Jun 22, 2011, ©Copyright 2011, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
From a press release issued by Yoshimura R&D of America:
YOSHIMURA-BACKED TEAMS HOT AT BARBER SUPERBIKE AND BUDDS CREEK MOTOCROSS
CHINO, CA – Yoshimura-backed teams showed their dominance on the street and in the dirt at the AMA Pro Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL and the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, MD this past weekend. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Suzuki and American Honda Racing teams put their Yoshimura products to the test in the hot conditions in Alabama and Maryland.
Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young had a lot to celebrate after this weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park. The young rider rode smart in the rain on Saturday and picked up a podium finish, and then went all out on Sunday and carded the win. This win marks Young’s fifth AMA Pro Superbike victory of the season and moves him to within a mere two points of the overall championship points lead.
On Sunday, Young got a great start on his Yoshimura-prepped Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was running second behind teammate Tommy Hayden. When Hayden unexpectedly pulled out of the race, Young took over the lead and didn’t look back. He made no mistakes and took the checkered flag with style. On Saturday, a mid-race rain shower resulted in a red flag and the mounting of rain tires. Достали restarted, Young, who’d been running second prior to the red flag, got another good start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and took the lead. He battled to stay up front, and wound up as part of the Suzuki sweep of the podium finishing in a solid third place.
“For me, the weekend went really, really well,” said Young. “We got off to a slow start but then showed that our Rockstar Makita Suzuki team is really strong. In Saturday’s wet race, we got a good start and I just tried to have as much fun as I could and ended up third. On Sunday, I knew we had a good set-up and was looking forward to the race. I got another good start and got behind Tommy, who was setting a fast, comfortable pace, which made life a little easier for me. I ended up getting up front, and I was confident in my GSX-R and my tires and equipment to pull out the win. It was a tough weekend, but we had great results. I’m happy to win this one and happy for my team.”
Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden, however, had a rough weekend at Barber. Wanting to earn as many points as possible on Saturday, Hayden rode conservatively in the wet race and finished seventh. On Sunday, the Kentucky native got a great start and was leading the race for the first nine laps when a rare mechanical mishap caused him to DNF.
“It was a fairly disappointing weekend,” said Hayden. “We were fast but we don’t have any results to show for it. Saturday, when it was dry, I was leading and I felt like I had a good chance to fight for the win. Then it started raining, and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. Today, I felt good and I led for nine laps, and I was in good shape for the race… Unfortunately, we had some kind of freak mechanical incident, this is the first time I’ve ever had a mechanical issue in a race since I joined the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. They’re a top-notch group of guys working on my bikes, this is a very rare incident for us and I don’t expect anything like this to happen again in the future. We have a lot of races left, and now I’m just looking forward to having another chance at it at Mid-Ohio.”
Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki riders showed their strength, consistency, and the power of their Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z450s during the fifth round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championships at the Budds Creek National in Mechanicsville, MD on Saturday. Ryan Dungey rode strong and consistent, claiming second place in both motos and ending the day with a third-place overall. Teammate Brett Metcalfe worked through the pack in both motos to grab a couple of sixths and scored a sixth-place overall finish for the day.
Dungey started the day showing off the speed of his Suzuki by scoring the fastest time in the morning timed practices by over a second. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider had a great start in moto one that put him into the front group. Dungey powered his RM-Z from fourth to second over the first few laps and then the reigning champion put his head down and chased after the leader. Dungey was able to catch the leader in the closing laps but was unable to make the pass. Moto two went about the same for the Suzuki rider, with a good start that slotted him quickly into second. Dungey pushed his RM-Z450 hard for the remaining 12 laps but fell just a little short of passing for the lead and came away with a second-place moto finish and third overall for the day. Dungey sits third in the championship points race.
"It was another good, solid weekend,” said Dungey. “We got off to really good starts on my RM-Z today and I was able to get second in both motos. I lost спорьте beginning of the first moto, but I was able to make that up and get up there and almost get the win. I got another good start in the second moto and got up into second and battled for the number one position for the rest of the moto but just couldn’t make the pass. It was tough. The track was really one-lined. Overall, my Rockstar Makita Suzuki felt great and we were solid throughout the day. We just gotta keep moving forward and plugging away. We’ve got Lakewood coming up and I’m really looking forward to it. Last year we were able to get a win there in the AMA Pro MX Championship race as well as the MX Des Nations. It’s always a great track.”
Teammate Brett Metcalfe started the day with the fourth fastest time in the morning practices, which was his best qualifying effort of the season. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider suffered a bad start in the first moto but was рассказавшей RM-Z through the field to capture a sixth-place finish. In moto two, Metcalfe had another tough start but was able to quickly get into sixth, which is where he finished, giving him a sixth-place overall for the day. Metcalfe sits solidly in fifth in the championship points.
"It was a pretty positive day for me,” said Metcalfe. “I went six-six for sixth overall and there were some positives and negatives, but overall I felt pretty good. The negative side of the day was bad starts in both motos. I really felt if I could have had better starts, I could have been running up front and at least challenging for a podium. I had my best qualifying result of здоровом a fourth. My Rockstar Makita Suzuki is working great and the team has been doing a great job getting me more comfortable out there. I think that’s why I was able to qualify faster. I’m happy and feel that was my best riding of the season. We need to go home and work this week on starts and give myself a chance to run up front. I’m looking forward to Lakewood. It’s a track I’ve done well at in the past. And I think it is a track that suits me. I’m hoping to go there and put my Suzuki up on the podium where I know it can be.”
Team Rockstar Energy Suzuki carded a top-ten finish at Budds Creek. Martin Davalos put the awesome power of his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki RM-Z250 to the test in a battle to claim a ninth-place overall finish in the 250 class.
Davalos started the day with a strong run in the morning timed practice sessions, ending up seventh fastest. In the first moto, Davalos had a decent start and quickly slotted his RM-Z into ninth. He pushed hard ‘til the end and crossed the line for a tenth-place finish. In moto two, he was caught up in a first turn pile-up and ended up starting from the back. Davalos charged his Suzuki hard through the pack and was рассказавшей way across the line for tenth. The ten-ten moto finishes were good enough to score him a ninth-place overall result.
“My Budds Creek weekend was decent overall,” said Davalos. “The first moto I was a little tight and wasn’t really able to make a move and just kind of got a top- ten start and stayed there. The second moto I got a decent jump on my Suzuki, but I got caught up in a first turn crash. I was dead last by the time I was able to get back going. I was able to ride strong the whole moto. My RM-Z250 was running great and I felt pretty good and was able to work up to tenth. The ten-ten gave me ninth overall, which is a top-ten weekend, but I was definitely looking for a better result. Now, we’re coming to Lakewood and that’s my favorite track of the whole series. It reminds me of home because the altitude is pretty high. I’m looking forward to going there and getting some good starts and getting up front. I’ve got the speed; I just need to keep out of trouble.”
American Honda Racing rider Josh Grant made an impressive return to racing at the Budds Creek National, while teammate Kevin Windham finished just off the podium. After getting a mid-pack start in moto one, Windham rode a solid come-from-behind race to take the checkers in fourth. In the second moto, he again finished a solid fourth to end the weekend fourth overall on his Yoshimura-equipped Honda CRF450R.
Grant made a strong return to motocross racing after sitting out the first three rounds in the series due to injury, going 8-10 for 10th overall. “It definitely feels good to be back racing with the team,” said Grant. “My goal for this weekend was to finish inside the top 10, and I achieved that. It’s a matter of riding myself into racing shape, and I’m looking forward to even better things in Colorado next week.”
The Yoshimura-backed team’s next events are the 2011 AMA Pro American Superbike Championship series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, on July 8-10, the fifth round of the 2011 AMA Pro Motocross Championship on Saturday, June 25th, at the Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, CO, and the seventh round of the 2011 ATV Grand National Cross Country series in Snowshoe, WV on June 25th.
More, from a press release issued by Nadine Lajoie's publicist:
Up in the high plains of Utah, Nadine was interviewed on TV at Park City the day before she found herself ready for the challenges the weekend’s races would bring. The WERA National Event, at the world class Miller Motor Sport racetrack, there were plenty of obstacles ahead to face.
Team captain, Shandra Crawford, prepared her team for the grueling demands of the six-hour endurance race. The battle was tight until the end, where Nadine’s team was edged out by a narrow 4-5 laps, to the top team led by Krystyna Kubran. Although they didn’t take away the top prize, you didn’t see anyone’s head hanging low or any broken spirits, the team stood proud of their outstanding accomplishment and individual victory. One of those highlights included the impressive racing of 18 year old Daniele Diaz. She represented the team as the youngest racer and posted the fastest time of the team, following by Luke Judy.
Nadine was geared up and ready to take the track on Sunday, but after a long and tough consideration of whether to take on racing in the rain, she decided to sit this race out. She wasn’t alone, as the rain forced many other racers to stay out also. “It was really a hard decision to take for me but I dreamed all night about crashing and there are just too many important things going on in my life right now to risk injuring myself”. Amongst those events would include her international “Win the Race of Life” book and speaking tour as well as her upcoming speaking, singing & entertainment show this fall. “I’m usually an excellent racer in the rain, I just couldn’t afford the time or energy if I were to crash. I have my businesses, partners and investors to protect”.
Nadine elected to make a business choice rather than a racing choice this weekend. That will not always be the case, as the fierce competitor within her will always be ready for the next race. The Infineon Raceway in San Francisco CA July 7th-10th will be the next chance for Nadine to strap and get ready to hit the pavement. That will be followed with her making the races in Willow Springs CA, August 20th-21st . Follow Nadine on and off the track on Facebook and at www.NadineRacing.com.
Thanks to all sponsors: Catalyst Reaction, Suomy, Bridgestone, Peak Investments, Importations Thibault, OK Pneus Médé, Notaire Jean-Guy Savard, Lajoie des Finances, Action Motosport, Elka, Xsura, etc...
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki/BG Motorsports:
Audi-Red Bull Summer Pan Delta Event at Zhuhai International Circuit in China
Kawasaki/BG Motorsports rider Dan Kruger nabs a 2nd and a 3rd in the 2011 Pan
Location: Zhuhai International Circuit, Zhuhai, China
Overcoming a number of setups over the past week, Canadian Dan Kruger managed a pair of podium finishes in the summer round of the Audi-Red Bull Pan Delta Championship. It also put him back in the points running for the 2011 Superbike Championship. A full starting grid gave the crowd plenty to cheer about throughout the weekend.
The first setback came when his new Kawasaki race bike was held up due to China Customs issues. He was forced to race his old superbike again which is clearly showing its age.
Next came the weather... From last Sunday all the way up to and including qualifying sessions 1 and 2, were run on a wet track. 4 days of testing in the rain followed by the 2 wet qualifiers. Kruger qualified 4th overall in the rain which due to a brand new 3 per row starting grid-pushed him back to the 2nd row.
Race 1 had him drop a few spots after a bad start. He struggled through the race and so did his bike. Heavy smoke was coming out of his exhaust and he struggled to find grip. He made a couple of last lap passes to get himself back into 3rd and that's where he ended up. "To be honest, I am happy to get a podium but not very happy with my lap times or the race in general. At this point, people are expecting me to be fighting for the win, not just a podium"
Race 2 started off better with a good start and had him on the rear wheel of the 2 frontrunners. After a few laps the tired engine started showing more signs of its age and he was consistently 15kph slower down the front straightaway according to the official trap speeds. Kruger lost 2 positions on the long front straightaway showing the lack of power his Kawasaki was producing. At that point, Kruger put his head down and chased both of those lost positions down with determination to get past both for a podium spot and important Championship points. One of the frontrunners ended up crashing while trying to hold on to the lead and another rider in front of Kruger low sided on the last lap. This pa...