VIR PROVES TO BE ANOTHER LEARNING CURVE FOR RYAN KERR Alton, Vir”¦The AMA Pro SuperSport event at VIR, August 13-15 definitely proved to be another learning curve for Ryan Kerr and the entire Ryan Kerr Racing team. “I had a lot of trouble getting comfortable on the track,” says Kerr, who qualified in the 22nd slot. “In fact, it wasn’t until about halfway through the first race that things began to actually gel for me. Most of the field had been at the WERA race the weekend before and Friday practice was the first time I had ever turned a wheel on the track.” Pulling off the grid Kerr began to work his way through the field. It wasn’t too long before he had managed to climb into 12th. “Then I made a rookie mistake,” said the youngster from Johnstown, Ohio. “I went into turn 2 too hard on the gas and almost lost it. Luckily I managed to hold on and get back in the groove. Unfortunately I lost a couple of positions and was unable to make it up in the time left. We had to settle for 14th and I know I could have done better.” On Sunday, Kerr got a good start and once again began to move up. A few laps in the race was red flagged. “When we started again, we did a sighting lap before the restart,” explains Kerr. “We didn’t think about topping off the gas before restarting and therefore our calculations were off. I was running in 11th and figured I could make it up another spot when my Kawasaki started to slightly sputter. I knew if I pushed it I would run out of gas before the checkered. So I did the smart thing and brought the bike home in 11th. It wasn’t the results I wanted, but we finished both races, brought the bike home in one piece and gained a little in the points. Each time out, I learn something new and that just makes me better. We will be ready for New Jersey and I am looking to end the season on a high note.” Ryan Kerr Racing is sponsored by MJ USA, 614Paintworx, Leo Vince, Arai, Di-Digital Impressions, Woodcraft, KobieC.com, Kawasaki and MJ Motorgear, and Mid-Ohio School. More, from a press release issued by Autolite RIM Racing: Autolite RIM Racing delivers some spark in Virginia As hoped Autolite RIM Racing delivered sparks and excitement by achieving their highest finishing results to date during round 8 of the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike held at Virginia International Raceway. Brought on by nothing more than pure determination, passion, and skill. Autolite RIM Racing’s rider Mike Morgan left VIR with his highest ever finishes in an AMA Pro Racing class. After a race long battle with 5 other riders on Saturday rider Mike Morgan had to settle for a 14th place finish that even saw him running as high as 11th at one point in the race. Mike Morgan: “It was an amazing weekend for me. I have to thank my family, sponsors, friends, the fans, and all the great riders that I get to race with on these weekends. I need to thank Autolite RIM Racing and their crew for all the hard work that has gone into the last few years, and all the friends that just lend a helping hand or share ideas that have helped us get to where we are. This year we are fielding a great team and is one of the strongest I have ever been a part of. It may not sound like much, but when you finish one of these races in the top 20 you have done a good days work. Now we are running well within the top 15 and inching ever closer to a top 10. We have two more chance this year and we are doing all we can to achieve the goal of a top 10 finish. Saturday and Sunday’s races were a ton of fun! We tried to work on the bike every time we went out and we improved every lap we turned. A big part of that was the Race Tech suspension being flawless. Both races were hard fought and we lost 2 spots right there at the end on Sunday, but that is how it goes when you have limited passing opportunities and are surrounded by some of the best riders in the US. More, from a press release issued by Racing for a Wish: PERFECT WEEKEND Signorelli and Racing for a Wish Were Perfect, Winning Three for Three Racing for a Wish and Signorelli headed back to Miller Motorsports Park on August 14th and 15th, 2010 for the Masters of the Mountain Round #5 on the West Course. The team’s goal going in was to maintain the lead in Open Superstock and Open Superbike, but to also regain the lead in the King of the Mountain GTO championship. Signorelli was able to battle throughout the weekend and take wins in all three classes to achieve the team’s goal. There are two rounds left in the Masters of the Mountain Series where Racing for a Wish will continue to race for wins with the help of BMW Motorcycles of Utah, Intermountain Racer Supply, Pirelli, and Bob Fier Racing. The racing started with the Open Superstock class which Gerry has a perfect record in for 2010. It was not different this time, with the BMW Motorcycles of Utah S1000RR and Signorelli continuing to show how great the bike can be in stock form off the showroom floor. Open Superbike and King of the Mountain GTO proved to be more difficult as Signorelli had to face some great riders on heavily modified race bikes. Open Superbike offered a great battle between Cusumano and Signorelli. After Gerry took the lead on lap two, Cusumano followed close and the pair put on a good show. Cusumano made a pass on Signorelli in the middle of the race on the brakes entering the Blackrock hairpin. Signorelli immediately passed him back driving out of the corner and did not look back. He went on to set the fastest lap of the race and take the victory. King of the Mountain GTO was a dramatic race. Jimmy Wood took the lead immediately and set an incredible pace. By lap two, mayhem started with Wood and Cusumano crashing out and Stern being penalized for a “jumped start”. Signorelli took the lead and managed the race from the front to take the win. “This was a crazy and fun weekend! I was stoked to grab three wins and had fun battling. Its been a real pleasure working with Kory Cowan of Intermountain Racer Supply and helping to show everyone, with good results, just how great Pirelli tires work!” Racing for a Wish is a motorcycle road racing program that benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation as it supports Gerry Signorelli’s development towards becoming an internationally competitive racer. Racing for a Wish markets sponsors’ brands in the thrilling world of motorsports. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children under the age of eighteen with life threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. Fifteen percent of sponsorsʼ cash contributions goes directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Colorado so they may continue granting wishes for deserving and inspiring kids. Along with a financial contribution, Racing for a Wish reaches out to communities to raise awareness of the charity’s great cause. Sponsorship opportunities are flexible and tailored to fit each business’/individual’s needs while targeting an ideal audience in an effective manner. More, from a press release issued by Acorn Woods Communications on behalf of Yoshimura Racing: ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH FOR HAYDEN AT VIR “¢ Tommy Hayden finished third in Sunday’s race at VIR. “¢ Hayden is now 11 points behind the leader in the championship chase. “¢ The Suzuki GSX-R1000’s responsive handling allowed Tommy to make the most of the race and finish on the podium. Alton, Vir. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden, fresh off his victory on Saturday at VIR, made it to the podium again on Sunday with his third-place finish. Hayden battled for traction throughout the race but held it together to the finish line. Hayden is still in second place in the standings, but with two more rounds of racing to go in the AMA American SuperBike series, he’s well within striking distance of first place at 11 points back. Hayden started on the front row of the grid and shot out to the early lead in Sunday’s race. He then moved into second where he held steady until he noticed some chatter in his bike, which is thought to have been due to the grip of the rear tire. With high humidity and thick cloud cover, the track wasn’t as hot and sticky as everyone would’ve liked, but Tommy made the most of the race by riding a smart and finishing third. “I feel good about riding fast the first five laps, but in the end I didn’t have the speed and the rear tire couldn’t keep up,” Hayden said. “We’ll go back to work before New Jersey and find more speed.” Round 9 of the AMA American SuperBike series takes place on September 3-5 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. Hayden is looking forward to earning more points toward the championship then. Team sponsors: Rockstar, Makita, Yoshimura, Motorex, Dunlop, Galfer, RK Racing Chain, BMC Air Filter, NGK Spark Plugs, Color Rite, Renthal, Catalyst, F.Fabbri Accessori and Motion Pro. About Suzuki: The Motorcycle/ATV Division of American Suzuki Motor Corporation (ASMC), Brea, Calif., was founded in 1963 by Suzuki Motor Corporation. ASMC markets motorcycles and ATVs via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. ASMC’s parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, automobiles and marine engines. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, it has 120 distributors in 191 countries. www.suzukicycles.com About Rockstar: ROCKSTAR is the world’s most powerful Energy Drink. Enhanced with the potent herbal blend of Guarana, Ginkgo, Ginseng and Milk Thistle, ROCKSTAR is formulated to provide an incredible energy boost for those who lead active and exhausting lifestyles – from athletes to rock stars. ROCKSTAR Energy Drink is available in fourteen amazing flavors: Original, Sugar Free, Zero Carb, Juiced Mango, Juiced Guava, Juiced Pomegranate, Tropical Punched, Punched Citrus, Energy Cola, Recovery Lemonade, Roasted Mocha, Roasted Latte, Roasted Light Vanilla, and Roasted Espresso. ROCKSTAR ENERGY SHOTS are available in Wild Berry and Tropical Punch flavors, and coming in 2010 – ROCKSTAR ENERGY GUM. About Makita: Makita is a worldwide manufacturer of industrial quality power tools and offers a wide range of industrial accessories. Makita applies leading-edge technology and innovation to engineer tools that are more compact with less weight yet deliver industrial strength power and results. Makita innovation includes Makita LXT®, the industry’s first 18V lithium-ion cordless lineup. For more information visit makitatools.com. Follow Makita at www.facebook.com/makitatools, twitter.com/makitatools and youtube.com/makitapowertools. The Makita Teal color is the trade dress of Makita Corporation and is protected under common law and registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Makita is Best in Class Engineering. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Czech Republic Grand Prix and test debrief with Tohru Ubukata Round 10: Czech Republic GP Post-race and Official Test debrief Automotodrom Brno, Tuesday 17 August 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Hard, Extra Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard The Czech Republic Grand Prix was the first after MotoGP’s summer break, and was won by championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, from Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Conditions throughout the weekend were unpredictable and Friday and Saturday practice and Sunday’s warm-up were all affected by rain. This meant reduced dry running time for the teams ahead of what was a dry race, and the track conditions were also affected by the downpours. The event was followed by a one-day Official Test on Monday 16 August, during which Bridgestone continued testing with developmental front slick tyres. Q&A with Tohru Ubukata – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department What can you say about track conditions over the weekend? “I think the weather conditions made this weekend very hard for the riders and teams because of the interrupted running right from the first session on Friday. Hard rain overnight on Friday left track conditions tricky on Saturday, and more overnight rain followed by heavy rain showers on Sunday morning left it more slippery and even slower for the race. There are many downhill corners at Brno which throw bike weight forward and demand more from the front tyre, and if the bike setup is not optimised the affects appear greater at Brno because of this. The rain-interrupted sessions meant that teams had less time in the dry to work on their setups, after each rain shower the track conditions were changed slightly and strong winds were experienced during the race, and all of these factors had an effect on laptimes.” What about Bridgestone’s tyre selection for this weekend? “We selected exactly the same tyre compound positions for Brno this year as we did in 2009: the hard and extra hard front slick tyres and the medium and hard rears. The only difference is that the medium rear is an improved compound for this year that we have used since the start of the season. Last year almost all riders used the harder rear tyre, largely because the track temperature was ten degrees hotter than it was this time and the softer option did not have sufficient consistency over race distance. This year every rider was able to use the softer rear because of the cooler track temperature and the fact that the improved compound had sufficient durability for the race. The front tyres used in the race by all riders were exactly the same as those chosen in 2009. “I can also add that with a dry Sundayafternoon, no rain overnight, and no wind for the official test on Monday, riders were immediately faster than race pace even without the new updates that were tested so I think this shows how much affect the rain and wind had on times in the race. Using the same tyres as he did for the race, Jorge’s fastest time was almost 1.3 seconds faster and his time of 1m 56.269 was faster than last year’s lap record and only 0.1seconds from the pole position record.” What did you test during the official test on Monday? “The test was an important opportunity to progress our experimental front tyre testing and evaluation and we gained some valuable data even though the test was cut short by rain in the afternoon. I would like to express my gratitude to the teams and riders for their support in our testing. Working with the best riders in the world is a valuable asset to Bridgestone in terms of both Motorsport development and evolution in our road products. “We brought a new developmental front tyre for each rider to test so we could obtain their feedback and collect data to allow us to determine the best direction for future development. This is the second step in the testing we started at the beginning of the season and the feedback and results are positive so I am happy our ongoing technical development is in the right direction.” More, from a press release issued by Ridersdiscount.com: Team RidersDiscount.com Taylor Knapp comes away from VIR with a Pair of 5th Place Finishes Team RidersDiscount.com comes away with their best results this year with two fifth place finishes at the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Pro Superbike Nationals. Thanks to the extra seat time working with Mr. Fitzgerald while competing against other AMA Pros during the previous WERA Cycle Jam weekend, Taylor had a particular confidence in his Yoshimura-prepared Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the AMA Superbike event at VIR. Things started off well with Taylor as high as fourth position on the time sheets and ultimately qualifying at the front of the third row. For the first race Saturday, VIR’s infamous turn one made a bad start worse with many riders jostling for position, pushing Taylor down to eleventh place on the first lap. From there, he worked hard to obtain the speed which he knew he had from his qualifying pace and slowly made his way to the team’s best finish this year in fifth place. Sunday’s race was a more intense affair for Taylor who had to battle with a field full of fast riders in order to move forward. After making a pass that would stick on the eleventh lap against Jake Zemke, Taylor came to encounter what he knew to be an insurmountable gap between him and fourth-place. Despite the distance, he used those last five laps to put his head down and clicked off times that were faster than all but the top two finishers and came home in fifth place, again equaling his performance from the day before on the Yoshimura-prepared Suzuki GSX-R1000. Taylor Knapp “In race one I got a bad start where I was behind a lot of people and I had to fight to get up to fifth place but we still ended up finishing about two seconds back from fourth place. Without the bad start, I really think we could’ve been fourth. Sunday, we got off the line better but everyone was bottled up in turn one again so I had to fight hard to keep up. It was a lot like Saturday’s race, but I still tried to ride as hard as I could and the Yoshimura-Prepared Suzuki GSX-R1000 did what I wanted and we came home in fifth again. The bike is the best it’s been all year thanks to Thermosman [Mike Fitzgerald]!” After the best weekend of the year, Team RidersDiscount.com is looking forward to building on the success of VIR during the next two events at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Barber Raceway. With two hard-earned fifths in the bag, Taylor and the team can’t wait to get on the gas in New Jersey! About RidersDiscount.com: RidersDiscount.com is an online retailer of quality powersports gear, apparel and accessories. A company formed and owned by motorcycle racers, RidersDiscount.com ships equipment for every riding style to customers worldwide, backed by knowledgeable sales and excellent customer service. More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: CORY WEST AND HIS VESRAH SUZUKI GSX-R 600 CHALLENGE FOR THE WIN IN DAYTONA SPORTBIKE RACE 2 AT VIR. After showing that he could run up front in Race 1 on Saturday Cory West backed it up by running with the lead group and challenging for the win in Daytona Sportbike Race 2 on Sunday during the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Pro Nationals Presented by Foremost Insurance at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, VA. After passing for the lead going into turn 1 on the final lap Cory was knocked off the track by a competitor ruining his chance to take his first AMA Pro racing victory. He recovered from his off track excursion to finish in 7th place and continues to hold onto 5th place in the season championship. Chris Fillmore had a rough time again on Sunday with a crash early in the race. Chris is now tied for 9th place in the standings. Nick Hansen rode for the team for the second time this season in the Supersport class and came away with a top 10 result in Race 1 on Saturday and was looking for another top 10 in Race 2 on Sunday when he crashed out of the race. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki “I’m glad to get back to tracks where the team has past experience and is able to show that we can run up front. Cory did an awesome job this weekend and Nick got a top ten result in only his 2nd AMA Pro racing Supersport event. Chris had an off weekend as he was not feeling well but will be ready for New Jersey. Thanks to all of my crew for the effort put in this weekend.” Cory West Vesrah Suzuki #57 “I was determined to redeem myself today! We had a red flag come out early in the race because of some sprinkles but I was running in 3rd when the race was stopped so I got to restart on the front row. The restart went well and I was back in 5th or so. The guys at the front were pushing a fast pace and I was struggling a little to hold on. As the laps started to wind down I could see that I was reeling the leaders back in. With about six laps to go I had moved into podium contention. I relaxed a little and waited for two to go to try and make a charge to the front. I took the lead once and then got drafted by on the front straight so I knew I needed a small gap coming to the line. I was in 2nd place when we came to the white flag and then I made a pass for the lead on the brakes into turn one. I was just starting to get the bike turned and then I got punted by another rider. I didn’t crash but I ended up in the grass. I ended up taking 7th place and I am still 5th in the championship. I’m happy that we showed everyone that we can still fight for race wins. It is just disappointing that we didn’t get a result to show for it. I thought for sure that I could have won yesterday and today’s races. We’ll come back strong at NJMP and try to get on top of the podium! Thanks to the whole Vesrah Suzuki crew and to our Penske and Traxxion Dynamics engineers for giving me such a good bike this weekend. See you at New Jersey!” Chris Fillmore Vesrah Suzuki #55 “We tried a new setting on the Penske shock that made a big difference with the tire choice that we planned to run. I got off to a good start & was close to the front group as people were crashing themselves out. Going into turn 1 I got in just a bit hot and followed the guys in front of me right off into the grass. I had a bad case of rider fixation in today’s race and it got the better of me. Big thanks to all the Vesrah Suzuki crew. I know New Jersey will be a much better showing for me.” Nick Hansen Vesrah Suzuki #97 Race 1 Saturday “I had an awesome start but I started braking way to early so people just went flying past me. When I turned in people got taken out and I just went up the inside and before I knew it I was in 5th place. I was so excited so I just pushed as hard as I could. Two people got by me so I was frustrated but I stuck with them. We were going back and forth and it was intense and fun at the same time. I ended up finishing 7th so I wasn’t too upset.” Race 2 Sunday “I had an awesome start again so I was excited but unfortunately I got pushed out wide in the first turn. I got by some people and I think I was in 13th. The race got red flagged so I was happy the race got restarted to give me another shot. On the restart I came out of turn 1 in like 7th and I passed some guys to get into 5th. It was back and forth for 5th place then unfortunately on the 13th lap I crashed in a pretty fast corner. I was so mad at myself because I knew I shouldn’t have been that close to the curb. I just nicked the foot peg on the curb and tucked the front.” Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2010 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Dainese Leathers, Boots and Gloves, Arai (Cory), Shoei (Chris), Graves Motorsports, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs