TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE: CHILI PEPPER RACING RIDERS HAYDEN SCHULTZ AND SHELINA MOREDA HAVE AN OFF DAY IN AMA PRO VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON XR1200 SERIES RACE AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Chili Pepper Racing riders Hayden Schultz and Shelina Moreda had high hopes going into Sunday’s AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XR1200 race at the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park. Both had qualified well with Hayden fifth on the grid and Shelina in 17th after two short rounds. But both riders had problems in the race, Hayden’s on the first lap and Shelina’s on the last lap. Both escaped unhurt in their separate falls.
Hayden was confident going into the race after qualifying well, and got away with the lead pack at the start, slotting into seventh on the first lap. But it all went wrong in the last turn on the first lap, with the rear end of the bike stepping out and throwing him over the high side on the exit. “You know, I don’t really know what happened,” said Hayden after the race. “I could tell from the second turn that something was going on with the rear tire. I don’t know exactly what it was, maybe tire pressure or something. It just didn’t have grip, and coming out of the last turn on the first lap, it just totally caught me out. As soon as I opened up the throttle, the rear just lost it and the next thing I know, I’m going over the bars. I highsided and slid and tumbled. I’m fine, but the bike’s damaged pretty bad. We’re not in the points after this, so I’m not sure about going to Laguna Seca, but we’ll get ready for Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis.”
Shelina was surprisingly upbeat after crashing on the last lap of the race. She and her crew had made significant progress on the motorcycle setup, and she turned her fastest laps ever on her Harley-Davidson XR1200. She had a race-long battle with another rider until both bikes tried to occupy the same space at the same time and came together. Even though she didn’t make it to the checkered flag, Shelina was officially credited with 14th place.
“At the start, I got past the row ahead of me,” Shelina said. “Somebody dive-bombed me and another rider on the first lap in turn five, and we lost a little ground there, but I stayed on their tail and had a great battle with them for the whole race. We went back and forth, then on the last lap I drafted past him on the back straight and we came into the second chicane and I felt I had the line and he thought he could take it from me. Our bikes hit, he went down, and my bike shot off the track. I went into the gravel trap, but it just took the front end out of my hands when I hit the grass on the backside and the bike landed right on top of me. Even though I crashed in the end, it was a great race and weekend because I went a lot faster and felt like we made a lot of progress with the bike. I can’t wait for Laguna Seca, my home track!”
Hayden slips to ninth place in the season points standings, and Shelina moves to 14th place.
The Chili Pepper Racing team’s next event of the 2014 AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XR1200 series is at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on July 11-13, 2014.
ChiliPepper Racing is a not-for-profit organization raising awareness for ACCO.org and VETMotorsports. The team takes a unique “per event” approach to sponsorship that includes promotion, hospitality and pit credential opportunities for your business or organization. Visit ChiliPepperRacing.com to get involved in their inclusive and exciting program.
For 2014, Chili Pepper Racing has technical support from Indian Motorcycles of Lafayette (IN), Paul Diener, VETMotorsports.org and Lenny Albin/Nitron USA.
Hayden is proud to receive support from Chili Pepper Racing, Arai, AXO, Racer Gloves, TCX Boots, Silkolene, Leatt, Leo Vince, Speedmob, Moto Skiveez, Spy Optic, Lenny Albin/Nitron USA and Anthony & Joanne Cardarelli.
Shelina would like to thank her sponsors: www.ChiliPepperRacing.com, Christopher Kemp, She’z Racing, GP Fabrication, AXO, Arai, Vance & Hines, G&B Motorsports, Finish Line Fitness, BMC Racing, Brammo, Parker Hannifin, Team QMMF, and Impact Safe-T-Armor.
To learn more about Chili Pepper Racing and all that they do, please visit www.chilipepperracing.com. You can also visit them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chili pepper.com.
More, from another press release issued by Proforma:
CONNER BLEVINS PUSHES PAST INJURIES TO FINISH BOTH AMA PRO SUPERSPORT RACES AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Conner Blevins arrived at Barber Motorsports Park with a sore hand, a large hematoma on his leg and a sprained left ankle that he suffered just five days earlier at a CMRA regional event, but he pushed through the pain to gather valuable AMA Pro SuperSport championship points. Conner rode his Kawasaki ZX-6R to a 14th place on Saturday after an off-track excursion, and fought to an 11thplace finish in Sunday’s 15-lap race.
Race One – Saturday
After qualifying 10th on Saturday morning, Conner slotted into eighth place at the start of Saturday afternoon’s race, but a miscue on lap three caused him to run off track and deep into the gravel trap in Turn 5 (Charlotte’s Web). “I was feeling really good until the third lap,” said Conner. “I went to pass a guy and got sideways and ran off the track in turn five. By the time I got out of the gravel and back on the track I was way back in the pack and tried to work my way back up. I ended up 15th, but I kept charging. We’re going to try different gearing and a few little changes and hopefully that’ll be good. At least my start was pretty good, I just gotta not run off, I guess!”
Race Two – Sunday
Conner launched from his 10th place starting position and was in ninth place after the first lap. An encounter with another rider on lap two caused him to check up and he slipped to tenth, where he ran for the better part of the race. He was passed on the last lap and pushed to 11th place at the finish. “Off the start I felt pretty good, and the bike felt great,” Conner said. “I got into some riders and almost got in the same situation that I crashed last weekend. After that I made a couple of mistakes and let a couple of people by.”
Conner Blevins’ next event of the 2014 AMA Pro SuperSport championship series is at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio on July 19-20, 2014.
For the 2014 season, Conner is proud to be sponsored by Excel Machine Racing, Kawasaki USA, Dunlop Tires, Speedmob, Arai Helmets, Ajax Kawasaki, HT Moto, Lone Star Track Days, Moto Liberty, Ohlins Suspension and Bazzaz.
For more information, contact Conner Blevins at www.facebook.com/conner.blevins
More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:
Rapp Flies to Win in AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Race in Alabama
Eslick and Carlson Round out Podium at Barber Motorsports Park
MILWAUKEE (June 23, 2014) – Defending series champion Steve Rapp (Suburban Motors H-D/Aerostar Global) put his 2014 season back on track by converting a record-setting qualifying performance into a dominant flag-to-flag race victory in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series race Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala.
Despite strong qualifying results in the previous two rounds of the series, a series of mechanicals and crashes had left Rapp far down in the series standings coming into the Barber round, but from the first session on track it was clear he was in a class of his own.
After qualifying on pole with a blistering 1:34.854 lap-record, Rapp was only briefly challenged at the start by Kyle Wyman (KWR/Millennium Technologies), who took the holeshot into turn one. By the third turn of the 2.38-mile track, Rapp was back in front and never looked back, taking the checkered flag with an 11.114-second margin.
“That’s my favorite [type of] race. I like riding out front by myself. I run like that in practice a lot so when I’m in the race I’m used to it. The bike was awesome. All the guys from Suburban Harley really are building the best bike out here, and I’m happy to ride it,” Rapp said.
As Rapp cruised to victory, a five-rider pack including Wyman, Danny Eslick (Ruthless Racing/Trev Deeley Motorcycles), Shane Narbonne (Six-Four Motorsports), Benny Carlson (Suburban Motors H-D) and series points leader Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D) waged a thrilling handlebar to handlebar fight through around the twisty and technical track. Wyman exited the action with a dramatic high-side crash in turn two on lap five that left him tumbling through a gravel trap into the air fence, but he walked away unhurt.
The remaining four battled until the final lap, when Eslick opened a small gap to take second. Carlson timed an inside move in the final corner perfectly to take the third step of the podium, leaving O’Hara to settle for fourth with the consolation of clinging to points lead by a slim one-point margin over Eslick.
The fourth round in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley Davidson series is July 12-13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Ca.
Barber Motorsports Park Race Results:
1. Steve Rapp (Suburban Motors H-D/ Aerostar Global), 11 laps
2. Danny Eslick (Ruthless Racing/Trev Deeley Motorcycles), +11.114 seconds
3. Benjamin Carlson (Suburban Motors H-D), +11.805 seconds
4. Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D), +12.426 seconds
5. Shane Narbonne (Six-Four Motorsports), +12.912 seconds
6. Gage McAllister (Folsom H-D), +24.168 seconds
7. Nicholas Hansen (Suburban Motors H-D), +24.171 seconds
8. Darren James (Trev Deeley Motorcycles), +26.738 seconds
9. Josh Chisum (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels’ H-D), +37.434 seconds
10. Eric Stump (James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing), +49.298 seconds
11. Joseph Rozynski (Sirius XM Radio/Sound Waves), +1:09.890
12. Max Flinders (None listed), +1:33.647
13. Sam Rozynski (Sound-Waves.com/Sirius XM Radio), 10 laps
14. Shelina Moreda (Chili Pepper Racing), +0.507 second
15. John Foy (Jupiter Cycle Racing/Heroic Racing), 7 laps
16. Kyle Wyman (KWR/Millennium Technologies), 5 laps
17. Ryan Kerr (Thunder Roads Magazine), 4 laps
18. David Estok (Arrow Aviation/Thrashed Bike Racing), 1 laps
19. Hayden Schultz (Chili Pepper Racing), DNF
AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series Points
1. O’Hara, 66
2. Eslick, 65
3. Carlson, 60
4. McAllister, 56
5. Hansen, 47
6. Stump, 40
7. Rapp, 32
8. K. Wyman, 30
9. Schultz, 28
10. Chisum, 28
Company Background
Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit harley-davidson.com.