Slednecks Rider Josh Galster Enjoys Another Top 20 Finish in AMA 600 Supersport New Sponsors Jump Aboard Sonoma, California- Slednecks rider and California Superbike School coach Josh Galster finished 19th in this weekend’s AMA 600 Supersport Race at Infineon Raceway. Despite the extreme weather, regularly over 100 degrees and windy, and the fact that it was his first time ever racing the extremely technical circuit, Galster qualified in 24th position. During the race he was able to move up 5 spots to finish top 20 for the second weekend in a row with a 19th place and a best time of 1:43.1. “The race was great and I had a lot of fun. I had an awesome battle going with one of the other riders who I could hear was right on my tail.” Said Galster after the race. “At one point he passed me but I got him right back. I was having none of that!” Galster, a privateer running the AMA series for the first time with support from clothing company, Slednecks, is also pleased to announce a new partnership with Leo Vince Exhausts, Arai Helmets and GPR Stabilizers. “I cannot thank these companies enough for their offers of support over the weekend. I’m very excited and look forward to working with them throughout the remainder of the season.” Slednecks Racing teammate, Misti Hurst (also supported by the above companies) struggled throughout the weekend with suspension set up issues and extreme allergies that threatened to sideline her. “It was a tough weekend,” Said Hurst. “With no testing time with the new shock, we just couldn’t seem to get it set up correctly in the time we had. Thursday and Friday practice times were way off pace and my allergies were so bad I couldn’t do two laps without my eyes streaming and my head pounding.” Hurst persevered though, and crew chief for the weekend Eric Dorn of EDR Performance, with help from Dave Moss, Barry Wressel and Dunlop tires, was able to get the bike running better by Saturday morning practice. Hurst ran times in the morning that would have qualified her for the 600 Supersport race but come qualifying, she ran into more difficulties. “We simply chose the wrong compound tire,” explained Hurst. “By lap 3 it was done and I was struggling to maintain control. With limited funding and equipment we just didn’t have another Dunlop ready. I couldn’t get my times down and just missed the qualifying cut. It was extremely frustrating.” It was the first time in 11 AMA races that Hurst has not met the qualifying time. Galster and Hurst would like to thank Eric Dorn for his trackside support throughout the weekend, Slednecks, Michael Jabarra, Kawasaki, California Superbike School, Leo Vince, Arai Helmets, GPR Stabilizers and the rest of their incredible sponsors. See Misti and Josh at the next AMA Supersport event, round 5 at Miller Motorsports Park, May 29th June 1st. For more information please visit www.mistihurst.com or www.slednecks.com More, from a press release issued by FMF Racing: FMF Racing’s Jake Holden, riding for the Corona Honda Extra team, rode to his second consecutive Superstock victory at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Ca this weekend. In Saturday’s qualifying, Holden set the fastest lap time and earned the Superstock pole. At the start of the race however, it was Aaron Yates who jumped out to the early lead, with Holden in second. On lap six, Holden dove past Yates and took the lead. Holden then held the lead until a red flag was thrown on lap fifteen after a crash involving Jason Pridmore and Lee Acree. The race was cut short, with Holden taking his second victory on the season and his third of his career. Holden now trails Yates by twelve points in the championship chase. Holden and the entire Corona Extra Honda team use FMF Racing’s new Apex Road Exhaust system, for more info on the new Apex line please visit www.fmfracing.com Results 1. Jake Holden (Honda) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Geoff May (Suzuki) 4. Chris Peris (Suzuki) 5. Blake Young (Suzuki) 6. Robertino Pietri (Suzuki) 7. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki) 8. Ryan Elleby (Suzuki) 9. Scott Jensen (Suzuki) 10. David Anthony (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by Team S-Works Triumph: Team S-Works and eighteen year old rider Shane Narbonne came out of Infineon on a high note with our third consecutive event with consistent finishes. Shane finished 14th in the Formula Extreme race on Saturday working to catch twelfth and thirteenth, but coming up a little short at the end. Shane also finished twelfth in the Superstock class on a Suzuki GSXR1000. Given the highly technical nature of Infineon and being our first visit, the team was pleased with the results in both classes. Miller will represent the fourth consecutive round of racing at new tracks for Shane and the team, so we look forward to getting back on some familiar pavement soon after. The team feels a top ten finish is not far off going into the events at tracks where Shane has some seat time. Triumph enthusiasts have shown up in high numbers at all events so far, welcoming the team and showing their appreciation for running the Triumph brand, and momentum is gaining. It was nice to see two other teams running the bikes as well at Infineon, and we hope to see more in the future. The Triumph 675 is showing it’s credibility as a competitive race bike with solid finishes. Many thanks go out to all in support of our program in respect to both sponsors and enthusiasts alike. More, from a press reelase issued by HALOF Racing: HALOF Racing has an up and down weekend in the sun at Infineon Raceway: HALOF Racing’s main rider Hawk Mazzotta riding his Bravo Condoms, Spectrum Motorsports, Suzuki GSX-R1000 was on pace all weekend and looking for a great result from what he admits as one of the hardest tracks on the circuit for him. With the switch to Dunlop tires this weekend the young rider had to basically start over with set-ups and adapt to the new tires. Once Sunday morning warm-ups had rolled around and finished Mazzotta found a race set-up he was comfortable with and was inside the top 10 for the session. “My crew chief Jeremy Daniel and the crew worked hard all weekend to get the bike comfortable for me so I could have a great showing”, said the enthused rider. “I was really trying hard for the team this weekend since we lost so many points at the last round. I got a great start and stayed up there in the top 10 and just fell out at the end, I had my eye on a few spots to try some moves at the end there but just didn’t get the chance. I’m still coming to grips with the 1000 and am learning more and more every time I get to ride it. I would like to thank the folks at Pirelli for their help at the beginning of the season it was just becoming too difficult to get used to a new machine and new tires and had to get back on tires I was used to running. I can’t wait to get to Miller Motorsports Park which is a track I like and I don’t think learning the new part will be much of a problem. I want to just thank Bravo Condoms, Spectrum Motorsports, the whole HALOF Racing crew and my family for helping and coming out to watch me this weekend.” For the second consecutive round Bike911.com and Star Motorcycle School joined forces with HALOF Racing providing support for past 2 time AMA Champion Jason Pridmore to take a break from retirement and run a few AMA rounds this year. Jason had a great 5th place finish at California Speedway and was looking to better that at Infineon Raceway. Spending many of the sessions in the top 5 and holding at the top of the qualifying charts till the very end, the hope of a top 5 seemed promising. However, after qualifying on the second row and battling for the 4th spot with 3 other riders Pridmore’s day took a turn for the worse. His machine experienced a mechanical problem with 3 laps to go causing his motorcycle to suddenly lose speed and he was rear ended by KWS rider Lee Acree. “It’s just my luck when something is going that good”, says the 2002 AMA Formula Extreme Champion. “I know we had a top 5 for sure there at the end and I knew the spot I was going to make a move on Chris Peris (the Evan Steel Performance rider) for 4th place, we just didn’t make it there. I feel real bad for Lee you never want to see another rider hurt because your bike breaks. When the bike lost power we were all in just such a tight group that Lee had nowhere to go and I didn’t have time to give him a warning. I feel bad for my crew they all worked so hard to give me a top 5 machine and it didn’t happen. I would like to thank HALOF Racing owner Rodney Rayborne for stepping in as crew chief this weekend and getting the bike set up for me. Every time we rode it and made changes it got better, and if we had had another session or two we would have been right with the top 3. We are talking now about being able to run a few more rounds this year and hope to bring home some better finishes. I apologize to the KWS team and hope Lee a very speedy recovery and can’t wait to be racing with him again soon” Rayborne was very excited all weekend with the performance of the Bravo Condoms, Spectrum Motorsports crew and the Bike911.com, Star Motorcycle School crew. “I think everyone on the team got along good and everyone worked very hard to give both riders the best chance they had at a great finish. I think the team did a great job of representing all of our sponsors to the fullest and that is what we are paid to do. This is how I always thought a team should be, one team two riders and different major sponsors, it’s just too expensive for one company to try and fund a two rider team now days. I would like to thank Bike911.com and Star Motorcycle School for jumping in and helping Jason race for the last two rounds, I hope we can do it again in the near future. It was great to see Jason and Hawk working together and helping each other to reach the highest finishing positions possible.” HALOF Racing will be in action at Miller Motorsports Park May 29-June 1. More, from a press release issued by Skunk Racing: SKUNK RACING WSMC WEEKEND: HALE WINS @ WILLOW SPRINGS Skunk Racing sponsored rider Lenny Hale took home took two victories in his first appearance at Willow Springs in Rosamond, CA this season. Hale entered five races at the sunny southern California track but was only able to complete three due to an overheating problem in the 750 Mod Prod and Formula 1 races. Hale began the day with the 650 Superbike race gridded on the last row. Overcoming a fair start Hale jumped quickly through the pack forcing his way to third place with Brant Wiwi in second. “Once I saw Lowry check out I was determined to get Wiwi for second but our tire choice wasn’t quite right and i was spinning up in a couple spots late [in the race] killing my drive”. Hale brought home a strong third attempting to draft Wiwi to the line but was unsuccessful. In 600 Super Stock it was a Hale-Wiwi repeat with Brant leading the entire race. Lenny was able to save his tire for when it mattered and on the last lap made a charge at Brant. “I passed [Wiwi] into three and we hit pretty good. I wish the whole race was like that! I was sandbagging a bit to see where i should overtake Brant so when I saw my chance I went for it. I figured he would be back in eight and nine for a counter attack so I pushed hard and tried to ram it home.” Hale said. In the final 600 Race Lenny made a courageous last lap pass into turn one and held it for his second victory and third podium of the day. When asked about the weekend as a whole Hale said “It was good. I could’ve been there for the other races but I didn’t want to damage my engine. Kind of a bummer but I can’t complain. Five races is a lot for a day, and that last one I could feel myself getting all noodled-out towards the end.” More, from a press release issued by West GP Cycles: CT Racing Puts Pirelli On Top At Willow Springs CT Racing-backed riders on Pirelli tires took a quartet of wins under challenging conditions at Willow Springs, The Fastest Road In The West, demonstrating that the latest generation of Pirelli rubber can run with the best under the most demanding conditions. CT Racing-sponsored Brant Wiwi took his Pirelli-shod West Coast GP Cycles-tuned Yamaha YZF-R1 to a pair of convincing wins in the Open classes at the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club event. Wiwi took the win on Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SC2 DOT tires front and rear in the Open Superstock race, and backed that up with a win in Open Superbike on Pirelli Diablo Superbike SC3 slicks. The latter win demonstrated the tires’ capabilities of running eight laps at a pack-leading pace on the high-aggregate surface of Willow’s 2.5-mile main track. Under the best of conditions, Willow’s long, fast sweepers test tire capabilities to the limit. Wiwi’s Open Superbike win was under even more grueling conditions, with air temperatures reaching 105 degrees. In the highly competitive 600cc classes, Pirelli-mounted Lenny Hale took the wins in 600 Modified Production and in 600 Superstock on his YZF-R6. Wiwi took second in Superstock and in 650 Superbike, while Hale took third in 650 Superbike. CT Racing’s owner Corey Neuer, the distributor of Pirelli road race tires, is a former test rider for Sport Rider magazine and his experience has helped Wiwi, Hale and Pirelli merge together into a potent force on the track. “It’s just awesome working with CT Racing,” says Wiwi. “They work with me like I’m their first born. Not to mention that they’re all riders, so my feedback isn’t lost in translation.” More, from a press release issued by West Coast GP Cycles: West Coast GP Cycles at WSMC: Wiwi Back On Top, Palmer Does The Triple, and The Old Man Breaks His Own Lap Record. West Coast GP Cycles-backed riders pulled down a pair of wins in the big-bore classes and dominated the lightweight twins classes at Willow Springs this weekend. Brant Wiwi took his West Coast GP Cycles-developed Yamaha YZF-R1 to the top of the podium in Open Superstock and in Open Superbike, and backed up those performances with a pair of second-place finishes in 650 Superbike and 600 Superstock on the team’s YZF-R6. West Coast GP Cycles co-owner Andy Palmer won all three 650cc twins classes on his Track Daz-backed Suzuki SV650, notching victories in the 20-lap Solo GT-Lights race on Saturday afternoon and in the shop-sponsored Formula Twins Lightweight race and in 550 Superbike on Sunday. The shop’s other sponsored rider, Andrew Price, took second in the 20-lap GT race and third in the Sunday sprints. Two of the shop’s other co-owners, brothers Pete and Alex Esquivel, turned in stout performances, finishing third and fifth, respectively, in the GT race. Pete Esquivel also took a pair of fifths in the Sunday sprints, each time just behind another shop-backed SV, this one ridden by Nate Loyal, who also finished fourth in Saturday’s GT race. In Lightweight Twins, Michael Gougis, riding a West Coast GP Cycles-tuned, Twin Works Factory-built Suzuki SV500 on Dunlops, set another new class record, besting the mark he set in February by turning a 1:32.776 lap time. West Coast GP Cycles is located at 11900 W. Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles, 90064, and offers performance tuning and accessories for street and race motorcycles. For more information, contact the shop at 310.477.0997. More, from a press release issued by RMP: Hamilton ON – May 21, 2008 – RMP Racing development rider Steven Nickerson added to his collection of trophies at this past weekend’s Regional RACE, CBR Cup and Can-Am races. Round 3 of the RACE Super Series proved to be a valuable experience for 13 year old Nickerson as he was able to test his skills against top Canadian Amateur 125GP and 250 GP riders, as well as riders from the U.S. Nickerson’s outstanding weekend began on Friday running a lap time of 2:11.94. Using a newly installed Battle shifter, Nickerson found that the bike performed better and was able to drop his lap times. Saturday’s heat races found Nickerson starting from the last row. Once again dropping his lap times he worked his way to the front finishing 2nd in the AM125GP class. Lap times on Sunday dropped once again earning Nickerson a front row start in the Can-Am 125GP final. Getting the holeshot, he led the race for 2 laps but was eventually passed by 3 racers. Making a last lap pass down the back straight Nickerson took 3rd place on the podium. The Can-Am 125GP race was followed by the Can-Am 250GP race where he competed against 18 racers and finished in the rain with an 8th place finish. Nickerson capped the weekend off with a 2nd place finish in the new CBR Cup regional series. Overall Nickerson finished with: 1st in the RACE Amateur 125GP 3rd in the Can-Am 125GP 3rd in the RACE Amateur 250GP 8th in the Can-Am 250GP 2nd in the regional RACE CBR Cup (125) Up next for RMP Racing will be Pro Superbike rider Ross Millson at Round One of the 2008 Parts Canada Superbike Championship, Calabogie Motorsports Park, May 21 – 25, 2008. More, from a press release issued by Sasha Taranto: The first of the four part Women of the West (WoW) race challenge between Sandia Motorcycle Roadracing Inc (SMRI) and the Colorado based Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA), took place May 18 at the Sandia Motor Speedway in Albuquerque, NM. The inaugural race of the WoW series, five MRA Ladies of the Rockies traveled from Colorado to compete against the women of the Formula Femme grid. As the green flag dropped, the ponytails flew. Edda Tully of the SMRI, who started on pole pulled away with a commanding lead followed by Katelyn Stewart, Sasha Taranto and Moriah Waterland out of turn one. As the lead pack started to gap the field Edda and Katelyn begin to stretch the lead over the rest of the grid. About the half way point Moriah began closing in on the lead two racers and it soon became a heated three-way battle for first! Going into the last lap an on-track incident in turn 3 caused a waving yellow flag situation, during which time the front-runners quickly closed in on lapped traffic slowing down the lead pack. During the waiving yellow flag incident SMRI officials had docked Edda Tully the lead racer a full lap as a penalty for making a pass. In turn at the checkered flag, the Ladies of the Rockies dominated the final race results with all three of the podium finishers from the MRA. 1st-Katelyn Stewart MRA # 188 2nd-Moriah Waterland MRA # 496 3rd-Sasha Taranto MRA # 186 The next Women of the West Challenge takes place in Colorado, June 29, 2008 at Pueblo Motorsports Park, where the women of Formula Femme will travel from NM to show the Ladies of the Rockies what they are made of and attempt to dominate the podium. For more information on the SMRI and MRA and to view the final race results in Round 1 of the Women of the West series please visit, www.smri-racing.org or www.mra-racing.org More, from a press release issued by American Honda: Honda continues to win at Infineon Raceway At the fourth round of the 2008 AMA Superbike Championship at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA this past weekend, Honda riders won two championship rounds and filled four spots on the podium. Superbike Honda Racing Superbike pilots Neil Hodgson and Miguel DuHamel continued to make inroads in their 2008 championship campaigns. Heading into round six and seven of the Superbike series, Hodgson held fifth-place in the points standings. His sixth-place finish in race one and fifth place in race two boosted the Hodgson to third in the championship chase. Duhamel also continued to chip away at his point standings, moving up in the points tally from ninth to eighth place. In the first Superbike race, Duhamel got away to a great start, jumping from eighth off the grid to fourth place in the opening turns. Unfortunately, he overshot a turn, letting all but one of his competitors pass before rejoining the fray and fighting his way back to 10th place in the race. Hodgson battled throughout the first race, finishing a strong sixth. In race two, Duhamel improved his race one result and finished in seventh place while Hodgson went one better and crossed the line in fifth. Superstock Corona Honda’s Jake Holden was awarded his second consecutive Superstock class victory onboard his CBR1000RR, taking the race lead on lap six and crossing the line the round winner. Battling hot track conditions and lapped riders, Holden held off his rivals to take the checked flag 0.237 of a second ahead of second place. “My crew worked hard. We came out right off the bat and we were cutting some good times here in practice and I knew it was going to be a good race. I was trying as hard as I could not to make any mistakes, though I made a couple but then started charging.” Formula Extreme Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke continued his winning ways by edging out teammate Josh Hayes for the Formula Xtreme win on his CBR600RR. Hayes finished a scant 0.067 of a second behind Zemke in second place. Zemke quickly asserted his CBR600RR’s authority over the race, leading from the start. Getting off the line in third place, Hayes launched his assault on Zemke’s charge, and took the lead on lap 10. Three laps later, Zemke returned the favor, holding Hayes off to the finish. The pair pulled more than nine seconds ahead of third place. “Beating Jake, I’m still figuring out what that’s going to take,” said Hayes. “He’s racing really well. I’m just going to have to find some new tricks. I think its testament that we’re both on Honda’s and we’re both on Dunlop’s. We’ve got great guys behind us working on our crew, we’ve got some other good teams that are still pushing us pretty hard, and we have each other to race, and that really helps us to set our own pace.” Supersport Qualifying on the first and third row of the Supersport grid respectively, Zemke and Hayes came out ready to continue Honda’s charge in Sunday’s Supersport final. Zemke rocketed away to a solid start and on lap five took second place where he rode out the race. Hayes fought his way from tenth up to fifth place by lap nine; consistently picking riders off one by one. Hayes continued his charge but simply ran out of time to move farther up the finishing order. “It was a good race,” said Jake. “I got off the line really good but forgot to shift out of second gear. I just dug myself a deep hole in the beginning of the race and it took a while to get around those guys.” The AMA series next heads to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on May 29 through June 1 for the 2008 Honda Summit of Speed, featuring an AMA Superbike double-header as well as the U.S. round of the HANNSPREE FIM World Superbike Championship.