Young Battles Limited Track Time To Break Into the Top 15 at Laguna Seca MONTEREY, CA JULY 31, 2012 BYR/FOGI Racing’s Ben Young battled through limited track time due to unusual weather conditions during qualifying at this past weekend’s AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Young’s determination and adaptability to a new track earned him a 15th place finish – his best finish of the season. After missing AMA Pro Road Racing’s 7th round at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, the Thornbury, Ontario resident was looking forward to his first-ever visit to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s legendary 2.238-mile natural road course. Three of the four classes that make up the AMA Pro Road Racing classes were featured alongside the international stars of MotoGP as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Young was able to attend the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca thanks to a supportive group of local contractors that contributed towards the team attending Round 8 of the AMA Pro Road Racing season. The local contractors that stepped-up to further Young’s development in North America’s premier motorcycle racing series included: Viceroy Homes (Collingwood), J H McNabb Construction Ltd, Bumstead Brothers Plumbing and Heating Services, Thornbury Home Hardware, Lakeshore MGF Services Ltd., Cory Gray Drywall Systems, Creek Valley Inc, Corinthian Kitchens & Bathrooms Grey Bruce Roofing & Reno’s & Precision Septic and Earthworks. The young Scottish-Canadian was thrilled to be finally able to experience the famed corkscrew during Friday’s first and only practice session. Posting the 20th fastest time of the session Young was eager to get back out and lay down some faster laps during Saturdays morning’s qualifying session. Unseasonable weather conditions and thick fog along with the strict MotoGP timelines resulted in the cancellation of Saturday’s first qualifying session. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike’s second qualifying session did start as scheduled however a red flag left little time for Young to significantly improve his lap times. Young utilized the three laps to the best of his ability to achieve 15th fastest in the session. In total, Young had sixty-five minutes of track time to learn one of the most technical circuits in North America. Between Friday’s practice and the second qualifying session his combined results would see him start 18th on the grid in Sunday’s 20 lap race. In the only AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race of the weekend, Young got a good start from 18th on the grid. BYR/FOGI Racing’s young pilot battled throughout the race with Huntley Nash, Aaron Gobert and Michael Beck. Young raced hard right to the line passing Nash and Tommy Aquino on the final lap in the first corner but ran wide in the last corner allowing Aquino by. Young would then regain the spot from Aquino to take the checkered flag in 15th position, his highest finish to-date in this highly competitive championship. Young was asked about the race and the Laguna Seca track: “The track is brilliant, better than I imagined it would ever be. I had a great race and I’m very pleased with finishing 15th. I’m looking forward to the next round at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix is a great event and it gave me a chance to catch up with a few of our season-long sponsors; Akrapovic, Motul and Arlen Ness. It was great talking to the guys and to thank them in person!” Ben Young Racing (BYR) and the Fogi Racing Development Team would like to thank the following outstanding companies for their support; Scotbuild Developments, Arai Helmets, GP Tech LLC, Tim Hortons – Sudbury, K&N Filters, EBC Brakes, Arlen Ness Racing boots, Armour Bodies, BCL Motorsports Pit Kit, Vortex Racing, Akrapovic Exhaust Systems, RS Taichi Leathers, The Graphix Factory, Four Feathers Racing, The North American International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW and Liquid Performance. To keep up-to-date on Ben Young and the Fogi Racing Development Team, visit www.fogi.us, www.facebook.com/BenYoungRacing and on Twitter @86BY. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: WESTBY REMOUNTS, REMAINS SECOND IN DSB POINTS M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby demonstrated his determination on Sunday at Laguna Seca by picking himself up off the ground and continuing on to collect three hard-earned points. Westby, who started from the middle of the second row after qualifying for the 20-lap Daytona SportBike contest, was caught out during the opening lap shuffle and crashed as the pack was jockeying for position. The fall foiled the Oklahoman’s aspirations of extending his sterling run of four consecutive finishes of either first or second place. However, Westby registered a gritty effort aboard his M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 to secure whatever points he could. ‘The Wolverine’ remains ranked second in the 2012 DSB points chase with 250 points. Westby said, “I didn’t get that great of a start,” said Westby. “Some of the riders came up the inside so I grabbed an extra downshift trying to get the drive out. I flipped myself to the moon, which was a repeat of a few years ago at the same spot. I survived and didn’t get run over, so I guess that’s the positive in it.” Westby’s Superbike contending teammate, Chris Ulrich, also saw a streak snapped on Sunday as his run of three straight top tens came to an end on Sunday — although only just. The Californian raced forward from his 15th-placed grid slotting to ultimately climb to 11th position by time he took the checkered flag aboard his GSX-R1000. Ulrich is also ranked 11th in the premier class points standings but made up ground on the two men directly in front of him with another steady performance. Team M4 Suzuki will return to action when the AMA Pro Road Racing series resumes at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 7-9. In 2012, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 32nd consecutive racing season and marks its sixth year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 53 AMA Pro National race wins; 123 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 4 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles. More, from a press release issued by Dainese: Following a fantastic weekend of podium finishes for Dainese and AGV racers at Mid-Ohio, including the debut of Josh Herrin’s new custom Axial Pro boots, the AMA Pro RoadRacing circus heads to the legendary Laguna Seca Raceway to team up with Moto GP for an incredible weekend of racing. Monterey CA- Sharing track time with MotoGP, the AMA race weekend was abbreviated to a single race per class. In SuperSport, the thrills were plenty from when the lights went green until the checkered flag dropped. Sporting a freshly custom painted GP-Tech helmet aboard his class-leading Celtic Racing/Orient Express Racing GSXR-600, Dainese and AGV rider James “The Rocket” Rispoli tore out to an early lead pulling Roadrace Factory’s Hayden Gillim along for the ride. Leading the whole race and fighting through heavy traffic, The Rocket was overtaken by Gillim at Turn 5 on the last lap. Gillim held the lead out of the final corner where Rispoli took advantage of the race line and came across the finish just 0.036 of a second ahead of Gillim for an amazing win. After foggy conditions forced cancellation of AMA SuperBike warm-up practice, the last race of the weekend kicked off under sunny conditions with Dainese and AGV riders populating almost every row on the grid. Riders quickly fell into place as the race got underway with Dainese Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin pulling away from the pack with his teammate Josh Hayes. Deeper in the field, Dainese and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Young pushed hard on his conquest towards the leaders. After reeling in Herrin in the final laps, the two racers traded positions and paint all the way to the finish line with Blake Young capturing 2nd place from Josh Herrin by 0.023 of a second. Honorable mentions to Dainese and Jordan Suzuki’s Ben Bostrom, who started from the front row and brought home a solid 5th after suffering tire maladies, and Dainese Hero EBR’s Geoff May who crossed the finish line in 6th place.