ESTOK AND BEMISDERFER ON ROAD AMERICA THUNDERBIKE PODIUM Buell Racers Claim Six Spots in Top Ten at Chilly Formula USA National ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (April 24, 2005) Evo-Twin Racing/Harding Harley-Davidson teammates David Estok and Bryan Bemisderfer rode Buell Firebolt XB12R motorcycles to second and third positions in the Formula USA Thunderbike National on a chilly weekend at the Road America racetrack. Estok led qualifying for the Thunderbike National in very cold and windy conditions with a lap time of 2:37.032, a new qualifying record for the class. With 26 entries, the Thunderbike field was the largest of the four Formula USA National races of the day and featured some of the closest racing action. Fifteen of the Thunderbike entries were Buell motorcycles. The race was won by Suzuki rider Ed Key, who was engaged in a furious battle with Estok throughout the eight-lap race on the four-mile course. Estok officially led the first four laps, while Key led laps five and seven. On the final lap Estok and Key exchanged the lead twice, and were side-by-side coming out of Turn 14 leading into the long, uphill straight to the finish line. Key managed to draft by Estok to take the win by about a wheel-length, crossing the line just 0.011 seconds ahead of the Buell rider. “It was a great race but I just came up a little short,” said Estok. “We ran into some lapped bikes coming up the hill at the end, and he used the draft to get by me at the line. It’s tough to lose such a close race, but we got some points here, so we’re back in the hunt for the championship.” Bemisderfer, the reigning Formula USA Thunderbike champion, was in a race-long skirmish with Suzuki rider David Yaakov. Bemisderfer passed Yaakov for third position on lap two, and held that spot throughout the race with Yaakov on his tail. The pair finished about five seconds behind Key and Estok. Robert Fisher was fifth on a Suzuki, followed by Daytona Harley-Davidson/Buell and Richie Morris Racing rider Clint Brotz on a Buell Firebolt. Dave Ebben filled in for Shawn Higbee, who was injured at Daytona, and finished seventh on the Higbee Racing/ Newcastle H-D/Bartels’ H-D Buell Firebolt. Joe Rozynski III finished eighth on his Kenwood/Sirius Satellite Buell Firebolt followed by Paul James on his Hal’s Speed Shop/Spyder Leatherworks Buell Firebolt. Hal’s Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Dan Bilansky, who qualified third, suffered a transmission problem with his Buell Firebolt at the start of the race and retired after two laps. After two of eight Formula USA Thunderbike National events, Yaakov leads in series points with 53, followed by Brotz, Rozynski and Fisher, each with 38 points. Estok is in eighth with 31 points, just ahead of James with 30 points and Bemisderfer with 29 points. The next event on the Formula-USA schedule is May 28-30 at Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, W.Va. The Formula USA National Thunderbike series is a horsepower-to-weight ratio restricted class, open to a variety of production-based motorcycles. Buell-mounted riders competing in the eight-event 2005 Thunderbike series race for a share of the $70,500 contingency fund posted by Buell Motorcycle Company. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. For the Buell dealer nearest you, pull into www.buell.com. More, from a press release issued by WMG Management: JAKE ZEMKE WINS Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme RACE Birmingham, AL April 23rd- American Honda’s Jake Zemke came out on top of a phenomenal three-man flag-to-flag dice to claim the win in the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme race at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon. Zemke, his teammate Miguel DuHamel, and Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec made a quick getaway from the rest of the pack and were glued together for the entire 60K race. With all three riders in contention for the win, Zemke took control of the race with four laps to go and never looked back taking the top spot on the podium. Afterwards, Zemke stated, “The last lap was great; the whole race was really good. When I was in front early I was just kind of cruising around. I kept looking at Miguel’s board and could see Vincent was right there. Miguel went by and picked up the pace like I figured he would. I went along with him and Vincent was still right there. I was like, ‘this guy is sticking around to the end for sure. A couple laps from the end I could see his bike was working pretty darn well, and I thought, ‘this is going to be fun’. When you get three guys going for the win instead of two, it changes everything as far as race strategy, and what you’re going to do. That last lap was a lot of fun. We we’re just back and forth. Luckily, I’m the guy that got to sit on top today.” More, from a press release issued by SBS: Today it´s difficult to keep our arms down following our most successful weekend ever at this weekends World Superbike round in Valencia. In all World Championship classes and 600/1000 Stocksport support classes, SBS occupied nearly every podium position together with our partners in racing. Congratulation and thanks for the entertaining and exiting performance to all teams and riders: World Superbike Championship – race 1 1. Troy Corser – Alstare Suzuki 2. Chris Vermeulen – Ten Kate Honda 3. Yukio Kagayama – Alstare Suzuki 4. Chris Walker – PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse World Superbike Championship – race 2 1. Troy Corser – Alstare Suzuki 2. Chris Vermeulen – Ten Kate Honda 3. Chris Walker – PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse World Supersport Championship 1. Sébastien Charpentier – Ten Kate Honda 2. Katsuaki Fujiwara – Ten Kate Honda 3. Kevin Curtain – Yamaha Motor Germany 4. Michel Fabritzio – Italia Megabike 5. Fabien Foret – Italia Megabike 6. Broc Parkes – Yamaha Motor Germany and many more ……………. European Stock 1000 1. Kenan Sofuoglu – Yamaha Motor Germany 2. Didiér Van Keymeulen – Yamaha Motor Germany 4. William De Angelis – Team Trasimeno 5. Craig Coxhell – EMS Racing 6. Fabrizio De Marco – GiMotor Sport European Stock 600 1. Yuan Tiberius – Italia Megabike Junior 2. Claudio Corte – Team Trasimeno 3. Xavier Simeon – Alstare Suzuki All above teams use SBS DC Dual Carbon racing brake pads. In addition it is a pleasure to inform that SBS are the official supplier of racing brake pads for the 2005 European Suzuki GSX-R Cup. The Cup is a new one-make race series for GXR-R750´s run at the World Superbike events in Spain, Great Britain, Italy, Germany and France this year. All bikes are using SBS DC Dual Carbon brake pads – SBS 806 DC front and choice between SBS 765 LS or DC rear. Next World Superbike round will follow at the legendary Monza circuit in Italy May 6-8th. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp.: Hacking Scores Flawless Supersport Performance With a pole position in qualifying, followed by a flag-to-flag win in the Sunday final, Factory Yamaha rider Jamie Hacking could hardly have wished for a better ride in the 2005 AMA Supersport Championship event at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park on the weekend of April 23-24. Right from the green flag, Roger and Tommy Hayden gave chase. By lap 12 of the 17 circuits, class champion Tommy slipped ahead of his brother, with Hacking directly in his crosshairs. Jamie refused to wilt under the pressure, however, and proceeded to build nearly a one-second lead over Hayden at the start of the last lap. Even though Hayden closed the gap to near zero by the last turn, he still couldn’t get around the unflappable Hacking and his YZF-R6. Jamie earned maximum points for the day having earned pole position, leading the most laps, and of course winning the seventeen lap race. He is now tied for the points lead with Tommy Hayden. As Yamaha road racing manager Tom Halverson says, “We’re happy to have gained valuable points and this puts in a tie for the lead so early in the series. Jamie won the championship in 2003, then all last year he struggled. He’s definitely back, and he really wants this championship.” DiSalvo and Hacking in Wild Superstock Showdown Graves Motorsports Yamaha riders Jamie Hacking, Jason DiSalvo and Damon Buckmaster set the stage for excitement by qualifying in the top three spots for the 2005 AMA Superstock Championship at Barber Motorsports Park on the weekend of April 23-24. And in the Sunday race, fans were treated to a white-knuckle battle between DiSalvo and Hacking that ultimately netted DiSalvo a second-place finish. The two YZF-R1 riders were dominant from the start, swapping the lead countless times in a high-pressure dice that seemed to escalate as the race wore on. But Tommy Hayden closed up on the Yamaha pair late in the race, then found a chance to slip ahead of the battling Yamaha teammates less than two laps from the finish. In the final seconds of the race, Hacking swooped past DiSalvo to slide into second place momentarily, only to run out of racetrack. As Hacking came back on the pavement, the two charging Yamahas collided. The jolt sent Hacking off the track once again, dropping him to fourth place behind Aaron Yates. It was a battle that fans are going to be talking about for a long time to come. As Yamaha road racing manager Tom Halverson put it, “Whether you’re team members or not, when you’re racing you’re trying all-out to win.” More, from a press release issued by Proforma: MILLENNIUM KWS SUZUKI MAKES PROGRESS AT BARBER Millennium KWS Suzuki riders Lee Acree and Blake Young made progress on the setups of their new 2005 Suzuki racebikes during Round 2 of the AMA Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, April 23-24. Lee and the team were able to test at Barber the week before at a WERA regional event, gathering useful data that made both riders more competitive for the AMA event. It was a good thing, as wet weather hampered practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday. In Saturday’s Superbike race, Lee dogged Larry Pegram for much of the race, finishing in 13th place. Blake finished 15th in Sunday afternoon’s Supersport race on his GSX-R600, then jumped on his 2005 GSX-R1000 to finish 19th in Superstock, both while battling a case of food poisoning. Lee raced from dead-last to 15th place when his bike stalled at the start of the Superstock race, then jumped on his back-up bike to battle with John Haner for 11th place in Sunday’s Superbike race. Lee Acree Saturday’s Superbike Final – 13th Place “I didn’t get a great start,” said Lee. “I came up over the hill as Tom Kipp was crashing, and something from his bike hit my bike. I kept going, but my bike slid around a bit, then my left foot slipped off the peg. The red flag came out, and when I pulled in, there was a hole in my generator cover. We got that fixed, and I ended up battling with Larry Pegram for the last half of the race. I made a run on him on the last lap, but I didn’t quite get by at the line.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 15th Place “That was a weird race,” commented Lee. “I did a practice start when I left for my hot lap, and the bike died when I dumped the clutch and wouldn’t re-start. I finally turned the power off and back on and it re-started. It did the same thing at the start of the race. Fortunately, I was gridded on the inside, and I just rolled up against the wall and didn’t get plowed from behind. I cycled the switch off and on again and it re-started, but I was extremely last. I just started picking guys off, then somewhere in the middle of the race I launched my left knee puck in one of the fast turns on the back side. I adapted to that, but ran out of time.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 11th Place “So, I run up and find a spare knee puck, grab a drink and get back out on the grid on my spare bike,” kidded Lee about the short break between Superstock and Superbike. “I got hooked up with (John) Haner early on, and we kept going back and forth. He came by me in (turn) five on the last lap. I was going to go inside of him in the last right-hander, but he anticipated my move. I squared the last turn off and got a run on him, but I came up about half a bikelength short.” Blake Young Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 16th Place “We had a little mechanical problem in qualifying, so I only got out for the last 15 minutes, but still ended up 17th fastest,” said Blake. “I got a good start in the race, but I think we went with too soft of a tire. The bike was handling really well. We ended up being the fourth Suzuki.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 19th Place “I started getting sick on the grid,” said Blake. “I got going in the race, and was going back and forth with J.J. (Roetlin), Chris (Ulrich), Tony (Meiring) and Jimmy Moore. I started cramping and feeling pretty bad, but I wasn’t gonna pull in for something like that. I made it to the end, but just barely.” More, from a press release issued by Topline Racing: Young Gun Privateer Chris Peris Finishes Among Factory Riders At Barber AMA Pro Races Young Gun Chris Peris of Topline Racing put in another outstanding performance at Barber Motorsports Park backing up his stellar 5th place run in the Daytona 200. Peris, using Supersport-spec bikes on Dunlop DOT tires placed 5th in the Formula Extreme race, and 9th in the Supersport Race. Chris Peris, Rider “Everything is really starting to turn around for me this year. I can’t begin to thank my dad and my uncle enough for putting this team together, and getting me to the tracks to race. I am as serious about winning as any rider in the paddock, and I intend to put a bike on the podium as soon as I can put it all together. My motors run great, and Willy maintains them with so much care I never worry about them failing. My suspension is so good, I hardly ever complain to Max. It was awesome to be racing with the factory guys, and I have to get more relaxed with that. But that will all come soon.” Team Co-Owner, Fernando Peris “I couldn’t be happier with Chris’ progress this year. When we decided to go on our own as privateers this year, I sought out the best team I could find. I hired Willy Vass of Vass Performance to do our engines and fuel injection, and Max McAllister to do our chassis and suspension. Those two guys have hit it off and are working great together. We have strong reliable motors, and suspension that just couldn’t be better. We haven’t spent one penny on crashes this year, and our results are reflecting what I have always known Chris was capable of.” Willy Vass, Lead Mechanic and Engine Builder “Chris continues to amaze me. He gives us 110% every time he gets on the bike, and that really keeps us all motivated to give him the best possible equipment. We are always searching for that extra pony or two here and there to keep us competitive with the factory teams. Our suspension is the best I have ever seen. Our tires last better than anyone in the paddock can believe, and the extra traction we have at both ends of the bike is really one of the secrets that makes us competitive with the factory teams. Max McAllister, Suspension Tuner “What can I say about Chris? That kid is all guts. He never complains; I gotta pry complaints out of him. He is so easy to work with. I have found him to be much more sensitive to chassis changes than I thought he would be, for someone so young. We run Penske Shocks with a special piston in them, and our new AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kits. I think the results speak for themselves. Willy’s motors are pulling us along with the factory bikes, and Dunlop is showing us some good love with the tires. The Yamaha R-6 is a great bike, and Chris is finally getting the hang of it. You have to remember, this is the third season for most of the factory riders on their respective bikes, and Chris is only on his second weekend with the Yamaha. We also aren’t able to get in on the AMA Team Tests, so we have to sit on the sidelines and watch from the internet with the other privateers. We hope as our results continue to shine, that maybe they will let Chris in to a few of the tests.” More, from a press release issued by Freeman/McCue Public Relations: KAWASAKI WINS SUPERSTOCK AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK Tommy and Roger Hayden finish second and third respectfully in Supersport class BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 24, 2005) Reigning AMA Supersport champion Tommy Hayden pulled off a hard-charging victory in the Superstock class aboard his Kawasaki NINJA® ZX-10R before a record crowd of 27,000 as the AMA Superbike Classic returned to Barber Motorsports Park last weekend. In the AMA Supersport action on Sunday, Tommy got a strong start and remained tucked in close to Jamie Hacking for the duration of the race with younger brother Roger in tow. Tommy attempted a late charge for the lead on the final turn but was edged out, finishing only 0.579 seconds behind Hacking. Roger Hayden held onto a strong third position throughout the duration of the 17-lap race until he ran off the track on lap 14 and was unable to close the gap before crossing the line behind Tommy. Attack Kawasaki rider Ben Attard finished eighth. “I had just got to Hacking’s back tire,” said Tommy. “I thought I could make a run at him, I’ve made passes at that turn before, but it just didn’t work out.” In the AMA Superstock race, Tommy Hayden backed-up his second place finish from the earlier Supersport event with a stunning victory. After running in fifth for the first few laps Tommy advanced to fourth on lap five and carried it through until lap 14. With only three laps left, Tommy made a formidable charge towards the front and took the lead over with two laps to go, giving him his first Superstock win of the season. Roger Hayden stayed close to the lead group for a majority of the race but couldn’t close in and finished eighth. “It was a hard race to win,” said Tommy. “But as the race went on, I got faster and the others got slower, so I put my head down and charged forward. I think a combination of my determination and my Kawasaki’s performance helped me take the win.” During Saturday’s AMA Superbike race, Attack Kawasaki rider Josh Hayes endured mechanical problems during the first few laps and was forced to pull out of the race. Hayes’ luck improved during Sunday’s Superbike race as he rode to a sixth-place finish. Hayes’ teammate Ben Attard scored his best finish for the season in Saturday’s AMA Formula Xtreme event. The affable Australian maintained a consistent pace on his NINJA ZX-6RR motorcycle for the duration of the event to finish fourth. Racing resumes when the teams head to Fontana, Calif., April 29 May 1, for a Superbike doubleheader at California Speedway. More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: DISALVO SECOND AND FOURTH AT BARBER MOTORSPORT PARK Stafford resident Jason DiSalvo raced at Barber Motorsport Park in Birmingham, AL on April 23rd and 24th in the American Motorcyclist Association Superbike Championship. Jason qualified second fastest in both the 600cc SuperSport class and 1000cc Superstock class. With the weather being cool and windy on Saturday and Sunday, it added additional elements for the race. In the 600 SuperSport class starting from his front row position Jason was able to run with the lead pack. After 3 laps with Jason running 4th a red flag caused a restart which put him 7th leaving him to fight his way back to the lead group. At the finish line Jason was fourth picking up additional points to put him third in the Championship standings. The 1000 SuperStock class again with Jason starting on the front row saw a heated battle with Jason moving to the lead on lap 10 and then a fast paced last 6 laps with numerous lead changes, saw Jason ultimately finishing second for a podium position. With the second place points Jason is currently 4th in a close race for the SuperStock Championship. Jason heads to California for next weekend’s race at California Speedway, April 29th, 30th, and May 1st. Speed Channel will be showing this Sunday, May 8th at 2 pm, Tuesday, May 10th at 2 and 4 pm.