Millennium/KWS Suzuki’s Ben Thompson Wins Suzuki GSX-R1000 Cup Braselton, GA – Oct 2007 — Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports had an outstanding weekend at the season ending WERA Grand National Finals with two wins and a second place finish. Alaska native Ben Thompson was brought in to substituting for regular team rider David Weber who is recovering from off season wrist surgery from a crash at VIR earlier in the season. Thompson rode for the team earlier this year at Virginia International Raceway substituting for John Haner. Thompson was eligible for three events over the course of the five day event. The first race of the weekend was WERA National Open Superstock. Thompson had qualified in the second position but immediately jumped out to an early lead. Thompson battled back and forth with Road Atlanta specialist Tray Batey for the entire race was but was able to use the superior grip and consistency of his Dunlop N-Tec tires to come out on top for the race win by a scant .107 of a second. The most prestigious race of the weekend is the Suzuki GSX-R1000 Cup race. This is a horsepower and weight limited class that is sponsored by Suzuki. The 1000 Cup horsepower limit is 185hp and weight is limited to 380lbs. Although the Millennium/KWS Suzuki Superstock bikes are in no danger of going below the weight limit, the bikes have to be detuned significantly to get under the 185hp limit. Crew Chief Michael Godin along with Rick Matheny and Evan Steel worked very hard to detune the powerful GSX-R to get under the limit yet still perform well enough to win the race. Thompson got a great start to get the early lead but was passed on lap two by Tray Batey. Thompson followed Batey for several laps until the race was stopped for a crash. On the restart Ben felt very comfortable following Batey a couple of bike lengths back and was waiting until the last lap to make his move for the win. Unfortunately the race was stopped again for a crash just past the half way mark and the race was called complete with Thompson in second place. After the race the top three finishing bikes were brought to tech to be weighed and put on the dyno to check horsepower. Batey’s bike was measured .3 horsepower over the limit and he was docked three positions making Ben Thompson the winner. The last race of the day was the WERA F1 race. Millennium/KWS Suzuki brought a special Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the GNF specifically for the F1 race. The bike was built to race at the Macau GP with John Haner later this year and the team brought the bike to the GNF to test durability. Thompson got a good start, but was held up by two riders on the first lap. This allowed Tray Batey to get a significant early lead. Although Thompson was able to turn the fastest laps of the entire event on his Dunlop shod Suzuki GSX-R1000, he ran out of laps and came up .189 of a second short at the line to finish in second. Ben Thompson “What a great weekend. The Millennium/KWS Suzuki team is awesome to work with and they gave me everything I needed to get the job done. I want to thank Kevin Hunt and Chip Spalding for giving me this opportunity. I also have to thank Michael Godin, Evan Steel, and Rick Matheny for all their hard work on the bikes. Suzuki and WERA put on a great event for all the racers and I can’t wait to do it again next year.” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “Ben did a great job! In the GSX-R cup race he was turning lap times that were less than a second off Ben Spies AMA Superstock race winning times. This was on a de-tuned Superstock bike with DOT Dunlop tires, not the Dunlop slicks like we normally run in AMA. The team did a great job as well. I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work this year.” KWS Motorsports would also like to congratulate Scott Carpenter for his sixth Senior Superbike National Championship and KWS mechanic Jim Eberhart for his podium finish in Heavy Weight Twins Superstock. Millennium/KWS Suzuki is going to Daytona International Speedway for the Race of Champions next weekend and then off to China for the Macau GP in November with team rider John Haner. Please check www.kwsracing.com for news, updates, and pictures! More, from a press release issued by Centurion Racing: Confident Results on close of season The Centurion Racing team had a strong finish to the 2007 Maxxis British Supersport Championship. Running three riders at the final round at Brands Hatch, James Westmoreland and Dan Cooper were joined by the 2007 British 125 Champion 19-year-old Luke Jones. All three riders rode an exceptional race at the tiny 1.2-mile circuit gaining 9th, 11th and 19th place respectively. The trio struggled during qualifying and with a huge amount of riders on the circuit it was difficult to get clear track and a good run on a qualifying tyre. With only one second covering the top twenty riders in the Supersport class it was always going to be a tight battle as to where they would finish. Westy secured 16th, Cooper 19th and Jones 32nd on his first appearance on a 600 machine, this was the way they lined up for the scheduled 24-lap race. All three gained positions off the start and Westy was sitting in 13th, Cooper in 14th and Jones 28th at the end of the first lap. All were carving their way through the tight knit field and manoeuvring their way through the tight pack gaining positions in the process. Aaron Walker crashed heavily into Paddock Hill Bend on lap 22 and forced the race to be red flagged and a result was called. The team ended the year on a high and without any major hick-ups or problems, they are extremely happy with the way the season has progressed and how the two rookie riders Westy and Cooper have achieved some fantastic results gaining ninth and 15th in the overall Championship results and Westy securing Centurions second Supersport Cup Championship title. Commenting Westy said “It’s been a very tough weekend but to finish ninth and run such a good consistent fast pace is very encouraging. I got a good start but got tangled up in Paul Young’s accident and lost a lot of time. I rode my hardest today and that was all I had. I’m happy because I was up against it and once again I have shown I can run up front in British Supersport, roll on 2008!” Cooper said “Despite a really bad qualifying session I’m pleased with my end of season result as it’s one of my strongest results all year. I’ve really enjoyed this season and riding in the 600 class, it’s been a big step up from 125’s but I would like to thank everyone at Centurion Racing for giving me this opportunity. I’m hoping next year I will be able to get some stronger results for the Centurion Team.” Jones said “This was my first time in the 600 class and I had a lot to learn in the three days. I’m very grateful to the entire Centurion Team for allowing me to race their bike at the weekend. For my first attempt in the series I was reasonably happy with the outcome. It’s a huge difference to riding a 125 and I quickly had to adapt my riding style and learning how to ride the bigger bike.” The team are delighted with their 2007 season results and would like to thank all their sponsors and supporters that have made the team what it is throughout the year. They are very much looking forward to welcoming Dennis Hobbs to the team for the 2008 season. More, from a press release issued by Hydrex Honda: Top ten finish for Hydrex at season finale. The Hydrex Honda team had a difficult final round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. Technical problems and tyre issues stopped Karl Harris and Aaron Zanotti bringing home the results they had hoped for. Both riders failed to finish race one, but Harris pulled it back in race two with an eighth place, while Zanotti finished in 20th. Race one got off to a good start for both riders with Harris running in seventh place while Zanotti was up to 13th from 21st on the grid. Luck ran out for Harris on lap 17 when a technical problem forced his out of the race. One lap later and it was Zanotti’s turn as he crashed out at Druids. Second time out things went better with Harris racing to a top ten finish. Summing up his weekend Harris said, “I had a technical problem in race one which forced me to retire. Then in race two my tyre went off and dropped me off the pace. I’m really disappointed with how things have gone this weekend. I wanted a big finish to the season and it just didn’t happen.” Zanotti also had tyre issues during qualifying and it dropped him down the grid as he explained, “Qualifying went well. We changed a few things and I was comfy on a race tyre but we didn’t make any progress when we put in a qualifier. On race tyres I was running about 12th but I qualified in 21st on the qualifying tyre.” “I got a good start and got up to 13th which was on the back of the group battling for tenth,” he continued, “I was lapping as fast as the guys in tenth but I lost the front at Druids and that was that. As for race two, I had a bit of a technical problem and got to 15th before dropping back to 20th.” Team Manager, Shaun Muir explained what happened for Harris to suffer such a disappointing race day, “Karl was on the pace all weekend and had been in the top four. Qualifying didn’t go just as well as he ended up eighth. In race one he suffered a traction control problem, then in race two he had zero grip. The tyre recommended by Dunlop let him down badly. He could have been further up the field but for the lack of grip.” “It’s been a long hard year, with the introduction of the roads campaign for the team. We have had some great results on the roads and a podium for Karl at Oulton Park, but we must step up a gear in 2008 with a consistent challenge for podiums in BSB. It’s what the team and sponsors deserve. We would like to thank our sponsors for all their support in 2007.” The team are now looking ahead to next season, and are hopeful of announcing the 2008 line up over the course of the next few weeks. More, from a press release issued by Gary Johnson’s publicist: Progress but no points for Johnson at final round. The last two rounds of the Metzeler National Superstock Championship took place at Brands Hatch on the Indy circuit on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th October. Gary Johnson from Broughton in Lincolnshire had a tough weekend on all fronts on his Speedfreaks Yamaha as he came down with a bout of flu just ahead of the event. Things started out well considering Johnson was under the weather, “I was running in fifteenth and just 0.6secs off pole in first qualifying which considering how ill I was feeling I thought that was ok. There was room for improvement,” he said. Second qualifying didn’t go to plan as he went on to say, “On Saturday morning and I was still ill, we made some changes to the bike which felt good. Then we had two red flags in that session which took up some time. I pushed a bit too hard, I did 32 laps and my last one was the best.” At the end of the red flagged session Johnson was in a lowly 24th. Once the racing began Johnson got a good start and was running in the top fifteen when it went wrong, “In race one I got tangled up with Peter Hickman. I thought I was going to run into the back of him so I shut off a bit and just tucked the front. It was the slowest bit of the track to do it on, but I did bash my elbow,” he said. With a second crack at the whip in race two Johnson got another good start and picked his way through the pack. “I got a great start and I got into the flow. I picked off a few riders and then I tried too hard. I was riding the bike like a supersport machine, carrying too much corner speed and asking a lot of my tyres. Then the race was red flagged, I had just settled into a good rhythm at that point,” he said. He finished the shortened race in 16th place unfortunately just outside the points. Although the results didn’t reflect the effort put in by both Johnson and his team he was happy with the weekend, “I didn’t think I’d be able to ride this weekend so I was happy to get riding. I wasn’t too far off, I made progress, it was a disappointing end to the year but I’m now looking forward to next year.” More, from a press release issued by Hawk Colchester Kawasaki: Positive End to the Season The Hawk Colchester Kawasaki Team ended the 2007 British Superbike season on a positive note at the final round of the Championship at Brands Hatch. In front of a huge 40,000 strong crowd the two Superbike riders James Haydon and Scott Smart gained a ninth and 12th place respectively in the second Superbike race. Haydon suffered a puncture in race one with Smart finishing in a healthy 11th place. The day was action packed on the tight 1.2-mile circuit and after a number of incidents the two Hawk Colchester Kawasaki riders settled into a strong rhythm in both races. Smart struggled throughout the qualifying session on Saturday and was unable to put together a strong lap time and qualified in 18th position leaving him with a lot of work to do during the races to gain some good overall results. Working his way through the pack from the off in both races Smart was looking confident and setting quick lap times. Haydon had dropped to twelfth before retiring to the pits on lap six. After Tom Sykes’ crash at Graham Hill Bends the safety car was deployed whilst the marshals brought the burning bike under control. Race two was also filled with drama after the race was red flagged on lap seven after James Buckingham’s bike blew up on the entrance to Paddock Hill. On the 20-lap restart Smart and Haydon both gained a good start and were working their way thought the pack. A tight battled proceeded with Haydon finally getting the better of Michael Rutter for ninth place and once again bringing the Hawk Colchester Kawasaki home as leading Kawasaki, with Smart only a fraction behind in 12th position. Commenting Smart said “It’s been quite a difficult weekend as the Indy Circuit is so small it’s hard to find a good set-up which works well round such a short track. I struggled during qualifying and trying to find some empty space on the track to get a decent lap in was very limited. Luckily I got two really good starts and new I had to be fairly forceful on the opening laps to ensure that I was in with half a chance of getting some point scoring results. I’m pretty pleased with the overall results.” Haydon said “I managed to adjust pretty well to the bike around here and secured ninth in qualifying which I was reasonably happy with. I knew I had a problem from the start in the first race but was unsure as to what it was, I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete the full distance and was forced to pull in. The second race was much better, I settled in and was having a close battle with Rutter throughout the entire time. I’d like to thank the Hawk Colchester Kawasaki team for taking me on when they did, it was much appreciated and glad that I could get them some solid finishes.” The Hawk Colchester Junior Team ran Alex Camier and Dave Hallett in the Superstock Cup at Brands Hatch. After his double win at Donington Park Camier was eager to return to the podium step this weekend at Brands Hatch but was unable to manage it but still secured a strong sixth place, with Hallett in 21st after returning from surgery on his arms. The team will be racing this weekend at the Race of the Year event at Mallory Park. More, from a press release issued by the Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association: Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association Sunday Sept 16. 2007 Round 5 Results MONEY CLASSES Open Superbike 1. Dave Stokowski – 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R 2. Mikal Zottmann –2005 Suzuki GSXR 3. Mitch Rathje -2006 Yamaha R1 4. Brad Gavey -2003 Suzuki GSXR 1000 5. Tim Johnson -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 6. Karl Meema -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 Middleweight Superbike 1. Jesse Sherstan -2007 Yamaha R6 2. Guy Tomlinson -2005 Suzuki gsxr 600 3. Shawn Toffan -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 4. Richard Maurice -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 5. Rob Darlington – 2005 Yamaha YZF-R6 6. Curtis Lindenbach -2003 Yamaha R 6 Formula 2 1. Carey Fougere -1995 Yamaha TZ250 2. Peter Donegan -2005 Buell XB9R 3. Royce Mclean -2006 Yamaha TZ 125 4. Willie Geczi -2007 Buell XB12R 5. Chris Crump – 2004 Buell XB12S 6. Cody Matechuk – TROPHY CLASSES Heavyweight Sportbike Expert 1. Dave Stokowski – 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R 2. Mitch Rathje -2006 Yamaha R1 3. Tim Johnson -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 4. Jeremy Stepper -2007 Yamaha R6 5. Curtis Lindenbach -2003 Yamaha R 6 6. Shawn Toffan -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR Heavyweight Sportbike Amatuer 1. Matt Schmidt – 2006 Suzuki GSXR1000 2. Rob Darlington – 2005 Yamaha YZF-R6 3. Colin Foster -2003 Honda CBR 600 RR 4. Andrew Carruthers – 2004 Yamaha R6 5. Robert Maurice – 04 Kawasaki zx6rr 6. John Eamon -2006 Yamaha R6 Middleweight Sportbike Expert 1. Jesse Sherstan – 2007 Yamaha R6 2. Guy Tomlinson -2005 Suzuki gsxr 600 3. Jeremy Stepper -2007 Yamaha R6 4. Richard Maurice – 2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 5. Curtis Lindenbach -2003 Yamaha R 6 6. Shawn Toffan -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR Middleweight Sportbike Amatuer 1. Matt Schmidt – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 600 2. Colin Foster – 2003 Honda CBR 600 RR 3. Andrew Carruthers – 2004 Yamaha R6 4. Robert Maurice – 04 Kawasaki zx6rr 5. John Eamon – 2006 Yamaha R6 6. Brian Taylor – 2006 Ducati 749 Bipostal Lightweight Sportbike 1. Royce Mclean -2006 Yamaha TZ 125 2. Carey Fougere -1994 Yamaha TZF426 Veterans 1. Don Hessler -1992 Tigcraft SRX-6 2. Timothy Byran -1997 Suzuki bandit 3. Jone Jones -1986 Yamaha SRS-256f 4. Stu McColl -1990 Yamaha FZR 400 5. Ronald Drury -1981 Suzuki GS-750 6. Bill Rodgers -1986 Yamaha SRX-6 Senior Open 1. Tim Johnson -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 2. Brad Gavey – 2006 Honda cbr1000 3. Karl Meema – 2002 Suzuki GSXR 1000 4. Willie Geczi -2007 Buell XB12R 5. Joe Peskunowicz -1998 Ducati 916 6. Dave Prendergast – 1993 Yamaha tz250 Sportbike Twins/SV Cup 1. Yves Carrier -2005 Ducati SS1000 2. Peter Donegan -2005 Buell XB9R 3. Brian Taylor -2006 Ducati 749 Bipostal- 4. Willie Geczi -2007 Buell XB12R 5. Joe Peskunowicz -1998 Ducati 916 6. Chris Istace -2005 Ducati 749Dark Ducati Cup 1. Robert Porter – 2004 Ducati 749s 2. Yves Carrier – 2005 Ducati SS1000 3. Brian Taylor 4. Joe Peskunowicz -1998 Ducati 916 5. Yukiya Ishiguro -2006 Ducati 749 6. Chris Istace – 2005 Ducati 749Dark Calgary Motorcycle Roadracing Association 2007 Class Championship Final Standings MONEY CLASSES Open Superbike 1. Mikal Zottmann-81 points-2005 Suzuki GSXR 2. Dave Stokowski-77 points – 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R 3. Mitch Rathje-70 points -2006 Yamaha R1 4. Tim Easton -45 points -1999 Yamaha YZFR1 5. Brad Gavey-39 points -2006 Honda cbr1000 6. Randy Herrmann-37 points-2006 Kawasaki ZX10 7. Kel Davidson-36 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 8. Tim Johnson-24 points – 2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 9. Karl Meema-23 points -2002 Suzuki GSXR 1000 10. Guy Tomlinson-20 points – 2005 Suzuki gsxr 600 Middleweight Superbike 1. Guy Tomlinson-97 points -2005 Suzuki gsxr 600 2. Jesse Sherstan-84 points -2007 Yamaha R6 3. Richard Maurice-61 points -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 4. Curtis Lindenbach-50 points -2003 Yamaha R 6 5. Jeremy Stepper-45 points -2007 Suzuki GSXR 6. Rob Darlington-45 points – 2005 Yamaha YZF-R6 7. Andrew Carruthers-39 points – 2004 Yamaha R6 8. Matt Schmidt-36 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR1000 9. Colin Foster-32 points – 2003 Honda CBR 600 RR 10. Claude Bergeron-18 points – 2005 Yamaha R6 Formula 2 1. Carey Fougere-100 points -1995 Yamaha TZ250 2. Willie Geczi-73 points -2007 Buell XB12R 3. Peter Donegan-68 points -2005 Buell XB9R 4. Gary Bourgeois-49 points -2003 Suzuki SV650S 5. Dave Prendergast-43 points -1993 Yamaha tz250 6. Chris Crump-38 points – 2004 Buell XB12S 7. Jessica Soodeen-37 points – 1997 Yamaha TZ 125 8. Cody Matechuk-33 points – 2001 Honda RS 9. Matt Elder-30 points -1994 Honda RS 250 10. Royce McClean-26 points -2006 Yamaha TZ 125 TROPHY CLASSES Heavyweight Sportbike Expert 1. Jeremy Stepper-82 points -2007 Yamaha R6 2. Dave Stokowski-79 points – 2006 Kawasaki ZX-10R 3. Mitch Rathje70 points -2006 Yamaha R1 4. Tim Johnson-66 points -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 5. Curtis Lindenbach-53 points -2003 Yamaha R 6 6. Randy Herrmann-45 points-2006 Kawasaki ZX10 7. Tim Easton-43 points – 1999 Yamaha YZFR1 8. Karl Meema-26 points -2002 Suzuki GSXR 1000 9. Richard Maurice-13 points -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 10. Kel Davidson-13 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 Heavyweight Sportbike Amatuer 1 Matt Schmidt-91 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR1000 2. Rob Darlington-65 points – 2005 Yamaha YZF-R6 3. Andrew Carruthers-64 points – 2004 Yamaha R6 4. Rob Leptich-60 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR1000 5. Robert Maurice-47 points – 04 Kawasaki zx6rr 6. Colin Foster-34 points – 2003 Honda CBR 600 RR 7. John Crump-30 points – 2000 Honda f4 8. Peter Meier-29 points – 2005 Kawasaki ZX6RR 9. Mark Balderson-28 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 600 10. Richard Clark-27 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 Middleweight Sportbike Expert 1. Jeremy Stepper-87 points -2007 Yamaha R6 2. Jesse Sherstan-85 points – 2007 Yamaha R6 3. Guy Tomlinson-85 points -2005 Suzuki gsxr 600 4. Richard Maurice-62 points – 2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 5. Curtis Lindenbach-56 points -2003 Yamaha R 6 6. John Ross McRae-26 points – 2005 Suzuki GSXR 600 7. Darren Labas-22 points – 2000 Yamaha R6 8. Steve Davidson-20 points -2004 Suzuki GSXR 600 9. Shawn Toffan-11 points -2005 Kawasaki ZX 6 RR 10. Shane Kuhn-10 points -2004 Yamaha R1 Middleweight Sportbike Amatuer 1. Matt Schmidt-89 points – 2006 Suzuki GSXR 600 2. Rob Darlington-74 points -2006 Yamaha R6 3. Andrew Carruthers-68 points – 2004 Yamaha R6 4. Colin Foster-62 points – 2003 Honda CBR 600 RR 5. Robert Maurice-33 points – 04 Kawasaki zx6rr 6. Israel Johnas-31 points -2005 Kawasaki 600 7. Brian Taylor-30 points – 2006 Ducati 749 Bipostal 8. Peter Meier-30 points – 2005 Kawasaki ZX6RR 9. John Eamon-28 points – 2006 Yamaha R6 10. John Crump-26 points – 2000 Honda f4 Lightweight Sportbike 1. Gary Bourgeois-74 points -2003 Suzuki SV650S 2. Jessica Soodeen-55 points – 1997 Yamaha TZ 125 3. Dayton Graham-47 points -1996 Yamaha tz 125 4. Cody Matechuk-40 points – 2001 Honda RS 5. Royce Mclean-37 points -2006 Yamaha TZ 125 6. Bill Marsh-30 points -2000 Suzuki SV 650 7. Chad Swain-26 points -2000 Yamaha TZ 125 8. Carey Fougere-17 points -1994 Yamaha TZF426 9. Matt Elder-15 points -1994 Honda RS 250 10. Colin Purcell-12 points -94 Honda rs 125 Veterans 1. Don Hessler-97 points -1992 Tigcraft SRX-6 2. Stu McColl-75 points -1990 Yamaha FZR 400 3. Timothy Byran-75 points -1997 Suzuki bandit 4. Jone Jones-60 points -1986 Yamaha SRS-256f 5. Bill Rodgers-38 points -1986 Yamaha SRX-6 6. Ronald Drury-27 points -1981 Suzuki GS-750 Senior Open 1. Tim Johnson-87 points -2003 Suzuki GSX-R1000 2. Brad Gavey-78 points – 2006 Honda cbr1000 3. Karl Meema-67 points – 2002 Suzuki GSXR 1000 4. Carey Fougere-56 points -1994 Yamaha TZF426 5. Dave Prendergast-36 – 1993 Yamaha tz250 6. Richard Clark-33 points 2006 Suzuki GSXR 1000 7. Darren Labas-30 points 2000 Yamaha R6 8. Timothy Byran-28 points -1997 Suzuki bandit 9. Willie Geczi-22 points -2007 Buell XB12R 10. Robert Porter-20 points -2004 Ducati 749s Sportbike Twins/SV Cup 1. Robert Porter-71 points -2004 Ducati 749s 2. Willie Geczi-69 points -2007 Buell XB12R 3. Peter Donegan-67 points -2005 Buell XB9R 4. Yves Carrier-40 points -2005 Ducati SS1000 5. Chris Istace-39 points -2005 Ducati 749Dark 6. Kelly Gingras-38 points 2004 Ducati 749 7. Chris Crump-37 points – 2004 Buell XB12S 8. Rupert Collins-32 points -2003 Ducati 749 9. Brian Taylor-30 points -2006 Ducati 749 Bipostal- 10. Bill Marsh-24 points -2000 Suzuki SV 650 Ducati Cup 1. Yves Carrier-91 points – 2005 Ducati SS1000 2. Robert Porter-76 points – 2004 Ducati 749s 3. Brian Taylor-58 points 4. Chris Istace-50 points – 2005 Ducati 749Dark 5. Bill Gerber-49 points 2000 Ducati 996 6. Yukiya Ishiguro-42 points -2006 Ducati 749 7. Kelly Gingras-38 points 2004 Ducati 749 8. Joe Peskunowicz-33 points -1998 Ducati 916 9. Rupert Collins-30 points -2003 Ducati 749 10. Adam Binder-25 points Sportsman 1. Carey Fougere-87 points -1994 Yamaha TZF426 2. Dave Prendergast-46 – 1993 Yamaha tz250 3. Timothy Byran-42 points -1997 Suzuki bandit 4. Jessica Soodeen-39 points – 1997 Yamaha TZ 125 5. Martin Dettbarn-34 points -1994 Yamaha TZ 250 6. Cody Graham-31 points -1997 Yamaha TZ-250 7. Matt Elder-30 points -1994 Honda RS 250 8. Gary Bourgeois-26 points -2003 Suzuki SV650S 9. Chad Swain-20 points -2000 Yamaha TZ 125 10. Colin Purcell-13 points -94 Honda rs 125 More, from a press release issued by Brendan Roberts’ publicist: Steady End to Season for Roberts Brendan Roberts had to settle for a disappointing sixth and seventh place respectively in the two National Superstock races at the final round at Brands Hatch at the weekend, 12th 14th October. Roberts was hoping for a strong end to the season but it was not to be as he struggled to find a suitable set up on the Ducati 1098 around the tight 1.2-mile circuit. With a whole host of riders competing in the Superstock Championship, conditions on the track during qualifying were not ideal. With around 40 riders all competing for the pole position spot and only two seconds covering the entire field of 38 riders it was always going to be a tight fought battle to the chequered flag. After qualifying in 12th position for the two races he ensured he got a good start for the first race and was through to ninth by the third lap. As the race progressed the pack were bunched together, staring up the exhaust pipe of Marshall Neil when Neil’s bike blew spraying oil all over the track and all over the chasing Ducati of Roberts. With a number of riders falling on the oil the race was red flagged and re-run as a 10-lap sprint. On the re-start Roberts gained a good start and was soon through the sixth position and fending off the chasing riders. After a few changes on the Saturday night Roberts set the fastest time during Sunday’s morning warm-up, but with his low qualifying position he was going to always struggle to turn that into a strong race result. Fighting a hard race he was sandwiched between the two Yamaha’s of Jon Kirkham and Hudson Kennaugh and due to another red flag and the race being declared at 17-laps, Roberts could only secure seventh place. A slightly disappointed Roberts said “It’s definitely been a tough year for me, I’ve struggled all year with my injured right wrist, which I sustained early in the year and it’s certainly had a knock on effect to my racing. It’s taken months for it to heal and is still not right now, I’ve been told by the doctor that it’s unlikely I’ll regain full movement in it. I’ve battled through the pain and got on with the job as best I could. We found it difficult to find a good set up for me at Brands and I made things harder for myself by qualifying in 12th place. I’d like to congratulate John (Laverty) on his first win of the season and also thanks to all the guys at the Buildbase team for taking me on half way through the year. They are a great team and it’s been a pleasure to ride for them. I fly back to Oz on the 21st and looking forward to the break. I’m still waiting to hear about next year but fingers crossed I’ll be back in Europe, thanks to everyone at the Ducati Xerox Junior Team and the Buildbase Team for all their hard work this season.” More, from a press release issued by AIM Yamaha: AIM YAMAHA BRANDS HATCH REPORT Three Steves represented AIM Yamaha at Brands Hatch on Sunday, Steven Neate and Steve Allan in the British Supersport who both brought valuable points back to the team after finishing 12th and 15th respectively and Steve Plater who scored two points finishes of 10th and 11th in the Bennetts British Superbike final. Steve Plater, from Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire qualified in 13th place, the fastest Yamaha rider on circuit, for a fourth row start to Sunday’s two races and with less than a second covering the top 14 riders the scene was set for some close and exciting racing around the short and tricky 1.1986-mile Indy circuit. When race one got underway at noon there was an air of anticipation amongst the huge crowd that had gathered to watch the season finale. Plater got away to a good start and immediately moved into 12th place. His progress was halted by the pace car on lap 10 but when the car left the track he gained ground and went past fellow Yamaha rider Tommy Hill to claim 10th position. He made tracks towards Simon Andrews, reeling him in at a fast rate of knots and the pair crossed the finish line as one. But Andrews won the battle by a tyre tread to take ninth place with Steve claiming 10th. STEVE PLATER Dunlop had a bit of a safety issue with tyres this weekend and decided to recall all the tyres we were intending to use in the races. It was the same for the whole paddock but the problem was that I had to go out in race one on a tyre I hadn’t used all weekend and it wasn’t on the warmers for long so I had to wait for three laps before I could push it. So all in all I was quite happy with the result really. The tyre issue wasn’t such a big deal, its better to be safe than sorry. Race two saw Steve hold his 13th position until the race was red flagged after an oil spillage. The re-start was to be run over 20 laps and as proceedings got underway Plater moved forward to 12th place becoming embroiled in a battle with James Haydon and Michael Rutter. Although he got the better of Rutter he came back at him and regained 10th on the last lap leaving Steve to cross the finish line in 11th position to be the first Yamaha rider over the finish line. Steve Allan returned to the team in the Supersport class after making a full recovery from his wrist injury sustained in the first lap crash at Croft in August and qualified in 22nd place for the final Supersport race of the season. He progressed through the midfielders to take up 15th position towards the end of the race which was subsequently red-flagged and a result declared at 22-laps. STEVE ALLAN I am very happy to finish in the points in the final race of the year especially considering I hadn’t raced at all this year until Mallory and then I crashed on the first lap at Croft, breaking my wrist so I think today everyone in the team will be happy that I was able to finish in the points. The team have worked really hard this weekend, it’s a mega, mega bike, really fast, and it’s just a shame that this was the last round and not the first. Steven Neate continued his quest for points with AIM Yamaha at Brands after deputising at Cadwell and Donington for the injured Steve Allan. Steven qualified in 14th position just seven tenths of a second away from pole and as the race got underway he moved steadily forward until he reached 12th place. The red flag curtailed his race with two laps remaining and Steven was awarded 12th place and four championship points. STEVEN NEATE On the whole the result is not too bad, I was in a good rhythm and running with a bunch of good, fast rider though perhaps I was not quite as far up the order as I would have liked but I am happy enough. We struggled to start with this weekend but got better and better in each session, so to end up with a reasonably good points finish is a nice end to the season. A big thanks to everyone in the team. I called them up last minute as I was without a ride after my accident at Mondello and I gelled with everyone really well, I like the bike and this has been a nice way to end the year. ALISTAIR FLANAGAN We have done well in the Supersport class from where we started after qualifying. Steve Allan got mixed up with traffic and couldn’t get a fast lap in while Steven Neate didn’t really go fast enough on the qualifying tyre which shows that he needs a bit more time on the bike. But they have both brought the bikes home safely with no crashes and picked up a few points for the team. Steve Plater has gone really well again today and we seem to have got the bike working. Its the first time we have got the tyres working properly and the geometry right, its just a shame it’s the last meeting but there you go. He has done a really good job for us and I thank him for all the hard work he has put in through the year trying to get the bike to work with some normality. The British Superbike season is now over but its business as usual for AIM Yamaha who now turn their attention to the Sunflower meeting at Bishopscourt in Ireland where they have R6 Cup winner B J Toal at the helm of the AIM R6 Yamaha on Sunday, October 21. The team then make the final preparations for the Macau Grand Prix, which takes place on November 17th. Steve Plater rode to victory in the Superbike race for AIM Yamaha last year and is hungry for more success while Steve Allan is to contest the 600cc race for the team. Having won the title for the last two years he will be looking to complete his hat trick this year. More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Tunstall Takes Third in Cup Championship Hardinge Ice Valley’s Tom Tunstall concluded his successful debut Superbike season at Brands Hatch on Sunday, taking a well earned third place in the final Cup Championship standings. The final rounds of the British Superbike Championship utilised the shorter Brands “Indy” circuit layout and after his strong showing at the previous event the Yorkshireman was keen to keep the momentum going to the end of the season. Throughout the practice sessions the Honda mounted rider was in fine form and going into the single qualifying session was only 0.08seconds off the fastest Cup runner. However unable to get the best from his qualifying tyre, slipped back to forth of the cup contenders: “The qualifying session didn’t go well, I had a problem with the front end which meant whenever I tried to go faster the bike wouldn’t let me the front end just washed out & I was so close to ending up on my backside a good few times. The end result is I’m further back on the grid than I should be and it is quite hard to pass on this tight circuit, but my race pace is good and if we can iron out the front end issues I know we can get some more strong results. In the first 30lap race Tunstall ended the opening lap in fifth and by lap eight was up to 3rd. However Tom’s progress was thwarted as he tried to find a way by Guy Martin, crossing the line only 1.0seconds off 2nd position and taking his 15th podium of the year: “I knew it was going to be tough to get past some of the riders and it was frustrating not being able to lap as fast as I know I could. I tried at every corner to get past Guy but just couldn’t make it stick. I’m planning to rectify that in race two. The result also secured Tunstall third place in the Superbike Cup Championship. Tunstall’s determination to get a result was evident in the final race as he hacked his way through the field from the start. He was quickly up to third disposing of last years Cup champion Chris Martin, and this time managed to get past Guy Martin in only a couple of laps. With second placed James Buckingham in his sights disaster stuck when Buckingham’s engine blew dumping oil on the track and throwing the rider off at Paddock. With many riders waving to the marshals to halt the race and clear the oil the safety car was deployed before another rider crashed and race was stopped. Amazingly the grid for the restart was taken from after the accident meaning Tunstall had all the hard work to do again. Undeterred he set to the task and on lap eight was passing Paul Barron for second position when the Irish man hit Tunstall taking both riders out of the race. “Before the restart it was going great but the grid for the restart was after everyone had been waving to the marshals & I was stuck behind the slower riders again. Barron was lapping about 0.6second a lap slower and I had passed him up the inside into Druids [turn2] – I think he was a bit ambitious trying to retake me around the outside when we touched. I tried to restart but the front brake was jammed on. I’m not beating myself up about it as it was out of my hands a “racing accident”. “It was a bit of a shame I never got chance to show what I was capable of in the races & I was really looking to come away with a win.” “To finish third in our debut year behind experienced Superbike riders like Tristan Palmer and James Buckingham is more than creditable. Without the issues we had at Silverstone and Oulton earlier in the year who knows where we would have ended up?” “As the seasons progressed the team and I have just got stronger and stronger. I’m really enjoying the 1000cc machine and hope to take that momentum through to the start of next season.” More, from a press release issued by Nadine Lajoie: The 2007 racing season ended very well for Nadine Lajoie at the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta with a 11th place and a 12th place in 600 Superbike and 750 Superbike. After receiving an invitation, she decided to fly there when an AMA Pro, Caesar Gonzales, lent her his bike, a 2006 Kawasaki ZX6RR prepared by his motorcycle shop, Supertech Performance Inc. Also, she finished 20th in regional C Superbike after she started 24th on the grid and completely missed her start due to her misunderstanding of the 2nd quick wave start! “I’m really happy about my performance in the States this season and I’m looking forward to beginning my 2008 racing season with WERA West in California next January”, she said with excitement. These are her best results in different Championships in Canada and USA. · 9th C Superbike WERA National · 13th B Superbike WERA National · 15th AM600 – Parts Canada National This winter, she will also speak in different schools to help teenagers against suicide, telling them how it’s important to pursue their dreams and how she change d her life with her 7*1*1 tricks, her realizations and her focus. You can reach her on www.nadineracing.com.