From a press release issued by Rob Tuluie:
Steve Johnson on the Tul-aris Sets Fast Time of Race Weekend at Blackhawk
Steve Johnson on the Tul-aris at Blackhawk Farms. Photo by Jack Beaudry.
Steve Johnson, riding Dr. Rob Tuluie’s Tul-aris GP bike, overcame the handicap of a 25th starting position and raced through the field to a 2nd place finish in the 8-lap Unlimited GP feature race.
Only early leader and multiple track-record holder Larry Denning (4&6 Racing Yamaha R1), who had the benefit of a front row starting position, was spared a pass by Steve on the Tul-aris. During the race, Steve set the fastest lap time of the race (and the entire weekend).
The amazing thing is that Steve did this while running in traffic and passing 24 riders, while the race leader had a clear track in front of him for the entire race!
Even so, Steve narrowed a 7 second gap to the leader at the start to a 4 second gap at the end of the race. Steve also finished 3rd in the over-crowded 23 lap GTO race, which we used for extra practice. Altogether, we covered 280 racing miles on the Tul-aris this weekend with no mechanical failures, just working on suspension setup, jetting and tire selection. Our set of Michelin racing slicks provided good grip and outstanding tire life – we managed to get 160 miles out of a medium-soft rear slick and even more out of the front slick. We used new front brakes, supplied by GP Tech, which worked outstandingly and allowed Steve to pull amazing late-braking maneuvers. By race day, we had our Ohlins suspension set up perfectly for this twisty and bumpy race track, enabling Steve to carry more cornering speed than anyone else. Only the motor, which had been run at 4 events in a row without a rebuild (Mid-America, Road America, Brainerd and now Blackhawk) is definitely in need of a fresh top end. Considering that typically racing 2-strokes need new top-ends every race weekend, the durability of the Hot Seat Performance Polaris engine parts is outstanding. Even our home-built powervalve controller and mechanism worked flawlessly all weekend!
We are itching to get back to Blackhawk to win – and we will pre-enter next time to assure a better starting position (starting positions are based on time of entry) – and to set the lap record. Steve thinks we pretty easily can go another second faster, considering the cool track temperatures (low 50 deg F) and lack of ultimate traction this weekend, with the extra power of a fresh motor and the benefit of a few clear racing laps!
We’d like to thank our sponsors and supporters: Hot Seat Performance, Nutec Racing Fuel, Walt Schaeffer Michelin, MRT, Ohlins USA, MTS Systems, Lofgren Racing/Manley Cycle, Yoyodyne Titanium, GP Tech and Headhunter Racing. Steve Johnson is sponsored by Delano Sport Center, Hi-Per Sports, Mason Racing Tires, EBC Brakes and Lockhart Phillips. This weekend’s Tul-aris race crew included Dave Heisserer, Dave Adolfson, Hardy Baehni and Chris Koening.