BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team Win WERA’s 4 Hour Endurance Race At Virginia International Raceway

The BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team rode their Dunlop-shod, Twigg Cycles-sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory again at the WERA National 4 Hour Endurance race presented by Lucas Oil August 2, at Virginia International Raceway, opening the weekend’s racing action with a bang.

WERA held its third round of the National Endurance Series presented by Lucas Oil, followed by the round seven double-header Pirelli WERA Mid-Atlantic Region Sportsman Sprint event on Saturday and Sunday. The weather was hot and dry, with temperatures in the upper 80’s, making for good lap times on the 2.25-mile North course.

The 4-hour endurance race had a combined grid of 17 teams, with classes including Heavyweight Superbike, Mediumweight Superbike, and Lightweight Superbike. The green flag dropped, and the Heavyweights immediately went into battle for the lead.

At the Hour One mark, the TOBC 1000 team of Jon Couch and Scott Harwell on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 had the lead with BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team of Tim Bemisderfer, Chris “Opie” Caylor, and Billy Ethridge hot on their heels. The Army Of Darkness team of Chris Peris and Ben Walters Jr on their BMW S1000RR pulled into third just ahead of the Honda CBR1000RR-mounted MWR Investigations team and the TOBC 600 team on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

The racing was intense with the pit stops playing a very important role in the leader board. During Hour Two, TOBC 1000 drew out a 28.934-second lead over second place, this time keeping Army of Darkness at bay. BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team struggled with some bike issues during a pit stop, putting them down a lap into third. The TOBC 600 team of Nick McFadden and Curtis Murray got around the MWR Investigations team of David Rose, Ian Tetrick, and James Vandehaar, into fourth overall and held on, skillfully matching their 600 against a 1000cc machine.

During Hour Three, Army of Darkness wrestled the lead from the TOBC 1000 team, while BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team still struggled a little but got back onto the lead lap and held onto third. TOBC 600 continued to hold off MWR Investigations. But despite three hours of racing, the leaders only had a 11.726-second difference between them, and heading into Hour Four they were still going strong.

BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team continued their assault on Army of Darkness and TOBC 1000, taking back the lead and gaining a one-lap margin of victory, grabbing the checkers for the overall win and the win in Heavyweight Superbike, turning 152 laps. TOBC 1000 finished second overall and second in Heavyweight Superbike with 151 laps. Army of Darkness crossed the line next, taking third overall and third in Heavyweight Superbike with 151 laps. TOBC 600 stayed ahead of MWR Investigations, taking fourth overall and first in Mediumweight Superbike with 150 laps.

Other teams scored a bonus when their names were drawn during the Lucas Oil cash giveaway. At every National Endurance round, two team names are drawn per class during the awards presentation and given $250 each. This round’s winners were: Heavyweight Superbike – BEi Racing/Dunlop Development Team and MWR Investigations; Mediumweight Superbike – Fluid Racing and Quick Time Cycle; Lightweight – Team Cracka and TOBC 650.

For a complete list of results and standings, please visit the website: www.wera.com. The next WERA National Endurance round will be a 4-Hour held on Friday, September 20, 2013, at Summit Point Raceway, Summit Point, WV.

WERA NATIONAL 4-HOUR ENDURANCE RACE PRESENTED BY LUCAS OIL

OVERALL RESULTS: 1. BEI Racing/Dunlop Development (Tim Bemisderfer/Chris “Opie” Caylor/Billy Ethridge), Suz GSX-R1000, Heavyweight Superbike, 152 laps 2. TOBC 1000 (Jon Couch/Scott Harwell), Suz GSX-R1000, Heavyweight Superbike, 151 laps 3. Army of Darkness (Chris Peris/Ben Walters, Jr.), BMW S1000RR, Heavyweight Superbike,151 laps 4. TOBC Racing 600 (Nick McFadden/Curtis Murray), Suz GSX-R600, Mediumweight Superbike, 150 laps 5. MWR Investigations (David Rose/Ian Tetrick/James Vandehaar), Hon CBR1000RR, Heavyweight Superbike, 149 laps 6. Quick Time Cycle (Derrick Cantrell/David Gray), Yam YZF-R6, Mediumweight Superbike, 145 laps

HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERBIKE: 1. BEI Racing/Dunlop Development (Tim Bemisderfer/Chris “Opie” Caylor/Billy Ethridge), Suz GSX-R1000, 152 laps 2. TOBC 1000 (Jon Couch/Scott Harwell), Suz GSX-R1000, 151 laps 3. Army of Darkness (Chris Peris/Ben Walters, Jr.), BMW S1000RR, 151 laps 4. MWR Investigations (David Rose/Ian Tetrick/James Vandehaar), Hon CBR1000RR, 149 laps

MEDIUMWEIGHT SUPERBIKE: 1. TOBC Racing 600 (Nick McFadden/Curtis Murray), Suz GSX-R600, 150 laps 2. Quick Time Cycle (Derrick Cantrell/David Gray), Yam YZF-R6, 145 laps 3. Team Coyote (Marlon Boxe/Major L. Long, Jr./Michel Perussault), Yam YZF-R6, 143 laps 4. Marrietta Motorsports (John Risconsin/Ryan Shallies), Suz GSX-R600, 141 laps 5. Fluid Racing (J.D. Mosley/Edward Sullivan), Yam YZF-R6, 136 laps 6. Unz Unz Thuddy Fie (Dean Bosch/Matt Heidl), Kaw ZX-6R, 123 laps

LIGHTWEIGHT SUPERBIKE: 1. TOBC Racing 650 (Christian Crosslin/C. Brian Kcraget /Palmer Kling), Suz SV650, 144 laps 2. TWF Racing (David Sapsis/Dan Sewell/Zoran Vujasinovic), Suz SV650, 141 laps 3. Team Cracka (Chris Parrish/Travis Richards), Suz SV650, 140 laps 4. LP3 (Stephen Laffoon/Jesse Perethian/Max Perethian), Suz SV650, 138 laps 5. Jolly Roger Racing (Peter Hupperich/Joe Melandez/Garry Owen), Suz SV650, 137 laps