Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May and Michael Barnes and San Jose BMW’s Brian Parriott won their first races of the 2007 season Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Parriott kicked off his day by running away with the 25-minute CCS GT Lights race on his BMW R 1200 S. “I took my time,” admitted Parriott, who started the race from the fifth row, took the lead before the halfway point and rode on to a 20-second margin of victory. “I knew it would come to me. Mainly, we wanted to see what a long run would do as far as fuel consumption for Sunday’s MOTO-ST race.”
May won the CCS GTO race in dominant fashion, crossing the finish line 28 seconds ahead of the next competitor. Not only was the win the first for May this season, it was the first known race victory for the 2007-model Suzuki GSX-R1000 in America. “It’s quite a bit different,” May said of his new AMA Superstock racebike. “Suzuki keeps refining the design. They did a really good job again, but it feels completely different. The chassis is the main difference. It feels like they’ve stiffened everything up. And the power is unbelievable with a much smoother power delivery.”
Barnes came from his row-eight starting spot to win the red-flag-shortened CCS GTU contest on his AMA Formula Xtreme-spec GSX-R600. “The M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 is just a rocketship,” said Barnes. “The development my crew has done over the winter has really paid off, and I’m really looking forward to the Daytona 200 next week.”
Barnes’ junior teammate Michael Beck used the draft to nip fellow Young Gun Chad Herrmann for second place in the GTU race. Herrmann was later disqualified for not having an electronic scoring transponder on his motorcycle during the race. Trey Yonce was credited with third place on the provisional results.
Championship Cup Series (CCS) Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 2, 2007 Provisional Race Results:
GT Lights Expert: 1. Brian Parriott (BMW R 1200 S) 2. Garrett Rick (Duc 1000) 3. Rick Breen (Suz SV650) 4. Paul James (Buell XB12R) 5. Greg Avello (Buell XB12R) 6. Kyle Keesee (Duc 1000)
GT Lights Amateur: 1. Eric Konigsberg (Duc 1000) 2. Alexander Lazo (Suz SV650) 3. Chris Sullivan (Duc 1000) 4. Benjamin Clinton (Duc 1000) 5. Fernando Barbosa (Duc 1000) 6. Marcus Miller (Duc 900)
GTO Expert: 1. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. David Loikits (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. David McEnery (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R1) 5. Greg Melka (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Lee Acree (Suz GSX-R1000)
GTO Amateur: 1. Robert Dougherty (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Larry Karpinsky, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Dennis Espinoza (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Christopher Mannino (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Tony Diaz (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Bob Badger (Hon CBR929RR)
GTU Expert: 1. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Michael Beck (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Trey Yonce (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Scott Greenwood (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Jonathan Lawrence (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Gary Mason (Hon CBR600RR)
GTU Amateur: 1. Brian Rivera (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Larry Karpinsky, Jr. (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Steve Hamer (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Robert Cloutier (Kaw ZX-6R) 5. Ryan Meade (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Salvatore Caruso (Suz GSX-R600)
Formula 40 Expert: 1. Jason Temme (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Robert Lang (Suz GSX-R750) 3. J.B. Layman (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Morgan Gilbert (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Patrick Johnson (Yam YZF-R6)
Formula 40 Amateur: 1. Robert Dougherty (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Robert Picinich (Kaw ZX-6) 3. Dennis Espinoza (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Maximilian Broniseusley (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Allyn Graham (Suz GSX-R750) 6. Yoshio Kasai (Duc 996)
Formula 40 Lightweight Expert: 1. Jeffrey Johnson (Buell 1200) 2. Mark Tenn (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Eric Helmbach (Hon CBR600) 4. Steve Green (Suz SV650) 5. Jonathan Gleofke (Kaw EX650) 6. Alan Leigh (Duc 748)
Formula 40 Lightweight Amateur: 1. Stephen Walker (BMW R 1200 S) 2. Chris Sullivan (Duc 1000) 3. Marcus Miller (Duc 748) 4. Robert Gregory (Suz SV650) 5. Domingo Navarro (Duc 900) 6. Bob Hogan (Suz SV650)