. What normally happens is you pull the bike out of it and ride it off.”

When asked where the inflatable barriers are, Wood said, “There’s a bunch of it in turn two and a little in turn three. There’s a bunch in turn six. We have a high impact area there. Six is the big bowl turn at the bottom of the hill. There’s a place there if you might lose the front end. You’re going pretty fast there. We have a gravel trap, then we have the Air Fence Bike product behind the gravel trap, then we have the soft tire barriers behind that. The inside of the turn eight/nine combination, we’ve got it in there. Then going down the hill to turn 10, off to rider’s right, it’s all across there.

“I’m hoping that the AMA riders will feel more secure here,” said Wood, the father of two professional racers. “But of course, it’s a fact that we have not had any wall-related injuries since we re-designed the race track, not at a pro race or our club races. We just ran 1200 entries this last weekend. We have huge races. We have a money race, and the guys at the front of that were turning 1:12s, which is just a couple of seconds off the Superbike times at Loudon. We have a real good safety record. I’m real happy with it. That’s without the extra Air Fence. So with the extra Air Fence, we should be looking really good.”

When it starts raining at a racetrack, like it did at Road America, everyone starts thinking more about safety. In the past, AMA Pro racers have had strong reservations about racing in the rain at Loudon. “Gary Medley (Doug Chandler’s Kawasaki Crew Chief) told me that they had an AMA meeting at the last race, and that they were told that they were going to run here whether it rained or not,” disclosed Wood. “We also resurfaced the whole track with an abrasive compound. So we don’t have any slippery spots any more. There are no slippery patches. There’s a constant traction surface throughout the whole track.”