Following Saturday night’s annual CCS Florida banquet, racing got serious at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, February 12th. The Penguin Roadracing School had conducted classes on Friday, but chief instructor Eric Wood would continue the lessons on a cold and windy Sunday afternoon by winning the Unlimited Grand Prix race, known locally as the “No Muffler Shootout.”
Henry DeGouw’s controversial open pipe format for the event’s pre-eminent race sent sound waves reverberating off the pit wall to the grandstands on the other side of the track. One of the largest crowds ever to see a CCS Florida event crowded pit lane to watch 29 riders roar into turn one.
Going in a little harder and a little deeper from his third-row starting position, Penguin instructor Eric Wood weaved through the seven riders in front of him into turn one. Wood emerged at the top of turn two in the lead, threw the bike over to the left through turn three, made the hard right-hander in the downhill turn four, and roared away at the top of third gear in the fast turn five left-hand kink. Then he was gone.
Behind Eric Wood came brother Jeff Wood, also a Penguin instructor, sporting the 1x plate earned in his recent Formula USA championship-winning season. Riding a borrowed GSX-R750, Jeff Wood distanced himself from the rest of the howling pack battling for the cash paid to the top 10 finishers.
With the Wood brothers checking out, previous CCS Florida Champion Marco Martinez claimed the third spot. Fighting among themselves for the next few positions were Michael Rouleau, David McEnery, and the 2005 CCS Champ Darren Luck. Victor Chirinos, riding a new ZX-10R, was also trying to keep up with the pace set by Rouleau and McEnery ahead of him on their 1000cc GSXRs. Luck moved up to pass McEnery and Chirinos on lap three but was unable to do anything with Rouleau and Martinez.
With the race in hand, Eric Wood held the Hooters HELPMERIDE.com Suzuki up in a top-gear wheelie from the beginning of the front straight to the end until he had to set it down for turn one to the roar of approval from the fans.
Pulling in to Gatorade Victory Lane for the traditional champagne ceremony, a beaming Eric Wood said that the Hooters team had a new engine builder for the new season. “We’ve got Lee Shierts from Lee’s Performance in Charlotte, North Carolina building our engines this year, and I can already feel the difference. After practice and the earlier races, I knew I had the tool; it was up to me to do it.”
Jeff Wood thanked his many sponsors, especially Carl McAllister, a Penguin staff member who loaned him the bike he rode. Marco Martinez, the third-place finisher, told his many local fans that he wasn’t seeking another Florida Championship this year, adding that he was pleased with a new points system instituted for 2006 by the new management of the Championship Cup Series. “It’s about time,” was the way Martinez put it.
The next race of the 2006 season will be at Moroso Motorsports Park on March 18-19 with a Moroso sponsored Test and Tune Day preceding on March 17th.
Unlimited Grand Prix Top 10 1. Eric Wood Suzuki, GSX-R1000 2. Jeff Wood Suzuki, GSX-R750 3. Marco Martinez, Suzuki GSX-R1000 4. Michael Rouleau, Suzuki GSX-R1000 5. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R600 6. Victor Chirinos, Kawasaki ZX-10R 7. David McEnery, Suzuki GSX-R1000 8. Rodolfo Ramirez, Suzuki GSX-R1000 9. Gustavo Laya, Yamaha YZF-R6 10. Greg Melka, Yamaha YZF-R6