YOSHIMURA-BACKED TEAMS SHOW THEIR DOMINANCE ON THE ASPHALT AND IN THE DIRT CHINO, CA Yoshimura-backed teams showed off their Yoshimura products this weekend with strong results during the AMA Pro Superbike event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, as well as at the Indy 100 GNCC, round six of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series, in Gosport, Indiana. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki teams utilized the performance advantage of their Yoshimura products to show their dominance both on the asphalt of Infineon and in the dirt at the Indy 100. Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki had cause for great celebration after this past weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden went out and rode an aggressive and impressive race on Sunday, taking the AMA Superbike win on his Yoshimura-prepped Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000. Teammate Blake Young also battled hard throughout the weekend and brought home a solid podium finish on Sunday. In Saturday’s race, Hayden got the jump on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 before moving into second place. He stayed right with the leader for all 22 laps and brought home a remarkable second-place finish. On Sunday, however, Hayden pulled out all the stops. His GSX-R again powered him to the front and he again fell into second place. But he was simply biding his time. Riding one of his most determined races ever, Hayden made a pass for the lead with five laps left and then made it stick to take an extraordinary win. This win marks Hayden’s 32nd AMA Pro Racing win, his third win at Infineon, and his sixth career Superbike victory. “I got an awesome start in Saturday’s race on my Suzuki and I felt good from the beginning,” said Hayden. “I knew it was going to be tough, but I tried to put my head down and see if I could pick up some speed in a couple areas. Overall, it had been really positive and we’d been fast and competitive all weekend. On Sunday, I got another good start, I led a couple of laps, and I realized that as the race went on, my GSX-R was working great and I was more comfortable. This win feels really good, for both my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team and me. I can’t thank them enough for all the work they’ve put in. I was really disappointed with myself here last year so I really wanted to redeem myself.” Meanwhile, Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Young finished up fourth on Saturday after an intense race-long battle. Then, on Sunday, Young put his head down and just rode his heart out, bringing home a hard-won third-place podium finish. “Saturday went pretty well,” said Young. “We got off to a good start, though it took me a while to get into a rhythm. On Sunday, I knew I needed to get a good start and get the momentum going, so that’s what I tried to do. I felt good about the start; my GSX-R1000 felt great and I tried to go out and just put my head down and race my own race. I’m happy to get a podium for my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team because they’re working really hard for me. Now, I’m just looking forward to the next race and being there for the team.” The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Championship series is at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, on May 28 – 30, 2011. On the ATV side, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Chris Borich added to his already massive lead in the 2011 ATV GNCC series point standings with a solid second-place podium finish aboard his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki QuadRacer R450 at the Indy 100 GNCC, round six of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series, in Gosport, IN. The Yoshimura-backed Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider started the race in fifth place and then steadily worked his Suzuki into second as a driving rainstorm moved in overhead, turning the red Indiana farmland into slime. “I was sitting back in fifth or sixth after the start, just taking my time, but it was pretty hard to pass out there,” said Borich. “Every time I would get to the front, I would get hung up or hit a little bottleneck and drop back to second or third, or to third or fourth. We worked up to second again at the two-lap board and started charging; my dad was giving me pit boards and we were closing in 40 seconds, 30 seconds. I came into the pits that last time and got fresh goggles and came around and got the checkers.” “My Suzuki QuadRacer R450 ran great. I felt good and we were charging hard, but we just ran out of time,” added Borich. “We’ll come back strong in two weeks in Pennsylvania.” Borich, the reigning ATV XC1 champion, now leads the race for the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series championship by 16 points as the series moves to Patton, PA on May 29th for the Rock Run GNCC. About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com. Yoshimura products are designed, manufactured, intended, and sold for use on vehicles that are operated only on closed course racing circuits unless otherwise noted. Use of these products on public roads or lands is strictly prohibited and may be a violation of local, state, or federal laws. Products intended for use on vehicles operated on public roads or lands are clearly so indicated. More, from a press release issued by Wyman Brothers Racing: Kyle Wyman From Infineon: “It Was A Learning Experience” BATAVIA, NY – With round two in the books for the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, Kyle Wyman finished 14th place after a tough weekend at Infineon Raceway. His first time at the challenging road course, Kyle was able to qualify on the front row but suffered a crash late in the race while in running 4th place. With weather threatening for Sunday’s race, AMA Pro elected to move the race a day earlier and eliminate a session of crucial track time for the class. “Infineon is such a tough track there are several blind corners that really cater to the local guys and other veterans who have raced there for years. I was able to get a hold of the track and put down some good qualifying times, but that didn’t seem to mean much when it came race time.” There was a 30 minute practice session and 40 minute qualifying before the race. “I was pretty confident with the track after those two sessions going into the race, but in those two sessions I was pretty much by myself the whole time. I found out how much more difficult the track was once I got in a group of guys and we were racing close. With other riders right in front of me, I couldn’t really see ahead of them and it was hard to hit my marks I was making a lot of mistakes. After the red flag my goal was to tag back on with the lead group but I didn’t get a good start. I was in 5th going up to turn two and the top three riders were starting to get a gap. I kind of panicked and made a risky move in turn seven and ended up losing the front end on the brakes.” Kyle maintains 3rd in the championship after two rounds completed. “I can’t be too disappointed with the way the weekend ended up,” said the New Yorker. “It was a learning experience I had to take what this place would give me, being the only track on the schedule that I was unfamiliar with. Fortunately we were able to salvage some points despite the crash and I look forward to going to Miller to redeem myself and get back on the podium.” The AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series heads to Miller Motorsports Park May 28-31st where Kyle was the fastest in class during the official AMA Pro test earlier this month. Kyle would like to extend gratitude to his sponsors: Richie Morris Racing, Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing, Revolution Performance, Kuryakyn, Geico, Lucas Oil, Race Tech, EBC, Arai, Pilot, Held, Sidi, Kicker, Long Pond Autobody, Motion Pro, WDG, 505blues.com and TioHero Tours More, from a press release issued by Josh Galster’s publicist: Galster’s AMA Infineon round Infineon Raceway was the next stop on Galster’s calendar this last weekend in Sonoma, CA where he had a very improved and successful weekend. He finished the weekend with two top 15 finishes and made big strides with the new bike. With the strong finishes from the two races Galster is confident for the rest of the season and looks forward to the next races. With a long drive from Colorado to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, Josh Galster was anxiously awaiting the start of the AMA weekend and to keep the momentum up from his victorious MRA weekend May 7-8. With Friday morning rolling in, he had to make some changes to the bike to get it ready for the tight, twisty, and physically demanding circuit, formely known as Sear’s Point. Barry Wressell from KFG Racing came down from Washington to help Galster out for the weekend and make adjustments on the Grandprix Motorsports-backed Yamaha R6. With the help of Barry and Alyssa Warner, Galster was able to get a good base setting for the bike as he set out for the first practice session. Galster took a few laps to get acclimated to the track and surface, then came in to discuss with Barry and Alyssa about how the bike was handling. With modifications made, Galster was 16th fastest after the nice sunny and warm practice session and got things in order for the qualifying session. In Qualifying, Galster went a second faster than in practice but still was not completely comfortable getting the bike to handle in the fast, twisty sections, putting him 17th on the grid for the races. Saturday was not the best racing weather with track temps in the high 60’s and overcast, but with a good Sat morning practice/final qualifying session, Josh was ready for the races to begin. He was gridded on the inside of the 5th row and had a straight path to Turn 1 which takes them up the hill to an off-camber Turn 2 and continues through the rolling hills in the Sonoma region. After the first lap Galster slotted into 15th and had a race-long battle with Huntley Nash, with LTD Racing, which went back and forth for the duration of the race with each rider making slight mistakes that each other capitalized on. After the long and physical 22-lap race, Galster crossed the line with a strong 14th place finish. With rain Saturday night it made for a delayed start to the Sunday schedule and changing track conditions, and due to the threat of late afternoon rain, the races were moved forward for an early afternoon race start. So with a compressed schedule Josh, Barry, and Alyssa were pushed to get all the changes and maintenance done on the bike to get it ready for the race Sun early afternoon, but it all got accomplished with a handful of minutes to spare before race time. After an ok start, Galster was back a little further then he would have liked but made some passes to get himself up to 16th before a red flag came out and the race was restarted. On the restart Galster got pinched out and filed into 19th, but after a few laps he picked off several riders and found himself racing in 15th with no one around after a few laps. Galster maintained his position but with 5 laps remaining he saw in the distance the rider in front of him dropping back due to tire issues. When Josh saw this he put his head down and pushed to close the gap, but made some slight mistakes which cost him in the end. With the gap dropping dramatically between Galster and 14th, he was not able to take advantage of the situation and finished just a couple seconds behind the rider in front to secure a 15th place finish. Josh is heading back to Colorado to race at Pikes Peak International Raceway with the MRA May 21-22nd and then is off to Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City, May 27-30th for the 3rd round of the AMA series which is in conjunction with World Superbike over the Memorial Day weekend. Galster would like to make special thanks to Elden and Jennifer Lew for their hospitality with accommodations over the weekend at Infineon, along with Barry Wressell at KFG Racing, and also Alyssa Warner for all her help in the pits, along with all his sponsors: Grandprix Motorsports, EDR Performance, California Superbike School, Slednecks, Dunlop, Bazzaz Performance, Arai, LeoVince, KFG Racing, gpguns.com, Scorpion leathers, Attack Performance, EBC, GPR, and Lockhart Phillips. If you are interested in helping, supporting, or sponsoring Josh Galster with his racing for the season, contact him at [email protected] for more information. Josh Galster AMA Pro Road Racer #174 www.facebook.com/joshgalster More, from a press release issued by Old Glory Speed Shop Racing: Old Glory Speed Shop Takes Second Team Challenge Win At NJMP The Continental Tire shod Old Glory Speed Shop Buell XB12 took its second win of the season, this past weekend, at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Coming off their recent win at Heartland Park, Topeka in April the team wanted to continue that success at their first “home” race of the season at NJMP. Team riders, Dennie Huff and Brandon Cretu, were both fairly experienced at NJMP and felt they had a solid chance at obtaining another class win. As the race started and settled after a few laps, Huff took up the second place position. Huff and Cretu knew they would have to not only put together quick and consistent laps but also strategise to finish ahead. Huff started the race and began to string together solid laps while conserving fuel. The strategy would be to only require one pit stop since they knew that most of their competition would have to pit at least twice during the 69 lap race. Huff pitted the Buell XB12 a little past the halfway point allowing Cretu to take over riding duties. At this point they were in the lead by nearly 20 seconds because of a well timed pit stop and the Buell being very easy on fuel usage. A few laps into Cretu’s stint he rode by the second place teams rider as he was pushing his bike off the track due to a mechanical. From then on Cretu knew they had the race in the clinched since they had a few lap lead on third place. He just had to ride smart and finish the race with teammate Huff urging him to take it easy from pit wall. Team rider Huff said, “It is great to win at our home track here at NJMP. Coming off of our win at Topeka we really wanted to finish on top at this round and continue the momentum as well as increase our lead in the championship points. The Continental Tires held up great through 69 laps and Old Glory Speed Shop had the bike in great condition to win the race so we couldn’t ask for more.” Come see the Old Glory Speed Shop/Continental Tires team at the next ASRA Team Challenge round at VIR on June 18-19! More, from a press release issued by Celtic Racing/Fast By Ferracci: Celtic Racing/Fast By Ferracci’s Jacobsen Just Misses Podium At Infineon Nyack, NY – Celtic Racing/Fast By Ferracci’s PJ Jacobsen finished just off the podium in both legs of the Daytona SportBike double-header at West Coast Moto Jam on the rolling Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, California. Riding his Ducati 848EVO, Jacobsen was consistently among the front-runners throughout the weekend, the second and third rounds of the championship. The 17-year-old New Yorker missed out on the podium by two seconds on Saturday and slightly more on Sunday. “This weekend went pretty good,” Jacobsen said. “It would have been awesome to finish on the podium, but we came through the two days of racing with points and consistency, so I’ll take that. “We actually struggled a little bit in qualifying, as I wanted to put it on the front row, but those are the breaks.” A small tire problem caused Jacobsen to miss out on a front row start by a scant .322 secs. “But the races generally went well, and honestly, this wasn’t one of my best or strongest tracks, so I’m pleased to come through with the way things were. “We have a really good baseline coming into these next few tracks, and I know them well, so hopefully that will allow us to keep moving forward and we can get on the box.” Eraldo Ferracci, the team’s technical director, was generally pleased with the team’s performance. “I am satisfied with the results,” he said in his thick Italian accent. “We went in, we learned a bunch, we are closer to the ideal suspension setting, and our partners at K-Tech (suspension) have been a good choice. “The results could be a little better, but I am glad we survived the weekend and can work towards the future. Overall, we didn’t have any major troubles this weekend. In qualifying, we had one small issue with the tire choice, but otherwise things went OK. “But, no matter where you qualify, the race is where you perform. We were close, and PJ rode well without overdoing it, which is easy to do at that track. Also, and it’s not an excuse, but from my standpoint, all the riders who finished in front of PJ had much more time at this track this was only his second time racing there -and I think we will surprise a lot of people at these next few rounds.” Celtic Racing/Fast By Ferracci will now turn its focus towards the next round of the series at Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah on May 28-30. For more information, please visit the team’s website at www.celticracing.com or “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/celticracing. More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: VESRAH SUZUKI FINISHES UP THE WEST COAST MOTO JAM AT INFINEON RACEWAY WITH STRONG PERFORMANCES FROM ALL 3 RIDERS. All 3 Vesrah Suzuki riders improved or equalled their performance from Race 1 on Sunday in the final day of AMA Pro Racing at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California. The team is learning and refining the set-up on the new for 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600’s and making progress every time the bikes are on the racetrack. In the Daytona Sportbike class Cory West was able to move up one place from his finish yesterday ending the race in 5th place. Taylor Knapp improved his performance by 2 places finishing in 9th for Race 2. Cory holds on to 2nd place in the 2011 Daytona Sportbike Championship by 10 points with his consistent finishes and Taylor is now in the top 10 in points. In the Supersport class Corey Alexander was able to run up front until a mishap dropped him back but he was able to almost battle back to a podium finish and ended up in 4th place again. He remains in 3rd place in the 2011 AMA Pro Racing Supersport West championship. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki “I’m happy to get out of Infineon which is not one of the strong track’s for our team with Cory in 2nd place in the point standings in Daytona Sportbike. Taylor is making progress switching to a 600 this year and Corey showed that he could run up front in the Supersport class. I have to thank Yoshimura for their assistance in developing the new 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600 and support of the team for this year.” Cory West Vesrah Suzuki #57 “We improved the bike in the warm up and had a better race pace today. I got a good start and ran in 3rd place in the early stages of the race. I was hanging onto the leaders comfortably until I caught my knee in a hole. It pulled me off the bike but I managed to hang on to it. From there, I lost touch with the leaders and it took a few laps to get my rhythm back. I had a good fight for 5th place all the way to the finish and I’m glad I held onto a top 5. I want to thank my mechanics, Tony and Bruce, for working so hard this weekend. We are still trying to find that perfect set-up here and we are getting closer. Also a big thanks to the whole Vesrah crew for giving me good bikes. We collected valuable points and we are moving on to some of my favourite tracks on the schedule. I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead and I’m eager to get back on the podium.” Taylor Knapp Vesrah Suzuki #44 “Infineon was a rough weekend for me. We made changes in the right direction but still fell a little short. The re-start of the race was going good as I tagged onto the end of the lead group until about lap 10 when a rider fell right in front of me causing me to lose touch. I tried to charge back but the tire faded pretty bad similar to Race 1 and all I could do was ride it home. It’s disappointing because my strong point is always the end of the race but that is all it had today. I have to thank Mark Junge, my mechanics James and Don, and the rest of the Vesrah Suzuki crew as everybody worked really hard for me and we learned a lot this weekend. We will take what we learned and move on to MMP for round 3.” Corey Alexander Vesrah Suzuki #5 “Today was another bittersweet day. We made some changes to my all-new 2011 GSX-R 600 this morning and I worked on a few things during the warm up. Again we started from the outside of the front row and I didn’t get the greatest start. On the first lap I had to make my way through some carnage and eventually got up into third place by lap 4. I knew if I pushed I could stay with the front guys but I was just going to play it safe and settle into third. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and tucked the front sending us back to 6th place. The guys at Vesrah built me a very solid bike and I put my head back down and made it up to 4th, just short of 3rd place. I’d like to thank my mechanics Barry and Tim, everyone involved with the Vesrah Suzuki team, and especially my Uncle Richie Alexander.” 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 More, from a press release issued by Tyler Odom Racing: Solis Wins, Odom Strong At Infineon Torrance, CA (May 18, 2011) Young gun road racers Tyler Odom and Benny Solis were back on the track during round 2 and 3 of the AMA Pro Racing championship, held at Infineon Raceway in Northern California. Benny Solis, riding a Honda CBR600RR, was unstoppable all weekend. The young rider from North Hollywood, California was racing only his second AMA Pro event. He scored not only the fastest qualifying position, but also won both SuperSport races by a convincing margin. While the two wins were Solis’s first as a professional, the sixteen year old racer showed the speed and consistency of a seasoned professional. “It was only my second AMA race, and coming into this event, I was hoping to finish on the podium, but, after practice and qualifying, I knew I could win. We had also tested here a few weeks ago, and so we had a real good setup, right off the bat. From the beginning, we were just consistent, and we were able to picked up time in little pieces. For example, when I was doing laps, I was struggling in the last sector and was losing a lot of time into the last turn. I looked at the data, focused on that and made some improvements. But overall it was a really good feeling to win my first race, and then to back it up with another win.” Tyler Odom, Solis’s teammate and friend, made his first 2011 AMA appearance in the Daytona SportBike class. Odom was fast all weekend, and finished a respectable 9th place in race one on Saturday. On Sunday, Odom suffered a DNF when he clipped a curb while running in a top ten position early on in the race. “Overall it was a good weekend. It was a bummer to end with a minor fall on Sunday, but I made a lot of progress and picked up quite a bit of speed during the rest of the weekend. I feel that I can improve quite a bit on my 9th place from Saturday, and I cant wait to hit the track at Miller in just a few weeks” said Odom, who is an 18 year old senior at South High School in Torrance, California. “Miller is one of my favorite tracks to ride, and I am hoping to really improve upon my performance”. Tyler Odom and Benny Solis Jr. are sponsored by Roadracingworld.com, Honda, Erion Racing, Alpinestars, Pro Honda Oils and Chemicals, Knology Tuning, Don Odom Racing, Renthal, Galfer, DID Dunlop, Troy Lee Designs, Puma, Oakley, Concept-5, First Generation Motorsports, Go Green Asphalt, Murray Company, Guardian Commercial Realty, Clement Supports, Milwaukee Valve, Columbia Specialty, Express Pipe and Supply, J.R. Smith, P-E Insulation, ISAT Sciesmic Systems, Charlotte Pipe Cut/Core inc., and Mark Zimmerman. In addition, Benny Solis is also sponsored by RedBull.