Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Arclight Suzuki had transmission troubles with two of their bikes at Pikes Peak. As a result, team owner Chuck Warren drove the team’s transporter from PPIR to rider Lee Acree’s home in North Carolina to take the engine from Acree’s personal GSX-R750 and bring it to Road America. Warren said the trip, 2400 miles in four days, was no big deal because he regularly drives from his base in Concord, California to Road Atlanta in four days. Warren said he planned to build a second motor at the track Thursday.


Disqualified from fifth place in the Pro Thunder race at Pikes Peak, Right On Track Racing/www.cdlschool.com’s Leo Venega told Roadracingworld.com that the engine he ran at PPIR displaced 996cc. Venega will run the AMA Superbike class at Road America instead of Pro Thunder.


Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Barry McMahan said that the team stopped at Mark Junge’s race shop in Union Grove, Wisconsin on the way to Road America and built new engines for GSX-R1000 Formula Xtreme bikes ridden by Marty Craggill and Tom Kipp. “It’s obvious we were getting killed at fast tracks, like Road Atlanta,” said McMahan. “We didn’t have the power advantage that we had last year. Everyone else has stepped it up. So it’s been a scramble to find some extra power for the next two races at Road America and Brainerd.

“We just added some commercially-available engine internals, but we still don’t know if we’re on the same level as the competition. At Road Atlanta, our riders had more to say about the Attack (Suzuki) bikes than any others.”

Although he didn’t want to mention specific horsepower numbers, long-time Crew Chief Keith Perry said, “These are the most powerful Valvoline EMGO Suzukis ever.”

The team ran the new engines on the Dynojet mobile dyno at Road America on Wednesday, breaking them in and building fuel injection maps using Dynojet Power Commanders.


Corona Extra Suzuki’s Steve Rapp is expected to race in Formula Xtreme at Road America, according to Crew Chief Jeremy Daniel. After tuning Jimmy Moore to an AMA Superstock race win at Pikes Peak, Daniel will work with defending Superstock Champion Moore again this weekend at Road America. When asked why Moore’s original Crew Chief, Michael Tjon, wasn’t with the team at PPIR or Elkhart Lake, Daniel directed the question to team principal Tim Saunders, who was not available at post time.


Dunlop introduced a new, rear DOT-labeled race tire at the Sears Point round of the series in early May. The tire, called the D208GP-A or simply the “A”, comes with significantly less tread cuts on the tires’ outer edges. When asked about the new rubber, Dunlop National Road Race Manager Jim Allen told Roadracingworld.com, “It’s a direction we didn’t want to go in. We avoided using this tire for a long time because we feel that the tires used in the Supersport classes should be legitimate street tries. What’s on the track should reflect what’s on the street, and a street tire needs to be an all-weather tire.”

Allen added that the trend in Supersport racing tires, led by brands like Pirelli and Michelin, has been to go to slicker and slicker tread designs. “I feel there should be a specific land-sea ratio approved for use in Supersport racing.”

Allen stated that the “A” has been used in World Supersport racing since May of 2001, has the same compounds as the D208GP and that there is no plan to produce a D208GP-A front. “It was funny,” chuckled Allen. “(Aaron) Yates says, ‘Who said we needed more grip? My bike’s nice and balanced.’ That’s the first time I’ve had a rider complain about too much grip.”


According to sources inside Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki, Jamie Hacking’s Supersport crash at Colorado left him with only one GSX-R600 and no spare frames. When asked about the situation, Team Coordinator/Hacking chassis mechanic Rich Doan said, “He’ll have two bikes.”

With spare GSX-R frames in short supply in America, Doan was asked where the team would get a second bike for Hacking. In reply, Doan said, “From the Suzuki store.”