JENSEN, STOKES AND CAYLOR GET WINS DURING WERA NATIONAL AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK; VESRAH WINS ENDURANCE LEEDS, Ala. As expected, the racing during round nine of the WERA National Series at Barber Motorsports Park last weekend was some of the best of the season, with the top amateur riders in the nation going head-to-head with AMA privateers. Forty-four teams took the green flag during Saturday’s WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series race. Rain fell during the final seven minutes of the four hour race, but nothing could stop Vesrah Suzuki from taking another overall win. Mark Junge, Tray Batey and Lee Acree shared the Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000, winning the Heavyweight Superbike class as well as overall. ARNCHU Racing earned the Heavyweight Superstock win with their finish of second overall. Randy Sherman, Nathan Dressman, Rick Knuckles and Mark Crozier formed the roster for the team, who rode a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Third overall and second in Heavyweight Superstock went to 5150 Racing, with Justin Marm, Phil Caudill, Tony Palarie and Charlie Coleman on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. A fifth-place finish for Dalke Motorsports’ Gio Rojas and Keith Marshall put the team at the front of the Mediumweight Superstock class. Even after four hours of racing, their Suzuki GSX-R600 crossed the finish line less than three seconds ahead of second-place TVRII. Ed Bargy Racing Endurance got their first Mediumweight Superbike win of the season. Jeff Selbert, Skip Salenius, Blake Jones and Ryan Clay shared the Suzuki GSX-R600. In the Lightweight Superbike class, Ghetto Customs rode to a three-lap margin of victory on their Suzuki SV650. Russell Stoddard, Chris Parrish, Cale Swiger and Tim Brewer were the riders responsible for the win. Sunday’s WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series action featured an impressive display of speed from Robert Jensen, who won Open Superstock, 600 Superstock and 750 Superstock in the expert division. Other expert winners included Brian Stokes, who beat Jensen to the line in Formula 1 by a third of a second. Opie Caylor started from the back in 600 and 750 Superbike, but by the end of each race he was at the front of the field. Tray Batey left the field behind in Heavyweight Twins Superstock, as did Brad Duncan in Formula 2. Jeff Walker had a tougher battle in Lightweight Twins Superstock, but he still came out at the top. In the novice division, Seth Starnes continued to impress, winning 600 and 750 Superstock, and 600 and 750 Superbike. Jason Eure won Open Superstock novice, and Jerry Reeves won Heavyweight Twins Superstock by less than one second. Brett Sassaman took a dominant victory in Lightweight Twins Superstock, and Jesse Stevens won Formula 2. Stevens also won both Mini 80 races, while Christopher Halbrooks won both Mini 50 events. The WERA Grand National Finals will feature the tenth and final round of the WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series and the WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series this season. The showcase event begins on Wednesday, October 11 and lasts until Sunday, October 15. More information about WERA can be found online at www.WERA.com. More, from a press release issued by Dalke Motorsports: DALKE MOTORSPORTS COMES FROM BEHIND FOR A CLASS WIN AND 5TH OVERALL Dalke Motorsports came to round 9 of the WERA National Endurance at Barber Motorsports Park with a refuse to lose attitude and left Saturday evening taking the win with the closest margin of victory of the season. This weekend really started several weeks back when team owner Brian Dalke decided to field both Suzuki’s in the last 2 rounds. His reasoning was simple, because of the tight point race between the top 3 teams, a second team could steal valuable points away from the competition. Due to ever changing weather conditions Friday, not much happened on track for Dalke. The team used the time to change some suspension components and solve a plaguing brake chatter problem that began at Summit Point. Both bikes started practice Saturday morning but unfortunately the 2nd team bike coasted in after just 3laps with a probable mechanical failure which left the team with one bike to focus on for the race. Keith Marshall, a 2005 team rider rejoined to finish this season and was selected to start the Barber race. Starting from the 3rd row, Keith battled hard to keep the bike in the top 6. He was given instructions to go fast but easy enough to conserve the Pirelli tires as the strategy was to use one set for the whole 4hr race. Giovanni jump on after a quick fuel stop and continued to hammer the pace. Rojas was able add to Keith’s lead when the first of 3 red flags came out eliminating a 30 second lead. Gio restarted and kept the lead while other teams tried different pit strategies which included tire changes. Dalke stuck to their plan and on the last stop measured the refill for just enough fuel to finish the race. Marshall jumped on the bike for a 35min sprint to the end. With rain clouds threatening Marshall maintained the pace holding the gap behind first place to less than a pit stop. With just 15min left in the race Marshall closed the gap to less than 3 seconds when the leading bike came in for a splash & go. What happened next was nothing short of an ESPN top ten moment. Marshall put his head down, closed the gap and took the lead for good just as the skies began spit rain. In the closing 3 minutes Marshall was actually stretching the lead as the rain began to fall harder. As Keith brought the bike in after the checker the skies opened up for a 10 minute downpour. Less than 10 points now separates Dalke and TVR2 from the class championship. With a class win paying 10 bonus points it all comes down to the final round at Road Atlanta. More, from a press release issued by Team Motorrad: BMW TEAM MOTORRAD COMPLETED FIRST ENDURANCE TEST AT BARBER IN PREPARATION FOR MOTO-ST SERIES BMW Endurance Racing Team, Team Motorrad, successfully completed their first test at Barber Motorsports Park over this past weekend. The team is preparing their BMW R1200S for the inaugural MOTO-ST event at Daytona in October. Team Motorrad campaigned their BMW R1200S in the 4-hour WERA National Endurance Series event at Barber, finishing 6th out of 13 bikes in the Middleweight Superbike class, and 22nd overall out of 45 entries. Commenting on their results, team owner Ivan Messina was enthusiastic. “Barber was a great test for us, and we are very happy with our results. The bike is basically stock, including the brakes, exhaust system, engine, almost everything. The only things we were able to change in time for this test were the spring rates on our shocks, thanks to Cogent Dynamics, and the addition of a dry-break fuel system and some race bodywork. To finish mid-pack against 600 Superbikes tells us that we are on the right track in preparation for MOTO-ST at Daytona.” According to Ivan, the team will complete one more test before Daytona, at Road Atlanta. “By then we should have new components from Wunderlich in Germany to test, including a full exhaust system and a fuel injection controller. It is getting down to the wire, but with some luck and hard work, everything will come together in time.” For more information on Team Motorrad visit www.teammotorrad.com More, from a press release issued by ARNCHU Racing: ARNCHU Racing Wins Class and Climbs Overall Ranking Yet Again at Barber 4-Hour This past weekend at the WERA 4-hour endurance race at Barber Motorsports Park, ARNCHU Racing won the Heavyweight Superstock class aboard their Michelin DOT-shod Suzuki GSX-R1000. The team took second overall and is now second in the overall championship points battle. ARNCHU riders Mark Crozier, Nathan Dressman and Randy Sherman rode in that order, with Crozier taking the second fastest team lap of 1:32.258. Three red flags interrupted Dressman’s stint, allowing him multiple attempts to get the ARNCHU bike off the line quickly. Only ARNCHU and one other team were on the lead lap until Dressman pitted for fuel and a rear tire. Sherman resumed the race as clouds loomed in the distance. Crozier took bike across the finish line on one wheel in a downpour that started with six minutes left. Rain continued to disrupt the practice sessions on Sunday, though all three ARNCHU riders performed into the top 10, with Crozier placing second in 600cc Superbike on a Triumph 675. ARNCHU novice, Allan Pett, worked hard to learn the new track and secured multiple podium positions. Consistent podium finishes have allowed the team build a points cushion for first place in the endurance class championship. ARNCHU travels to Road Atlanta for the WERA Grand National Finals for the final 4-hour and sprints on October 13th. Pictures from past rounds and information about the team can be found at arnchu.net.