DUCATI RULES THE DIRT AT PIKES PEAK Privateer effort wins on stock Hypermotard Cupertino CA (23 July 2008) Ducati North America is proud to officially announce its victory at the 86th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb; on a customer spec Hypermotard. Greg Trachy won the 1200cc motorcycle class and took fourth overall on the Ducati Hypermotard 1100 S; a motorcycle in stock trim with Ducati Performance accessories. The win was significant as this year marked the return of stiff manufacturer competition. Against the 119 motorcycles attempting to tackle the Peak, Greg rode the stock Hypermotard to victory over Andrea Padovani and Christian Lancellotti of the factory Aprilia team from Italy. Greg also overcame stiff competition from noteworthy riders like KTM mounted Marco Belli, the BMW of Douglas Morrison and Greg’s own teammate Alexander Smith – the son of the legendary Malcolm Smith – who had a brilliant ride to fourth in his first ever race aboard a street based motorcycle. The idea to race the Hypermotard started innocently enough almost a year ago at Pike’s Peak. While attending the July event, Becca Livingston visited the local Ducati dealer where she first saw the Hypermotard in person; by October the bike she was dreaming about was hers. Becca, with her husband Paul at the controls, were adding to their thousands of miles riding two-up when they came to the realization that this motorcycle could be a contender on the mountain. Over the next few months and repeated verification from some very qualified friends, the decision was made to officially enter the Ducati in the Pike’s Peak event. For the full story of Ducati’s victory at Pikes Peak; please visit www.ducatiusa.com. Greg Trachy; 1st Place (12:06.60) “The course conditions today were the worst I’ve seen in 12 years, and that affected our times, but with the Hypermotard I never felt that I was in danger of losing the bike. When I got to campgrounds I looked back and saw nobody back there, going into the dirt it swapped back and forth a couple of times so I figured it would be better to secure the class win than to risk it going for the record run. I want to thank Paul Livingston and Ducati for putting this together at the last minute and gaving me such a great bike to ride!” Alexander Malcolm Smith; 4th Place (13:04.29) “The Hypermotard was the first street bike I had ever ridden. I was amazed how quickly I could adapt to the characteristics of the bike. It says a lot about the motorcycle when you can buy the bike and parts from your local dealer and have a bike that is ready to conquer Pikes Peak Hill Climb. The proof is in the results, with the seasoned veteran Greg Tracy dominating the class and myself finishing 4th having never ridden this type motorcycle.” Paul Livingston- Team Manager: “It was a real honor to bring the Hypermotard to Pikes Peak and give the bike its first win in international competition. Throughout the week the Hypermotard’s performance was flawless. We started with stock bikes ( in fact we started with my wife’s streeet bike!) and with the addition of readily available Ducati Performance upgrades, a Race Tech suspension and Scott’s Performance steering dampers we came up with a winning combination in only a matter of weeks. Credit for this has to go to the effort put together by FL Racing- to get us to this point so quickly was simply amazing. Greg Tracy is a seasoned veteran of the mountain and knows what it takes to get up the hill quickly, and in the most treacherous of conditions. His experience and development skills allowed us to develop the winning package. Alexander Smith is a natural talent. Having never ridden a street bike until two weeks before the race, crossing the line in fourth place under trying course conditions was a testament to his abilities. Both riders came away from this year’s race eager to start next year’s effort right away. We look forward to returning to Pikes Peak in 2009 to continue the Hypermotard’s winning ways on the mountain. Results: 1200cc Class 1.Trachy (Ducati); 2. Anderson (Buell); 3: Kopp (Buell); 4. Smith (Ducati) More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Canada: Banner weekend for Jordan Szoke at dry and wet Mosport International Raceway With four podium finishes, it was a banner weekend for Canadian Kawasaki’s Jordan Szoke at Mosport International Raceway this past weekend during the running of Rounds 3 and 4 of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. Szoke recorded a second place finish in Saturday’s Pro 600 Sport Bike to then shut down the competition in the Superbike feature, claiming his 25th career win in the process. In Sunday’s races, the defending Superbike and Pro 600 Champion brought home two second place finishes, handily extending his points lead in Superbike and staying in control of the 600. For Szoke’s teammate Brett McCormick, however, there was little reason to celebrate. The Saskatoon native’s weekend ended Saturday after a restart of the Sport Bike showdown, which saw him slide out while leading the race. Although the crash itself was relatively harmless, having his 360lb ZX-6R land on him as he slid against the tire barrier was not! After a thorough exam at a local hospital McCormick was diagnosed with a bruised lung and ribs. Although he wanted to race on Sunday, he was unable to pass the prescribed physical test and remained a spectator for the second day in a row. The weekend started off on a positive note in Friday’s qualifying, with the team’s technicians having dialled in the optimum setting for the new ZX-10R and the proven ZX-6R. In Superbike Superpole qualifying, Szoke put in a superb lap on the 3.9km (2.459-mile) Mosport track to record a time of 1:21.945, which was just 0.238 seconds shy of the fastest qualifying time. McCormick nailed down fifth with a time of 1:22.212. During Pro 600, McCormick qualified on the front row with a third place time of 1:23.250; Szoke rounded out the final spot on the front row with a time of 1:23.712. In Saturday morning’s timed Superbike practice, McCormick rocketed to the top of the time sheets with a personal best time of 1:21.622, bettering Kevin Lacombe’s pole qualifying time of 1:21.707 the previous day. In Saturday’s racing action, the finicky weather, which was part and parcel of the entire weekend, saw the first Pro 600 race red flagged on the second lap after a freak downpour drenched a small section of the track. With the cloudburst over, and sunny skies overhead, the race was restarted. McCormick, who got an excellent start, drafted a number of riders to catapult himself into the lead on the first lap. Unfortunately, going into the final corner to complete the first lap, the front tire of his ZX-6R touched the recently painted inside berm, which resulted in the front end washing out without warning. Both he and his bike were sent sliding into the outside tire barrier at high speed, which resulted in a second red flag. “I had high hopes going into the weekend, maybe get a win under my belt at the double-header. Everything started out right in qualifying, the bikes ran great and I was ready to go out and do my thing,” said McCormick. “After recording the fastest time in Saturday’s Superbike practice I really felt I was on top of my game. Well, we know how my day ended. It’s too bad the bike landed on top of me. Otherwise I would have just been shaken up a bit and still able to race Superbike and both classes on Sunday.” Meanwhile, Szoke ended up battling for first place the entire race, swapping positions with Lacombe to have the lead in hand on the last lap. But an aggressive move by Lacombe at the end of the back straightway allowed him to gain position on Szoke to retake the lead and the win the race by a fraction of a second. An exciting five-man battle for Saturday’s Superbike feature win proved to be a feast for the spectators’ eyes. Under hot sunny skies the lead group of six riders battled intensely, with Szoke setting the fastest lap of the race on the opening lap. As the laps wound down, it was Szoke who made a definitive move to take the lead for good on lap 16, a position he would hold to the checkered flag, edging out McBain for the win by 0.058 seconds. On Sunday, the rain proved to be an even bigger factor than the day before. The Pro 600 race, which was run in the wet for 14 laps, saw Peris lead wire to wire. Behind Peris it was a battle for second between title contenders Szoke and Lacombe who rode an aggressive but cautious race. On the final lap Szoke powered around Lacombe to snatch second and the valuable five extra points. Sunday’s Round 4 of the Superbike points chase proved to be a rerun thriller of Saturday’s action, with five riders dicing for top position. In contrast to the earlier run Pro 600 race, the Superbike feature started in dry conditions, which produced a blistering pace from the lead pack. Under threatening skies, Szoke made his way into the lead on lap 8 with McBain now chasing Szoke’s rear wheel. On lap 10, with rain starting to fall, McBain moved back into the lead and managed to hold on until the officials decided to call the race due its growing intensity. Unfortunately for Szoke, he would be robbed of any further chance to challenge for the win. “On Saturday I was quite upset with myself because I should have had the win in the 600, but Kevin rode really well and that’s racing. It made me all the more determined to win the Superbike race,” said Szoke. “The weather was very stressful today, raining and not raining. I was really happy beating Kevin in the 600 race the second time out, even though we settled for second and third at the finish line. That kept our battle for the championship pretty well even in the points. But I was very disappointed that they stopped the Superbike race. In my opinion it could have gone a few more laps, because it wasn’t raining that hard, more like sprinkling. But all in all, except for Brett’s crash, it was a great weekend for the team. We extended our Superbike points lead and contained the damage in 600.” In Superbike, Szoke now tallies 196 points to Lacombe’s 158; in Pro 600, with 194 points on the scoreboard, Szoke enjoys a 28 point advantage over the Granby, QC native. “It’s really unfortunate that Brett’s crash put him on the sidelines as he was really coming on strong this weekend,” said team manager Jeff Comello. “On the bright side, we’re enjoying a good points buffer in both championships with Jordan, and the bikes are performing really well. We ended up with a great setup this weekend. We feel strong and confident heading to the next round at Shubenacadie, NS and will be looking to extend our points lead even further.” For the latest series information, visit kawasakiracing.ca and cdnsuperbike.com. More, from a press release issued by Rockwall Honda: GOBERT ON THE CHARGE AT LAGUNA SECA Rockwall Performance’s Aaron Gobert finished eleventh in the Laguna Seca Supersport race last weekend. Gobert, a race winner at Road America, made a strong charge on his Honda CBR600RR after a bad start and had a good battle with Josh Herrin for 10th place. Gobert, who qualified ninth, saw his fortunes wane early in the race but he quickly rebounded. “The boys at the shop got some more performance out of the bike for this round,” said Aaron. “The bike was strong. We’re right there, and there was not much difference between 11th and sixth place for this race. I got a bad start off the line and I couldn’t get out of first gear and I dropped back to 16th on the first lap. We moved up to eleventh and I had a good scrap with Josh Herrin for tenth place. I got by him a few times but he would repass me. We had our hands full with that battle but we could see all the way up to fifth place. If the start had gone better, I am pretty confident we’d have had a better result but I feel good about how we were able to move through the field in this race.” Gobert is now eighth in the Pro Honda Oils Supersport points chase. “I thought it went pretty well. We’d done a lot of work on the engine between races and I think we took a big step,” said crewchief Gary Medley. “We also changed a lot of things around this weekend and made the bike better. I think Aaron just got a bad start and it made it tough for him. He put his head down and worked his way back up. This is a tough class and we’re right there. We’ll go to Ohio next and we get to race both classes so we are really looking forward to it.” There was no Formula Xtreme race at the Laguna Seca round due to the combined event with the United States Grand Prix. “Things are going well for the team and we’ve made a lot of progress over the season,” said Gobert. “We’ll go to Mid-Ohio and look to capitalize on our hard work.” Gobert and Rockwall Honda will race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Aug 1-3. More, from a press release issued by Team Toyota Yamaha/Fast Company Racing: BRESLAU, Ont. Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Racing’s Kevin Lacombe used a spectacular pass on Jordan Szoke to win the third round of the Yoshimura Pro 600 Sport Bike Championship at Mosport International Raceway last Saturday. The Granby, Que. rider took his Scott Miller-prepared Yamaha YZF-R6 around the outside of Szoke at the end of the backstraight to pick up his first victory of the year and maintain his bid for the Pro 600 Sport Bike title. “I took a little bit of a risk going around the outside of Jordan, but you have to do that sometimes,” said Lacombe, who won the race by just 0.146 secs. “It was really tight at the end; it was a good fight out there.” Unfortunately Szoke repaid the favor in Sunday’s second half of the doubleheader, passing Lacombe in the same spot of the final lap to snatch second place behind race winner Chris Peris. The two title contenders battled for the runner-up spot throughout the race, which was held in rain that at times got quite heavy. “It was hard to see where the traction was,” Lacombe explained. “I was just trying to stay in second, I didn’t want to crash. I almost tried to pass Jordan back in the last corner but I wasn’t close enough.” With three races left in the season Szoke leads Lacombe by 28 points in the Pro 600 Sport Bike standings, 194-166. In Parts Canada Superbike feature class action at Mosport Lacombe again showed his qualifying mastery, taking his second Inside Motorcycles Pole Position Award of the season with a lap at one minute, 21.707 seconds in the Pirelli SuperPole session. “This is a great way to start the weekend,” said Lacombe, who also claimed the pole at the 2008 season opener at Calabogie Motorsport Park. “Since we’ve got here we’ve been pretty much the quickest. I knew I had the best bike out there. I just tried to be smooth.” Unfortunately Lacombe’s sizzling pace didn’t translate into wins in the two Superbike races on the weekend. The 25-year-old finished fourth in the opening race on Saturday and then edged Chris Peris for third in Sunday’s round, which was red-flagged just past half distance due to rain. “In the first race I picked the wrong engine. It was entirely my fault,” Lacombe admitted. “It’s a shame because Scott does such a great job, but I was missing on drive coming out of the corner onto the backstraight and I was losing a lot of time there. “For the second race we changed bikes and I didn’t have as good a set-up and burned up the tires.” Lacombe beat Peris in a photo finish on Sunday, and series officials needed a video review to determine who had claimed the final podium spot. Unfortunately Lacombe lost ground to Szoke in the Parts Canada Superbike points chase after Szoke won on Saturday and placed second to Clint McBain on Sunday. Lacombe now has 158 points to the 196 of Szoke heading into another doubleheader at Atlantic Motorsport Park in Shubenacadie, N.S. Aug. 8-10. The season then wraps up at Shannonville Motorsport Park Aug. 29-31. “We’ve had a little bad luck every weekend,” Lacombe admitted. “I thought at Mosport we would turn it around but it didn’t go the way I wanted. This is a great team and they deserve to win races.” Fortunately both AMP and Shannonville have been happy hunting grounds for Lacombe and the Fast Company team. All five of Lacombe’s national Superbike wins have come at those two tracks and he finished second in last year’s AMP Superbike race after leading early on. The Team Toyota Yamaha / Fast Company Racing team is the defending Superbike race winner at each venue. “I always do well at Shubie [Shubenacadie],” Lacombe pointed out. “I need to start putting pressure on Jordan. I’m going there with the goal of winning all four races, both Superbike and both Pro 600. If we’re going to have to rub elbows, now is the time to do it.” More, from a press release issued by Corona Extra Honda Racing: SUPERSTOCK HOLDEN ELEVENTH IN LAGUNA SUPERBIKE Riding his SuperStock Honda CBR1000RR against the might of the factory Superbikes, Jake Holden rode a terrific race to finish eleventh in SuperBike at the Moto GP and AMA races at Laguna Seca. Teammate Matt Lynn’s Superbike effort ended at the first corner in a starting melee that took him out. The combined World Moto GP and AMA SuperBike event meant very little track time for the single 1000 cc class being run, SuperBike. This meant a hard time to get set up for qualifying for Matt and Jake, it being the first time at the track on their ’08 race bikes. Lynn qualified in 13th, just nipped at the finish by Holden who got a flying lap for 12th on the grid. With over 130,000 tickets sold, the large crowd saw terrific racing in all events along with almost ideal conditions, not too hot or cold! The SuperBike race took place after the Moto GP event so the crowd was ready for another great race after seeing Rossi take the flag in a fantastic display of talent and skill. The excitement started seconds after the green light with a turn one fracas sending Matt and the Corona Honda SuperBike into the gravel. Matt was able to return to the pits and the bike was quickly repaired but unknown damage caused him to pull in shortly after. Jake got a storming start and was in the thick of the factory Superbikes, a position he held throughout the race. He stayed in close touch with a pack of bikes including Hodgson, DiSalvo, Duhamel and Bostrom for the entire race but just did not have the power of the mega-$ factory Superbikes to make a move on them so settled for his eleventh place finish. The packed Monterey Peninsula had ample opportunity to meet the Corona Extra Honda Team riders and crew with four promotions over the weekend and display bikes throughout the region ensuring everyone who made the trip saw the Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR Superbike! More, from a press release issued by RMP Racing: Millson Back on Track at Mosport BOWMANVILLE, ON July 23, 2008 After a challenging second round in Calgary, Hamilton Ont.’s Ross Millson was back in fine form at the third and fourth rounds of the Part Canada Superbike Championship held this past weekend at Mosport International Raceway. Millson’s pre-race activities began early in the week. On Monday, the privateer roadracer sat down with The Hamilton Spectator’s Motorsports columnist, Tim Miller, to discuss Canadian Superbike racing and Millson’s season leading up to the Mosport Doubleheader Weekend. Tuesday evening Millson had an entertaining discussion with AM900 CHML’s News Talk radio host, Scott Thompson. Thursday’s National Series Test Day provided the RMP Racing crew an opportunity for improvements to Pro racer Millson’s Suzuki GSX-R1000. With minor adjustments to the recently rebuilt engine and changes to the suspension, the team felt the overall setup was headed in the right direction going into Friday’s qualifying. With Friday’s qualifying time of 1:25.678 being only good enough for 14th, Millson and his crew knew there was some additional work to be done. Millson’s qualifying effort was hampered by a rough running Suzuki. “It was cutting out and missing like crazy! It sure made it tough to put in a good lap,” exclaimed Millson. High temperatures and humidity on Saturday didn’t deter RMP Racing’s friends, family or sponsors from coming out to enjoy the weekend-long events at Mosport. Among the sponsors who dropped by were long-time supporters Infinet Designs. Todd McNabney of Heroic Racing Apparel made the ten-hour trek from New York, NY for his first ever visit to Canada and a Canadian Superbike event. RMP Racing’s development rider, Steven Nickerson, also joined the crew for the weekend. Along with Millson he signed autograph cards, talked with race enthusiasts and team sponsors. During Saturday morning’s practice session Millson logged a best time of 1:26.297. Although this was not the time the team was aiming for, Millson’s feedback allowed the crew members (Mark Millson and Blaine Groves) to diagnose the problem as a possible electrical issue. It was then determined that a failed sensor was the elusive gremlin. Under threatening skies Millson took to the grid for Saturday’s Superbike feature. Energized by the resolved technical issue, he shot off the line gaining two positions before the first corner. Gradually improving his time with each lap, Millson was able to battle for a top ten spot. After 20 laps Millson brought home his #39 Summit Gearworks sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the 9th position right behind the factory Buell of Steve Crevier. “It was a good race and result considering the scrambling we did to get the bike onto the grid,” admitted Millson. “Our sponsors got to see the perseverance and determination of this team first hand!” For the fourth round of the 2008 Parts Canada Superbike Championship Millson once again started from the 14th spot on the grid. Millson was ready to better his previous day’s result, however another explosive start was not in the cards. The privateer put his head down and over the next few laps began to reclaim the positions he relinquished at the start. Approaching the midway point of the race Millson had briefly worked his way up to 9th place. Brooding dark clouds reappeared triggering a light misting rain in various corners of the legendary Mosport track. The #39 Suzuki on full slicks found the new track conditions less than agreeable. A near crash forced Millson back to the 12th place position. After only 11 laps completed out of the scheduled 20 laps the race was red-flagged for safety and deemed an official race, finding Millson 12th at the finish line. “My goal for today was to be well inside the top 10, I sure do wish the race could have run the full distance,” said Millson “It was a good weekend and we’re coming away from Mosport 10th in championship points.” Millson and the entire RMP Racing team would like to thank their friends, family members, Garnet Munro from Munro Auto Sales and sponsors for their continued support. Thanks must also go to the dedicated staff at Mosport International Raceway, PMP organizers, corner workers and safety crew for making the Mosport Doubleheader weekend an outstanding event year after year. Up next for RMP Racing’s Steven Nickerson is round five of the R.A.C.E. Super Series at Shannonville Motorsport Park – July 25-27. Then, on August 7th to the 10th, Ross Millson will return to Atlantic Motorsport Park – Shubenacadie, NS for rounds 5 and 6 of the Parts Canada Superbike.