VESRAH SUZUKI WINS MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK 6 HOUR ENDURANCE RACE & NATIONAL CHALLENGE SUPERSTOCK RACES.

Vesrah Suzuki won the 4th round of the 2009 WERA National Endurance Series at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele Utah. In the series only appearance on the west coast this year, the team brought its Tony Pogue prepared Suzuki GSXR 1000 Heavyweight Superbikes to contest the 6 hour race.

Tray Batey started the race for the team slotting into 2nd place while another team set the pace. After pitting with Cory West taking the controls of the Vesrah GSXR 1000 while the leading team ran into problems, the team took over the top position which it would never relinquish. John Jacobi rode next and at the end of the 3rd hour the team had a 3 lap lead. The team cycled the riders in the same order for their second stints and emerged at the end of 6 hours with a 5 lap victory. The Vesrah Suzuki crew was timed at 11 seconds, by an independent source, for several pit stops changing both the front and rear wheels and refueling the team’s Suzuki GSXR 1000. The quick pit stops combined with perfect riding by Tray, Cory, and John resulted in the teams 4th consecutive victory of 2009 in the team’s quest for an 8th WERA National Endurance Series championship.

Sunday dawned with tricky conditions which complicated set up issues for the team’s riders competing in the National Challenge sprint races. Many thanks have to go to CT Racing, the Pirelli vendor at MMP, for all the tire changes necessary with switching over to the rain tires required for the conditions.

In the first race of the day, Open Superstock, held in pouring rain, Vesrah riders Cory West, Tray Batey, and Team Owner Mark Junge took the top 3 spots sweeping the podium for Vesrah Suzuki. The next race the team competed in, 600 Superstock, had Cory West taking the win with former Vesrah Suzuki development riders Russ Wikle and Jimmy Wood taking finishing 2nd and 3rd. Nick McFadden, the development rider with Vesrah for 2009, had an eventful Formula 2 race with a highside while competing for 2nd place with a much larger motorcycle then the one he was mounted on.

The next race that the team competed in, 750 Superstock was complicated with drying conditions which caught out several of the team riders with the wrong set up for the conditions. Cory West still managed to secure the win for the team with former development rider Russ Wikle in 2nd and Team Owner Mark Junge in 3rd. In Formula 1, Tray Batey took 2nd place after switching to a dry setup and Team Owner Mark Junge took 3rd place after switching to his 2009 GSXR 1000 which had a dry setup after running his GSXR 750 in the previous races. 125 Grand Prix would be the final race of the day in which a Vesrah rider competed and Nick McFadden came back from his previous crash to take 2nd place showing the determination and drive that will take him far in his road racing future.

Vesrah Suzuki had a great event at MMP with the overall win and Heavyweight Superbike class victory in Saturday’s Endurance race along with Cory West winning all 3 of the Superstock sprint classes that Suzuki GSXRs compete in. Team Owner Mark Junge finished on the podium in all 3 races he competed in and the podiums for the Open, 600, and 750 Superstock races were filled with either current Vesrah Suzuki riders or former team development riders.

More, from a press release issued by Zoe Rem:

Zoe Rem Finally Crosses the Line at Infineon Raceway

After an engine blow up at AFM’s first round in Buttonwillow, a clutch explosion at Round 2 at Infineon, and a front brake lock up this Friday practice, Round 3 at Infineon actually ended up amazingly event free for Zoe on her Motion Pro SV650.

The weekend started with AFM’s ladies class: Formula AFemme. Zoe got a pretty good start, off the first row, hitting turn two in second place. But with improvements over the past month, Shelina Moreda zipped by on her ZX6 between two and three. After following the big bikes, and super quick Deb Barton on her RS125, and sadly seeing Christie Cooley down in turn 7, Zoe was riding in fourth. When Cassie and Jenn both took her at once into 7 she started to pick up the pace and passed them both back, resuming fourth position.

Because of aforementioned mechanical issues, Zoe was starting from the back of the grid with rows of bikes looming ahead. Despite the disadvantage of starting in position 40 in Formula IV, Zoe hit 21st by turn 2 and then peeled off a handful more in the next seven laps, finishing 16th.

Still figuring out the Pirelli tires garnered some trouble in Open Twins where a lot of sliding was occurring coming out of almost every turn. However, after dropping a pound in the rear, the final race of the day turned out well.

Formula 650 Twins also saw Zoe starting on the last row, this time all the way on the inside (yuck!), in position 45. After the first lap around Zoe was down to 19th and slowly picking off her competitors. With almost every lap Zoe was taking other bikes in twos and threes into turn 9. Not only did Zoe finally earn some points, starting her season a bit late, but she also got a new personal best lap time: 1:51.6.

Zoe always wants to thank all of her fantastic sponsors who made her weekend possible: Motion Pro, JST Racing, Catalyst Reaction, Pirelli Tires, Suomy Helmets, Amsoil Race Oil, City Girls Guide, Munroe Motors and Lockhart Phillips, as well as the a guest appearance of Peter Lenz’s mechanic Brian Ens, who made the brakes on the SV stop sticking and start working. So super special thanks to Big B Racing!

More, from a press release issued by NorCo Racing:

SIX RACES, SIX WINS FOR THE NorCO RACING DUCATI 1098R (# 616) AT THE MRA DOUBLE HEADER IN HASTINGS NEBRASKA. 

The Northern Colorado Euro Motorcycles (NorCO Racing) Ducati 1098R piloted by #616 Brad Hendry won all six events entered and broke two class records at the Motorcycle Racing Association (MRA) double header held at the Motorsports Park Hastings (MPH) track in Hastings NE this Memorial day Weekend.

The first Supertwins GTO race saw five Ducatis in the field as well as the Buell 1125R of Shane Turpin. The NorCO Racing #616 Ducati 1098R machine started well from the middle of the front row and took the holeshot quickly moving away from the rest of the pack and leading the entire race. The Ducati 1098R piloted by Jon Glaefke, in third position, closely trailed Turpin’s machine until the last lap when Glaefke moved into second position behind the #616 Ducati 1098 of Brad Hendry for a two Ducati podium finish. Brad Hendry claimed a new lap record beating the old class lap record by over 3 seconds. In the second Supertwins GTO race, Turpin on his Buell took the holeshot but at turn 3 the NorCO Racing Ducati 1098R moved into first position and easily won the race. Hendry’s Ducati 1098R again broke the lap record established on the previous day by a further 0.5 seconds. A great display of the awesome racing capability of the Ducati 1098R.

In the two Open Superbike events of the weekend there was great racing between Brad Hendry on his Ducati 1098R and Shane Turpin on his GSXR 1000. In the first race Brad took the holeshot and close racing followed with Shane right behind Brad. Half way thru the race Brad put in a couple of quick laps to open the gap and cross the finish line well in front of the number two position. In the second Open Superbike event, Turpin on his Suzuki GSXR 1000 claimed the holeshot with a great start and led the race with the #616 Ducati 1098R of Brad Hendry right on his tail. Just over half way through the race, Brad had an excellent drive from turn 10 and executed an exciting pass in turn 11 to claim the lead. The NorCO Racing 1098R then moved away from the Turpin GSXR 1000 and claimed the fifth win of the weekend.

In the first Superbike feature race of the weekend, the Race of the Rockies GTO, the NorCO Racing Ducati 1098R had a poor start from pole position and was in third position into turn 1 but quickly passed Ryan Burke on his Yamaha 1000 in turn 3. Catching up with Turpin’s GSXR 1000 the Brad Hendry Ducati 1098R closely followed in 2nd position for half the race then passed Turpin under braking into turn 13 and quickly moved away to win this feature race of Sunday afternoon. In the second Race of the Rockies GTO Burke’s Yamaha 1000 took the holeshot with Hendry’s Ducati 1098R in second position, Turner’s GSXR 1000 in third and Turpin’s GSXR 1000 in fourth position. Brad quickly passed Burke into turn 4 and moved away from the field to win his 6th race of the weekend. During this Race of the Rockies the Brad Hendry Ducati 1098R claimed their second class record of the weekend breaking the previous class record held by Aaron Clark on a Superbike GSXR 1000.

“What a great weekend! Six wins and two broken class records makes a strong statement as to the very powerful combination of this Ducati 1098R and the superb Dunlop Ntech tires I am riding” said Rider Brad Hendry. “This machine with our present set-up is awesome. The great power and torque of this machine really suits my riding style and when you put that in the very competitive environment we have in the MRA it really brings out the best in racing. I have a great amount of fun riding this well balanced and excellent race machine. Thank you to all my sponsors.”

More, from a press release issued by The Way to Happiness Racing Team:

The Way to Happiness Racing Team, sponsored by The Waterin’ Trough Dance and Saloon and Dunlop Race Tire Services, had its best finish in the hotly contested Unlimited GP race Monday at PBIR. Greg Gorman, rode the Corsa Motorworks prepared 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R to an impressive 4th place in treacherous track conditions. The track was mostly dry but had several streams of water in key acceleration and braking areas.

“Just riding in those conditions isn’t really a problem. Racing in those conditions is another thing entirely. In the hard acceleration and braking areas of turns 3 and 4 there were multiple streams that forced you to really get the bike upright for braking. You had to wait to turn the bike really late where the dry pavement was then you were still uncertain if the tire would grip. Turn 6 was the worst though. It had multiple streams from the beginning of where you’d normally brake all the way to the apex. And then in turn 8 there was a single stream about a bike length in width right where we were accelerating for the back straight. Each time through the whole bike would just move sideways. I really have to thank my team, Susan, Chrissy, and David, for their hard work this weekend. Without them this would be almost impossible.”

The races started with the Sunday night GTO race in which Greg had a race long battle with Christopher Boy for 7th place. Greg finished 8th but was officially 7th as the winner, Barret Long, was disqualified due not having a transponder on his bike.

“That was a good race with Chris. I’m really disappointed I didn’t get around him but he got the job done and I didn’t. Next time.”

Next time came on Monday during the Unlimited Supersport race in which Greg finished 8th.

“Well, I got past Chris in turn 10 and then I missed turn 1 and Chris got by. I was intent on chasing him down but in turn 4 there was a crashed bike, a rider on the ground and a corner worker nearby signaling for an ambulance. I was expecting a red flag and slowed down slightly. Next lap, no red flag, bike and rider are cleared. I came close to catching Chris in traffic but again, didn’t get it done.”

Greg also finished 5th Unlimited Superbike.

“I got a good start and was riding hard but the lap times just weren’t there. I was getting into the 1:20s but not into the 19s or 18s like I need to be. This track requires a different bike setup than Homestead or Jennings and we haven’t quite found it yet. We’re getting closer as the lap times are more consistent but not quite there yet.”

The team will race again at Homestead-Miami Speedway on June 27th and 28th.

More, from a press release issued by Nadine Lajoie:

2 podiums at Miller Motorsport for Nationals

May 23 24, 2009

Attending the National Miller Motorsport circuit for the first time, Nadine was very impressed with the track (they will be hosting the World Superbike next week!). She had difficulty learning the fast track but nonetheless came out victorious in the Women Super Stock category.

She was very happy when the rain started falling on Sunday as it allowed her to put into practice her rain experience acquired in Canada. In the 600CC category, she started in 8th place with her CBR 600CC Catalyst Reaction/ CoolCollegeBars but it didn’t take long as she had an excellent start to find herself in 3rd place in corner 1. She upheld this position throughout the race giving her a podium in a Men’s race.

During the last 2 races, the track was drying up and actually totally dried up. Unfortunately, races being very close to one another and having no help in the pits, Nadine had to race on rain tires! She, however, came in 5th in the 750CC Super Stock and 10th in the 600CC Superbike categories.

On Saturday, she couldn’t find a team to join in for the 6 hours endurance race. So, she decided to help Team Chicago in the pits. They finished 3rd.

Nadine to say: “The whole weekend at Miller Motorsport was very thrilling for me. To run on a circuit where the best come to race is a dream come true. I have to do it again next year”.

Races to come:

Willow Springs, CA June 2009 Mosport, ON July 2009

More, from a press release issued by Roxanne Gravelle:

GATINEAU, QUEBEC (May 26, 2009) “” Team Gym-Max/Hybrid Racing sweeps the opening rounds of the Pro Honda Women’s Cup Challenge Novice Class.

Shannonville Motorsports Park in Shannonville, Ontario hosted Round 1 of the Pro Honda Women’s Cup Challenge on May 16, 2009. For series Novice Roxanne Gravelle the weekend appeared to get off to a rough start. Having to start her qualifying heat race from pit lane due to a last minute mechanical issue Roxanne dug deep to pull off a solid second place qualifying effort. With her grid position set, Gravelle aboard her #332 Gym-Max/Hybrid Racing Yamaha R6 saw Sunday afternoon the most rewarding day of her young racing career. After a winter filled with trips to Gym-Max Roxanne was ready to make the most of her hard off-season training. The hours in the gym paid off as Roxanne was able to race to her first ever podium, and do it in the best possible way, first position!

After her first win, Gravelle had this to say, “It was really exciting; the long track configuration is amazingly physical! This was the race I wanted to win. I had a great start and kept it pinned not knowing where my adversaries were and then got by Expert women’s 416 machine of Anissa Burachinsky to finish with a best lap of 2:05. With great support from Gym-Max and Hybrid Racing my Yamaha R6 was dialed in perfectly allowing me to take my first ever win! I am very excited about the rest of the season!”

Immediately after the Shannonville Podium presentation, Roxanne made her way to Calabogie Motorsports Park (CMP) in Calabogie, Ontario where she had scheduled to participate in Pro6 Cycle track days prior to Round 1 of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. Round 2 of the Pro Honda Women’s Cup Challenge was held in conjunction with the premier motorcycle roadrace championship in Canada.

The extra track time proved to be invaluable. Roxanne qualified 1st novice in the Women’s Cup Challenge and 7th overall with a best time of 2:21.415. Sunday morning, Roxanne decided that her best race strategy was to improve her lap times as the other Novice women were not far behind her. So when she took her grid position Roxanne had a goal set of doing 2:19’s or better. Since her Gym-Max/Hybrid Racing sponsored Yamaha R-6 was running flawlessly Gravelle was able to win her second race of the series and an overall finish of 6th in the multi-leveled women’s cup. Roxanne was able to race her close friend Josee Bouchard (Expert #3) giving extra motivation allowing the Gatineau, Quebec rider to shatter the expectations of a 2:19 lap time with her overall best lap of 2:17.811.

After climbing off the top spot of the podium Gravelle commented, “It was an awesome Race! I never expected to do well at CMP because of a big crash I had here back in 2007! It’s an awesome feeling to have won this race! In the second lap I saw an opportunity to get by Josee and I took it, but I knew I would have to work hard to ensure that she wouldn’t be able to get by me later. I put my head down, and with my level of fitness and determination was able to pull off another win and a great lap time!”

To put a cap on the weekend Roxanne also raced in her first ever Armour Bodies Amateur Sport Bike Class. The class grids both men and women for a full field of exciting, young, fast, up and coming racers. Gravelle qualified 25th and finished 21st.

Roxanne is looking forward to competing in Round #3 of the Pro Honda Women’s Cup Challenge at the Parts Canada Superbike Championship from June 11 to 14, at Mirabel’s ICAR circuit (~http://www.circuiticar.com/indexEn.html~).

Roxanne Gravelle’s 2009 effort is supported by:

Gym-Max (www.gym-max.com), Hybrid Racing (www.hybridracing.ca), Fix Auto de l’Outaouais, Vortex Racing (www.vortexracing.com)

More Information about how you can race Pro Honda Women’s Cup Challenge: www.womenscup.ca/home.htm

More, from a press release issued by Conor Cummins’ publicist:

Cummins battles to second successive top ten finish

Conor Cummins put in a battling performance in round 3 of the Metzeler 1000cc National Superstock Championship at Donington Park on Monday to post his second successive top ten finish. Riding the Team Blackhorse Yamaha, Cummins finished in tenth place in the 15-lap race to pick up six more hard-earned points and move up to joint tenth overall in the Championship table. With qualifying conditions perfect for both qualifying sessions, Conor placed 12th in the first 25-minute session and then improved his times further in final qualifying on Sunday. Despite the increase in both track and ambient temperature, the Manxman took a further four tenths of a second off his time and his final lap of 1m36.767s consolidated his 12th place on the third row of the grid. He was also the second quickest Yamaha rider. Race day was significantly cooler, with the threat of rain never too far away, but conditions remained dry throughout. A strong start saw the 22-year old move up to 10th place and here he stayed until the fourth lap when he was nudged back to 11th by Howie Mainwaring. Four laps later he was relegated to 12th but, part of a seven-rider battle for 6th, positions were changing all the time. Regaining a place when he overtook James Storrar, Conor was then up to 10th with three laps to go, as John McGuinness was forced to retire. Here he remained until the chequered flag to maintain his 100% finishing record and take yet another top ten finish. Like practice, he was again the second Yamaha on the results sheet. Speaking later Conor said: “It was a real good race today and it was great to be battling it out for a top six position. Practice was quite tough as the track was quite slippy and we were all struggling for grip but I made a good start in the race to give myself a great chance of finishing inside the top ten. We made some more improvements to the R1 Yamaha over the course of the weekend and are learning all the time, also edging ever closer to the front pack. Another finish inside the top ten shows that we’re heading in the right direction and I’m sure we’ll be even further up the results sheets at the next round.” Conor will now turn his attentions to his home event, the Isle of Man TT Races, where he will line up once more for McAdoo Kawasaki Racing. Practice gets underway on Saturday.

More, from a press release issued by Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada:

PARTS CANADA SUPERBIKE SERIES: ROUND ONE

Solid Buell® presence for the new racing season

CALABOGIE, Ontario (May 25, 2009) – Calabogie Motorsport Park. Under sunny skies with just a hint of a cool breeze making for perfect weather conditions, hundreds of visitors lined the hilly ridges around the pristine Motorsport Park in anticipation of the opening round of the 2009 Parts Canada Superbike Series.

“We’ve constantly improved our lap times this weekend,” Steve Crevier commented at the beginning of the weekend from under the trailer awning of the Deeley Racing/Ruthless Racing Inc. team – powered by Buell. Crevier’s observation proved true right through to the end of the sixteen-lap Superbike final on Sunday afternoon, when the six-time Canadian Superbike champ recorded a lap of 2:02.790 on the Buell® 1125RTM Superbike.

Steve pre-qualified the Buell® 1125RTM bike in eighth place, moved up to seventh through the Pirelli Superpole, and eventually placed seventh in the National Superbike Championship final after running as high as fifth. As he removed his helmet post race, Steve commented ” we’ll take what we got and move on.”

In the Yoshimura Sportbike category, constant improvement and, consequently, lowered lap times were the order of the day for the Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada pit crew and team riders. “We chopped over a second and a half off of our Sportbike time,” confirmed Steve Crevier.

Steve brought the Buell® 1125RTM Sportbike home in a respectable, and competitive, sixth place upon completion of the twelve-lap final. Dave Estok, qualified in twelfth, and then placed eighth in the race after a hard charge in the closing stages that saw him record his fastest lap of the weekend on lap ten. “I’m feeling a lot more comfortable on the bike. We changed some controls since our test so it fits me better,” said the Florida-native rider. “I am really happy for the team though, we got two Buells® in the top ten, and we have room to improve.”

Darren James was riding injured as a result of a crash while preparing to lay down a fast lap in the middle of the qualifying rounds for the Yoshimura Sportbike category. James has had to bounce back from injury before, and he did it again this weekend. He bettered his qualifying time by over half a second in the race, moving up from sixteenth on the starting grid to thirteenth at the finish. As illustration of his grit, James recorded his best lap of the weekend on the final lap of the race while involved in a vicious three-way dice with Marie-Josée Boucher (Honda CBR600) and Martin Grande (Suzuki GSXR 600). The three riders were separated by a mere 0.500 at the chequered flag. “We really did have a really productive weekend – on track and off. I’m looking forward to Montréal. I’ve got two weeks to heal up,” he said, laughing.

The Deeley Racing/Ruthless Racing Inc.- powered by Buell Race Team will see action next the weekend of June 12 to 14 at the Circuit Icar in Mirabel, Quebec, near Montréal, at Round 2 of the Parts Canada Superbike Series.

For information on the series, detailed results, and how to catch up on the season at the next race, please refer to www.cdnsuperbike.com.

About Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada

Deeley Harley-Davidson® Canada is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Harley-Davidson® and Buell® motorcycles, Genuine Motor Parts and AccessoriesTM, and MotorClothes® apparel, which are provided through a national network of authorized Harley-Davidson and Buell Retailers. Office and distribution warehouse facilities are located in Richmond, British Columbia, and Concord, Ontario.

More, from a press release issued by MIST Suzuki Racing:

British SuperBikes Donington Park

MIST Suzuki completed their first full British SuperBike meeting at Donington Park achieving two top twenty finishes in the main Championship and scoring 22 points in the Mirror.co.uk SuperBike Cup.

Despite still suffering from some of the technical gremlins left over from the Oulton Park round the team were able to concentrate on suspension set-up and took the opportunity to experiment with some different tyre compounds.

After some positive lap times in practice the team took a gamble in qualifying to that was a step too far opting for a medium compound front tyre to try to overcome some issues getting the bike to hold it’s line coupled with a very soft rear tyre to benefit from the extra grip for the short qualifying session. Either option would have been an improvement but the pairing left Matt at the back of the grid with a lot of work to do in the race.

Matt managed a good start in race one only to be boxed in on several occasions leaving him trailing the field at the end of the first lap. With his usual determination Matt posted his fastest laps of the weekend to catch and keep with the pack for some time before being forced wide by one of the faster riders coming through after recovering from a mistake earlier in the lap.

This left Matt to run a lonely race as his tyres started to go off once past the half way point. It is easy to forget that this was Matt’s first full race in the SuperBike class and it was a learning experience for the whole team as to how long the tyres would last and what grip would be available at the end of the race. At the line Matt achieved a creditable 20th place overall, just one place behind factory Suzuki rider Atsu Watanabe, and was 5th in the SuperBike Cup class.

For race two the team made some minor suspension changes to prolong tyre life although nobody could have foreseen the race being stopped after just one lap. This put further pressure on everyone as Matt had to watch everyone else fit a new rear tyre when the limited supply of wheels meant he had to start race two with a tyre that had already completed four laps, including the warm up and out laps from the abortive first start.

Once again boxed in at the start Matt was forced to drop back initially before getting his head down and reeling in several more experienced riders during the race. Last on lap one he chased down and overtook series regular Aaron Zanotti, former Irish SuperBike Champion Brian McCormack and fellow Cup runner Alastair Fagan. At one point Matt was also running ahead of Watanabe until the factory rider opted to pull in to the pits.

At the flag Matt had worked his way up to 18th on the track although he was disappointed to only be credited with 19th place after Karl Harris was listed as finishing in 18th place despite crossing the notional finish line in the pit lane having pulled in on the last lap. To be second Suzuki home in such a strong field bodes well for the future.

Team Manager Mike Edwards was delighted with the progress the team made over the weekend, “It is a great relief for the team to be able to finally compete in the premier class of British racing after the torrid start to the season. It is easy to forget that Matt is a total Rookie having never ridden a SuperBike or on slicks before and has to re-learn circuits that he hasn’t seen for five or more years whilst the competition have raced on them for a number of seasons. We learnt a great deal about tyres and set-up and are hopeful that we can now spend some time developing the bike that is more SuperStock than SuperBike”.

He added, “The search for sponsorship continues to be our main priority after the expense of the first couple of rounds where we endured a lot of bad luck. This weekend demonstrates what we can do and although we are trailing many of the other Cup competitors it is great to see Matt’s confidence grow and we look forward to progressing through the field as we get to spend more time on the bike”.

More, from a press release issued by Shannon Moham’s publicist:

Six wins for Colorado Roadracer Shannon Moham at Double Header Weekend in Hastings, Nebraska Memorial Day weekend took Colorado based roadracer, Shannon Moham, to Hastings Nebraska for a double header with the MRA. Excitement was in the air as close friend and fellow racer Aaron Clark traveled with the Moham’s for the 6 hour trip. Aaron is recently back in Colorado after being in his native New Zealand for 6 months in rehab, following a devastating crash at PPIR last fall. Moham stated, “We are incredibly grateful to Aaron for making the trip with us and for all the help he provided. I couldn’t have done the weekend without you buddy”. Despite a rain filled Friday night, Saturday brought both sunshine and confidence as the double header weekend began. Moham noted, “Aaron and I spent yesterday morning setting up the bike and installing a set of Race Tech prepared forks with the latest generation 25mm G2-R cartridge kit. These proved to be absolutely amazing. The feedback was incredible from the start, and I can say, without a doubt, that these are the best forks I’ve ever run”. Out of the 5 races that day, Shannon was on the podium 4 times, including wins in both his back to back 30 minute Lightweight and Heavyweight Endurance races.

Sunday proved to be the challenge of the weekend. It started with Moham being on the grid for an impressive 8 races. “I know it seems crazy to run so many classes, but I have such great equipment to run and the new generation Michelin tires provided by Vanmar racing make it impossible to not want to be running them in as many races as possible, especially when they seem to last forever.” In the first two races, MWSS and Modern Vintage GTU, Moham dominated and was on the podium both times with a second and first place. The third race of the morning, MWSB began like any other race with Moham leading the pack into turns one, two and three. Turn four “turned” disastrous as Moham states, “the motor ran out of power going down the back straight which is where Ricky Orlando and Dalton Dimick passed me. I put my hand up and pulled off the side of the track, knowing that something catastrophic had happened to the motor.” Once back in his pits, it was obvious that something was destroyed in the top end of the motor, and the R6 was not going to run the rest of this double header weekend. The decision was made to race the rest of Moham’s five races that day, as well as the five races he was to race on Monday, on the Mighty SV 650. The premier class, Race of the Rockies GTU, began after lunch and the SV 650 was on the grid! Moham not only hung with the inline 600cc 4 cylinders, he placed 6th overall and was running amazingly competitive lap times. 2 more podium finishes, to include a first in STGTU and a second in LWGP, were the end to a busy, yet successful day.

Monday of the double header weekend proved to be another impressive day on the SV650, despite the unfortunate low side that occurred in the last of his five races. In the premier class Race of the Rockies GTU with the best of the 600cc racers, Moham placed eighth on the SV650. Two more wins that day made for a grand total of six wins for the double header weekend in Nebraska. Moham stated, “It was a fantastic weekend. The best part was having Aaron there, showing me the ropes and hanging in my pits”. Moham was supposed to attend Larry Miller’s Superbike Challenge this coming weekend in Tooele Utah, but he will be unable to attend as his wife is overdue and awaiting the birth of their first child. Moham’s next MRA weekend is at High Plains Raceway the weekend of June 6th and 7th.