From a press release issued by Team Velocity:
TEAM VELOCITY RACING TO CAMPAIGN HEAVYWEIGHT SUPERSTOCK IN 2004 WERA NATIONAL ENDURANCE SERIES
AUGUSTA, Ga.- Team Velocity Racing has announced that they will campaign a Yamaha YZF-R1 in the Heavyweight Superstock class of the WERA National Endurance Series for the 2004 season.
After finishing a close second in the Mediumweight Superstock class in their inaugural season, Team Velocity Racing felt that they were ready to move up to Heavyweight Superstock, increasing their competitiveness for an overall win.
Team Manager Cindy Ivey explained that, “We did so good last year on a 600 Superstock bike. We placed third overall and it’s been eight years since that happened. We’ve got the experience and the riders to move up and we thought that we could only do better on a Heavyweight machine.”
The Team Velocity riders for this season include Chuck Ivey, Reuben Frankenfield, Steven Breckenridge and Bradley Champion. Ivey, Frankenfield and Breckenridge are all returning for their second season with the team. Champion, whose endurance résumé includes the Mediumweight Superstock championship in 2003, is a welcome addition to the team.
“We want to challenge ourselves, and hopefully in turn we’ll be a success with the 1000,” said Ivey. “We’ll be better riders and hopefully bring home the championship. We’re out to have fun and better ourselves as a whole. The whole point is to be successful, and if we can put the right people together with the right team, we can be a success.”
Frankenfield commented that the team’s goals are “of course to win the championship, but our goals are more set to earn good overall finishes. We want to get on the overall podium, hopefully weekend after weekend. We’re looking forward to this. I think it will work out well.”
“Moving up to a new class is going to be interesting,” added Breckenridge. “I’ve been working on my conditioning for (firefighter) school and racing, and I think it will help. The big bike will be good to help us get onto the overall podium, and to get around traffic better. We’ve got the rider who kept us from the championship last year. I’m excited to have Bradley with us.”
“My first thought was not so much picking a team based on who they are, and how fast, that’s not important,” said Champion. “The competitive side of me wants that, but more so it’s the group of people you’re with and if you’re going to have a fun weekend. It wasn’t a hard decision; I based it on something coming along and getting me revved up and excited. They’re a very professional team and they’re also a good group of people. That energy shows up in your performance all weekend.”
The first round of the WERA National Endurance Series will be held at Jennings GP in North Florida on March 27. The race will be six hours in length. Prior to the opening round, Team Velocity Racing will be testing at both Jennings GP and Roebling Road Raceway.
Team Velocity Racing is sponsored by D&D Exhausts, Pirelli, Arai, EK Chains, VP Fuels, Vesrah, Vortex, Twin Cities Yamaha (www.twincitiesyamaha.com), Motul, Joe Rocket, Aiken Motorcycle Sales and Service, Penske, Cheetah Racing Bodies, Dynojet, Zero Gravity, NGK, GPR Stabilizers and Lockhart-Philips.
More information about Team Velocity Racing can be found on the web at www.TeamVelocityRacing.com.