A group of businessmen who made a significant donation to the Roadracing World Action Fund were rewarded for their generosity Thursday with multi-lap, 150-mph rides on the Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R1000 two-seat Superbike at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The donation and ridealong event was organized by former racer Kirk Reuille, who said he felt compelled to help the sport he loves while entertaining some of his colleagues and clients at Broaster Chicken.
“Years ago I used to race, back when John Ulrich used to race,” Reuille told Roadracingworld.com. “I still subscribe to his magazine [Roadracing World] and read it regularly. I thought the Airfence thing [Roadracing World Action Fund] was really cool ever since Vincent Haskovec had his wreck.”
Haskovec crashed into a steel barrier fronted by tires during an AMA Pro Formula Xtreme race May 14, 2005, at Infineon Raceway. He suffered multiple injuries, including a shattered T6 vertebra that resulted in paralysis from the chest down.
John Ulrich started the Roadracing World Action Fund, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that advocates and promotes the use of soft barriers to prevent racetrack injuries, in 2001.
“The Airfence seems to be doing good [at helping prevent injuries],” said Reuille, “and I thought it would be cool to donate some day. It’s one of those things you never get around to. Then it occurred to me that you take your customers out golfing or out to dinner or out to a [Indianapolis] Colts football game. ‘Hey, I wonder if I could get a hold of John and take some of my big customers out to ride on the two-seat Superbike.’ That’s how it started.”
Reuille’s friends and colleagues included: Jay Cipra, Bob Huish, Jason Schindler and Jason Steiner.
“It was great,” said Steiner. “It was just amazing. It was a little scary at times, but it was fun overall. I think the thing that stood out the most was the way you become part of the bike. You kind of float right into it. I thought it would be harder to hang on, but it was neat, really neat.”
“I enjoyed it a lot,” said Huish. “You guys mentioned not to wave, and when we hit that back straight it [wind blast] hit me pretty quickly and was pulling me backwards pretty hard. But it also gave me a sense of how fast we were going.
“It just amazes me that the rider, holding me and him up, was able to take the curves the way he did. I’m a big guy [6′ 2″ and 260 pounds], and he was still able to go through the curves pretty good. It was pretty amazing.”
The group of donors were also treated to a personal tour of the Team M4 Suzuki semi-truck by Team Owner John Ulrich and posters personally autographed by team riders Chris Ulrich and Daytona SportBike racer Dane Westby.
Chris Ulrich normally rides the Team M4 Suzuki two-seat Superbike, but due to the fact that he is still recovering from the broken vertebrae he suffered in a crash during an AMA Pro Superbike race in May at Infineon Raceway he rode a GSX-R600 set up as a camera bike Thursday.
Martin Cardenas, winner of AMA Pro Superbike Race One at Barber Motorsports Park, was slated to provide the two-seat Superbike rides in Ulrich’s place at Mid-Ohio (as he did at Miller Motorsports Park), but he was delayed during his travel from Colombia.
As a result, Scott Harwell was the pilot of the two-seat GSX-R1000 Superbike Thursday. Harwell is a former multi-time National Champion racer, an instructor who gives two-seat rides at a popular riding school and the Crew Chief for SuzukiScoopFans’ Elena Myers.