TWO TOP TEN FINISHES FOR SAFETY FIRST’S MEIRING, SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND FOR ROOKIE NARBONNE Team Safety First Suzuki had a successful weekend racing at Road Atlanta, with Komodo sponsored rider Tony “The Tiger” Meiring netting two 10th place results in Formula Xtreme and Supersport, maintaining his solid overall top ten placing in both classes. Tony Meiring FX-10th (7th Overall) Supersport- 10th (8th Overall) “I had the best handling bike this weekend that I have ever ridden hear at Road Atlanta. The bike ran real good up top, which helped. I’d still like to be another couple of notches up front, but all in all, it was a good weekend.” It was also disclosed that Meiring has been racing since Mid-Ohio with a broken right clavicle, an injury incurred in a testing incident the week prior in Michigan. “We have been doing as much as we can to get Tony up to 100%” quoted Team Doctor and Operations manager Dr. David Eric Boll. “I have been taping the shoulder in a way that allows movement, but still takes pressure off the affected area and surrounding muscles. I have been trying to limit the affect the shoulder has on his riding as much as possible, and I think we have been able to do that.” Shane Narbonne FX-17th Supersport- 16th Rookie Shane Narbonne also had an eventful weekend. Sunday’s Supersport race had a thrilling finish for New Englander, passing a competitor with a daring outside move at turn 12 for the line, eking out 16th place by a mere 0.006 of a second. “It’s a technical course that I found out after the FX race needs to have you be relaxed to go faster. I had a blast here with the team and I really enjoy racing at this level.” Kevin Hanson – Team Owner “He is very eager to learn and I can see a lot of potential there.” “Shane has shown he can run lap times on his first visit to these tracks as fast as some veterans that have been here for years. Tony has been getting some great starts these last two rounds, which has gotten him up front. He is riding well and that should translate to a good end of the year!” Next up for the team will be some additional testing at the Wegman Benefit Auction Weekend at Black Hawk Farms in Illinois, followed shortly after by the AMA season finale at Mid-Ohio. Safety First Suzuki was formed in 2004 by police officer/racer, Kevin Hanson, based out of Chicago, IL. The bikes are prepared by Jim Rashid and the team at 4&6 Racing in Skokie, IL. Checkout www.SAFETYFIRSTRACING.com to see the new Safety First/Suzuki/Komodo line of riding apparel and casual wear. Kevin Hanson continues to educate elementary school aged children nationwide about the importance of helmet usage. More, from a press release issued by Scott Jensen Moto-Garage Racing: JENSEN FINISHES 18TH AND 22ND IN SUPERBIKE DOUBLE HEADER AT ROAD ATLANTA With the weather closing in on Thursday Scott Jensen knew he wasn’t going to get much track time. Due to lack of track time Jensen and the GPR crew didn’t have much to start with on Friday morning. “We have all new Ohlins suspension this year,” said Bob Bright of GPR, “Last years settings to start with didn’t do us a whole lot of good, but we had no other choice.” That statement proved to be the most accurate of the weekend. Things didn’t go well in the first session of the weekend Friday morning with Scott ending up 24 out of 34 riders. “That wasn’t even close to being ride-able,” a frustrated and tired looking Jensen said, “Just shows we have a lot of work to do this weekend.” During Friday night qualifying Scott improved his time by nearly 1 second and was heading towards the front. “That’s why it is so important that privateers get a good start on Thursdays practice its just so hard to start behind the curve on the first practice of the weekend. I have to say I’m thankful for all the Thursday, and promoter practice’s that we have had this year. I know we are headed it the right direction with the set up and we will be good for tomorrow’s second qualifying session. We are improving on our times and that was with tires from the last race.” Jensen said. During Saturdays second and last qualifying session everything went from looking up to looking down, and not just literally. After being on the top of the order straight from the start Scott was hit by another slower rider. “I’m just not sure,” Jensen said with a slightly painful look, “I hate saying it was someone else’s fault when we are all out there racing, even when they are slower. I knew the bike was running good and we had chosen the right tires for qualifying and all was looking up for the first time of the weekend. I had finally gone faster then I did last year when I saw a slower rider that I wanted to get past before we headed into the esses, I set it up perfectly to go on the inside with plenty of room when he turned into the side of my bike. Like I said I don’t blame anyone for racing but he wasn’t going to make that corner turning in that early, maybe I spooked him with the speed difference or something, but hey that’s racing.” With less then 2 hours before the race the GPR Stabilizer crew had some work to do. A little sore and definitely worn out after Saturdays race Jensen said he just couldn’t ride the bike at the fast pace he was doing during qualifying. “My shoulder hurts a little from the fall this morning and something wasn’t right with the front brakes. I’m really sad at the result, I was looking for something way better.” a rather dejected Jensen said, ” I’m going to take a little break gather some thoughts and get the bike ready for tomorrow’s race and get a good night sleep.” Sunday went much like Saturdays race with Jensen not being able to hold on to the bike for the whole race. “It’s hard because of where we had to start the race with the crash taking us out of qualifying so early on. I ran right up to the top ten but was just too sore to hold the pace. I’m sorry to all my sponsors for the horrible weekend, and sad for my friends that helped me all weekend just to make the races, but I want to say thank you to every one of them. I know I’m better then the results show and I know the results should have been better, I’m mad at myself for not being able to race through the minor pain and problems.” Scott stated that he plans on returning home and preparing for the Toyota 200 at Willow where he has finished very well the past 2 years. “With the Ohlins front end out pit stops will be faster this year. GPR notched it up a little with support and we will make a valiant effort at a top 5 this year,” said Scott. “Right now I’m concentrating on resting my shoulder and preparing for the last AMA race of the year at Mid-Ohio. We left the last race with a great setup and we know what tires to run for the sprints. I’m doing the 200 mainly for the prize money to help pay to go to the last AMA race and see what I can build to do another full year next year. I’m coming back no two ways about it, I just love racing motorcycles and when its a good weekend its usually really good. I’m a one man team at the track except when Bob has a little free time to help, we are going to see if we can regroup maybe build a little bit of a team or step on with another team and have a great 2007 Superbike season.” More, from a press release issued by Team Millennium/KWS Suzuki: MILLENNIUM/KWS SUZUKI FIGHT FOR TOP PRIVATEER AT ROAD ATLANTA Team Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports had another really good weekend at Road Atlanta. Millennium/KWS Suzuki has been looking forward to the Road Atlanta round all year as it is the home track for both the team and rider Matt Lynn. Both riders and the team had a lot of support from friends and families at the track this weekend and put on a good show for everybody. Matt Lynn put in an excellent performance in qualifying running his fastest time ever at the historic Atlanta race track. For Superbike, Matt qualified in the twelfth position with a time of 1:25.145 with team mate John Haner right behind him in the fourteenth position with a time of 1:25.697. In Superstock qualifying, Lynn qualified in the eleventh position with a time of 1:24.884 with Haner qualifying again just behind Lynn with a time of 1:25.450 in the thirteenth position. The first race of the weekend was Saturday’s Superbike Race One. Both riders got excellent starts on their Suzuki GSX-R 1000’s and battled with the Jordan Suzuki riders for the entire race. The Millennium Technologies riders eventually finished just outside the top ten with Lynn in the eleventh position and Haner in twelfth. Sunday morning’s Superstock race is always the best race of the weekend and the Pirelli sponsored KWS team was ready. Both riders got excellent starts, especially Matt Lynn. Lynn jumped to eighth on the first lap and was battling with Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and number one plate holder Aaron Yates for seventh when he crashed going into turn six. “I couldn’t get the thing stopped to make the turn and the only thing I could see was that wall so I bailed off,” said Lynn after the race. Meanwhile, Haner had a race long battle with Craggill, Attard, and Ulrich which culminated with a pass on the last lap to beat the group to the line for eleventh place. Sunday’s Superbike Race Two got underway with the threat of rain in the distance. John Haner had a problem when a boot came unfastened on lap two. John fixed the boot himself on the front straight but had lost so much time that he was only able to salvage a twenty-first place position. Matt Lynn had a good race that saw him battling with Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and factory Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden. Matt eventually finished in the thirteenth position. John Haner “It was a good weekend with some bad luck. The first Supebike race and the Superstock race were really good. The Pirelli tires are so consistent and I think we could have done really well in the second Superbike race, but we had a freak problem with my boot. I really want to thank the team and my sponsors. Rockstar, Komodo, HJC, Space City, and Dragon.” Matt Lynn “It was a pretty good weekend. The team worked really hard and I want to thank my mechanics, Brian Stricker and Rick Matheny for putting a great bike under me all weekend. It was great to have all the family and friends out for this race, thanks to all who came.” Kevin Hunt “The team did really well this weekend. John, Matt, Michael, Chip, Rick Owen, Brian, and Jim worked really hard. I want to thank all of our family, friends, and sponsors that came out this weekend to support us. Especially Chris Hackl and the guys from Millennium Technologies.” More, from a press release issued by Team Velocity/Blown Away Racing: TEAM VELOCITY/BLOWN AWAY RACING’S DAY HAS MECHANICAL WOES AT ROAD ATLANTA BRASELTON, Ga. Joshua Day had a frustrating weekend at Road Atlanta as his efforts to compete in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport race came to an early end on Sunday. The Suzuki Superbike Showdown was the third AMA Pro Racing appearance for the 16-year-old Day, who was riding the Team Velocity/Blown Away Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. Saturday’s practice got off to a good start for Day, who continued picking up speed on Road Atlanta’s hilly 2.54-mile road course. When it was his turn to qualify on Saturday afternoon, Day was confident about dropping his lap times further and securing a solid starting position. After his warm-up lap, though, a shifting problem developed that gave Day an unexpected challenge. The crew was unable to make repairs before the end of the qualifying session, so Day returned to the track determined to overcome the shifting issues. At the end of the session, Day had qualified 26th with a 1:32.038. “I ran 31s in practice that morning and felt pretty good,” he said. “I went out on my warm-up lap in qualifying then when I came down the front straight the bike wouldn’t shift. I had a great tire compound from Michelin that let me get on the gas sooner coming out of the corners, though.” The Team Velocity/Blown Away crew got to work and by the end of the day the Yamaha was repaired and ready for Sunday’s action. Bad luck struck again, though, when the motor began to fail late in Sunday morning’s practice. Without the parts needed to make repairs, Day reluctantly packed up his Yamaha and had to watch the Supersport race from the sidelines. Still, the weekend was not a loss for the Orlando, Florida resident. “I learned a lot and got good experience for when I come back here in October for the WERA Grand National Finals,” said Day. “Racers in AMA are so determined, and stepping up to compete with them helps me when I go back to WERA competition.” Day will only be home for a few days before heading up to Nelson Ledges Road Course in Ohio for round eight of the WERA/Bridgestone National Endurance Series. He will again be riding the TVR II Yamaha YZF-R6, and the team is hoping for their second consecutive class win in Mediumweight Superstock. This weekend’s race begins late in the afternoon and concludes in darkness, and it marks the first time that Day has been on track after sunset. “Friday is night practice, so I’ll get to find out what it’s like being out there in the darkness. We have our lights pretty well set up. PIAA is providing our lights and we’ve got everything ready to go.” Day is sponsored by Team Velocity Racing, Blown Away Racing, VP Racing Fuels, HJC Helmets, SYED, Champions Yamaha, Pro Image Signs and Graphics, Sharkskinz, Hank Lowry Electric and Michelin.