SunTrust MOTO-ST Series Teams Ready to Battle for Points DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — When Round 3 of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series roars to life April 27-29 at Virginia International Raceway, teams will be ready to take to the track in an all out battle for victory and points. Showcasing non-stop action-packed two-wheeled racing complete with pit stops, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series features three classes; The Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport Twins class (SST), the BMW Grand Sport Twins class (GST) producing 75-90 and Sport Twins (ST) for machines under 75 horsepower. With two out of six races completed (Daytona and Homestead), the points are incredibly close and every team is determined to grab a stronger foothold in the standings. Tied for first in SST with 67 points are Aprilia USA 2 (Aprilia Tuono 1000R) piloted by Ty Howard and Troy Green and Roadracingworld.com (Suzuki SV1000S) with riders Lee Acree and Mark Junge. Each team has won one event with Aprilia taking a first at Daytona and a second at Homestead and Roadracingworld.com grabbing a second at Daytona and a first at Homestead. Just 13 points behind is Vallely Racing (Suzuki SV 1000S) with Mike Himmelsbach and Tom Vallely. In fourth, 17 points behind the leader is San Jose BMW (BMW R1200) with pilots Nate Kern and Brian Parriott and in fifth, 19 points back, is Team Motorrad Touring Sport BMW (BMW R1200) with Frank Shockley, Ivan Messina and James Chance. In the GST class, the points are even tighter with Richie Morris Racing (Buell XB12) leading with 65 points, Touring Sport Ducati (Ducati Supersport 1000DS) in second with 64 points and RPM Motorsports/Keesee Racing (Ducati Multistrada 1000DS) holding down third with 63 points. Last, but not least, in ST the Pair-A-Nines (Kawasaki EX650) team holds an eight-point lead over GoBigRacing (Suzuki SV650). Featuring riders from the United States, Canada and Europe, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series is not just about the rider and machine. It is truly a team sport with the entire crew playing an all-important part. Just like in NASCAR, pit stops can make the difference between winning and losing. Pitting approximately every 40 minutes for fuel and/or tires and rider changes, each stop is critical. At Homestead, the San Jose BMW team had to make three unscheduled pit stops and due to their excellent teamwork, they still managed to come in third. That’s what great pit stops are all about. A three-hour action packed event, fans will thrill to the action both off and on the track when the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series swings into Virginia International Raceway. In addition to VIR, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series will also include the Road America 500K, July 7-8 at Road America, the Iowa Speedway 500K at Iowa Speedway July 12-13, 2007 and the 8 Hours At Daytona Finale, October 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com . More, from a press release issued by VIR: Two and Four-Wheeled Excitement Coming to VIRginia International Raceway DANVILLE, VA., – The most exciting combination of two and four-wheeled race vehicles will be bringing their thrilling races to VIRginia International Raceway April 27-29. The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve VIR400 will be contested by the sleek and exotic Daytona Prototype sports cars in Sunday afternoon’s featured race. Starting at 1:00 PM, the race promised to continue the tradition of tight competition and close finishes that earned last year’s race at VIR the honor of being selected the ‘Rolex Moment of the Year’ after young driver Mike Rockenfeller took advantage of a momentary interference by slower cars to pass the race leader and go on to take the checkered flag. While Max Angelelli and Scott Pruett, running one-two as the trio approached the finish, banged doors as they approached a slower GT car, Rockenfeller slipped through into the lead and headed only the final three turns of the 3.27-mile track. “The VIR win will go down as one of my finest racing memories,” said Rockenfeller, who teamed with co-driver Patrick Long to claim the victory. “You see these bits on the racing highlight clips all of the time; now I am in one!” he said after learning of the honor. Don’t worry about exotic powerplants either. The engines in these prototype racers come from household names such as Pontiac and Ford, as well as BMW, Porsche and Lexus. While there are several engine and chassis manufacturers, the group’s rules keep things even across the board, further assuring good racing. These are the cars driven in the Daytona 24 Hours by Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Rusty Wallace and other NASCAR drivers as well as Road Racing stars like Max Papis, Scott Pruett, Alex Gurney, Boris Said and Max Angelleli. For fans of motorcycle racing, the SunTrust MOTO-ST series is bringing their ‘Super Twin’ bikes to compete in a 500-kilometer race beginning at 9:00 Sunday morning. MOTO-ST is contested by twin-cylinder cycles closely matched in performance, giving crowds of spectators thrills equal to those provided by the Daytona Prototype cars. With various makes such as Aprilia, BMW, Buell, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Moto Guzzi, Suzuki, Yamaha and more, all competing for overall and class honors. If muscle cars and pony cars are more your taste, then the GT class race Saturday may be just what the doctor ordered. With entries from BMW, Corvette, Ford Mustang, Mazda, Nissan, Pontiac and Porsche, there’s something in the GT race for everyone. The 400-kilometer race for GT cars starts at 4:30 Saturday afternoon, after a full day’s action of practice and qualifying for all the groups, including the two special open-wheeled groups. Joining the Daytona Prototypes, GT cars and MOTO-ST motorcycles will be the open-wheeled formula cars from the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by MAZDA racers and the Star Mazda Championship. Similar in appearance, the two classes are both powered by Mazda four-cylinder engines and provide a starting point for ambitious drivers. The Skip Barber National series features a Masters Division for drivers over the age of 40, competing in the same race but for separate point awards and prize fund. If you like thundering V8s, sports cars, sport-twin motorcycles or just great racing in general, come to VIRginia International Raceway and enjoy the best of all of those in just one weekend. While we enjoy the race action, we feel compelled to recognize the losses suffered last week at Virginia Tech. We ask that each of our spectators remember those who suffered loss in that senseless rampage and join us in a moment of silence before the start of each day’s feature race. Tickets can be purchased online through Wednesday, printed conveniently at home and save the trouble of waiting in line to pick up your tickets at the track. To buy tickets this easy way, just point your web browser to http://www.virclub.com and click on the <<>> button at the top of the screen. You may also point your browser to http://www.etix.com and navigate to the track’s location there. We look forward to seeing you at the races. VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located just on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia. In addition to its 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America’s first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved karting circuit; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room trackside hotel; the VIR Paddock Suites and Garages, with 18 dual-purpose hospitality/lodging units and garages; Camp Motorsport; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse. More, from another press release issued by Grand American Road Racing: Vallely Racing Team Owner Can’t Stay Away From Racing DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. When the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series gets underway April 27-29 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, Vallely Racing will be ready to go for glory. A well-known name in racing, it should come as no surprise that when Tom Vallely sold his motorcycle dealership and relocated from his native northeast to Florida he had trouble stepping away from racing. When it comes to motorsports, the 68-year-old co-owner of Vallely Racing has just about experienced it all, racing open-wheel modifieds, running in the Baja 1000 desert race four times, and overseeing motocross and supercross teams. In his current pursuit, Vallely and his wife Gail own the Vallely Racing Endurance Road Race team, which runs two teams in the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series. “My wife says that I’m on about my eighth life right now,” jokes Vallely, who is based in Flagler Beach, Fla., about 20 minutes north of Daytona. Vallely’s No. 32 Suzuki SV1000S sits third in points in the Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport Twins (SST) class after a fifth place finish in the previous round at Homestead-Miami Speedway April 14. The No. 33 SV1000 is ninth in points following a 10th place finish at Homestead. Vallely got into road racing after he had sold his motorcycle dealership, Cycle Sport Centers, in Danbury, Conn. and moved down to Florida, where he and Gail already owned a house. “I sold the business in 1990 and got out of racing,” recalls Vallely, who ran Kawasaki motocross and Supercross teams through the dealership. “But after a while I got kind of bored.” Through his work with Kawasaki in motocross Vallely had become good friends with top racer Jeff Ward, who after he was finished with dirt bikes moved into a very successful car racing career. Vallely worked with Ward at the Indianapolis 500, and while attending the Rolex 24 At Daytona Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race decided that he would like to race at the famed Florida speedway. After briefly considering running a Grand-Am sports car Vallely settled on motorcycles. He attended the Penguin Roadracing School and in 2004 made his Daytona debut. From there the bug took hold and in 2005 Vallely and his new racing team ran a combination of endurance and sprint events. He took the ASRA GTO endurance championship that year, missing out on the overall title by a single point. When the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series was unveiled for 2006, Vallely thought it would be an ideal venue for his road racing ambitions. With backing from Cycle World of Daytona, he entered two Suzuki SV1000s in the inaugural Eight Hours At Daytona last October, and the team of Chuck Ivey, 17-year-old Josh Day and Frank Trombino finished third overall and in the SST class. The second entry of Matt Lynn, Mike Himmelsbach and Joe Ribeiro was seventh overall and in SST. Vallely has continued with two entries for the full 2007 season. “I thought that was the way to go,” he says. “It gives you some back up, plus there’s the opportunity to transfer information, which we’ve found very useful already.” Himmelsbach and Day placed fourth on the No. 32 Suzuki in March’s season opening DAYTONA USA 300 which, combined with a fifth at Homestead has put the team third in SST points with 54, 13 behind joint leaders Aprilia USA and Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, winners of the first two events. “At Homestead the No. 32 had problems with the transmission, jumping in and out of gear,” Vallely explains. “Plus there were a couple of run-offs. The No. 33 broke a shifter rod right off the bat, second lap, and came back from 27th to finish 10th.” Vallely has been pleased with the pairing of young Day and Himmelsbach, an old racing rival of his, but sees some room for overall improvement from his team. “We’re trying to get a little better strategy in the pits,” he explains. “Josh and Mike are doing a great job, and we can’t do any better with the suspension. Mike Fitzgerald, our suspension guy, is outstanding. In road racing you have to be very, very precise with the suspension, very technical. We’ve got good people helping us along the way.” While Vallely hasn’t ridden either of his bikes yet in a race, he is prepared to step in should the need arise. That could be the case at VIR, as Day has a conflicting racing obligation. Himmelsbach and Trombino are both expected to appear. “I’m the alternate guy on both teams and I’m capable,” says Vallely, who also spent 25 years working as a pilot. “I can always jump in if one of our guys eats a bad sardine or something.” In addition to the VIR 500K, the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series will also include the Road America 500K, July 7-8 at Road America, the Iowa Speedway 500K at Iowa Speedway July 12-13, 2007 and the 8 Hours At Daytona Finale, October 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway. MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com.