Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

North Florida Motorsports Park will become Jennings GP January 1st and will host a bunch of Yamaha TZ750s and TZ500s during a combined AHRMA/WERA Vintage event February 26-27-28.

That’s the word from Bill Brown, who took over as Executive Director of the 2.0-mile road course in December. The track, located in Jennings, Florida, hosts motorcycles only and is aggressively pursuing race team testing business.

The track rents for $2750 for a weekday and $3750 for a Saturday or Sunday, and the price includes cornerworkers, a crash truck, an ambulance and crew, gate staff and race control.

Brown says the name change “will help people know exactly where it is.” Brown also said that a recent test by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp and Chris Ulrich left “more black streaks on the track in three days of testing than we had in a year of racing.” During that test, Rapp set a new lap record on an AMA Formula Xtreme bike and Ulrich came within a few 10ths of the old record on an AMA Superstock bike.

Brown brought up the new record and near-record times to illustrate that problems with the pavement at the track chunking are a thing of the past. “The track had some problems with pavement curing” when it first opened, Brown said. “We patched and sealed it. From the times Steve and Chris were turning, that’s not a problem any longer.”

Brown said that the pair were turning long strings of fast times during the testing–he mentioned 10 laps at a time as an example–not one-off fast laps, further illustrating the good condition of the pavement.

Brown, who was an avid competitor on a Yamaha TZ750 in the late-1970s/early 1980s and then raced a Harris-framed Suzuki, still races in Vintage events and plans to compete in the combined AHRMA/WERA Vintage weekend at the track. He won the Vintage 5 race during the WERA Grand National Finals weekend at Road Atlanta last year.

Brown said that the course hosts its own Track Days two weekends a month, on Saturday-Sunday-Monday, run by Russell Foggan, for $125 per rider per day. The track will also host three CCS races and four WERA events in 2003, Brown said.

Brown said he’s working to make the AHRMA/WERA Vintage weekend a special event. “I’m trying to make it a Yamaha celebration, inviting 20 guys with TZ750s and TZ500s. Spencer Singleton is going to bring Dale Singleton’s (Daytona 200-winning) TZ750, with tapes of Dale winning.” Brown, who owns three Harris-framed racebikes, said he has also invited Steve Harris to attend the event.

The track address is 4960 NW CR 152, Jennings, FL 32053

More information is available from Brown at (404) 379-6091 or (706) 654-1222.