From a press release issued by Team Oliver Yamaha:

Rich Oliver’s Mystery School sponsored Rich Oliver and mechanic Robert Ward are headed south to the beautiful Willow Springs International Motorsport Park in Rosamond Ca. The “fastest road in the west” will be home this weekend to the Roadracingworld.com 250/50, and also the Toyota 200 mile unlimited event.

Rich comments, “Right away I could tell this race was quite different, as the management of Willow Springs actually called me to invite us down to race. They arranged our parking and have lots of media set up to interview us when we get there. We are even going to be a part of the video production covering both races. At least we are actually wanted there, unlike at the AMA events! Also, the purse for each race is the highest amount we have seen all year.”

Rich knows the competition for the Roadracingworld.com 250/50 race will be tough. He had these thoughts, “The huge purse will bring out everyone who rides these Grand Prix machines well. They could come from all over the country and even overseas. It’s really the last chance this season to professionally race the bikes, and to go for the highest purse on the super challenging Willow 9 turn track. It should be tight.”

As far as the Toyota 200 mile event goes, Rich thinks that the Yamaha TZ 250 that the team has used all year with such domination will be on the edge of reliability. “We have so much power pumping through that motor now, that I’m not sure it will hold together for the whole 200 miles. It’s up close to 100 horsepower and that’s quite a bit above stock. It will be a miracle if it holds for the complete race, I think the first thing to go will be the wrist pins. They could snap and cause a huge explosion, but at least I won’t cover the track with oil like a four stroke would! We don’t have quick wheel change equipment so our pit stops will be a little slow, but we are easy on tires, so we may not have to stop as often. I think we can run pretty good pace for as long as my little engine pulls me along. I just don’t know what to expect, but that’s not going to stop us from giving each race everything we’ve got. That’s what we always do.”