Millennium/KWS Suzuki Suffer Bad Luck at VIR Alton, VA August 2008 — Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Suzuki of Orangeburg made a huge gamble on set up in Saturdays Superbike race that could have paid off big on Sunday, but random mechanical problems kept Rider Ben Thompson off the podium. The Millennium Technologies team struggled all weekend at VIR with setup and team rider Ben Thompson did an amazing job of qualifying his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the eighth position for Superstock with a time of 1:26.351. In Superbike, Ben qualified fourteenth with a time of 1:27.042. Superbike Race One was a huge gamble for the team. After struggling all weekend with setup, crew chief Michael Godin and Thompson decided to make a major change to virtually every setting on the bike with the knowledge that it may not work out for the race. Ben got a great start and was racing in the twelfth place position. Although the set-up change to the bike was positive in every way, the team decided to bring Thompson in several times during the race to refine the new direction in the hopes that they would be in a better position for Sunday’s Superstock race. The Gamble paid off and in Sunday morning warm up Thompson was able to turn his fastest time of the weekend and the team had a lot of confidence going into the Superstock race. Thompson got a great start in the Superstock race and was racing in fifth place. Once again, with the new chassis set up Thompson was able to reset his fastest time of the weekend during the race. Unfortunately, with only a few laps to go and a top five finish in hand, the Millennium/KWS Suzuki slowed dramatically on the front straight with a failed fuel pump. Although devastated by a seemingly random mechanical failure the LeoVince Exhaust sponsored team regrouped and began preparation for Superbike Race Two only an hour after the Superstock race. In Superbike Race Two Thompson was racing in the eleventh position only to have his GSX-R1000 Superbike overheat just past the halfway mark. Ben Thompson “I am disappointed for sure. Michael, Chip, and Kevin are working so hard and the bikes were so good this weekend. It just was not meant to be. I really want to thank the Millennium Technologies crew for coming out and supporting us this weekend. Their support means so much and they are great group of people.” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “Unfortunately we can’t prevent every mechanical failure on the bike. The bikes were fresh before the weekend and ran flawlessly up until the time when in mattered most. Ben is riding great and he did everything he could to put us in the position to do well, lady luck just had other ideas. We will regroup and go at it again at Road Atlanta. It’s our home track and I feel confident that we can learn from this and move forward.” For Information: ~http://www.kwsracing.com~ More, from a press release issued by Misti Hurst: Frustrating Weekend For Slednecks Racing at Virginia International Raceway Alton Virginia Slednecks Racing experienced the most frustrating AMA event of the season so far at Virginia International Raceway. Immediately after a grueling race weekend at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course two weeks ago, Slednecks rider’s Misti Hurst and Josh Galster stayed behind to work for four days with the California Superbike School where they are both riding coaches, and then two more days at New Jersey Motorsports Park before driving 9 hours to get to Virginia International Raceway. Arriving at VIR early in the A.M on Wednesday, the two set up their pits in the pouring rain before grabbing some much-needed sleep. The next day they attended Team Hammer’s track day. Due to unexpected circumstances, Hurst rode only three practice sessions before making the decision to withdraw from the weekend AMA races. “I already had a lot on my mind with a hectic work and racing schedule, long periods of time on the road, plus financial struggles.” Explained Hurst. “Then something else cropped up and it prevented me from maintaining 100% focus on the track. I didn’t want to risk hurting myself or anyone else due to a lapse of concentration and I thank everyone for being so supportive of my decision.” It is uncertain whether she will make the next round in Atlanta. During Thursday’s track practice, Galster experienced electrical and fuel related problems that caused a drop in power and the bike to bog and pop. He planned to sort it out during Friday’s AMA Practice, however he missed tech by only a few minutes and was not allowed to participate in the hour long practice session on that day. Friday afternoon Hurst suggested Galster use her bike for the races, so they spend almost two hours swapping forks, shock, tank, bodywork and brakes from his bike to hers. During Saturday morning practice, Galster had just 25 minutes to try out the entirely new bike on a still unfamiliar track. The same problems cropped up along with some new ones. “Her rear sets are higher than mine and her stock bars are lower than my clip-ons.” He said. “I feel like I am riding a toy bike, it’s still down on power and I can’t seem to get any traction.” With little time, they made a few suspension changes before heading out for qualifying. In qualifying, Galster struggled with the same issues and was only able to get down to a 1:33.5, nearly three seconds off of where he though he should be and made it on the grid in 32nd position. Frustrated, he took her 2007 Kawasaki ZX6R to Dynojet where they realized the problem was a damaged fuel pump. Swapping the fouled pump with a new one solved the power delivery issue and Dynojet re-mapped it so that it ran well. Galster also mounted his rear-sets to the bike so that he would fit more comfortably. The work seemed to pay off as he dropped a second and a half during Sunday’s warm-up session. For the afternoon race, Galster rocketed off the start for one of his best launches of the season and lowered his times to an impressive 1:30.3. He battled with Amantini for several laps until settling into a rhythm several bike lengths behind. With only three laps remaining Siebenhaarr who made a big mistake early in the race began catching him fast. “I could hear him hunting me down,” Said Josh, “I rode super defensive lines but on the last lap he passed me going into turn 1. I thought he had me but he couldn’t hold his line and ran off the track.” Galster finished the Supersport race in 23rd place, a great accomplishment considering the obstacles faced during the weekend. “I’d like to thank my teammate Misti for letting me use her bike and working super hard as part of the crew, along with Rodney Denman, PJ Felner and Michael Jabara. They did an awesome job!” Hurst and Galster would also like to thank their loyal sponsors and fans and invite you to visit www.mistihurst.com, or www.slednecks.comn for more information. See Slednecks Racing at the next AMA event at Road Atlanta, August 28-31st. More, from a press release issued by Chip Yates: WERA and AFM Expert Chip Yates Raises Eyebrows With Strong Finishes at Infineon Raceway on August 17, 2008 ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — Round 5 of the AFM Championship — Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California. The SWIGZ.COM Roadracing Team announced today that rider Chip Yates put on the strongest race weekend of his 16-month career, finishing 6th out of 49 riders in 750 Production, 6th out of 36 riders in 750 Superbike, and capping off the day with a 12th place finish in AFM’s premier racing class, Formula Pacific, all while riding his Matsushima-powered 2007 GSX-R600. In honor of the U.S. men and women serving abroad, the team ran a special lower fairing at Infineon that read: THANK YOU U.S. TROOPS, * MARINES * ARMY * NAVY * AIRFORCE. Yates staged an exciting battle for 5th place with AMA regular Oscar Covarrubias in the 750 Production race, with a last-lap pass that resulted in Yates running slightly wide into the double-apex. Yates fought back to finish just 0.214 behind Covarrubias at the checkered flag. The race was won by Lenny Hale who edged out Liko Miles and Frankie Garcia. In Formula Pacific, riders are invited to race based on qualifying laptimes. The racebikes are unlimited and so this featured class is typically run by the fastest guys on the fastest 1,000cc bikes. Yates got a bad start, nearly hitting himself in the face with his wheeling Suzuki GSX-R600, but passed 3 riders in the first lap to cross the line in 12th at the finish. The race was won by the talented AFM poster boy Dave Stanton, who kept James Randolph and Brian Parriott behind him to clench the victory. Earlier in the day, Stanton had ridden a tear-inspiring parade lap carrying the checkered flag to honor a valued AFM corner worker who had passed away in the previous month. In 750 Superbike, Yates lined up with fast-guys Lenny Hale, Liko Miles and Frankie Garcia but could not challenge Garcia for 5th place and crossed the line 4 seconds behind to collect his second 6th place finish of the day. Said Yates after the race, “This was for sure our strongest weekend to date. I don’t know why, but I just feel so comfortable at Infineon I love this track and I’m finally starting to gel with this little 600!” Chip Yates is currently competing in all championship rounds of the WERA and AFM series on the West coast and has earned enough expert points for his AMA Pro-Expert racing license. The team plans to run the complete AMA Superbike series for 2009. More details of the SWIGZ.COM team’s efforts are at www.chipyates.com More, from a press release issued by San Jose BMW: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma Calif. Brian Parriott had another fantastic day on his San Jose BMW HP2-Sport as he once again bested the field of Ducati’s. The lone BMW in the field, he took the win in AFM Formula Open Twins. Parriott demonstrated the HP2’s superior handling and brakes as he won in convincing fashion after taking the early lead. In the hotly contested Formula Pacific race against GSXR-1000’s, R1’s and other liter class bikes, Brian easily moved through the field to take a 3rd against the more powerful machines. In September Parriott heads to France for the 24hrs of Bol D’or as a member of the BMW Motorrad Motor Sports Factory World Endurance Team. More, from a press release issued by Andy Price: 17 Year old Drew Price closes out his summer vacation with a 1st and three 2nds. In the final 20 lap Solo GT Lights series race of the 5 race season at WSMC, riding his Pirelli shod 2001 Suzuki SV650, Drew Price took another win. Despite missing 2 of the 5 races, Price secured a 4th spot overall with two wins and a second. In 550 Superbike, a bad start found Price playing catch up to Chris Speight’s. With only two laps to go, Price suffered from mechanical gremlins and had to back off and nurse the bike home to a well earned 2nd West Coast GP Cycles Formula Twins Lightweight race again found Price and Speights out front. This time the battle was even closer. Speights led into turn 1 and started to check out. Despite suffering from a significant horsepower deficit, Price gradually caught up and took the lead only to suffer from recurring mechanical problems 50 feet from the finish line and finishing 2nd The real fun came in the last race of the day for Price in Battle of the Twins Middleweight. Determined to get a good start, Price pinned it and lead into turn 1 and started to gap the field. Andy “Crazy Hair” Palmer riding a borrowed Ducati 749 started picking his way through the field, caught Price and the dicing and drafting ensued. Palmer and Price, Price and Palmer, back and forth for the remaining laps. Palmer, eventually pulling ahead, backed off, obviously not pushing to his limits on a borrowed bike, took the win by a bike length. Great fun was had by all. Additional information on Drew Price can be found at www.DrewPrice.com More, from a press release issued by M4 Products: M4 Avteq Racing finishes 1st and 2nd in ST class at Heartland Park M4 Avteq Racing’s Dustin Dominguez and Ryan O’Donnell piloted the #67 SV650 to a comfortable victory after qualifying on pole for Sunday’s 500k race. Their teammates Kyle Martin and Dane Westby finished 2nd on the #66 SV650, and are now tied for the points lead with 3rd place finisher Pair of Nines Kawasaki. With a sizeable class lead and a lap up on the Pair of Nines bike, Kyle Martin took a low speed crash that eventually cost the #66 bike the lead. Although the crash itself only cost them a few seconds, and they initially retained the lead, a bent foot peg and extreme tire wear would prevent them from staying out front. “I was just out there trying to be conservative, because the bike was sliding all over the place,” Kyle said. “About 40 minutes into my last stint, I found myself face down on the ground in the last corner. We had lost radio communication, so it was difficult to communicate to the team that we needed a tire change. I thought for awhile that we could pull out a ‘crash and win’ scenario, but that was not to be. I really owe it to Dane for doing such a great job riding my crash damage to the very end, and I am extremely satisfied with finishing 2nd to Ryan and Dustin, and putting both M4 Avteq bikes on the podium.” After posting the fastest qualifying time Sunday morning, and later taking the checkered flag for the winning #67 bike, Dustin Dominguez thanked the M4 Avteq team. “I am very excited to get a win for this team, and honored that they invited me to race with them,” he said. “It was a true race of attrition out there, and I think it’s really awesome that we also finished 4th and 5th overall on our Suzuki SV650’s. Everyone on this team worked so hard all weekend, and I am very happy to show that hard work pays off. I can’t wait until the next race!” The team will continue it’s efforts at the new Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey in two weeks time. More, from a press release issued by Safety First Racing: Safety First Suzuki Faces Challenging Weekend at VIR Safety First Suzuki headed to VIR poised for a good result and came up a little short during the weekend. Team owner, Kevin Hanson, commented on the weekend. “I guess it was our turn to finally have a difficult weekend. Thursday practice went well and we tested some new suspension stuff for Penske. Right out of the box the part we tested was good for 6 tenths of a second on Bobby Fong’s bike. Friday and Saturday rolled around and we hit a wall. Bobby and Gabor were both stuck at their lap times and qualifying didn’t go so hot. My crewchief, Don Finnelli, analyzed where we were at setting wise and Sunday morning we scrapped the changes that we had made and went back to our old setup. The change worked right away and Bobby dropped into the 27’s confident that he could run mid 27’s during the race. Come race time, good old Murphy reared his ugly head! After doing the parade lap, Bobby’s mechanics went to change the rear tire and put on the fresh race tire and had a problem with the rear axle. At that point, the bike had to be pushed off the grid because we couldn’t fix it and Bobby had to start the race from pit lane on his backup bike. The problem was compounded because the backup bike had a slightly harder rear tire on it that had no grip during the race. One bright side was Bobby stayed calm during the incident and went out and did the best he could with what he had. Gabor found some more time during the race and had a breakthrough in what’s been holding him back in his riding,” commented Hanson. Bobby Fong: Qualified 16th, Finished 15th “That was a bummer of a weekend,” stated Fong. “We struggled a little finding the right setup during the weekend. I got down to a flat 28, but was having trouble getting into the 27’s. After we went back to my old setup, my times dropped and I felt I had the pace to easily run inside the top ten. Penske had a new part that I tested that gave me a lot more sidegrip, which was really cool. It just sucks that we had a problem at the start of the race. I think we could have a good result. I’m excited for Atlanta because it’s one of my favorite tracks along with Laguna. I’ll just get ready for the next race now. I’m going to hangout in Atlanta next week and go see Traxxion Dynamics manufacturing facility with all of the cool CNC machines which should be pretty neat,” commented Fong. See everyone in week! Gabor Rizmayer: Qualified 22nd, Finished 16th “This weekend was not so good,” explained Rizmayer. “I like the track and seemed to learn it quickly. I just couldn’t find that last second that I needed. My bike was good, I just need to relax a little more and not stress about doing the times. Owen Weichel helped me with that this weekend by sharing some of the things that worked for him when he was racing. I think Owen’s coaching will definitely help me at Road Atlanta. Now I get to go log some more frequent flyer miles before I return next week!” joked the Hungarian Rider. Safety First Racing was formed in 2004 by police officer/racer, Kevin Hanson, based out of Chicago, IL. For 2008, Safety First Suzuki is competing in the Supersport class in the AMA Superbike series. Checkout www.SAFETYFIRSTRACING.com to see the latest line of apparel and performance products from Safety First Racing. Kevin Hanson continues to give away Bell bicycle helmets to elementary school children nationwide and educate children about the importance of helmet usage. More, from a press release issued by Evan Steel Performance: Team ESP with rider Chris Peris finally did it. At the AMA Big Kahuna Showdown in Virginia, the privateer team, after qualifying their GSXR 1000 on the front row with the fastestest trap speed, managed to put it on the box with a strong 3rd place finish. A first for Team and Rider. Just before the race the weather changed, and the track temp was considerably cooler. So we tried a different Dunlop tire that only had about 20 minutes on a warmer. On the opening lap, Chris came over the hill in fouth, behind May, Yates and Holden. But in the laps that followed was definitely running in the leaders pace. Then the red flag. At the restart Chris got a better start, and came around third. But it was short lived as Jake Holden took the position and relegated Chris to fourth again. In the closing laps, May ran off track, but re-entered the race hot on Chris’s tail. It was to be a fight. Then on the white flag lap Geoff slowed drastically into turn one? The Team, unsure of what happened waited that last minute and a half….forever. When Chris crested the hill alone it was the culmination of an incredible effort With no Manufacture support, it is an unbelievable task for a privateer team like ours to even get to and from the track, and we would like to thank everyone involved. Dunlop, US Megamax.com, Driven, GPR, Hindle, WPS Fieldsheer, Attack Performance, Maxima, ASMA, Cirrus Aviation, Topline Printing, and all our friends who help us at the races. More, from a press release issued by UtahSBA: Points battle heats up for Round 5 of the Miller Motorsports Park Masters of the Mountains motorcycle roadrace series. (Tooele, UT) The points chase heated up at Round 5 of the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains roadrace series when #1 plateholder Aaron Clark suffered mechanical problems and had a DNF in the premier King of the Mountain GTO class. Shane Turpin went on to win the race after three laps chasing Clark at near record pace. Clark, who was the points leader going into Round 5, is now tied with Josh Graham for second as Turpin gained a slim nine-point lead over Clark and Graham. The long-time AMA veteran Turpin has stepped-up his riding recently, getting back on-pace jumping to a Suzuki GSX-R1000 in July. After Clark got the hole-shot in the KoM-GTO race, Turpin was passed by Clark on lap one but kept the pressure on Clark as they ran a blistering 1:30.2 pace on Miller’s West Course. On lap three Turpin got by Clark on the exit of turn six, only to see Clark lose his clutch a few turns later going onto the main straight. “I was feeling really good and looking to give Clarkie some pressure,” said Turpin. “I was finally in a race when I had Clarkie in sight, so I would have rather won in a fair fight. But I guess at the end of the day a ‘W’ is a ‘W’. With the points closer, the next couple rounds are going to be interesting.” The fierce three-year Clark-Turpin battle has been a favorite with the spectators showcasing awesome rider talent and sportsmanship, with Clark grabbing the #1 plate in ’06 and dominating ever since. The most exciting racing of the weekend came from the Middleweight Superbike race. After a crash and a red flag, the restart saw Jimmy Wood of Redlands, CA jump out to an early lead hunting for Yamaha contingency on his R6 running a 1:31.9 best lap. “That was a really fun race,” said Wood. “I had a great start, so that sure helped. I’ll be back in October!” The race for the other podium spots was on with Shannon Moham nipping Josh Graham by 0.3 seconds to take second. Ray Tribedeau, Mike Sullivan and Oleg Pianykh dice the entire race for the illusive forth place. Most impressive was the depth of competition with the top 11 riders running 1:35 or faster with battles throughout the field. Colorado’s Ironman Shannon Moham was on a terror all weekend and looked to have found a couple seconds a lap, after impressively chasing down and passing Graham for second on the podium in Middleweight Superbike. Moham also had impressive runs in Twins GTO, Heavyweight Superstock and a second place in Twins GTU just 0.2 seconds behind Turpin. Another tight battle was the Twins GTO race. After Brian Whipple took the hole-shot and lead for five laps, Mike Bunds hunted Whipple down and made a bold pass exiting the tricky triple-apex turn eight on the last lap. Both Bunds and Whipple were on Ducati 848s. Bunds, a college geology professor in Salt Lake City, simply said, “I really wanted to win that one.” The seven-race Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains series, developed by Miller Motorsports Park, organized by the Utah Sportbike Association (USBA) and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), was created to encourage and develop fun and competitive road racing at the club and regional levels. In its third year, the series has quickly turned into a premier series drawing top-level talent from around the nation. To learn more about the Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains series, visit the USBA’s website at www.UtahSBA.com. Clubman Race 1 1. Stephen Clark (Hon CBR929RR) 2. Jason Flamm (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Anthony Loucks (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Justin Stillwell (Yam YZF-R1) 5. Eric Olsen (Kaw ZX-636R) 6. Mike Rocco Clubman Race 2 1. Stephen Clark (Hon CBR929RR) 2. Justin Stillwell (Yam YZF-R1) 3. Anthony Loucks (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Jason Flamm (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Eric Olsen (Kaw ZX-636R) 6. Mike Rocco King of Clubs 1. Colorado 2. Utah 3. Apex 4. Idaho 5. Canada Endurance GTO 1. David Meyer (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Shane White (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Troy Buchanan (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Travis Child (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Kel Davidsen (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Chris Petersen (Yam YZF-R1) Endurance GTU 1. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 2. Steve Davidsen (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Warren Rose (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Jason Woodbury Supertwins 1. Patrick Lansu (Duc 999) 2. Paul Avery (Duc 848) 3. Brian Whipple (Duc 1098) 4. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 5. Scott Ferguson (Buell XB) 6. Lance Lee (Apr RSV1000) Open Superbike 1. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R1) 2. Aaron Clark (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Joseph Dawson (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. David Lewis (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Gary Poole (Yam YZF-R1) Twins GTO 1. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 2. Brian Whipple (Duc 749R) 3. Paul Avery (Duc 848) 4. Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 5. Brandal Glenn (Duc 848) 6. Joel Wolfgang (Suz SV650) Middleweight Superbike 1. Jimmy Wood (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Ray Thibedeau (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Oleg Pianykh (Yam YZF-R6) King of the Mountain GTU 1. Aaron Clark (Hon CBR600RR) 2. Ray Thibedeau (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Jeff Brown (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Ted Rich Novice GTU 1. Mac Millner (Suz GSX-R600) 2. John Burr (Tri Daytona 675) 3. Shannon Pitre (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Shawn Atkinson (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Brian Childree (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Tim Koehler (Hon CBR600RR) Open Superstock 1. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R1) 2. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R1) 3. Aaron Clark (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Joseph Dawson (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Gary Poole (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) Heavyweight Superstock 1. Sam Verderico (Suz GSX-R750) 2. David Siminski (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Tommy Richardson (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6) Novice GTO 1. Tom Bowers (Hon CBR100RR) 2. Mac Millner (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Kevin Dolan (Kaw ZX-10R) 4. Brad Randel (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Paul Lund (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Christopher Coyne (Suz GSX-R1000) Middleweight Superstock 1. Jimmy Wood (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Ray Thibedeau (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Jeff Brown (Yam YZF-R6) 6. David Siminski (Hon CBR600RR) Amateur GTU 1. Spencer Steed (Hon CBR600RR) 2. Brian Whipple (Duc 749) 3. Nathan Titus (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Shane White (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Mac Millner (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600) King of the Mountain GTO 1. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Joseph Dawson (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R1) 4. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R1) 5. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Gary Poole (Yam YZF-R1) Formula 40 GTO 1. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Gary Poole (Yam YZF-R1) 3. John Hopperstad (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Patrick Lansu (Duc 999) 5. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 6. Kevin Dolan (Kaw ZX-10R) Amateur GTO 1. Spencer Steed (Hon CBR600RR) 2. Christopher Coyne (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Shane White (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Nathan Titus (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Brad Randel (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Mac Millner (Suz GSX-R600) Twins GTU 1. Shane Turpin (Bim DB5) 2. Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 3. Scott Ferguson (Buell XB) 4. Joel Wolfgang (Suz SV650) 5. Don Roberts (Yam TZ125) 6. Joey Richardson (Yam TZ125) More, from a press release issued by West Coast GP Cycles: West Coast GP Cycles at WSMC: Solo Series Championship 1-2-3 for West Coast GP Cycles, and Wiwi On The Podium in Formula One. West Coast GP Cycles finished the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club’s endurance season on top, taking first, second and third in the Solo GT-Lights category. Riding the shop-developed, Pirelli-shod Suzuki SV650s, Andy Palmer, Pete Esquivel and Alex Esquivel all co-owners of West Coast GP Cycles took first, second and third in the five-race championship series. “It was an amazing experience racing with my partners for this championship, and it led to great dicing on the track and off. What a great year,” Palmer says. “I was blown away how much my riding improved by racing the solo series this year,” Alex Esquivel says. “I am returning to racing after a bad get off in 2004, and this was a great way to get my feet wet again. Racing for the championship with Pete and Andy after all the hard work at the shop was just icing on the cake.” “I love the Solo series, I truly believe that every racer should race the series at least one full season,” Pete Esquivel says. “You learn more in a single Solo race than you do in half a dozen sprint races. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve your skills and stamina as a racer. And you’ll have a hard time wiping the smile off your face.” In Sunday’s sprint races, Palmer won the Middleweight Twins contest, with West Coast GP Cycles-backed Brant Wiwi finishing third on his Pirelli-shod YZF-R1 in Formula 1 and second in Open Superbike and Open Superstock, and racing his Yamaha YZF-R6 to second in 650 Superbike and 600 Modified Production. 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 Build Momentum: LeoVince/Foremost Insurance/Ducati – Pegram Pulls Another Holeshot at VIR on Ducati 848 Finishes the Race in Eighth Overall due to Brake Problems Advance, NC – The start at VIR could not have been better for Larry Pegram and the Ducati 848. Pegram’s qualifying time put him in the fourth position on the grid and he convincingly pulled the holeshot, leading the early part of the race. Problems with his front brakes caused him difficulties and kept him from staying at the front of the pack. Last year Pegram finished on the podium in second place after trading spots with the leader Josh Hayes. “This was a tough weekend, no doubt. The bike had the speed, but I was having trouble with the front brakes. I was surprised that we didn’t finish stronger at VIR, it is definitely a track that I like to race at,” commented Pegram. The Formula Xtreme race will be televised on SPEED Channel on Tuesday, August 19, 2008. The next race is August 30, 2008 at Road Atlanta (www.roadatlanta.com). About LeoVince Foremost Insurance Ducati Hebron, Ohio-based, LeoVince Foremost Insurance Ducati is a professional motorcycle road race team competing in the AMA Superbike Championship Series. The team is owned and managed by Larry Pegram, a third-generation motorcycle racer who competes in the AMA Formula Xtreme class on a modified Ducati 848. Additional information about the team can be found on their web site at www.pegramracing.com.