Some of WERA’s top racers said they liked Miller Motorsports Park (MMP) after lapping the new course for the first time Thursday during a track-hosted practice day preceding this weekend’s WERA National event. Vesrah Suzuki teammates Mark Junge, Tray Batey, Lee Acree and John Jacobi turned several laps on their GSX-Rs and SVs Thursday and, generally, had good feedback on the $80 million racing facility. “It’s a fun layout,” said Jacobi. “Once I learned where I was going I liked it. There’s not much out there for reference, but overall I liked it. And the facilities, there’s nothing (on the WERA National schedule) that really compares to it, maybe Barber, but garage-wise, there’s nothing.” “I like the layout,” said Tray Batey. “It doesn’t compare at all (to any other WERA track). It’s a whole new standard. This is all new and exciting for me. I don’t like the dust (from continuing construction at the facility) blowing across the track. It makes traction different lap-to-lap, but they’re working on that and hopefully it will be a non-issue.” “I think it’s nice,” said Junge. “It’s like a mix of Carolina (Motorsports Park) and Barber (Motorsports Park). The corners in the first section (West Track) open at the exit, like Carolina, and the final corners (East Track) roll a little bit more and have more camber, like Barber.” Junge crashed his GSX-R600 Superstock racebike in “Clubhouse Corner,” turn 13, during the day, a crash caused by fluid on the surface, Junge suspected. Junge was relatively uninjured and reported that he found plenty of room in the impact area of the corner. “The facilities are nice, but we’re paying dearly for it,” said Acree, a regular on the WERA and the AMA Nationals series. “We’re paying $500 for this garage for the weekend. The surface is smooth, but there’s a surprising amount of patches.” MMP designer and General Manager/CEO Alan Wilson said the “patches” Acree referred to were a sort of concrete “band-aid” meant to protect sensitive seams in the wear layer of the surface that have been scuffed. The “band-aid” will wear away over time, after the asphalt finishes curing. According to Wilson, it takes a full year for asphalt to completely cure. On Friday, MMP will host a Fastrack Riders Association-organized track day and timed qualifying for Saturday’s WERA National Challenge Series feature races.