From a press release issued by Team Velocity Racing:
Team Velocity Racing Wins WERA Endurance Race at Barber Motorsports Park
LEEDS, Ala. – Team Velocity Racing rode to the win during round nine of the WERA National Endurance Series, a four-hour race held at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, September 25. Chuck Ivey, Bradley Champion and Steven Breckenridge rode the Team Velocity Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 to a one-lap margin of victory.
The win has extended the team’s lead in the Heavyweight Superstock class championship and moved them up to third in overall series points.
Champion started the race for the team, taking the lead and staying out front for the first 20 minutes. After Champion finished his stint, he pitted and handed the bike over to Ivey while the team maintained a position of second overall.
Ivey’s stint was cut short when the red flag came out 15 minutes after the start of the second hour for a crash. When the race was restarted with just 20 minutes remaining in the first half, Ivey moved into the lead.
At the end of Ivey’s stint, he pitted and the crew hurriedly put fresh tires on the Superstock Yamaha before Breckenridge went out onto the track, maintaining the team’s lead.
Champion did the same as he finished the final half hour of the race, riding a wheelie for his cheering team as he crossed the finish line. The win is Team Velocity Racing’s second overall win this season in the endurance series.
“The red flag really played in our favor for tire wear and stops. We didn’t have to take that extra pit stop that normally kills us,” said Ivey. “We had a lot of teamwork and effort, and we wound up with the win.”
“The race was a lot of fun. We didn’t have Reuben here, unfortunately,” said Breckenridge, referring to team rider Reuben Frankenfield, who was injured two weeks ago at the previous round. “But it was good to see that the three of us could pull together since he wasn’t here. The crew did an awesome job on all of the pit stops.”
“I went out for the last half hour, and just had to maintain consistent lap times and keep us in the lead. The team was giving me good signals so I knew where we were. As a team it’s always nice to get an overall win, and as a rider it’s great to take the checkered flag. I’m really glad Chuck called me to do this and that I could be a part of the team this year.”
The tenth and final round of the WERA National Endurance Series will be a four-hour race at Road Atlanta on Friday, October 15.
More information about Team Velocity Racing can be found at www.TeamVelocityRacing.com
More, from a press release issued by Proforma:
BRANDON PARRISH WINS SECOND STAR SCHOOL AWARD AT BARBER WERA NATIONAL
Second-year road racer Brandon Parrish won the STAR Motorcycle School 600 Superstock Novice race at the WERA National Challenge Series weekend at Barber Motorsports Park on September 26th. By winning, Brandon gets the opportunity to attend a STAR Motorcycle School free of charge within the next year.
Parrish also won the first STAR Motorcycle School 600 Superstock Novice event of 2004 at the WERA Cycle Jam at Virginia International Raceway on May 23rd. He attended the STAR School at Barber Motorsports Park on August 30-31, and he must have learned some things from Jason Pridmore and the staff.
Brandon won yesterday’s 10-lap race by 27.5 seconds over second place finisher Carter Burkholder and 41 other competitors. In addition, Brandon won both the 600 Superbike and 750 Superstock races, and finished second in the 750 Superbike race. “Attending the STAR School at the end of August at Barber definitely helped my win in the 600 Superstock class,” said Parrish, the 22-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky. “The lines and the pointers given by the instructors and Jason really helped a lot. I can’t say enough good things about the STAR School, and I can’t wait to head out for the next school.”
STAR Motorcycle School and WERA Motorcycle Roadracing created this sponsorship program to provide up-and-coming Novice level riders with riding, training and race strategy instruction from two-time AMA and World Endurance champion Jason Pridmore and the award-winning STAR School staff.
More, from a press release issued by Mad Kaw Racing:
Eric Taylor is currently in stable condition at UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama awaiting surgery for injuries he sustained while riding his Mad Kaw Racing endurance bike during Round 9 of the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series. While the incident was out of view to most officials and spectators along pit road, Barber is equiped with a state of the art video system, which has cameras placed in every turn, allowing constant monitoring and digital recording of the racing action. WERA officials were kind enough to run a playback of the incident for the Mad Kaw crew to review after they returned from vistiting Eric in the hospital.
The following description comes from team manager Ivan Messina. “As Eric entered high speed turn ten, it appears that the back stepped out and started a lowside. Tray Batey of Vesrah Suzuki was close behind Eric, getting ready to put him a lap down. As Eric separated from the bike and began sliding across the track, Tray had nowhere to go. Eric slid from the mid-turn apex right to the curbing at the exit, directly in the line Tray was committed to. The Vesrah bike jumped Eric’s midsection, sending Tray and the bike into the air in a forward somersault. Tray never let go of the bike, and the bike proceeded to land on top of him as he went into the ground head first. I don’t know how he walked away.”
Eric was transported directly to UAB Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with multiple pelvic fractures. Tray was able to remount the Vesrah bike and head back to the pit area, where the Vesrah team repaired the bike and continued in the race. Mad Kaw Racing was forced to retire due to extensive damage to the bike and a need to see to Eric’s condition.
According to Ivan: “As it stands now Eric is done with his racing adventures for a while. The team is planning on putting things back together for the GNF if possible, we will just have to see what we can do.”