ROUND #2 BRIDGESTONE/WERA NATIONAL ENDURANCE, MICHELIN NATIONAL SPRINTS AND PIRELLI SPORTSMAN April 9/10/11, 2010 at the 1.4 mile challenging Talladega Gran Prix in Alabama welcomed the 2010 Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance and the 2010 Michelin/WERA National Sprints. Mother Nature decided that she was happy the series was coming and gave us some of the most wonderful weather. The riders felt all the good vibes and the ambulance never left its parking spot all three days! On Friday qualifying for the 600cc WERA Superstock Class saw the young riders put down some great times. At the end of the session Garrett Gerloff with a 57.98; next came Benny Solis, Jr. with a 58.05, then James Dellinger with a 58.88 and Hayden Gillim with a 58.97 the rest of the field was in the high 59s and it looked to be a good race on Sunday. Saturday the Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance took to the technical 1.4 mile track for four hours of non-stop racing. The #7 Zyvax Team on their Yamaha 600 with riders Dane Westby and Clinton Seller took the win over team mates Ben Bostrom and Chris Clark on their Zyvax #3 Yamaha 1000. Third on the podium was the Hooters/Apex Racing team on their Suzuki 1000 with Tim Hunt, Opie Caylor and Skip Salenius on board. The Lightweight Superbike win went to #27 Team Kinetic on their Suzuki SV650 with riders Chris Parrish, Rob Turner, Mike Wischmeyer and Gill Cutchen. The trophy class was won by #888 V7 All Stars on their Honda 600 with riders Ken Johnson, Scott Lindsay and Barry Pailes. Sunday the Michelin/WERA National Sprint riders took over with the WERA Mini Class taking the track first. Caleb Smith took the 50cc win on his KTM 65 and Lee Tyler took the 80cc win on his Suzuki 85. Then the big boys came out for Open Superstock. Tim Hunt took his big Hooters/Apex Racing Suzuki to the front followed by Tim Bemisderfer on his Honda 1000 and Luis Zendejas took third on his Suzuki 1000. The action continued in the 600cc Superstock Class with an epic battle between the young guns of JD Beach, Garrett Gerloff, Benny Solis, Jr., Jimmy Merck, Jake Morman, Hayden Gillim, Payton Sassaman and the rest of the field. Beach held the lead for the 16 lap race with Solis and Gerloff right on his tail section. In a last lap attempt to pass Solis and Beach touched and Solis went down and Beach was able to recoup and get back on the track to take the win at the line from Gerloff who sat in the catbird seat. Solis was fine and would compete later in the day. The 750 Superstock class saw Opie Caylor stay on Jimmy Merck’s tail for the 12 laps to pass Merck late in the race to take the win with Jake Morman getting a podium in third. Gerloff came back to take his win in the 600 Superbike Class with Merck and Solis, Jr. rounding out the podium. Caylor came back to take another win in 750 Superbike with Merck and Trever Townsend 2nd and 3rd. The final race of the day was the WERA Superbike Class with contingency from the manufacturers and a bounty from American Honda for a Championship the grid is seeing more good riders on Honda equipment. Tim Hunt was able to pull off a win on his Suzuki 1000 and then came the Hondas of Brian Stokes, Tim Bemisderfer, Lee Acree and Chris Steele. The Lightweight classes saw Gill Cutchen take a win in Formula 2 and Stephen Laffoon in the Lightweight Superstock. To see all the results from this weekend’s events go to www.wera.com and to see the action register at Motoconnect.net and then watch Motoconnect.tv next week and see all this great action. Round #3 will be May 22/23 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT. You will be able to see the Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance, the Michelin/WERA National Challenge the Pirelli/WERA Sportsman Series and with our partner USBA you will also see some of their great riders coming out to join the fun. Miller Motorsports Park will host the Friday practice for this round. For more information go to www.wera.com More, from a press release issued by TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha: TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha Takes Third at Talladega MUNFORD, Ala.””Amid stiff competition during Saturday’s WERA National Endurance Series race at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha took third in the Heavyweight Superbike class, scoring a finish of fourth overall. Friday’s practice day was a successful one for riders Chuck Ivey, James Vanderhaar, Scott Brown and Russ Wikle, who got the TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha YZF-R1 dialed in with plenty of time to spare. Vanderhaar proved just how well the R1 was running when he started the four-hour race on Saturday. He started on the third row, but after the first turn he was already in third place overall. Following Vanderhaar’s stint, Wikle took over. “We tried a new Michelin tire compound and it gave me more confidence on the throttle,” says Wikle. “I went a whole second faster in the race than I did in practice. I felt like I was conserving the tire really well while keeping up a fast pace.” Halfway through his stint, though, Wikle lost a contact lens. Unable to see properly, he pitted and handed over to Brown. For Brown, the real race was the scramble to get ready to ride. “I got on the bike forty-five minutes sooner than expected, but my stint went smoothly. The R1 was set up really well and it performed flawlessly,” says Brown. Vanderhaar took over for a second stint after Brown pitted. “When Scott came off I got a new tire and a full tank,” says Vanderhaar. “I was able to manage the rear tire quite a bit better the second stint than I was at the start.” Ivey rode the final stint, wrapping up the race on the same Michelin front tire that was on the R1 at the beginning of the race. The TVR/EBC Brakes Yamaha R1 crossed the finish line third in class and fourth overall. “Everyone rode really well, but when it was all said and done, the guys ahead of us were a little bit faster this time,” says Ivey. “We’re really looking forward to next month’s round at Miller Motorsports Park. We really excel on fast, flowing tracks and we have a good history there.” More, from a press release issued by www.Team84Racing.com: Tough Weekend for Acree at Talladega Lee Acree made his return to WERA National racing at Talladega GP Raceway this past weekend. Starting with a clean slate Lee made steady progress through the event sorting out the chassis of the CBR1000RR. Sunday’s races were difficult with Acree falling in the Open Superstock final and struggling through an equipment issue to secure 4th place in the WERA Superbike contest. Lee Acree-4th Place WERA Superbike, DNF Open Superstock “I knew it was going to be a tough weekend starting an event behind with limited preparation time on this new Honda. Mike Fitzgerald and I improved on the setup continuously to get the most out of the perfect combination of my Ohlins suspension and Dunlop tires. After the second Sunday morning warm up I felt really good about being on pace for the races that afternoon. It all started to unravel on the first lap of the Open race when I made a mistake while passing for 3rd going into turn 3. I entered tighter than usual, hit a bump at a steep lean, and tucked the front sliding out of the race. The bike had minimal damage and I was able to quickly have it ready for the Superbike event later in the afternoon. Unfortunately the left handlebar turned on the fork early during Superbike and I had to ride more or less one handed to nurse it home for 4th. I joked later that I would have to fire my mechanic…but that would be me! I am excited to regroup and continue development on this CBR in preparation for the next national at Miller Motorsports Park. I am confident we can fight back and step onto the podium.” The sponsors that make this program possible: Arai, Carbone Lorraine, Dunlop, Held, Hotbodies Racing, The Kevin Schwantz School, KWS Motorsports, LeoVince, Millennium Technologies, Ohlins, Pit Bull, Sidi, Spiegler, Woodcraft, Steve Kirkbaumer, Dr. Michael Moore, and Rocky Stargel. Catch up with Lee at the WERA National Challenge Series or ride with him at The Kevin Schwantz School this year! Keep up to speed with Lee’s season at www.Team84Racing.com. 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