Brett McCormick Daytona Report The TK/Picotte Racing effort managed by legendary Canadian racer Pascal Picotte left the cold Canadian climate in search of warm weather and great results at the first round of the 2010 DMG/AMA RoadRacing Championships held at Daytona International Raceway March 3-5. What they were actually met with was unseasonably cool temperatures and mixed results. Racing in both the American SuperBike and Daytona SportBike classes rider Brett ‘The Kid’ McCormick garnered a DNF (mechanical) and 8th in the American SuperBike and a DNF (crash) in the Daytona 200 after running in the top five for the first half of the race. With Suzuki Canada not having an entry in the Canadian series this year Brett and Pascal felt the timing was right for Brett to show his stuff down south. Despite some bad luck and mixed results, Brett was upbeat about how things went. “The 200 was going really well, I was biding my time at the back of the lead pack saving my front tire ’cause we were not going to change it for the whole race. But then I got sucked in the draft and blew the chicane and ended up three seconds back and had to ride hard to catch back up. After the first pit stop I was a couple seconds back trying to keep Eslick and Rapp’s battle for third in sight. I figured that with a clean last pit stop we could bring it home on the podium, but then I tucked the front just as I released the brakes in the chicane. It was a surprise, it didn’t slide or give any kind of warning and I as on the ground before I knew it. Unfortunately the front brake line tore off in the crash and my night was over. I was a little bummed out ’cause I had a top five for sure but I showed I could run with the guys at the front.” Although he DNF’d one of the SuperBike races, Brett was also happy with his showing on the big bikes. “We kind of struggled chasing the set up on the SuperBike. I wasn’t as comfortable as I normally am but I put my head down and did the best I could. Running in 6th in the first race and an 8th in the second wasn’t too bad at all!” Pascal feels with more track time the results will come. “Considering it was Brett’s first time on the track since last fall and also having to set the bikes up with limited track time and no data with the Dunlop tires I thought the whole team did a great job. We are in the process of trying to garner the sponsorship to be able to participate in all the rounds this year, and I know that with the top notch team we have, it won’t be long until we are not just in the top five but contending for the podium.” Brett would like to give huge thanks to Pascal and the rest of the team as well as Mike ‘Thermosman’ Fitzgerald and Rob Jensen for their hard work and support. Brett and Pascal are actively seeking a headline sponsor for the team for 2010, please contact them through [email protected]. Or [email protected] More, from a press release issued by DASPerformance.com: Team DASPerformance.com got off to a good start at the opening round of the season in Daytona Beach this past week. Throughout the off-season rider Shane Narbonne has been training hard with ice racing in his hometown. During the CCS weekend Shane won the ASRA Super stock race and got 2nd in Unlimited Grand Prix behind Chris Ulrich. “I really used the CCS weekend to find proper setup for the bike and get some track time. So I was excited to get such good results.” As the AMA week approached Shane had to split time between both the AMA Superbike Championship and the AMA Flat Track Nationals. With barely any time on his flat track bike Shane qualified 18th in the Pro Class and ending up finishing in 8th place. This is his first season racing in the Pro class in Daytona since 2001 and Shane couldn’t have been happier with the results. “I am really excited to be able to put effort into both Flat Track and the Superbike Championship this season. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for me.” In Superbike Shane qualified 15th for the week’s AMA Superbike double-header on his DASperformance.com GSXR 1000. In an eventful Superbike race one Shane finished 9th, which is career best for him. In Friday’s Superbike race Shane earned another good finish in 13th position. This just goes to show Shane is 100% dedicated to proving his capabilities and is hungry for more top ten finishes. “I knew I could put myself in the top ten and I did just that.” Unfortunately Shane will have to miss all of the west coast rounds but plans to race all the remaining races. He is still currently looking for additional sponsors. If there is any interest please contact Breeann Poland @ [email protected] Shane would like to thank his sponsors, DASPerformance.com, Arai Helmets, Armour Bodies, Dainese Leathers, Dunlop tires, Held Gloves, Race Tech, Woodcraft. More, from a press release issued by James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing: JAMES GANG/HOBAN BROTHERS FINISHES 16th IN DAYTONA 200; ANNOUNCES INTENT TO ENTER NEW VANCE & HINES XR1200 CLASS Waukesha, Wisc. – Following a solid 16th place performance in the 69th running of the Daytona 200, James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing has announced plans to enter the new AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 class. The team intends to continue campaigning Buell 1125R motorcycles in select AMA Pro Daytona SportBike rounds this season and is searching for additional sponsorship to help the team develop and race Harley-Davidson XR1200s. “It was truly a dream come true to finish in the top 20 of the Daytona 200,” said rider and team co-owner Paul James. “As a bonus, our team helped Shawn Higbee build his Buell 1125R and crew for him during his 8th place run.” AMA Pro Racing’s recently announced Vance & Hines XR1200 spec class will provide a new challenge for James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing. “We have some experience running 883 Sportsters back in the days of the AMA Harley-Davidson Twin Sports class,” said team general manager and co-owner John Dahmer. “And we’re excited to put a competitive program together for the new XR1200 spec class.” James Gang/Hoban Brothers is a national championship winning race team with three AMA Pro podium finishes aboard Buell 1125Rs in 2009, including a class win at Road America in the recently retired Moto-GT endurance series, and a 16th place finish in this year’s 69th running of the Daytona 200. For more information on James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing, go to: www.jghbracing.com or follow team updates at: www.twitter.com/jamesgangracing James Gang/Hoban Brothers sponsors include: H-D of Appleton, Darkhorse Crankworks, Kymco USA, SHIFT Racing, Spectro Oils, Arai, Regina USA, Erik Buell Racing, Vortex and Spyder Leatherworks. More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Racing: Suzuki Makes Its Mark on Bike Week Brea, Calif. March 10, 2010 American Suzuki Motor Corp. rolled out to Bike Week in Daytona Beach, Fla., with a fleet of amazing machines and top-notch talent to do some racing. With epic battles and undeniable performance, Suzuki definitely made its mark on Bike Week. The week started with the River Ranch GNCC race, where Suzukis won the pro classes in both bike and ATV racing. Chris Borich, 2009 GNCC ATV champion, took the win in his class after using the power of the QuadRacer R450 to blast past the competition on the last lap of the race. In the XC1 Pro Bike class, Josh Strang took his race-ready RM-Z450 to the top of the podium with a decisive victory over the field of tough competitors. The AMA American SuperBike series got underway in Daytona, as well. The field had a lot of GSX-R1000s, thanks to the performance and the championship-winning ways of the bike. After first race of the series, where every racer was riding at full power to get across the finish line first, two Suzukis were on the podium: Jake Zemke’s National Guard Jordan Motorsports race-winning GSX-R1000 and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki bike piloted by Tommy Hayden in second place. Race #2 saw the same two riders in the same two spots on the podium, and overall 7 of the top 10 spots were held by GSX-R1000s. Friday night, the legendary Daytona 200 hit the track in cold temperatures and stiff competition. Danny Eslick, aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600 qualified at the top of the ranking and won the Rolex award and the pole position for the race. Eslick battled the conditions and other races and finished fourth. On Saturday, March 6th, focus shifted from the road-racing GSX-R1000 to the dirt dominating RM-Z450 and all-new, fuel-injected RM-Z250. The AMA Supercross kicked off in front of thousands of fans, and the track was long, technical, and designed by the “Greatest Of All Time” Ricky Carmichael. In the Eastern Regional Lites Class, Austin Stroupe rode his RM-Z250 to the holeshot and then duked it out with the fastest guys on 250s. Stroupe nabbed the second spot on the podium and continues holding tight to the second spot in the series points. Ryan Dungey and his race-prepped RM-Z450 won Heat #1 in the Supercross class, and after a long 20-lap battle in the main event, Dungey came out in second place. He still maintains a 20-point lead in the series points. And just as the long week of racing began, the GNCC capped off the event with its Maxxis General event in Georgia. In the ATV class, Borich wrangled a second-place finish and has a great start to his 2010 season. In the XC1 bike class, Strang again put the strangle hold on the first-place spot in the class with his RM-Z450. Another Suzuki was on the top of the podium thanks to Rodney Smith in the Sportsman A class, who rode the all-new RMX450Z to its first win. Suzuki has the machines to dominate off-road and road racing, whatever the discipline may be. Look for Suzuki’s winning lineup of bikes and ATVs to be at the top of every list in the 2010 season. More, from a press release issued by Aussie Dave Racing: Scottish sensation Kev Coghlin was turning heads everywhere at Daytona. Kev started the week off taking things easy learning as much as he could from the other riders on the track. The way in which race meetings are run in this country are a lot different from what Kev is used to so the whole week was a learning curve. Kev qualified the Aussie Dave Racing number #25 Yamaha R6 in 10th spot, the team knew that as soon as the light went green Kev would be running at the front. The first twenty laps of the race was a seven rider battle at the front with only two seconds covering all seven riders for most of those twenty laps. When Kev come in for his first pit stop he was leading the race, after the pit stop Kev returned to the race running in 5th spot, twenty laps later when it was time for his second pit stop Kev was again leading the race. Kev again returned to the track in 5th spot where he would remain until the last lap when a nasty highside ended his race. Fortunately there were only five bikes on the lead lap so even without seeing the checkered flag Kev was awarded 5th place. The team was excited to see that we were able to build a bike that was competitive against the other well known teams running at the front, we certainly lost time on our pit stops but considering we built our quick change setup at the track we couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. Kev certainly showed he has what it takes to win races here in the USA; we are working hard to find the budget to keep Kev on the bike for the rest of the season. If plans fall into place you will see Kev on the Aussie Dave Racing #25 Yamaha R6 fighting for the win at Fontana. In the Superbike class Dave (Aussie Dave) Anthony was a little to eager to get the race started and burnt up his clutch off the start, Dave was not the only rider to do this with a number of riders ending their race on the start. When the second race got started Dave eased the bike off the start, by the time the checkered flag was flying Dave was in ninth place again showing he is a solid top ten contender. Another rider to turn some heads was Johnny Rock Page; Johnny rode the Aussie Dave Racing #269 GSXR 1000 to 14th and 17th places. Johnny has a whole new attitude towards racing and with the teams support we expect his results to keep improving. Aussie Dave Racing would like to thank the following for their support, Fly Racing / Race Tech / FMF / Trackoholics / Hotbodies / Arai / GPR / EBC Brakes / Liquid Perf / HEL Brake Lines / Spider Grips / DumondeTech / Kiwi’s Care / Kiwi Magic Motorsports / Temecula Valley Paint / Pit Bull / Rk Chains / TCX Boots / Vortex / DynoJet / Pitboxes.com / MotoGP