Watts Powers on to Win USGPRU 250GP at Willow Springs Rosamond, CA: The USGPRU traveled to Willow Springs Raceway where WSMC hosted the final west coast round of the Moto Liberty 250GP class. The usual desert winds were in full force during qualifying as local fast guy Vincent Rolleri set the early target with a 1:27.853 lap time. With minutes to go in the 20-minute qualifying session, Melissa Paris threw down a pole-winning lap of 1:26:731 on her Pirelli shod Honda RS250 machine. This would be the first time in USGPRU history that Pirelli tires took the top spot. The main event on Sunday saw a late entry of local racer, Mark Watts. He had to start on the last row, but his track knowledge and exceptionally fast TZ250 made him an instant contender. At the start of the race, Vince Rolleri was able to take the early lead with Roberts, Paris and Alex White in tow. By the end of lap one, Watts had moved into third place. By the third lap, Watts had taken over the top spot. Unfortunately for him, on lap 4 Angus Borland crashed and caused the race to be red-flagged. On the restart, Alex White and Rolleri swapped the lead several times with Paris and Roberts right behind them. Watts performed a repeat and took the lead within 3 laps. Paris retired on lap nine when her footpeg fell off. Watts held onto the lead as Roberts and Rolleri battled for second. With three laps to go, Rolleri opened a small gap between himself and Roberts and was closing on Watts. But Rolleri ran out of time, and Watts won with Rolleri and Roberts finishing second and third. Moto Liberty 250GP race results: 1. Mark Watts (Yam TS250) 2. Vincent Rolleri (Yam TZ250) 3. Adam Roberts (Yam TZ250) 4. Alex White (Yam TZ250) 5. Andy Edwards (Apr RSV250) 6. Bruce Lind (Yam TZ250) 7. Jamie Lenore (Yam TZ250) 8. Mike Danielson (Yam TZ250) 9. Anthony Digati (Yam TZ250) 10. Melissa Paris (Hon RS250), DNF, mechanical 11. Mike Lytle (Yam TZ250), DNF 12. John Ulrich (Yam TZ250), DNF, mechanical 13. Angus Borland (Yam TZ250), DNF, crash More, from an updated press release issued by CRA: Brainerd, MN Top racers from all across the Midwest gathered at Brainerd International Raceway for Central Roadracing Association Finale, held September 19-21. CRA racers made their debut on the BIR’s new Competition Course. The Competition Course challenged racers and provided a great show to all in attendance. On Saturday, excitement grew early as a fast lap time was set on the record books of 1:39.950 by Kurt Schuschke aboard a Triumph 675. “After getting a horrible start, I made my way through the field and saw Shane Fletcher with a distant lead. He was my dangling carrot, so to speak, so that helped alot. I knew that I had to have the fastest lap of that race, but I didn’t think it would stick for the whole weekend and become the track record,” Schuschke stated following the race weekend. Dominating the experts in Middleweight, Heavyweight, and Unlimited Supersport classes on Saturday, Shane Fletcher proved to be on top of his game. Brad Zajic lead the Expert Lightweight Supersport while Paul Jensen took the checkered for the Ultralight Supersport. In the Novice ranks, Jason Mack, Cameron Fisher and Todd Counters took home checkered flags. In the Trophy Dashes 3/4, Aaron Anderson began to pressure Jessica Zalusky for the lead and after several exchanges and lapped riders, Anderson took the overall checkered. In Trophy Dash 1/2, Bryant Soberg had a strong lead for the overall win over second place finisher, Aaron Colton. On Sunday, racing became more fierce as points and championships lay on the line. Shane Fletcher was again resilient and dominated every Middleweight, Heavyweight and Unlimited Superbike and Grand Prix sprints, while Christian Schmidt and Jessica Zalusky pressured Shane. “The BIR short course is fun, technical and safe. The racing was close and a few different riders kept me honest. All in all, it was a great ending to the CRA season,” Fletcher stated following the race weekend. Up and coming riders, Eric Purves and Aaron Colton also made a strong showing. Paul Jensen and Tony Peterson also exchanged wins in Ulralight Superbike and Grand Prix Expert sprints, while Brad Zajic cleaned up the Lightweight sprints. Gabriel Blevins, Zach Hughes, Todd Counters and Sean Kreller all took home Novice wins on Sunday. As the season comes to an end, so does many Championships. Points are still being calculated for the Overall Championships, as Expert Brad Zajic hopes to hold off Jessica Zalusky. John Wolff also has a strong lead over Scott Riley for the Overall Novice Championship. Stay tuned as points become final and Championships and bragging rights are awarded. Next on the schedule for the CRA is the Annual Awards Banquet, more information to come. For more information on the CRA, visit www.cra-mn.com Official Race Results Super Sport Series: Ultralight Super Sport Pos. No. Name Make / Model 1 888 Paul Jensen (Duc M620) 2 83 Todd Counters (Duc M620) 3 620 Gabriel Blevins (Duc M620) 4 96 Brent Bixby (Suz SV650) 5 555 Ward Jensen (Duc M620) Lightweight Super Sport & Vintage 1 6 Brad Zajic (Suz SV650) 2 82 Tony Williams (Suz SV650) 3 196 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650) 4 73 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650) 5 54 Cameron Fisher (Suz SV650) Expert Middleweight Super Sport 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 24 Kurt Schuschke (Tri Daytona 675) 3 6 Brad Zajic (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 93 Aaron Colton (Hon CBR600RR) 5 1 Chris Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) Novice Middleweight Super Sport 1 708 Jason Mack (Yam YZF-R6) 2 318 Zach Hughes (Hon CBR600RR) 3 777 John Wolff (Yam YZF-R6) 4 45 Phil Batzlaff (Yam YZF-R6) 5 94 John Sterling (Yam YZF-R6) Heavyweight Super Sport 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 1 Chris Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6) 3 137 Eric Purves (Hon CBR600RR) 4 93 Aaron Colton (Hon RS125) 5 89 Andrew Kruse (Hon CBR600RR) Unlimited Super Sport 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 1 Christ Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) 3 89 Andrew Kruse (Hon CBR600RR) 4 309 Tucker Dally (Yam YZF-R6) 5 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) Super Bike Series: Ultralight Super Bike 1 14 Tony Peterson (Duc M620) 2 888 Paul Jensen (Duc M620) 3 83 Todd Counters (Duc M620) 4 85 Sheldon Nelson (Duc M620) 5 620 Gabriel Blevins (Duc M620) Lightweight Super Bike 1 6 Brad Zajic (Suz SV650) 2 80 Karl Rehpohl (Suz SV650) 3 82 Tony Williams (Suz SV650) 4 126 Tony Legueri (Yam FZR400) 5 73 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650) Sportsman and Super Twins 1 6 Brad Zajic (Suz SV650) 2 82 Tony Williams (Suz SV650) 3 73 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650) 4 195 David Holter (Suz SV650) 5 54 Cameron Fisher (Suz SV650) Expert Middleweight Super Bike 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 1 Chris Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) 3 137 Eric Purves (Hon CBR600RR) 4 89 Andrew Kruse (Hon CBR600RR) 5 24 Kurt Schuschke (Tri Daytona 675) Novice Middleweight Super Bike 1 318 Zach Hughes (Hon CBR600RR) 2 777 John Wolff (Yam YZF-R6) 3 31 Michael Smith (Yam YZF-R6) 4 45 Phil Batzlaff (Yam YZF-R6) 5 100 Josh Jones (Kaw ZX-6RR) Heavyweight Super Bike 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 1 Chris Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) 3 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 4 93 Aaron Colton (Hon CBR600RR) 5 186 Chad Bakkene (Suz GSX-R1000) Unlimited Super Bike 1 7 Shane Fletcher (Honda CBR1000RR) 2 1 Chris Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) 3 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 4 309 Tucker Dally (Yam YZF-R6) 5 50 Nick Campbell (Suz GSX-R1000) Grand Prix Ultralight Grand Prix 1 888 Paul Jensen (Duc M620) 2 198 Bruce Magee (Hon RS450) 3 620 Gabriel Blevins (Duc M620) 4 83 Todd Counters (Duc M620) 5 85 Sheldon Nelson (Duc M620) Lightweight Grand Prix 1 6 Brad Zajic (Suz SV650) 2 80 Karl Rehpohl (Suz SV650) 3 196 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650) 4 195 David Holter (Suz SV650) 5 126 Tony Legueri (Yam FZR400) Middleweight Grand Prix 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 137 Eric Purves (Hon CBR600RR) 3 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 4 309 Tucker Dally (Yam YZF-R6) 5 225 Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) Heavyweight Grand Prix 1 157 Shane Fletcher (Yam R6) 2 93 Aaron Colton (Hon CBR600RR) 3 137 Eric Purves (Hon CBR600RR) 4 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 5 225 Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) Unlimited Grand Prix 1 7 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6) 2 1 Christ Schmidt (Hon CBR600RR) 3 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 4 50 Nick Campbell (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 225 Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) 250 Grand Prix 1 93 Aaron Colton (Yam TZ250) 2 38 Jeff Japs (Yam TZ250) 3 614 Todd Johnson (Yam TZ250) 4 198 Bruce Magee (Hon RS450) 5 19 Chris Spargo (Yam RD400) Special Events Trophy Dash 1 1 196 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650) 2 93 Aaron Colton (Yam TZ250) 3 82 Tony Williams (Suz SV650) 4 416 Jeff Madsen (Suz SV650) 5 38 Jeff Japs (Yam TZ250) Trophy Dash 3 1 225 Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) 2 172 Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6) 3 66 Mark Dargis (Yam YZF-R6) 4 45 Phil Batzlaff (Yam YZF-R6) 5 912 Sean Kreller (Yam YZF-R6) Formula 40 1 66 Mark Dargis (Yam YZF-R6) 2 56 Tony Day (Hon CBR600RR) 3 73 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650) 4 119 Mark Jensen (Tri Daytona 675) 5 400 James Wiles (Suz GSXR750 New Rider Championship Race 1 708 Jason Mack (Yam YZF-R6) 2 120 Todd Cole (Yam YZF-R6) 3 556 Jayme Schmit (Suz GSX-R600) 4 214 Gus Aramayo (Hon RC51) 5 122 Jourdan Siem (Suz GSX-R600) More, from a press release issued by CCS/ASRA: ASRA Team Challenge Series September 21, 2008 VIRginia International Raceway Alton, VA Serpent Racing 2 Dominates VIR Round. With the GTO class championship already in their hip pocket, the Serpent Racing 2 team from Palatine IL led 41 of the 69 laps on the way to the Overall and GTO class win at Virginia International Raceway. The first seven laps were led by Charlie Coleman’s WFO Racing team, but Serpent Racing 2 team was on a mission and made it into the lead on lap 8. Following closely behind were the defending National Champions, Rick Begg’s RnR Cycle Repsol team with Krishna Pribaldi and Ivan Iverson aboard. RnR dogged the overall leaders for the next 4 laps before zipping into the lead briefly on lap 12. That was all it took to motivate the GTO Champions, who kept out in front for the next 28 laps, only giving the lead up to the RNR squad when they pitted for the mandatory rider change. RnR managed to hold on to the lead for 21 laps until the Serpent team of Calvin Martinez and Dave Ebben passed them for the final time on lap 61 and cruised to the finish with a 31 second margin of victory. RnR finished in second, the only other bike to finish the full 69 laps, and Martin Lazor’s Euro Racing Team finished in third overall to round out the podium. The win moved the Serpent Racing 2 Team into the Overall point lead, passing their Serpent Racing GTU Team and establishing a 14 point lead going into the final round at Daytona. The A&J Recognition Solo Challenge saw another first time winner as Nicholas Cicci from Horsehead NY, on a Honda 600, finished with a one lap lead over the Suzuki 1000 mounted Jeff Lee on his BioTech Racing entry. The third place rider, Vas Rajan from Park City UT, was crowned the new Solo champion for 2008. His 60 point lead over Garrett Rick with one round to go gives Rajan his first A&J Recognition Solo Challenge National Championship After their win at Road America, James Gang/Hoban Racing Team of Paul James and Jeff Johnson found themselves in position to challenge for the GTL Championship. Trailing the Shakka 4 Life team of Michael Jordan, Steve Wilkins and Paul Grey by just 6 points, the James Gang/Hoban Bros. Team redoubled their efforts and made the trek to VIR to put the pressure on. From the start, the James Gang Buell led the class and never looked back, finishing 1-lap up on the second place MrPMotorsports.com Suzuki ridden by Brad Faas and Alan Nelson and the third place Redline Performance team of Steve Kennedy and Gary Cain. The Shakka 4 Life team finished in sixth 5-laps behind the class winner. The victory by the James Gang moved them into a ten point lead going to the final event at Daytona. In the GTU class, Central States Racing team with Matt Flowers and Paul Gilchrist saw their title hope slip a little as the RnR Cycle Repsol Kawasaki took the win and valuable points away. The Central States team finished third, 2-laps behind the winners and 1-lap behind the second place Grease Monkey Racing Team of Alex Shaw, Eric Helmbach and Eric Wilson. Class point leader Serpent Racing 1 finished in fifth, allowing Central States to close the gap to 17 points with one race left in the series, a tough job for any team looking to come from behind to win the title. Serpent Racing only needs to finish sixth or better at Daytona to secure the championship. Since the GTO title is already decided, it was the overall points that pushed the Serpent Racing 2 Team to ride hard at VIR and their efforts produced a1-lap victory over the Euro Racing Team of Martin Lazor and Steve Davis ‘Silverback Racing team who finished in third place. The Silverback Team’s third place clinched second place in the GTO championship behind the new champions, Serpent Racing 2. The final round of the Team Challenge Series will take place on October 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway. For complete results, visit www.ccsracing.us. More, from a press release issued by Lonestar Yankee Communications: F3’s Mark I Takes Checkered Flag at Thunderbolt Raceway Paterson, NJ — Six months after its debut at the International Powersports Expo in Indianapolis in February, the F3 MotorSports’ Mark I Steering Damper took the checkered flag atop the Aprilia Tuono 1000R during a Labor Day race held at Thunderbolt Raceway, New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J. The race was the penultimate event before the final 8-hours at Daytona race in the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series. ApriliaUSA/Lloyd Brother Motorsports riders Ty Howard and Mike Himmelsbach go into Daytona with a 16-point lead in the SST championship series. Himmelsbach had accolades for the new 2.25-mile, 14-turn Thunderbolt Raceway and its technical track. Opened in June, the motorsports complex features road, oval and off-road racing venues. Equally impressive was the performance of F3’s Mark I Steering Damper, according to Howard. “We’ve been testing the new steering damper all year and it is now really making a big difference in how easy the bike is to ride over long stints,” Howard said. Himmelsbach agreed. “We really benefited from the wide range of adjustability the Mark I provides. It eliminated head-shake on many of the turns that would commonly produce it.” The Mark I uses magnetorheological fluid technology developed for use on carrier-based U.S. Navy aircraft to immediately adjust to forces on the front-end, eliminating virtually all instances of head-shake and most conditions that cause tank-slappers. Magnetorheological fluids are actively controlled fluids that change viscosity almost instantly and automatically respond to dynamic conditions using signals from electronic sensors and microprocessors. Coupled within a closed loop control system to sense and react to shock and vibration in less than one millisecond, the damper attenuates front-end vibration to the point it is not noticeable, providing more control in the turns and allowing the rider to roll the power on sooner coming out of turns. “We are happy to be working with F3 MotorSports in bringing a product to the road racing and sport-bike market that provides a better, safer performance for our drivers,” said David Lloyd, President, Lloyd Brothers MotorSports, Inc. Odilo Vazquez, F3 MotorSports President, echoed Lloyd’s enthusiasm. “We are extremely fortunate to be partnered with such a talented and knowledgeable racing team,” he said, noting that Himmelsbach was the first rider to track test the Mark I. “The collaborative relationship we have is enabling us to manufacture a product that will not only meet, but surpass riders’ expectations.” F3 MotorSports is a proud sponsor of the Aprilia USA/Lloyd Brothers MotorSports racing team. For more information on the Mark I Steering Damper, visit www.f3motorsports.net or contact Ken Rosenbaum, General Manager at 973.442.2290.