DALKE MOTORSPORTS TAKES SECOND IN THE MEDIUMWEIGHT SUPERSTOCK CLASS Dalke Motorsports rode its Pirelli shod Suzuki GSX-R600 to a second place in class and seventh overall finish in the 5th round of the WERA National Endurance Series at Road Atlanta. Dalke riders Giovanni Rojas, Wrenn Smith and Brian Dalke worked Thursday practice with Thermosman Suspension’s Mike Fitzgerald and Moose of Pirelli/Trackside Racer’s Supply to sort out tire life issues before the race. Additional riders Josh Smith-Moore and Daniel Parkerson each put time on the bike in the Road Atlanta sun and managed one front tire and two rears for the six-hour event. The new bike was brought to life by the addition of a LeoVince full exhaust system, which really paid off on Road Atlanta’s long back straight. For more details, check us out at dalkemotorsports.com. More, from a press release issued by Caesar Gonzales: GONZALES RETURNS TO RACING AND RELEASES RACE RELATED AUTOBIOGRAPHY Caesar Gonzales has returned to action after two year hiatus, racing in the WERA Cycle Jam in Atlanta, Georgia. Riding a 2006 Kawasaki ZX6RR, he competed in the C Superstock and C Superbike races in both the Sportsman and National series. Caesar has planned to continue racing for the remainder of the season and will also compete in several AMA Pro races. Caesar’s return to racing coincides with the release of his autobiography, “Beating The Odds; An Autobiographical Rags To Racing Story.” The book chronicles how, as a child, he struggles through a physical, emotional, and mentally abusive home. He is rescued by a child protective system that is ill equipped to help him through his issues. Through trial and error, not to mention perseverance, he grows up and realizes his childhood dream of being a motorcycle racer. The book is available through ~http://www.caesargonzales.com~ and will be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble shortly. More, from a press release issued by Team Velocity Racing: Team Velocity Racing Wins Mediumweight Superstock in Dramatic WERA Endurance at Road Atlanta BRASELTON, Ga. Team Velocity Racing felt the heat during round five of the WERA National Endurance Series, battling near triple-digit temperatures as well as a fire and a crash. At the end of the brutal six-hour race, TVR II had snagged the Mediumweight Superstock win and finished fourth overall. Chuck Ivey joined Steven Breckenridge and James Stroud on the TVR II Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Mediumweight Superstock entry. They got a solid start to the race with Breckenridge at the controls. Stroud followed suit, extending the team’s class lead before Ivey took over in the fourth hour. He was passing another rider at the entrance to the esses, but ripples in the track sent his front tire sliding. Ivey rode out the ensuing lowside, then returned to the pits for a quick retech. Luckily, there was minimal damage to the R6, and the team had such a long lead over second place that they never lost a class position. Ivey, Breckenridge and Stroud stayed out front for the rest of the race, finishing fourth overall and securing another Mediumweight Superstock victory for TVR II. “We were battling with Dalke a little bit. They came out pretty quick, and we didn’t want to push it too fast at the beginning of the race,” said Stroud. “When I got on after Steven for my stint, I was running the same lap times but we pulled ahead. It was really about consistency. All of us that got on the bike were running nearly the same lap times.” “We had a really good crew this weekend and that made a big difference. Our Pirellis worked really well and we didn’t have to change tires every stop, so that’s what put us in the lead and helped us maintain it even when we crashed,” commented Breckenridge. The race also got off to a great start for Reuben Frankenfield, who took the lead on the TVR Yamaha YZF-R1. He kept the Heavyweight Superstock bike in the lead for the opening laps before settling into third for much of the first hour as the bike began overheating. Frankenfield handed the bike over to Ivey, but in the second hour the Yamaha began having clutch problems. Ivey was forced to pull off in turn seven, and he noticed that oil coming from the motor had caught fire. Corner workers came to the rescue with a fire extinguisher, but the team was forced to bring out their backup bike. From there, Ivey, Frankenfield and guest rider Scott Harwell made laps on the backup TVR Yamaha YZF-R1, eventually crossing the finish line seventh in class. “I got the lead at the start, but the bike started overheating so I started trying to cool it off the best I could, letting off the throttle and staying out of people’s draft,” said Frankenfield. Ivey added that “we had Jody Stewart back on the crew this weekend. It’s his first race this season and it was a world of difference. Jody runs the pits when he’s here, so without him things definitely would have been a lot more difficult, so thanks to Jody.” Team Velocity Racing has just two weeks before they head up to Grattan Raceway in Michigan for round six, another six-hour event. More, from a press release issued by Ducshop: DUCSHOP RACING REPORT JULY 2 CYCLE JAM AT ROAD ATLANTA Ducshop Racing’s Brian Stokes and Mike Smith finished first and second in the WERA Heavyweight Twins Superbike national race at Road Atlanta’s Cycle Jam this weekend. Stokes rode his RSV Mille to the win, with Smith in second on the NCR Millona R. The duo has added a spice to the heavyweight twins class and both look likely to be title contenders for the Grand National Finale at Road Atlanta this October. This weekend’s race served as a gauge of what needs to be done to both machines before the GNF and Ducshop Racing’s owner, Mark Sutton, hopes the two bikes will be more evenly matched for the championship finale. “Though the NCR has a significant weight advantage over the Aprilia, it’s still down forty horsepower and that really shows at a track as fast as Road Atlanta,” said Sutton. The NCR was within half a second of the Aprilia’s lap times, indicating that with more horsepower the two bikes will be more evenly matched. The last WERA round at Talladega GP showed how evenly matched the two riders are in ability when they diced for the lead in both the F1 races on their GSX-R1000s. Smith taking the checkered flag both times followed closely by Stokes. And as Michelin sponsored riders, both have the advantage of Michelin tires. But it won’t be just Ducshop riders competing for the HWTSB crown. There is bound to be stiff competition racing for some hefty prize money, so Ducshop plans to use the next few months developing and testing both bikes. There’s definitely more potential for improvement in the NCR’s overall horsepower and suspension, making it a closer match to the Aprilia, but their aim is make both bikes as competetive as possible for October’s race.