A BUSY START TO THE 2011 ROAD-RACING SEASON FOR VESRAH SUZUKI’S NICK MCFADDEN. Vesrah Suzuki Development rider Nick McFadden had a busy start to his 2011 road-racing season with 3 weekends on the track in a row. First up was testing at Barber Motorsports Park with his AMA Pro Racing teammates Cory West & Corey Alexander. A decision was made after the test to move away from the Moriwaki MD250H that Nick successfully rode last season and instead put him on a Suzuki SV 650 to help him with getting acclimated to a larger machine. The Vesrah Suzuki team quickly put a SV 650 together for Nick for the next weekend at the WERA National at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway along with his Suzuki GSX-R 600. Travis Smith who is Nick’s mechanic for 2011 talked with Mark Junge extensively to get the SV 650 adapted for Nick. Nick was able to win the Formula 2 Expert class in his first weekend on the SV and ran up front in the Lightweight Twins SS expert class but his SV was not legal for the class due to the fact that there was not enough time to source the correct forks for Superstock competition. Nick also raced his GSX-R 600 finishing 9th in the 600 Superbike Expert class. The final weekend was at Nashville Super Speedway for a WERA Sportsman round where Nick finished on the podium in both the Lightweight and Mediumweight Solo 20 lap races on Saturday. He was able to follow that up on Sunday with another podium on the SV650 and an 8th and 9th on his GSX-R 600. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki “It’s great too see Nick do well on his first weekends with the Suzuki SV 650 Many of the past Vesrah Suzuki Development riders have used the SV 650 to develop and hone their skills. It was hectic to get the bike prepared in such a short time frame and I have to thank Tony Pogue for his help with making it happen. He is making progress with adapting to his GSX-R 600 and needs to just keep getting laps on it.” Nick McFadden #18 Vesrah Suzuki “I think we had a good weekend at Talladega. I know I am still learning on the GSX-R 600 so I was a little nervous about learning a new bike with the SV this weekend, too, but it worked out. Even though I was disqualified in the Lightweight Class, I had fun racing with Russell Masecar, one of my instructors I had at the Cornerspeed Race School. The SV 650 feels a little different than the 600cc bike but Travis and Mark worked to help get the bike set up and I felt better each session out. I feel better each time I go out on the GSX-R 600, too. I would like to thank Mark Junge for getting the SV together and to Owensboro for my Dad to bring down to the track. We just got home from Barber early last week and he turned that around pretty fast to get it ready to race. I like to get on a bike and go, so I am trying to be patient while I learn how to ride these new bikes.” “I went to Nashville this weekend knowing it was going to be a hard track for me to ride on these bigger bikes. I like this track but I know it is a workout going through the kink sections. You can use speed on the straight-aways but you have to use a lot of skill going through those tight spots. I just tried to prepare myself that my finishes may not be that good, but all of my work riding the SV 650 and the GSX-R 600 is going toward future results. Travis Smith loaded my GSX-R 600 up and took it back to his shop – he and Mark Junge think there are some small changes that we can make to bring me and the bike more in line together. While they work on the bike I will go back to the gym this week to work on me. I really like my new bikes and will keep working to get stronger and take small steps to get better each time out.” Vesrah Suzuki and Nick McFadden want to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2011 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, West Side Heavy Hauling Inc, Pirelli Tires, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Arai Helmets, Pilot Leathers, NextMotoChampion, Yoshimura, Catalyst Composites, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, Pit Bull Stands, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs More, from a press release issued by i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team: Sizzling Top End Accelerates ASBK Title Challenge for the i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team at Hidden Valley i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing Team rider Ben Attard put in a stunning weekend performance to finish in third place overall for the round held at Darwin’s impressive Hidden Valley Raceway over the weekend 15-17 April. The weekend started strongly before the team even arrived at the track with the coup of securing the services of world renowned technical guru – and former racer – Warren Willing to accelerate the chassis development of the i-Style Natural Aprilia RSV-4. The team worked hard in practice and qualifying to find a good setup for the demands of the technical Hidden Valley layout. Second fastest in qualifier one and fourth overall in regulation qualifying was a good result. In the pressure packed QBE Superpole Shootout Ben scorched around the demanding circuit – his fastest lap of the weekend, improving one position to third. A front row grid position a deserving result for all the hard work put in by the team, and rider Attard. The best conditions of the weekend greeted the teams for Sundays all important seventeen lap races. Ben got a flying start in race one and completed the first lap in second position. The early laps were hectic with multiple passing manoeuvres by the top 6 riders every lap. Eventually the field settled down and Ben rode to a strong fourth place finish behind race winner Josh Waters, who set a new lap record. Race two saw another great start by Ben to complete lap one again in second place. Passed by championship leader Glenn Allerton, on lap two Ben settled into a fast rhythm as the lead three riders broke away from the remainder of the field, the top end heat using all the riders’ reserves of fitness. With the freight train of Allerton, Waters and Attard and two thirds of the race completed, and only three tenths separating the top three , it was anyone’s guess as to who would win the race. With the laps winding down and a safe third place on offer Ben rode the i-Style Natural Aprilia home to place third overall for the round. “This weekend’s been great, we’ve got some new parts – and Steve has got Warren Willing in and we’re moving forward in leaps and bounds – we’ve really broken away from that second tier group now and now we’re up the front. In the second race I was moving in on them but made a few mistakes and just had to calm down a bit, there were good points on offer and to be third in the championship one point off second we’re coming on strong” said an excited Attard. Team owner Steve Trinder was delighted with the whole team’s effort over the weekend “This has been a great weekend for the team, also getting Warren on board has been a tremendous step forward – he’s renowned as one of the best chassis development engineers in the world. He knows there is still more to do so this is all very exciting for us. Second fastest in first qualifying and then third in Superpole and third in the race and round, the Aprilia is now ready and we are all very excited”. Round four of the Viking Group ASBK will be held at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway in conjunction with the V8Supercar Championship over the weekend 29 April to 1 May. The i-Style Natural Aprilia Racing team’s assault on the 2011 Viking Group ASBK would not be possible without the continued, ongoing support of their sponsors, Motul, RST Leathers, Alpinestars, RK Chain, Goodridge, Sportsbike, Monza Imports & Archers Paint & Panel who have all been long time supporters of the team. 2011 Viking Group asbk Superbike Championship Series Points: 1 G Allerton (BMW) 138, 2 T Herfoss (Suzuki) 101, 3 B Attard (i-Style Natural Aprilia) 100, 4 C Coxhell (Honda) 90, 5 J Waters (Suzuki) 88, J Stauffer (Honda) 84. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: In a repeat performance of his 2010 domination, Team Suzuki rider Josh Waters claimed overall victory and another new lap record at the third round of the Australian Superbike Championship at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway on Sunday. In hot and humid conditions, Waters and Glenn Allerton scored a win and second apiece in the two 17-lap races to finish the day equal on 45pts, but the extra championship point he gained for qualifying fastest in the one-lap Superpole Shootout on Saturday afternoon gave the Team Suzuki rider the round advantage. Waters, the 2009 Australian Superbike Champion, won the opening race by 5.362sec from Allerton, but Allerton reversed the result in race two with a narrow 1.486sec win over the Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider. Said Waters: “I really wanted to win that second race, but I was lacking a bit of grip in the hotter conditions for race two and decided with two laps to run to settle for second. Pole position, a new lap record and the round win is pretty good though – I’m happy with that.” Waters’ fastest lap of 1:07.269 on lap three of the opening race was 0.725sec under his own 2010 lap record and the fastest lap ever recorded by a motorcycle around the 2.9km Darwin circuit. The 24-year-old’s new benchmark time is an impressive 1.7459sec faster than the V8 Supercar lap record for the Hidden Valley circuit, held by Jason Bright at 1:09.0149 in a Ford Falcon. The Team Suzuki rider’s GSX-R1000 Superbike regularly hit speeds of 300km/h along Hidden Valley’s 1.0km-long front straight, some 25km/h faster than a V8 Supercar. Waters, who missed the opening round of the 2011 Australian Superbike Championship at Victoria’s Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in February due to ‘wild card’ racing commitments in the Superbike World Championship class has now leap-frogged from 10th to fifth on the points table. After three rounds, Allerton has 138 points in the eight-round series, with Team Suzuki rider Troy Herfoss second on 101pts. Herfoss, who won last year’s Australian Supersport Championship on a Team Suzuki GSX-R600, scored seventh and fourth placings in the two 17-lap races on his Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 to finish fifth overall for the round. The 24-year-old, who is in his rookie Superbike season, bounced back from a challenging opening race to just miss a podium finish in race two by 2.666sec. After qualifying strongly in fifth position, Team Mack Trucks Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden had his round challenge thwarted by a technical issue, placing the three-times New Zealand Superbike Champion 10th in the series points table. In the Australian Supersport Championship, Team Suzuki’s Brodie Waters kept his 2011 Championship challenge alive with 10th and fifth places to be just seven points off the series lead after three rounds. Caught out by a patch of wet bitumen in the opening 17-lap race, the 18-year-old remounted his 2010-model GSX-R600 after the Turn One crash to salvage 11 points. A further 16 points in race two sees Waters fourth in the Championship. Kevin Curtain took the Supersport overall round victory from Mitchell Carr with Rick Olson third. After three rounds, Carr leads the series on 110 points from Christan Casella on 108pts, Curtain on 105pts and Waters on 103pts. The next round of the Viking Group Australian Superbike Championships will be held at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway on April 29 – May 1st. Phil Tainton – Team Manager: “It’s been a great weekend for Josh with the round win, pole position and a new lap record. After missing part of last season due to injury he showed he’s lost none of the talent or determination that won him the 2009 Championship. “It was challenging for the riders and the team in the heat and humidity, so to come away with the win for Josh and second in the Championship for Troy is a satisfying result. Troy is only in his third season of road racing and his first season on a Superbike – the only thing he’s lacking is experience. “It was a tough weekend for Brodie in Supersport as we weren’t able to get the new 2011 GSX-R600 ready in time. The recent tragedy in Japan delayed the race parts we were waiting on. To be just seven points off the championship lead with the 2011 bike now available for the rest of the rounds puts Brodie in a good position to challenge for the Championship.” Josh Waters: “The bike worked fantastic all weekend so a big thanks to the team. It was really hot and I had to work really hard, but to come away with the overall win, pole position and a new lap record is pretty cool. “I lacked a little bit of grip in that second race when the track temperature was higher. My race time was nearly five seconds slower than in race one, but it was better to play safe in the closing laps and settle for second behind Glenn as I knew that would still give me the round win. Troy Herfoss: “I’m happy with the result in race two, but I struggled a bit early on in the weekend and in race one. This circuit has a long front straight, but the rest of the track is pretty tight and technical and it wasn’t easy on the Superbike coming to grips with it. I didn’t make any major changes to the bike, but things felt a lot better in race two and I felt more confident.” Brodie Waters: “To be just seven points off the Championship lead isn’t too bad I guess, as I struggled to find the pace to run at the front this weekend. The crash in race one didn’t help, but fortunately I could get up and get going again. There was a patch of water at Turn One that I’d been running across okay, but I had to go in deeper on the brakes to try and get past Christan Casella. Once I touched the brakes across the wet patch I was down before I knew it. I’m looking forward to the new 2011 bike and the next round to get things back on track.” Superbike Overall Results – Round 3: 1 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 2 Glenn Allerton; 3 Ben Attard; 4 Craig Coxhell; 5 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R1000); 6 Cole Odendaal; 7 Kris McLaren; 8 Jamie Stauffer; 9 Ben Henry (Suzuki GSX-R1000). Superbike Championship Points (after 3 of 8 rounds): 1 Glenn Allerton 138pts; 2 Troy Herfoss (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 101; 3 Ben Attard 100; 4 Craig Coxhell 90; 5 Josh Waters (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 88; 6 Jamie Stauffer 84; 7 Cole Odendaal 75; 8 Wayne Maxwell 60; 9 Ben Henry (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 58; 10 Robbie Bugden (Suzuki GSX-R1000) 57. Supersport Overall Results – Round 3: 1 Kevin Curtain; 2 Mitchell Carr; 3 Rick Olson; 4 Nicholas Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600); 5 Christan Casella; 6 Aaron Gobert; 7 Dylan Mavin; 8 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600); 9 Andy Lawson; 10 Jackson Leigh-Smith. Supersport Championship Points (after 3 of 5 rounds): 1 Mitchell Carr 110pts; 2 Christan Casella 108; 3 Kevin Curtain 105; 4 Brodie Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 103; 5 Aaron Gobert 99; 6 Rick Olson 89; 7 Andy Lawson 70; 8 Nicholas Waters (Suzuki GSX-R600) 66; 9 Ryan Taylor 59; 10 Chris Quinn 55. More, from a press release issued by GR Motosport: New signing tastes immediate success Marshall Neill wins first time out on Aprilia RSV4 GR Motosport is pleased to announce their continuation as the UK’s official Aprilia Superstock Team and the signing of their new rider; 2010 Irish Superbike Champion Marshall Neill. Portadown based Marshall will race the Aprilia RSV4 Factory in the ‘Metzeler National Superstock Championship’ as part of the ‘MCE British Superbike Championship’ series, Marshall has a proven history in the class and had a fantastic 2010 season on the Irish scene, taking the Irish, Ulster and Mondello Superbike Championship titles. His defining moment of 2010 was victory in the 2 Sunflower Supersport 600 races beating newly crowned British Champion Sam Lowes and taking 2nd in the superbike race, beating many BSB regulars. The teams continued association with Aprilia UK and the RSV4 already look to be bearing fruit. Having only received the new bike just over two weeks ago the team visited Mondello Park last weekend for the first round of the ‘Mondello Adelaide Masters Superbike’ in preparation of the first BSB round at Easter. Mondello Park Friday was an open pit lane test and we spent most of the day settling Marshall into the characteristics of the RSV4. Once we had sorted the riding position Marshall continued to bang in the laps some 73 in all, small adjustments made the Aprilia feel his own. With a total of just over 140 on the bike we headed into our first race day. Saturday free practice went well, and then into our first qualifying taking 2nd on the grid just 0.034 off pole position. The meetings first race was in the afternoon all quite rushed, Marshall mentioned he had not done a practice start! Marshall made a fantastic start leading at the end of the first lap, he steadily pulled away to win by just over 2 seconds the First win for Aprilia RSV4 in Ireland and rewarding us with Pole position for the Leinster 200 Sunday we woke up to a very cold, wet day we had 3 races including the Leinster 200 feature race scheduled, the first at 11am. This was to be Marshall’s first wet race on RSV4, he again made a fantastic start leading away and continuing for the first 8 laps, unfortunately some oil dropped brought a premature to Marshall and one of the other leaders race. The bike was quite badly damaged but with good work from Danny and Big Willy we were ready for the 2nd race of the day. Marshall again made the start his own putting his head down with no ill effect of the crash to man or machine again he pulled clear to win by a fair margin The Leinster 200 feature race was to be our first pole position start for the Aprilia RSV4. Marshall again made a fantastic but this time did not have it all his own way and after 6 laps of the 12 lap race Suzuki mounted Mark Pollock squeezed past on the straight and pulled away with 3 laps to go Marshall found something and started to pull Mark back. Setting the fastest lap of the weekend on the last lap it was not quite good enough losing out by just 0.213 at the flag. Marshall Neill “I had a great weekend with GR Motosport and the Aprilia RSV4, the boys have worked hard and the wee bike did a great job. I managed to lap just 0.1 off my personal best round here and the Aprilia has still done less than 230 miles. I am looking forward to the British Championship and hopefully we will get a little more time on the wee bike before then.” Tony Robinson “The new Aprilia RSV4 and Marshall did a fantastic job at Mondello, we know it’s not the British Championships but it has started the year well to say the new bike arrived so late. We have a good feeling about the upcoming season and look forward to more success!” Phil Read Piaggio Group “Congratulations to the GR Motosport team and new rider Marshall Neill on a very positive first ride on the RSV4 Factory. Against Superbike spec machines this level of result on the Superstock Aprilia RSV4 gives us very high expectations for the season in National Superstock Series, We wish both team and rider good fortune in 2011″ More, from a press release issued by Z2 Racing: Z2 Racing Report – AFM Round 2 Following a successful opening round of the season, Z2 Racing arrived at Infineon Raceway full of confidence and did not disappoint. It was a weekend that saw Jason Lauritzen take his first ever AFM win, while Greg McCullough and Jennifer Lauritzen also put their Yamaha YZF-R6 machines on the box. Z2 Racing newcomer and former Red Bull Rookie rider Cameron Gish continued to make huge improvements on of his R6, having made the transition from two-strokes just last year. The positive results started on Saturday for the team, with Jennifer Lauritzen comfortably taking the 3rd spot on podium in Formula AFemme. Despite a start that saw her drop to 6th, Jennifer was able to recover to 3rd by the end of the first lap and stayed there until the finish. Z2 Rider and Team Manager David Ben-Jamin was also in action on Saturday, bringing home a solid 10th place in a full Formula 40 Middleweight field. Sunday brought more action and near-perfect weather for racing. 750 Superbike was up first, with 4 riders entering under the Z2 banner. Greg McCullough followed his 2nd place finish at Buttonwillow, with a 7th at Infineon while Cameron Gish showed great pace and racecraft, finishing a racelong battle ahead of former AMA Pro Thunder Champion Tom Montano. David Ben-Jamin found himself in a pack of riders, finishing 18th while Sam Richards finished close behind in 23rd. 600 Superbike was up next for the Z2 crew, as Greg McCullough would attempt to back up his win at Buttonwillow. A strong start could not hold off Pascarella and he eventually settled into 2nd position. A strong challenge from Montano dropped him back to 3rd, where he would remain at the finish. The podium finish was enough for McCullough to retain the class points lead, 10 ahead of Pascarella. Jason Lauritzen followed closely behind to finish 4th in his first race of the day. Cameron Gish again continued to impress, finishing in 9th place and further improving his laptimes. Jennifer Lauritzen also gridded up for the race but was caught in an unfortunate first turn incident, ending her race. The high point of the weekend would come in 750 Production. Jason Lauritzen took the holeshot and swapped positions with Lenny Hale until the 2nd lap which would see Hale crash out of the race in turn 3. A string of quick laps built up a comfortable lead for Jason, who brought it home for his first ever AFM win and the class points lead. Further back Sam Richards would finish 23rd, improving on his times earlier in the day. 600 Production was the final race of the day and the one that everyone had their eye one. Greg McCullough and Jason Lauritzen would find themselves even on pace and battling for 4th place all race long, though a late challenge from Montano would drop Lauritzen back to 6th at the finish. Cameron Gish capped an extremely positive weekend with a 10th place finish and more knowledge of how to ride his new Yamaha YZF-R6. #10 Jason Lauritzen – “It’s been a long time coming but I’m over the moon with my first win. It wasn’t the easiest weekend, we had some problems mechanically and with the setup but thanks to a number of people it came together and paid off. I’m thrilled to come out here and get the win for everyone that has helped and supported me this year”. #25 Greg McCullough – “After the win at Buttonwillow all I wanted was to get another. This weekend was the first on the latest Pirelli Supercorsa rear tire and although it has more grip than ever we were unable to nail the setup to extract it. There’s lots of work to do before the next round but I’m confident that we’ll improve”. #231 Cameron Gish – “The weekend started out slowly for me but once the races started I was able to put my head down and pick up a lot of time. I’m now feeling a lot more confident on the bike and looking forward to coming back and dropping more time”. #272 Sam Richards – “This weekend was about trying new stuff and getting the new Pirelli tire to work with my bike and overall it was a success. The new tire and setup allowed me to put in my fastest ever laptime here, so I’m happy about that”. #619 Jennifer Lauritzen – “I was a little bit anxious on Saturday as it marked the start to my first full season on a competitive 600 so I was overriding a little bit. I am happy to have landed on the podium but I hope to continue improving and work my way up to the frontrunners. Sunday seemed to take forever with both of my races after lunch and unfortunately did not go well to start when I collided with another rider in the first corner of the 600 Superbike race. Thank you to Suomy, as my head did hit the ground but left me with no lasting effects. Thanks to the hard work of the combined crew I was able to get my bike repaired in time for 600 Production where I put in my fastest ever lap at Infineon”. #706 David Ben-Jamin – “My weekend went very well overall. Even while I’m still adjusting to my brand new Yamaha R6, I still managed to set a personal best laptime. I’m very happy with my results, a top 10 in Formula 40 and a top 20 in 750 Superbike. I accomplished my goals for the weekend and look to continue improving next round as I get more time with Pirelli’s latest race tire and try to extract more from the performance of the bike. I would also like to congratulate Jason Lauritzen on his first win as well as Cameron who showed a huge improvement this weekend.” Z2 Racing wishes to thanks its sponsors: Z2 Track Days, Yamalube, CTRacing/Pirelli, Leo Vince, Factory Body Works, Motion Pro, CRG, Fast Bike Industries, Raceimage Graphics, TechSpec, Roseville Yamaha, Helimot, Suomy, Sidi, Mach1 Motorsports, GP Frame & Wheel, Pit Bull and Ink Monkey. More, from a press release issued by EDR Performance: EDR Performance wins big over weekend EDR Performance took 7 victories and 17 podiums in two different states this past weekend. In California’s AFM Round 2 at Infineon Raceways EDR Performance swept Formula 1 taking 1st thru 4th place. Lenny Hale also won 750 superbike on his EDR Performance built R6. While leading two other races, Hale had bad luck later in the day a bad battery and the curbing in T3 both causing him to dnf out of the leads. Blaine Bessler took the win in Clubman HW on his EDR tuned CBR1000RR. Other EDR Performance riders Matt Presting, Kevin Nekimken, Brian Stone and Berto Wooldridge took several podiums in 600 production, 750 production, Formula 1 and 750 superbike. Over in Utah at Miller Motorsports Park for Round 1 of the Masters of the Mountain series, Scott Decker riding his EDR Performance built GSXR600’s took an impressive 3 Victories. Decker rode to wins in MW Superbike and HW Superbike winning both by 13 seconds as well as a victory in MW Superstock. In Open Superstock Sam Verderico won riding his Team F.B.K. EDR Performance built GSXR1000. Decker and Verderico took a total of 4 wins and 7 podiums over the weekend. The team is back home this weekend for the opening round of OMRRA at Portland Int’l Raceways EDR Performance recently moved into its much larger 12,000 sq ft full service motorcycle sport and racing shop at 11000 SW 11th Street, Bldg 440 Beaverton, Oregon 97005. 503.672.RACE www.edrperformance.com and www.facebook.com/edrperformance More, from a press release issued by Shandra Crawford on behalf of Bryce Prince: Bryce Prince Takes Three Wins And Four Podiums Total At WSMC Bryce Prince won the 600 Superstock, 600 Superbike, and 750 Superstock classes and came away with a 3rd place finish in the Toyota Gold Cup Formula 1 class at Willow Springs International Raceway this past weekend during WSMC’s fourth round event. Starting from dead last on all of his grids this weekend, and having to out-distance riders Prince rode his Dunlop-shod Yamaha YZF-R6 to the front of the pack every single race. With grids 15-20 bikes deep, he swept the 600 classes. Even running up a class in 750 Superstock he handily won, against larger machines, he out rode the bigger bikes to victory. Going against the liter bikes in the premier Toyota Formula 1 class, Prince still came away with a 3rd on his 600 cc machine. ” Today was a lot of hard work,” said Prince. ” Something happened entering the races this time I guess I missed a pre-entry cut off. I ended up having to start from the very back of the grid in all of my races. It was a different strategy to get past all the traffic. In the Formula 1 race, David Anthony got a good jump at the start, and coming from the back row, I knew he had gotten away, but I knew if I could get by Reno Karminian, I would have a shot at Chris Duran. I went under Reno in turn 2, and was closing on Chris Duran on his R1. I thought I was going to get him, but my tires started going away due to my plan of attacking the traffic, and he just slipped away from me at the end of the race. I had a great time racing this weekend, it was some much fun. The bike felt great, the tires were awesome, and I’m looking forward to next weekend. I want to thank my sponsors for all their help and support this weekend: Motoyard Track Days, Knology Tuning, Dunlop tires, Motorex, Heroic leathers & gloves, Factory Bodyworks, Zero Gravity. I also want to thank my friends and family too, I really appreciate all of your help and support.” Bryce Prince’s next event will be WERA West at Buttonwillow Raceway, April 23-24, 2011, which is also Round 1 of the California State Championship, where he will be defending his 600 Superbike championship title. For more information go to: ~http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bryce-Prince-The-Prince/188511334520359~ More, from a press release issued by Shandra Crawford on behalf of CT Racing/Pirelli: CT RACING’s Riders Conquer Podiums Taking Home Wins From WSMC, AFM, And CVMA CT RACINGPirelli tires has an awesome weekend, winning at three events at WSMC, AFM and CVMA. Conditions varied from desert heat, to cool, cloudy, and windy, to perfect 80 degrees temperatures with a slight breeze at the three different venues. At WSMC’s fourth round event, David Anthony took the number one spot in both Open Superbike, Open Production and went on to take the win in WSMC’s feature race the Toyota Unlimited Formula 1 race, for the second month in a row at Willow Springs International Raceway. David ran the new Pirelli 200/60 Superbike SC1 slick on his Suzuki GSXR 1000. “The new tires are great, Pirelli has really worked hard with their development and is shows with all the great tires that they are introducing to the US market, said David. Thanks to my team, ADR Fly racing, CT Racing/Pirelli tires, Race Tech, and my crew for all the help this weekend.” At AFM’s second round event, held at Infineon Raceway, Joey Pascarella won both 600 races by a huge margin on his Yamaha YZF-R6. ” Being out and racing this weekend was great. The competition level was very high, and it was really fun just racing with everybody. My tires and my bike felt great, and I’m very grateful to Cory and Chris from CT Racing and Jeff Liggett from Mach 1 for all their help getting ready for this weekend. I want to thank all my sponsors for their help, because without them, I wouldn’t be doing this: Mach 1 Motorsports, CT Racing/Pirelli, Shoei helmets, Shift leathers, TXC Boots, Full Spectrum battery, GPR, Factory Bodyworks, CRG, Leo Vince, Galfer, Spider grips, Zero Gravity, Shane at Off the Mark Creations, and my friends and family.” Also taking number one spots at AFM’s second round event this past weekend were Jason Lauritzen, walking away from the field in 750 Production to take first, and Christie Cooley edging her competition in Formula Afemme for the win. Both riders were on Yamaha YZF-R6s, and both Lauritzen and Cooley are returning club and class champions this season. At the CVMA second round event at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, Young gun Ryan Matter went straight to business, winning Formula Middleweight on Saturday, and winning the Formula Middleweight, and Middleweight Shootout races on Sunday. Matter had this to say, “Saturday I was able to qualify second right behind Tyler Odom. In the first race, Supersport Middleweight, it was a close battle between Tyler Odom, Karl Lowry, and I for the first two laps until a red flag was thrown out. After the restart, Tyler and I checked out from the rest of the field. I was pushing hard and trying to stay right on his rear wheel, but Tyler was able to keep me at bay, and win the race by about 0.2 seconds. It was a great race! The second race of the day, for me, was Formula Middleweight. I led the race from flag to flag. I was stoked about that! It was my second race win, riding a 600. Sunday went very smooth. We had our tires situated, with help from Gianni Almeida from Run GP, and Pirelli. My first race was Supersport Middleweight, once again, and boy was it a great race between Karl Lowry and I! I got into turn one with the lead and held on to it until the end, but it wasn’t easy. Karl was all over my rear, showing me a wheel every now and then. A few times I was sure that he was going to put it up the inside for sure! That was a great race as well. The Formula Middleweight race was my third race win of the weekend. The final race was the Middleweight Shootout. I was able to win that race as well it is one of my favorite classes to race, since it is ten laps instead of just the normal six laps. I would like to give a huge thanks to Gianni Almeida from Run Grand Prix, who helped me out with some super sticky Pirellis. I would also like to thank Corey Neuer, and Chris Maguire from Pirelli and CT Racing, ACT Racing, Shoei, Track Daz, LC Tech, F&L Fuel, Dave Fastrack, Roadracing World for the exposure, Impact Safe-T Armor Dale Kiefier with Racer’s Edge for the helpful tips, CVMA (Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycle Association), WERA Motorcyle Roadracing, and last but not least, everyone who has believed in me, and helped me get to where I am today. I am truly blessed to have people like them in my life.” Corey Neuer of CT Racing/Pirelli had this to say, ” I am very happy with David Anthony giving us the F1 win plus two more at Willow Springs! I can’t thank him enough. I am also very happy with Joey Pascarella giving us two more 600 wins at AFM it’s a very competitive field at Infineon to ride against. I would like to congratulate Jason on his first win in that class. He rode super strong and I was very impressed. Christie is also riding really well, and her results just keep getting better and better. I would like to thank Gianni Almeida of Run GP for handling our efforts at Chuckwalla. Gianni did a great job picking the correct tires for Ryan. Ryan is maturing at an incredible rate and his results are proving he is one of the new kids that will have a great future!” David Anthony’s next race will be at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, May 13-15, 2011, for the AMA Pro Road Racing round two. Joey Pascarella’s, Jason Lauritzen’s, Christie Cooley’s and Ryan Matter’s next race will be WERA West at Buttonwillow Raceway, April 23-24, 2011, which is also Round 1 of the California State Championship. For more information about Pirelli tires, west coast distributor: CT RACING, INC. 805-444-1394 www.ctracetires.com More, from a press release issued by Alex Cudlin’s publicist: Tough Opener At World Endurance For Cudlin After a tough weekend at the Bol’dor 24 Hour World Endurance Championships in France, Taree’s, Alex Cudlin is licking his wounds and hoping that the first round of the series isn’t indicative of the rest of the championship in 2011. Technical issues hindered him all weekend, and the team seemed to be plagued with rotten luck right from the first qualifying session. The current number one Superstock team arrived in France, ready to continue their winning form from last season and hoped to create an early lead in the 2011 series. Alex was teamed up with two new riders for 2011, Qataris Nasser Al Maiki and Rashid Al Mannai, who would be sharing the riding duties in Team QERT (Qatar Endurance Racing Team) for the grueling 24 hour race, arguably one of the most difficult of the season. Alex arrived at the track, hoping the team would have a smooth run in the lead up to the race, however things didn’t go quite as planned for the young Australian. Rule changes regarding the qualifying process in 2011 meant that the average of the 3 rider’s fastest times during qualifying would be calculated, determining the team’s grid position for the start of the race. Unfortunately, some technical issues with the bike during qualifying meant that the team was going to have to be content to start from 13th position in the Superstock Class. Alex was able to get in some fast laps during qualifying, but not enough to start the team any closer to the front of the pack. Being the fastest rider in his team, Alex was elected to start the 24 hour race. He had more experience with the Le Mans type starts that are part and parcel of endurance racing and he had a good chance of moving quickly through the field in order to gain some much needed ground right from the start of the race. At 3pm Saturday afternoon the French flag was raised and the 75th Bol Dor 24 Hour was underway. Alex wasted no time and on the first lap climbed from 13th to 2nd position in the Superstock group. Alex was then locked into a 5 way battle for the lead with the other Superstock teams. At the end of the hour Alex handed the bike to his Qatari team mate and waited for his next rotor. Things were looking good for team QERT and by the 3rd hour they had settled into a comfortable 5th place. Alex climbed aboard for his 2nd stint on the bike and as he was rejoining the race, immediately felt a problem with the left hand grip. Alex continued riding, even though the grip was coming loose, as he knew the team couldn’t waste valuable time on extra pitstops. By the time he pitted an hour later, the whole grip had almost come off completely and the mechanics had to repair the problem, costing the team precious time. Returning to the race, Alex and team QERT then began their climb back up through the field, regaining some ground to be in 3rd position, battling for a podium position with the BMW 13 team and Kawasaki 63 team. It was close racing throughout the long hours of the night, and by the 21st hour mark, QERT was in 3rd position, leading a rival team by just one lap, when disaster struck. At the halfway point on the track, with Nassar Al Maiki in the saddle, the bike came to a complete stop. Unable to start the bike, the Qatari rider was forced to push the bike a lengthy 1.8 kilometres back to the QERT pit box. The team was now 20 laps down on the leaders, and had regressed back to 10th position in the field. The QERT pit crew then worked tirelessly to find the small electrical fault in the fueling system that had caused the problem, and Alex was back out on the track for another riding stint. With just 2 hours remaining in the race, Cudlin knew that time was fast running out, and he had to try and improve the team’s position in the little time that they had left. In about the 4th lap of his rotor, Alex was shocked when his fuel tank became dislodged from the bike, causing him to crash heavily onto the track. Alex quickly remounted the bike but with no fuel tank he had no other option but to push the bike all the way back to the pits. The QERT team again jumped into overdrive and repaired the bike with little still remaining till the finish. The team rallied under the pressure and continued with the race, with Alex bringing the bike home and taking the chequered flag in 11th position. “I’m so glad that race has finished” said an exhausted Cudlin. “Any 24 hour race is tough, but when you have mechanical failures on the bike that cost you much needed time and energy, it makes it doubly hard for the riders and mechanics alike. It’s so disappointing to have gotten so far, to almost lose the whole race just 2 hours from the finish. Luckily were able to rally at the end, and regain some of the ground we had lost. At least we finished, which is definitely a plus. Lots of teams didn’t .” Cudlin came into this racing season on a high, after a successful year in 2010, and also recently winning the Qatari Championship just a few weeks ago. “Racing can be fun, but it can also be very cruel as well” said Cudlin philosophically. Cudlin survived his crash, but is hoping that it will be the last for the season. “The team will now regroup and work on the problems we encountered on the weekend and how best to overcome them so that they don’t reoccur during the rest of the race season”. Alex will now fly back to Australia for a 2 week break before he returns to Qatar for the final round of the 2011 Qatar International Road Racing Championship, which Alex secured just 2 weeks ago. More, from a press release issued by Damian Cudlin’s publicist: CUDLIN CLAIMS MAIDEN BOLD’OR 24HOUR PODIUM Damian Cudlin got his 2011 Endurance World Championship campaign off to a fine start at Magny Cours on the weekend, securing a podium finish at the 75th running of the world renowned Bold’or 24hour Endurance race in France. Riding for the BMW Motorrad France Team alongside Frenchmen Sebastian Gimbert and Erwan Nigon, the Aussie from Taree became one of very few Australians to ever reach the podium steps in the great race when the #99 BMW crossed the line with 803 laps, trailing only Kawasaki France in second, and race winner’s and current world champions, Suzuki Endurance Racing Team. After posing a serious threat to their rivals in both practice and qualifying, the BMW Motorrad France Team looked recharged with their new technical crew, and under the watchful eyes of Crew Chief Steven Casaer and Team Manager Michael Bartholemy, the team were one of the major contenders throughout the weekend. After setting a scorching pace, and new race record, in the early part of the race, Gimbert handed to Cudlin in 3rd place at the first round of stops. Cudlin continued to maintain the frantic pace at the front, and was soon preceded by Nigon as the rider’s each made the most of their individual relays. Race favorites SERT began taking charge at the front towards the late afternoon and had gained a reasonable advantage by nightfall. The battle soon waged between Kawasaki and BMW for 2nd place, however Cudlin and the BMW Team ran into their first signs of trouble with brake problems in the early hours of the morning. A leaking fuel tank cost the team more precious time on Sunday morning, and as they lost touch of SERT and Kawasaki up ahead, a battle soon began with the #8 Bolliger Kawasaki for the final step on the podium. Suffering from an arm injury which limited Cudlin’s ability to ride around the braking issues, the BMW Motorrad France Team ran the pairing of Nigon and Gimbert alone for the final 3 hours of the race, which due to a heroic effort from the Frenchman, secured the Team’s first podium finish in the Endurance World Championship. Having made his Bold’or debut as a reserve rider back in 2002, Cudlin had been working for a long time to reach the podium in arguably the toughest road race on the planet, however the Australian believes his BMW Motorrad Team deserves all of the credit. “Anyone who has finished this race before knows just how hard the Bold’or can be, so to be standing on the podium at the end of it all is a really nice feeling. It’s one of both elation and relief” Cudlin explained. “But I’ve been trying to stand on the podium here for a long time and have never had the team behind me that could get us over the line- that is until now. I owe this result to the work of my team and my fantastic team mates. Endurance racing really is a team sport and it takes a big team effort to achieve this, that’s why I’m really glad to be a part of this one.” With Cudlin’s world championship aspirations now well and truly alive, the Aussie hopes a string of consistency will set the team up to snatch the title from reigning champions SERT and the French trio of Vincent Phillipe, Freddy Foray and Anthony Delhalle. With no time to rest, Cudlin will now switch focus back to his “sprint racing” roots when he makes his IDM Superbike debut for the Alpha Technik/ Van Zon/ Kraftwerk/ BMW Team, at the opening round of the IDM series in Lausitzring this weekend. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Busch First Winner In The New Ninja 250R Based Race Series The exciting European Junior Cup initiative, aimed at younger riders wishing to break into international roadracing, got underway last weekend at Assen alongside the World Superbike classes. In the new series riders aged between 14 and 17-years of age compete on identical race-prepped Kawasaki Ninja 250R machines over a scheduled six rounds. The first of these rounds promised much after the riders had completed their pre-season preparations, including a winter training camp, and the racing proved enthralling and educational for all involved. German rider Tom Busch, only 15-years-old, took an eventually impressive victory in the first round but it took some time for him to get to the front after pole position rider Matt Davies led early on. The Aussie headed a heated battle between Busch, Spanish rider Ruben Fenoll, and Kiwi competitor Daniel Mettam. Only retirement for South African rider Themba Khumalo prevented him having a say in the final results also. Other heated battles behind the leading group allowed the top few to break away from the pack at half race distance and the top three disputed every meter of track at times. Two crashes, first from Fenoll and then from the leader Davies held up Mettam and allowed Busch to make the most of his opportunity to lead and he duly won the inaugural race. Second was Mettam and third Brandon Kyee, from the USA. The next round takes place at Monza, between 6 and 8 May. Race Results: Rounds One: Assen: 1 Tom Busch, Germany 2 Daniel Mettam, New Zealand 3 Brandon Kyee, USA 4 Ross Patterson, Northern Ireland 5 Jean Francois Demoulin, France 6 Loris Hunt, GB 7 Qays Hashmi, Pakistan 8 Matt Davies, Australia Not classified: Ruben Fenoll, Spain Miguel Aranda, Spain Amelie Demoulin, France Themba Khumalo, South Africa