Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

Vesrah Suzuki won a rain-soaked Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series 4-hour race at Virginia International Raceway Friday. Tray Batey, John Jacobi and Mark Junge rode the Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a two-lap margin of victory.

Army of Darkness finished second overall and first in the Mediumweight Superbike class, with riders Sam Fleming and Mark Crozier on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Team Xtreme’s Billy Ethridge and Mark Edwards rode a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to third overall, second in the Heavyweight Superbike class, crossing the finish line three laps down from Army of Darkness.

The race started in the rain, which continued through the first two hours. As the track began to dry, teams had to decide whether to continue on rain tires or to pit for slicks or DOT-labeled tires.

The red flag came out once, with 52 minutes on the clock, when a crashed bike ended up in the middle of the track. The race was restarted 20 minutes later.

Team Xtreme II earned a second consecutive Heavyweight Superstock class victory. Edwards, who also rode with Team Xtreme, shared the Team Xtreme II Suzuki GSX-R750 with George Gentle. Despite crashing, the team still managed to win in class and finish 10th overall.

In Mediumweight Superstock, Ricochet Racing took its first class victory, finishing fifth overall. Brian Suffridge, Lee Fields and Greg Ford rode the team’s Suzuki GSX-R600.

Tight Squeeze II won for the fourth consecutive time in the Lightweight Superbike class. The Suzuki SV650 shared by Martin Musil and Chris Normand has won every round this season, and Normand ran as high as fourth overall during the first hour of the race. The pair finished ninth overall.

The rain contributed to an unusual number of crashes, with only 14 out of 35 entries not crashing during the race. Several teams crashed twice and even three times during the 4-hour race.

OVERALL RESULTS:

1. Vesrah Suzuki, Heavyweight Superbike, Suz GSX-R1000, 124 laps

2. Army of Darkness, Mediumweight Superbike, Suz GSX-R600, 122 laps

3. Team Xtreme, Heavyweight Superbike, Suz GSX-R1000, 119 laps

4. Velocity Crew Racing, Mediumweight Superbike, Suz GSX-R600, 117 laps

5. Ricochet Racing, Mediumweight Superstock, Suz GSX-R600, 116 laps

6. Spanky Racing, Heavyweight Superbike, Suz GSX-R750, 116 laps

7. Ridge Racing, Mediumweight Superstock, Kaw ZX6, 115 laps

8. Bells Suzuki II, Mediumweight Superstock, Hon CBR600F4, 115 laps

9. Tight Squeeze II, Lightweight Superbike, Suz SV650, 115 laps

10. Team Xtreme II, Heavyweight Superstock, Suz GSX-R750, 115 laps