Updated: More From This Past Weekend’s Various Races

Updated: More From This Past Weekend’s Various Races

© 2009, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. From a press release issued By HM Plant Honda.

STEVE PLATER SECURES WIN AND CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD AT DONINGTON Woodhall Spa ace Steve Plater secured both the race win and the series lead at Donington Park on Monday when he cruised to victory in round three of the Fuchs/Silkolene British Supersport championship for the Louth-based HM Plant Honda team. Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan for the Lincolnshire star as he slid off in the first session and was only able to secure ninth position in the final qualifying period for a third row start to the race. “I slid off at Craner,” said Plater. “I don’t really know why, I didn’t do anything any different than on any other lap so it’s a bit frustrating. We managed to get things going for the second session and lapped six or seven 10ths faster but I was only able to move up to ninth on the grid so will have a lot of work to do at the start of the race. I know we are on the pace on race tyres but I need to get near to the front at the first turn.” As the 18-lap race got underway Steve made a good start and maintained his position of ninth at Redgate. But as his tyres began to warm he made steady progress forward to take up fourth on lap five and begin to edge nearer to the three leading riders a few seconds ahead. By lap 12 he was with them and within another four laps had taken the lead. With a clear track ahead, Plater began to pull away and completed the 18-lap affair over two seconds ahead of Dan Linfoot and Paul Young. This result would see Plater take the championship lead with a seven point advantage over Billy McConnell, but Young failed a post race check and was disqualified which benefited McConnell who was promoted to third place giving him the bonus of an extra four championship points and reducing Plater’s lead to four points. “I got off the line well,” explained Plater. “But then was almost run into at Hollywood in the first lap tussle. It was no big deal but I lost a few places. I held my position for a while and then started to move away and push. McConnell came past me on the first lap which opened my eyes as I knew he was leading the championship so I got my head down and set about catching him up again. “I am leading the championship now which is good for both myself and HM Plant Honda. It will be a busy week for me as I have to go over to the Isle of Man to get set up for the TT races and then fly back to Thruxton for qualifying. I have to return to the Isle of Man on Saturday straight after qualifying to take part in the first night of practice before returning to Thruxton on Sunday in time for my race. It’s a bit hectic but as long as the flights are all running ok everything should work out fine.” It is a quick turn around for all the riders as the weekend’s racing at Thruxton begins on Friday with free practice. Qualifying is set for Saturday with the 18-lap Supersport race due on track at 3.40pm on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Tunstall Back on the Podium Tom Tunstall and the Hardinge Doodson Superbike Team returned to the British Superbike Cup Rostrum at Donington Park over the weekend with a hard fought 2nd place in race one. After a turbulent opening couple of rounds Tom Tunstall and his Hardinge Doodson Motorsport team were heading to the East Midlands track looking to get their Superbike Cup Championship campaign back on track. Progress throughout the race weekend was evident as he consistently improved throughout the free practice sessions in preparation for Monday’s race. The almost perfect weather conditions continued through into the single qualifying session. For the second time since its conception Tunstall passed through to the second phase, another sign of the team’s development. For the majority of the session the Yorkshireman held a strong 2nd place in the cup and 16th overall only a tenth of a second off a potential pole position. With only three minutes to go the session was red flagged after Graeme Gowland was thrown from his machine. In the restart Tom was unable to improve and just got bumped to third by 0.1 second. “We came here to get our season back on track and not rip any trees up in the early sessions the consistent good weather has helped and I’ve got a good feeling from the bike which is getting better with every session” The improvements continued in the morning warm up session as Tunstall equalled his qualifying pace. The first of the day’s two 20-lap races Tunstall ended the opening lap fourth of the Cup runners and the following lap was up to 3rd. Closing down a two second gap to 2nd place Martin Jessop, Tunstall sat on the back wheel of the fellow Honda rider making his move with just over two laps to go. And although Jessop tried to fight back it was Tunstall who got to the chequered flag first taking second place and his first belated rostrum of the year. Confident of replicating his impressive ride in race two, Tunstall’s plans took a knock when he lost ground on the first circulation of the 2.5mile circuit. Having cut his way through to third, Tunstall once again set about tracking down Jessop in second place, however Peter Hickman passed him on lap 15 and before he could respond became embroiled in a battle with Victor Cox. As the two exchanged positions Hickman got away and with him so did Tom’s chances of making it three double podiums in a row at Donington. “In race two I got caught up racing slower riders which was frustrating as I had the pace to be back on the podium, but I’ve got to be happy with how the weekend has gone. The progress we’ve made all weekend has been great and we have proved we have the pace to be consistently on the podium. My feeling and confidence on the bike is still growing and I know we’ll build on this weekend at Thruxton” Tom and the Hardinge Doodson Motorsport Team won’t have long to wait with the fourth round taking place this weekend at Thruxton in Hampshire. More, from a press release issued by Mountain Toys Racing: Mountain Toys Racing Dominates CMRA Round 1 Calgary Ab Canada/May 24/09 – Mike Zottmann, Matt Schmidt and Tom Bodrovics of Mountain Toys racing proved that they will be the team to beat after a dominating first round of the CMRA series in Calgary on Five 1st places finishes between the 3 riders showed that this team is serious and very motivated to once again take the Championships in all the elite classes of the CMRA. Mike Zottmann, 3 time CMRA Open Superbike Champion took an early lead in the Heavyweight Expert class aboard his GSX-R1000 and continued the trend by finishing the race ahead of the field by a dominating margin. In the Open Superbike race Zottmann not only won, but set a new CMRA lap record of 1:16:770 around the 2.0 mile Race City road course. “We are very pleased with Mikeys performance this weekend and once again, he has proved he wants another Superbike title “, said Mountain Toys. Matt Schmidt, the defending Middleweight Expert and Middleweight Superbike Champion was back in his winning form as well, winning both the Middleweight Expert and Middleweight Superbike races despite his injuries sustained the weekend before in Mission after a crash on the fourth lap resulting in a concussion and shoulder injury. Schmidt led both races aboard his GSX-R600 from start to finish pulling a huge gap between the rest of the Middleweight field. “I’m really happy with the my results today because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to maintain race pace with my shoulder injury” said Schmidt after his win in Middleweight Superbike. Tom Bodrovics, Mountain Toys Am 600 rider proved he to was up to the challenge this weekend as well, finishing 1st in the Middleweight Am class. Not only did Bodrovics win the Middleweight Am race he also set a new personal best lap time of 1:23:295. Bodrovics also finished a solid 5th place in the Middleweight Superbike race. ” Tom proved today that he is very determined to win a championship this year and we strongly believe he will be one of the top contenders in the Middleweight Am class this year” , said Mountain Toys after Sundays race. Mountain Toys racing would like to thank Suzuki Canada, Factory Outlet Trailers, Classic Auto graphics, Image Auto body,The RoadHouse,Ultimate K9 Bodyguards, Importations Thibaualt, Pirelli, Lockhart Phillips, Pilot Leathers, Suomy, Ogio, Hot bodies, Dirty Kustoms, Galfer, APE Race Parts, Vortex, Rockwell Time, Oakley, and One Track Mind. More, from a press release issued by the Canadian Kawasaki Factory Team: Szoke makes history. Solid weekend for Welsh. CALABOGIE, Ont. (May 24) Five-time national champion Jordan Szoke enjoyed a history-making day at the opening round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Calabogie Motorsports Park on Sunday. The Canadian Kawasaki Motors team leader scored a stunning success in the Superbike feature to become the all-time leader in career triumphs in the class with 27. And he did it in style, trading the lead back and forth with Brett McCormick on the final lap before prevailing by just 0.133 seconds on his ZX-10R. “This is a great track. I think this is the best track in Canada and I’m glad that it’s here that I got the record,” said the 30-year-old from Brantford, Ont. after his second straight Superbike win at Calabogie. Szoke had qualified second for Sunday’s race in the single-bike Pirelli SuperPole session and admitted he may have made a mistake in his tire section. “I think I took the wrong front tire,” he explained. “It’s such a long lap here I took it easy on the rear on my warm-up lap but I don’t think I got enough heat into the front, and it was pushing on my qualifying lap.” Szoke was careful off the start and ran fourth at the end of the first of 16 laps around the 5.05km, 20-turn Calabogie track before working his way up to second by lap three. “I might have taken things a bit too easy at the start,” he later admitted. “And I used up the tire a bit trying to come back.” In the second half of the race, however, Szoke was able to erase a gap of some two seconds to McCormick, setting his fastest lap of the race on the 11th tour at 2:01.599, the second fastest lap of the race. He was right on McCormick’s tail to start the final lap and grabbed the lead for the first time down the back straight. McCormick was able to regain the lead exiting turn seven but Szoke got right back ahead and held off his rival through the rest of the lap to score his milestone win. “I had to ride hard but all my conditioning paid off,” the winner said. “What a great, fun race that was. On that last lap we passed each other a whole bunch of times. That’s what makes it fun out there.” Szoke’s teammate Alex Welsh was sixth in the Superbike race after an impressive factory debut on his Ninja ZX-10R. The 21-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont. was part of a big scrap in the waning laps with Frank Trombino and Steve Crevier. Despite being passed by both riders on the final tour to drop to seventh Welsh was able to snag back sixth from Crevier in the last turn and just missed getting Trombino for fifth at the line. “My goal was to take it pretty easy the first couple of laps but that kind of bit us and I was a bit far back,” said last year’s HJC Pro Rookie of the Year, who qualified a strong sixth on the Ninja ZX-10R. “But some riders starting coming back to us towards the end. “The bike worked great. That Kawasaki horsepower helped me get past Crevier on the last lap, but he got back by me and I ran wide and Trombino also got past. I thought I’d try to stuff one of them in the last corner. Trombino got inside Crevier and I snuck through. My Kawasaki really helped me out on the run to the line.” Szoke leads the Parts Canada Superbike standings with 53 points to the 48 of McCormick as he tries for a fourth straight title with Kawasaki. Welsh is sixth in the standings with 27 points. Szoke dominated the Yoshimura Pro Sport Bike feature at Calabogie, overcoming a five-second penalty for a jump-start to win by 3.326 seconds on the all-new Ninja ZX-6R. It was a perfect weekend for Szoke, as he qualified on pole and led every lap to give the latest Kawasaki 600 a very impressive debut. “It’s a lot of fun when you have a motorcycle that works that well,” said Szoke, who also won the Pro Sport Bike opener at Calabogie last year. “I just put my head down and pushed hard. But it was a comfortable pace for me and I didn’t have any moments.” Welsh showed the prowess of the Kawasaki by also overcoming a five-second jump-start penalty to still finish fourth. From fifth on the grid Welsh was sixth after the first lap but soon settled into a battle for fourth with fellow Kawasaki rider Karl Daigle. “I didn’t have a great start but I thought I could work my way up,” Welsh explained. “I thought I could catch the guys battling for second but I just didn’t have it for them. I would have liked to been a little closer to the front but we’ll use this as a learning experience.” Szoke is off to a good start in his bid for a fourth straight Pro Sport Bike title. He has a perfect score of 56 points with teammate Welsh in fourth with 32 points. The Canadian Kawasaki Motors factory team will continue its bid for four straight titles in Canada’s premier road racing series at the new Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Que. near Montreal June 12-14. For the latest news and photos, log onto ~http://www.kawasakiracing.ca/~ or ~http://www.cdnsuperbike.com/~ More, from a press release issued by GoLo Racing: GoLo Racing Starts the National Season with a Great Finish MISSISSAUGA, ON The GoLo Racing team participated at the first round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship, which was a highly anticipated race at Calabogie Motorsports Park. The team manager, Rahul Dua, was committed in preparing his team for this track which for them was relatively new. Indeed, due to the team’s limited experience at Calabogie, much necessary track time was required in order to get the Suzuki GSXR motorcycles setup for the first National race of the 2009 season. The featured riders Trombino, Huffman and Dua who began the testing sessions by learning the track quickly and dialing in the suspension with strong contributions from Accelerated Technologies Tuner John Sharrard. The detailed attention from John Sharrard was a vital component in getting the motorcycles dialed in and providing Trombino and Dua with greater confidence in their bikes, considering that both riders suffered serious injuries that ended their racing season last year. Sean Huffman, a rookie pro rider, was extremely anxious to get his # 777 GSXR 1000 rolling around the circuit and learning this relatively new track. Furthermore, Rahul Dua was eager to have a new start on this same track that ended his racing season last year. A large portion of the practice sessions was dedicated in sorting out the proper gearing ratios and setting up the bikes as closely as possible to an ideal race set-up. However, this left Trombino, Huffman and Dua with limited time for the fine tuning of their bikes. The GoLo Racing team was looking forward to the qualifying session so they could work on some last minute details on the Suzuki GSXR motorcycles to improve their standings during the race on Sunday May 24th. Unfortunately, some of the changes made during the qualifying session back fired and the riders suffered a loss of a few positions, which was a letdown for them. The GoLo Racing team was not easily discouraged and they gathered all their resources and worked around the clock to get the setup done properly during Sunday morning’s practice sessions and had the GSXR’s ready for the season’s opening race. On Sunday afternoon the track conditions were perfect for the race while the riders took their spots on the grid and the spectators eagerly waited for the race to begin. The Pro Superbike main event was full of excitement as Frank Trombino and Sean Huffman made some exciting passes during the race bringing a rush to the crowd at the Calabogie Motorsports Park. Frank Trombino finished fifth on the GoLo Racing Suzuki GSX-R750 after he passed both Alex Welsh and Steve Crevier on the final lap. “I was constantly fighting with the factory bikes throughout the race and saved the best moves for the last lap on my perfectly setup GoLo Racing Suzuki GSXR 750″ said Frank Trombino. Huffman continuously kept pushing himself during the race and this determination allowed him to move up the field during the race and charged to grab a solid fifteenth place finish. In the AM 600 Sport Bike, Rahul Dua showed great determination riding while hurt and staying top ten during the race and after making some key passes he finished securing a ninth position. Dua is scheduled for another surgery in June but focused to give his 200% and riding a complete season. Overall all the riders showed great motivation on the race track and are looking forward to the next round. GoLo Racing is preparing for the Parts Canada Superbike Championship round #2, which is scheduled to take place at Montreal’s Mirabel ICAR circuit on June 11-14, 2009. For more information, fans and supporters can always check the team’s latest updates at www.GoLoRacing.com. The GoLo RACING.com Team is sponsored by BASF, Hillcrest Suzuki, Pirelli/Orion Motorsports, Hot Lap Events, Built by Bark, Rockstar Motorsports, JD Graphics, ACME Slate, New Tech Auto, Accelerated Technologies, VP Race Fuels, First Place Trailers, Mimic Industries, Uber Racing, NEXO Sports, Flack Jackets, Parts Canada, High Side HealthCare, Aloyas Custom Printing, Hi5 Exposure, International Auto Brokers, Vortex Racing, Jana H2o, Hey Addy.com, Training-Ground and GTAmotorcycle.com More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Honda: Hydrex Honda Hit Top Three of Championship ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli Round 3 Donington Park 23/24/25 May The last round was all about Hydrex Honda’s Karl ‘Bomber’ Harris double podium; this round saw team mate Stuart Easton take his own double podium, finishing third in race one and second in race two, today at the third round of the ViSK British Superbike Championship in association with Pirelli at Donington Park. This makes a total of 5 podiums so far, this season, for the Hydrex Honda team. Race two saw Karl Harris crash out with technical issues that left water on the track causing the race to be red flagged, In accordance with official race rules, the race was restarted and the well-prepared Hydrex Honda team brought Karls’s spare bike into play. Further problems then plagued Karl but he still made it over the line in 18th. Stuart Easton claimed another podium finish with a final position of second place. Karl Harris “I was frustrated after the first race because I felt I could have done better. But I went into race two fully focused and then the machine flipped over. I was ok after the fall and the team did fantastic getting the second bike ready to go. I held in there but right at the very end I had further problems. I am disappointed but will make it up next week at Thruxton” Stuart Easton “Race one I was really pleased with everything. We had worked all day on Saturday building a new gear setting and it felt great. I knew I could take other riders and that I had the pace when I needed it. If anything I have been riding too smoothly but I feel like I am where I need to be now. I would just like to thank the team and PJ (Pete Jennings) for all the work and support. It’s a fantastic team here at Hydrex Honda” Following his second place finish in the second race Stuart said: “The bike is feeling really good and I have one objective now and that’s to go one step further next week. I love Thruxton and I am going to do my best for the team and for myself of course” Shaun Muir (Team Owner) “5 podiums in 6 races, I can’t complain. Last week was Karl’s week and this is of course Stuart’s week. I am hoping that next Sunday we will all see both riders on the podium together. That’s the next goal. It’s only a matter of time now before a Hydrex Honda rider wins a race. Karl will wake up on Tuesday in a lot of pain that’s for sure but his determination to get back out and rejoin the restart is a measure of the man. The first crash was by no means his fault and we as a team have to take responsibility for it, we can legislate for many things but not a simple component failure. He will regroup and come prepared for Thruxton, he has my 100% support” BSB Championship Table 1 L. Camier Airwaves Yamaha 117 2 J. Ellison Airwaves Yamaha 89 3 S. Easton Hydrex Honda 78 4 S. Guintoli Worx Crescent Suzuki 77 5 G. Richards HM Plant Honda 76 6 K. Harris Hydrex Honda 60 7 C. Walker Motorpoint/Henderson Yamaha 49 8 G. Mason (C) Quay Garage Honda 46 9 I. Lowry Relentless Suzuki by TAS 40 10 S. Andrews MSS Colchester Kawasaki 35 The Team now goes straight onto Thruxton for Round Four 29/10/31 May More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar’s publicist: Farquhar blitzes the Mount To say Ryan Farquhar dominated the racing at Oliver’s Mount, Scarborough at the weekend would be an understatement. The Dungannon rider had 18 rides at the Barry Sheene Classic Festival over the course of the two days around the tricky 2.43-mile woodland circuit – and he won all 18! In what was a record-breaking weekend for Farquhar, he recorded the most number of wins in one weekend by a rider ever, broke Bob Heath’s 13-year old 500cc Classic bike lap record and also took the Classic Superbike lap record. The meeting combined modern day machines with classic bikes and, riding his 600cc KMR Kawasaki, Ryan won all four Supersport 600cc races and the four Superbike races. Switching to Roger Winfield’s 350cc Honda, he then added three more wins to his tally in the 350cc Classic races. Ryan then rode Winfield’s 500cc Paton, the bike on which he has won the last two Senior Classic Manx GP races on, to take four 500cc Classic bike victories and the 3 Classic Superbike races. Only an oil leak in practice with the GS1000 Suzuki prevented him from racing on four different types of machinery. The victories also saw him pick up a haul of silverware including the Barry Sheene and Denis Parkinson Trophies. Reflecting on his weekend, Ryan said: “I can’t quite believe I’ve won 18 races this weekend but what a fantastic two days of racing! It’s been pretty tough through both qualifying and racing as I’ve been out in practically every session and it’s not easy to jump from one bike to another, particularly as they’re all so different. Oliver’s Mount is a physically demanding circuit and the Classic bikes are fairly hard work around here with all the vibrations and gear changes but I couldn’t have hoped for a better weekend.” “None of the races were easy and I had to work hard for all of the wins. Olie Linsdell was pushing me really hard in the 500cc Classic races and I had to break one of the oldest circuit lap records to hold him off. It was the same in the 350cc races where Paul Coward was pushing me all the way and in the modern races where both Richard Gibson and Keith Pringle were riding really well. To win 18 races is simply superb and it’s been a real honour to have multiple world champion Jim Redman and Roger Marshall come over and congratulate me. The weather’s been great and a good crowd turned out so I hope everyone’s enjoyed it like I have. Finally, a big thank you to Roger Winfield for the use of his machines.” Ryan now heads off to the Isle of Man TT Races with opening practice getting underway this Saturday, May 30th. More, from a press release issued by RMP Racing: CALABOGIE, Ont. (CANADA) – May 26, 2009 RMP Racing’s development rider Steven Nickerson (Hamilton Ont.) won a hard fought last lap shootout to take the Honda CBR125R Challenge win at this past weekend’s season opener at Calabogie. Pro Superbike racer, Ross Millson (Hamilton Ont.) battled throughout the weekend to find the grip he needed with his day ending prematurely in the second half of Sunday’s Superbike race. The team arrived at Calabogie Motorsports Park for Thursday’s practice excited to begin the 2009 season. Both Millson and Nickerson found the Calabogie long-track layout beautiful yet challenging. The team worked hard to get Millson’s new Suzuki GSX-R1000 set up for the new long track configuration however; having a wet Friday morning practice ate away at valuable track time to refine the dry setup. On Saturday, Nickerson turned some impressive laps around Calabogie Motorsports Park’s 5.05 KM long track during the morning Honda CBR125R Challenge practice session posting a 2:51.198. During Saturday afternoon’s qualifying Nickerson was able to improve upon his time to secure pole position for Sunday’s race with a 2:50.153. Millson struggled to find the traction he needed to get the drive out of key corners of the track and managed to qualify 14th out of the 28 rider grid for Sundays feature race. Millson had hoped to be in a position to better his personal best of the sixth place finish he enjoyed in last year’s season opener at Calabogie. Following Saturday’s qualifying session series announcer Frank Wood interviewed Nickerson along side fellow Honda CBR125R Challenge guest rider Greg White and was later joined by Millson. SPEED TV’s motorcycle analyst and AMA pit reporter Greg White dropped by the RMP Racing paddock to tape a segment with Nickerson to air at a later date on SPEED. After his qualifying session Nickerson and his father took a tour of the Turn 2 Sportbike School’s new home at Calabogie Motorsports Park. At the end of the day Turn 2’s owner George Budacki dropped by the paddock to spend some time with the entire team. Budacki has been a supporter of Millson since 2006 and continues the tradition of assisting with the development of up-and-coming riders through his support of Nickerson. Sunday morning at Calabogie was picture perfect. Clear blue skies, sunshine and a light breeze greeted spectators as they began to file in for a great day of racing. The Honda CBR125R Challenge race was first up on the schedule for the RMP Racing team. Nickerson on the number 661 Inside Motorcycles supported machine started from the pole. After a great start Nickerson, Bodhi Edie and Karl Robitaille began to break away from the rest of the pack. Maximizing the draft, Nickerson, Edie and Robitaille traded positions numerous times throughout each lap. The battle for the win went all the way to the finish line where it briefly appeared that it was too close to call. Upon review of the timing and scoring system the series officials confirmed that Nickerson had his first win of the season. Rolling out on to the grid for Sunday’s Superbike feature race, Millson was relaxed and eager for the first race of the season. Millson fell back slightly on the start but worked past several riders in the opening laps. Just prior to the half way point of the race Millson began to battle with a group of riders for eleventh. Millson entered the carousel pushing hard to close the gap when he lost traction and started to slide. The front end eventually broke lose sending Millson to the ground and he slid off the track. “We were having a good race just outside of the top ten and I guess I just got a little eager and ran in a little too deep,” said Millson “The rear started to come around, I thought I could save it but as I got things back in line I lost the front and that was it “¦our race was over.” Millson was uninjured and there was minor damage to the bike. The right side handle bar was broken, preventing him from rejoining the race. “It’s not the way we wanted to start the season,” said Millson. “Mark, Blaine and Accelerated Technologies John Sharrard worked so hard to get the bike race ready. Race Tech’s Lenny Albin also flew in from Infineon Raceway to help set up the new Race Tech forks”. “Overall it was a great weekend for the team” said Millson. “Steven was very impressive and we all had a great time at the track. It was nice to reconnect with some of our fellow racers, sponsors, and meet a lot of new people” RMP Racing is grateful for the support from team sponsors; Inside Motorcycles, Infinet Designs, Turn 2 Sportbike School, Essential Image, MotoConcepts and CRC Racewear. Additionally Ross Millson would like to thank; Tri-City Cycle and Sport (Suzuki), Zox Helmets, Motovan, Race Tech, Vortex, Hindle and Niagara Powersports. Up next for RMP Racing is Round 2 of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Circuit ICAR near Montreal June 12-14. For additional information about RMP Racing’s Ross Millson and Steven Nickerson or to learn more about marketing opportunities with the team please visit www.rmpracing.ca. More, from a press release issued by Penny Nicolai, on behalf of Melissa Paris: MELISSA PARIS FINE TUNES HER TWO-WHEELED SKILLS FOR WORLD SUPERPORT Tooele, Utah – Fine tuning her two-wheeled skills for the upcoming round of the FIM Supersport Championship at Miller Motorsports Park, May 29-31, Melissa Paris spent a busy weekend competing in the WERA National Challenge. “It was a pretty good weekend,” said Paris, who piloted her Markbilt Yamaha R-6 in the 750cc Superbike class and in both the 600cc and 750cc Superstock classes. “We took a fifth in Superbike and brought home a top ten in both Superstock classes. While winning is always what you strive for, our main goal was to be able to fine tune our Yamaha for next weekend. Also, the more time I get on the bike, the better I get and that’s what it is all about. We learned an incredible amount especially during the rain. Rain is forecast for next weekend and if that happens, we now know the right setup. Taking everything we found out this past weekend, we should be able to dial the bike in perfectly for the race. “I definitely like racing at Miller Motorsports Park,” continues Paris. “It is pretty much my favorite track and I am so excited about competing in World Supersport. To be the only American female ever invited is just incredible and I can’t wait for the Green Flag. It is going to be a great race and I am so pleased to have this opportunity. It truly is an honor.” In her first year of professional road racing, Paris has more than shown her skill. One of the few female American racers in the sport, she is extremely dedicated, professional and determined to be the best. “I love road racing,” she says with tremendous enthusiasm. “It was something I wanted to do from the first time I got on a motorcycle. Lucky for me, my family supports me and are right there cheering me on every time I race. “A very special thanks to GYTR and LeoVince for stepping up their support for this World Supersport event and to Phiten, Pirelli, Pilot Leathers Yamalube, HelpMeRide.com and Motorcycle Mall for their continued support. “When the Green Flag falls, we will definitely be ready to do our best.” More, from a press release issued by Team Velocity Racing: TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha Wins Two Classes in WERA Endurance at Miller TOOELE, Utah””The long drive from Augusta, Georgia, to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah was well worth it for TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha owner Chuck Ivey, who led his team to a dual victory in Saturday’s WERA National Endurance Series race. Ivey, Zac Chapman, Brett Champagne and James Vanderhaar rode the TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha YZF-R1 to the Heavyweight Superstock class win while notching a finish of second overall. Meanwhile, TVR136 sailed to victory in the Mediumweight Superstock class, with Reuben Frankenfield, Ethan Ellis and James Dellinger finishing fourth overall on a Yamaha YZF-R6. The six-hour race went smoothly, both in the pits and on track. Michael Dunn was the only permanent crew member in attendance, and he deftly handled all of the prep work for pit stops. “It was pretty busy between mixing fuel, getting tires mounted and setting tire pressures for two bikes,” said Dunn. “The guys at Michelin really helped out, and Ethan’s dad worked the pit board. He did a great job keeping up with both bikes.” The riders, meanwhile, each had a job to perform during stops. “It was a lot of hard work, but everybody had a job to do and they came together to get things done flawlessly,” commented Ivey. The Michelin tires did their job flawlessly, too. “The Michelins were great, especially the front tires,” said Ivey. “We only had to change the front tire once on each bike, so we saved a lot of time in the pits. That’s a huge advantage for us as a Superstock team.” “We tried a different strategy to make the tires outlast the tires used by the Heavyweight Superbike teams,” said Chapman. “I had to really watch my pace, especially when I saw Superbike teams pulling away from me, but it worked out perfectly because we saved time in the pits and came away with second.” Champagne echoed the sentiment about the advantageous pit stops, saying, “The pit stops were excellent, the bike handled great, and the tires were superior. The communication in the pits was perfect and we had no hiccups.” Vanderhaar said, “Zac started the race and he really did the work of giving us a huge lead in our class, and I just had to maintain that. I went out again with 40 minutes to go, and the oil light went on. I slowed down because I realized it was better not to blow the bike up and just finish the race!” Less than 48 hours later, Vanderhaar was on his way to the Isle of Man, where he is competing for the first time. Fans who met the TVR riders during a promotion at a local Applebee’s the night before the race came to Miller to see the team Yamahas in action. They weren’t disappointed, thanks to the combination of skilled riders, quick pit stops and the handling abilities of the bikes. TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha now has a seven-week “summer break,” during which time they will be making numerous promotional appearances and prepping the Yamahas for the next round at Grattan Raceway.

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Riders from countries around the world are heading to...

SRX Named Dunlop Eastern Race Tire Distributor

Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires is proud to...