Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Bruce Wilkins

Unusual events often occur in the waning minutes of testing sessions and this week’s AMA Superbike session at Virginia International Raceway was no exception. On Tuesday, 15 minutes before the second thunderstorm of the day, factory Yamaha rider Jason DiSalvo powered off from the pits for his first-ever venture on a Formula Xtreme bike.



DiSalvo jumped at the impromptu chance to pilot teammate Jamie Hacking’s Graves Yamaha, putting in seven laps before approaching rain shut practice down for the second and final time of the day. His initial lap was just a “get-acquainted” cruise in the 1:38 range, but he recorded a 1:31 on his last lap, despite raindrops beginning to fall on the backside of VIR’s North Course.

The 19-year-old New York native came to a halt amid smiles of the Yamaha camp, not the least of which was from his relieved mother, Connie. Of course, the biggest smile of all was from Jason himself, who was clearly exuberant over the power and style of the bike.

“It was my first time on a Formula Xtreme bike, so I was just kind of taking it easy out there. It’s definitely a fun bike to ride!” exclaimed DiSalvo. “That last lap I did…the quickest lap I did, I just tried to, like, smooth it out a bit. The bike’s really set up for Jamie, so I had to ride it kind of like he rides. He’s one of the smoothest guys out there, so I just tried to relax, get a little bit smoother, try not to spin tires hard out of the corners, and it seemed to work with that setup. If I had my choice, I’d choose a more aggressive setup. Get that bike sideways coming out of turns, kind of like how I like to ride it with my dirt track background and all.”



There was no open discussion of any future Formula Xtreme rides, just the youthful thrill of a new experience on what he says is a sheer joy to ride. In fact, one of the few problems DiSalvo encountered was keeping the front wheel on the pavement on the frontstretch between the entrance to pit road and the frontstretch’s famous kink.

“The first couple (wheelstands), it was like, I gave it a little tug and then I was having to let off,” DiSalvo explained. “So I was like, ‘I’ll just keep it wide open’ and try to keep the front end down because I wanted to get to top speed by the end of the straightaway and it was still doing it. It was wheeling just a little bit, and actually it just carried down the straightaway, it was really wild!”

His riding coach, Jeff Haney of Freddie Spencer’s High Performance Riding School, was also among the first to de-brief DiSalvo upon his return to pit lane. “This is an extremely talented kid with a good head on his shoulders and I believe he can adapt well to any situation,” Haney pointed out. “Obviously, Jason was just having fun out there, but he showed that despite a setup not for him and this weather, he could quickly record a decent lap.”

DiSalvo’s father, Jim, shared the exuberance of his son. “Oh, Jason was having fun out there, no question about it and I think he took well to the Xtreme bike,” he said with a proud grin. The elder DiSalvo started his son’s career at the tender age of 18-months, towing him on a pocket bike that was equipped with training wheels.

“In two weeks, Jason didn’t want me to tow him by the rope any more,” remembered DiSalvo. “So like today, if it’s got two wheels, no matter what it is, Jason doesn’t miss a chance to ride.”