Hurricane Ryde! As ‘Hurricane Katia’ started to hit the shores of the UK over the weekend, another Hurricane in the form of a youngster called Kyle Ryde was whipping up a storm at the Donington Race circuit; in order to stamp his authority on the British 125cc Motorcycle Championship aboard his Ryan Saxelby prepared machine. Ryde started the weekend’s event in a strong third place in the Championship standings with only six points between himself and the Championship leader Wayne Ryan, with Veteran 125 racer and twice runner-up in the series Rob Guiver in second place, only two points ahead of Kyle. Kyle attacked the practise sessions as he meant to go on during the weekend’s proceedings and quickly set the pace for others to try and follow. So with Guiver, Championship Leader Ryan, Hedger, Ray and Lincoln’s Lee Jackson making up the top six places, this set the front row’s of the grid for Sundays race, which took place between the main British Superbike races. Kyle by the end of the two qualifying sessions was on pole with a 1.9 second gap on Guiver. Sunday’s races looked liked they could be hampered by the winds of ‘Katia’ and this would have especially affected these tiny 125cc GP machine’s with their also light riders on them! However the winds were breezy but nothing like what the forecasters had predicted, this was both lucky for the riders and the teams alike, as finding the right gearing for these bikes in blustery conditions can be a bit of a nightmare. As Ryde headed out on the warm-up lap of the 2.48.mile Grand Prix circuit, he was soon to realise that he was having problems with his clutch, as this was beginning to show signs of it starting to slip; this dilemma came to his father attention once they reformed on the grid for the start of the race. All that Sean could say to Kyle was that he would have to ride around this problem and do the best he can with it! This was going to cause major problems if he didn’t take too much care, especially once the engine reached it’s high peaks as this could then start to spin up the rear wheel, causing further problems with tyre grip etc. But as the red lights went out young Ryde just saw the red-mist and off he went straight into the lead by Redgate Corner, the first right corner on the circuit. Kyle even with the severe clutch problem, stayed ahead during the entire race and consistently put in good lap times. Whilst further back; battles were taking place for 2nd 3rd and 4th and 5th places respectively. The first battling duo were Kyle’s ex-team mate from several years ago Bradley Ray chased by Rob Guiver, with Ray having his best ride all season and eventually brought his machine home in a very credible second place, Guiver was third, with championship leader Wayne Ryan eventually taking fourth place, Luke Hedger was 0.2 seconds behind Ryan crossing the finishing line. Ryde set up a 16.1 second buffer on the pursuing pack when he came through the chequered flag, setting yet another very convincing win in this championship, along with a new lap record in the process. He has now had four wins, two second places, one sixth place and two DNF’s (Did Not Finish). This now gives Kyle a six point lead in the 125 GP Championship with Ryan second and Guiver now in third place. Kyle is also now leading the ACU Academy Cup by two points from Ryan, this Championship is run as separate results, especially for the younger riders between the ages of 13 and 16yrs of age. This Academy Cup has an end of season prize of two paid entries into the Spanish CEV Championship, which takes place at the Valencia & Jerez circuits in November. Kyle’s next round is the penultimate round of this British championship at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire during the weekend of the 23rd-25th September. More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS AND SWEET HOME ALABAMA FOR VESRAH’S NICK MCFADDEN. Vesrah Suzuki development rider, Nick McFadden, started off his busy September race schedule under the Friday Night Lights at the Springfield, Illinois Fairgrounds. The annual Labor Day short track event showcases the country’s top amateur dirt track competitors on the Springfield Short Track, prior to the AMA Grand National Short Track and Springfield Mile weekend. In an action packed night, Nick rode his Suzuki RM-Z250 to a 2nd place in the first round Heat Race and won the Heat Race on his Suzuki RM-Z450. In the night’s Main Events, an early race collision with another bike put him out of the 250cc race. The 450cc Main Event was a heated battle with Nick leading most of the race, protecting the inside line all the way. He had to settle for second by half a wheel when a last lap pass on the outside spoiled the win. This past weekend Nick and his Vesrah crew chief, Travis Smith, switched bikes and gear and headed south to Leeds, Alabama for the next round of the WERA National Challenge Series at Barber Motorsports Park. The weekend line up consisted of running in the 4 Hour Endurance Series Race on the Suzuki SV650, and compete in the Sunday round of Sprint Races. Vesrah Team Owner, Mark Junge, had set up an endurance team for the Vesrah Suzuki SV650 in the WERA Endurance Series race. Nick, Elena Myers, of the Suzuki Scoop road race team, and road racer, Grayson Gerloff, were teamed up as a trio for the 4-hour endurance race. Nick rode the first stint on the bike, and the team was leading in their class after the first round of pit stops. Elena jumped on the bike to ride the next run, but their day was cut short soon after when the bike encountered problems. The bike could not be fixed at the track, which also impacted racing it on Sunday. Fellow Formula 2 Expert competitor, Russell Masecar, offered the team a bike for Nick to race on Sunday. The plastic was changed over and preparations continued for Sunday. In the Formula 2 Expert race, Nick grabbed the hole shot but was unable to hang on to first – he was running 3rd when the race was red flagged, but was scored in 4th as they reverted to the positions as they stood on the lap before the flag came out. In the Lightweight Superstock class, however, Nick got off the line a little later and battled in every position from 1st to 5th before finally grabbing the top spot and holding it to win the race. In the C Superbike Expert class, he finished 14th. Continuing his busy month, Nick will be dirt track racing in Little Rock, Arkansas on the weekend of September 17th. He then heads to team track days the following week to prepare for the upcoming AMA Road Race Nationals and the WERA Grand National Finals. Nick McFadden #18 Vesrah Suzuki “The races at Springfield are always stacked with competition. My Suzuki’s were running great and I felt good out on the track. My heat races went well and I was pumped for the Mains. I got too anxious in the 250 Main and got up into the back of another bike, trying to get to the front, and took myself out of the race. In the 450 race, I led most of the way on a drive to just go fast and stay out front. At the end I got focused on trying to protect the bottom instead of keeping all out speed and got passed on the outside at the end. I should have kept focused on my speed and I think I would have had the win.” “The weekend at Barber had its highs and lows, but was a good one overall. I really thought our endurance team had a good shot on Saturday. I would like to thank Elena and Grayson for teaming up with me. We were all excited about the chance to do the race and have a good time at the endurance event. I wasn’t sure what happened with the bike and thought my weekend was mostly over when it couldn’t be fixed at the track. Russell Masecar and Brian Kcraget run the SVs and know a lot about them, so they came over and offered to get one of Russell’s bikes ready that would fit me. Basically all we had to do was change the plastic on the bikes. That bike ran well on Sunday and I cost myself a good finish in the Formula 2 race, when I ran off the track a couple of times in the race, and was moving back up, but the red flag came out and I ran out of laps. In the Lightweight Superstock race, the top 5 riders traded spots all race long, and I finally put a plan together to put myself in the lead and it worked out for the race win. I have some track days coming up to get some more practice on my 600 bike and look forward to getting more comfortable with that bike.” Vesrah Suzuki and Nick McFadden want to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2011 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, West Side Heavy Hauling Inc, Pirelli Tires, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Arai Helmets, Pilot Leathers, NextMotoChampion, Yoshimura, Catalyst Composites, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, Pit Bull Stands, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs More, from another press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: VESRAH SUZUKI RIDERS GATHER PODIUM FINISHES IN THE WERA NATIONALS AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK. Vesrah Suzuki riders Mark Junge and Tim Bemisderfer along with development rider Nick McFadden competed in the WERA Nationals at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. Mark and Tim also rode for the BEI Dunlop Development team in the WERA National Endurance 4 hour race. Tim ran the second stint on the BEI Suzuki GSX-R 1000 while Mark rode 3rd in the line-up. Mark wound up being the anchorman for the team running for an hour and 20 minutes before pitting at exceptionally consistent quick lap times. The BEI team finished 2nd overall and 1st in class and leads the point standings heading into the final round. In Sunday’s National Challenge sprint races Tim and Mark used their Suzuki GSX-R 1000s to claim 3rd and 5th respectively in the Open Superstock race. Mark was on his Suzuki GSX-R 750 for the 750 Superstock race and finished on the podium in 2nd place. The final race of the day for both riders was to be the WERA Superbike race but it was cancelled due to a thunderstorm. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki & Rider #57 “I am really enjoying my return to racing and having a blast every time I get out on the track especially on my new 750. I have always loved Endurance riding and had fun riding for the BEI Dunlop Development team. I have to thank Tony Pogue for all of his work this weekend.” Tim Bemisderfer Vesrah Suzuki #511 “In the endurance race on Saturday, Mark really pulled us through with his consistent quick lap times. For the National Sprint races I was glad to get out of there with no crashes. I’m still in 2nd place for the Open Superstock championship and with the WERA Superbike race being cancelled due to the weather I am still in the lead for that championship. It looks like the GNF will be a double-header to make up for the cancelled race and I’m looking forward to using the big horsepower of my Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Superbike at Road Atlanta. I have to thank my personal sponsors Dunlop, Twigg Cycles, CTR Suspensions & Washington Cycle Works.” Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2011 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Penske Racing Shocks, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Yoshimura, Catalyst Racing Composites, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active, Pilot, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Pit Bull & Road Rage Designs