Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/100352
WERA National Cha llenge Series
Round 3: Vi rgi nia International Raceway
Batey Unbeatable
in Danville
By DAN SCHMITI
DANVIW, VA, MAY 23
nder overcast skies. the Open Superstock
final roared off the line at rou nd three of
the WERA National Ch allenge Ser ies. Mark
Junge took the lead. with Mike Smith right with
him. As Junge stre tched his lead, Smith came
under attack fro m John Jacob i. At halfway, both
Brian Stokes and Tray Batey got by Smith,
wh ile Jacobi charged to Junge's rear whee l, but
Junge held off the charge and took the win.
Forty of the fastest Novice racers in t he
country took the green flag fo r the 600cc
Supe rstock final. Geoff Doyer took the early
lead, but Brandon Parrish replaced him in turn
three on the next la p. Meanwhile , Corey
U
Bowen came under atta ck fro m J.B. Layman
for t hird . Parrish t oo k the win , w ith Doy er
second and layman third .
Brad ley Champion ch arged to the 600cc
Superstock Expert lead , with Smith and Junge
follow ing. Du ring the seco nd lap , bo th Smith
and Junge got by Champion and went side by
side t hrough the 130��mph fro nt straight kink.
Jacob i slipped by Champi on to ta ke third, and
David Weber move d up also. Ju nge hit his
en gi n e case on t he gr ound go ing int o turn
three and surfed off the track. Smith won. with
Jacobi second and Weber third .
On the res tart of the 750cc Novice
Superstock race, first-start lead e r Ryan Gordo n
ran off the track and ran the first lap in sixth ,
w ith Trevor Teafi leading. Then Teafi crash ed ,
creating a mad scramble for the lead among
Parrish, Anthony Dowless and Go rdon. With
one lap to go, Gordon regaine d t he lead and
took the win.
In 750cc Expert Superstock competition ,
Smith, Batey and Jacobi ran neck and neck to
secured third , and Dorsey, Samu el Redman ,
Skylar Tho mas, Seth Harding, Brandon Talley and
Jeffrey Bowman wrapped up the Pee Wee pack.
Track maintenance le ft the track a litt le
choppy for the first mota of the Girls (9- 13)
clas s, but Twisted Sist er Race Team's She lby
Dorsey didn't let that slow her down. The daring
you ng lady sec ure d a so lid firs t- pla ce finish ,
followed by Rebecca Sheets. Callie Stanley and
Alexandra Atherton, w ho all held those positions
from the first lap to the finish line.
Shelby dom inated moto two as we ll, despit e
taking a slight spill w hile the w hite nag waved .
The Geo rgia girl remounted in rec ord time and
ma inta ined he r le ad a c ro ss the finish line,
followed by Shee ts , Stanley and Atherto n. All
participants in the class earned a reserved spo t
at the Southeast Youth Regional competition to
be held at Lazy River MX, June 18 t hrough 20.
Victory Sports w ill host the Loret ta Lynn's
Southeast Amateur Regional Qu alifie r at Parke r
Valley MX in Bellwood, North Carolina, June 4
through 6. In additio n to the Tho r United States
Mega Se ries , Victory Spo r t s will a lso be
pre se nting the Kawasaki Team Gree n Tennessee
the first comer, with Batey leading the first lap.
As Jaco bi battled his teammate fo r the lead ,
Smith came under a tta c k fr o m Reuben
Frankenfield . Two laps later, Smith went down.
Two laps after that , Frankenfield went down.
Stokes moved by Michael Garofalo for th ird. In
the tight battle for the win , Jaco bi just could
not get his front wh eel past the maste r, Batey.
In For mula Two, the batt le of the day was
the race between Eddie Kraft and his dad , Joe
Kraft. While Brian Kcraget ran away with the
race on his two-stroke Honda, SV-mounted Joe
led Eddie in the conte st for fifth . With one lap
to go, the youngster finallygot by his dad .
Garofalo took the 750cc Supe rb ike Expert
win, with Keith Marshall second , but for six
laps, young Taylor Knapp, on his Ray C Yamaha
R6, tried everyth ing possible to get by Ducatimounted Bill St. John. Finally,on the last lap, he
did get by ��� but St. John nipped him at the line
(or third.
Sam Flem ing and Jeff Wal ke r 's grand
experiment fizzled in th e Formula One race .
They built a turbocharged GSX��RIOOO for Ben
Walters to ride. Making plenty of horsepower, it
was a handful for this young rider. Although he
did run up to eigh t h, he co uldn't match th e
leaders. Batey, Jacobi and Matt L
ynn. Stokes got
by Jacobi fo r third , wh ile the turbo blew up
down the front straightaway. The bikes carne by
one more time , and the red flag ended the race.
Batey picked up the w in, with Lynn second. CN
INTlRNATIONAL RACEWAY
DANVIW , VIRGINIA
Mark Junge (1) su rfs his SUlluki on the engine case as Mike Smith (911)
heads for the win in the 600cc Superstock final at Virginia International
Raceway. Junge won the Open Superstock final.
VIRGINIA
REsuLTS :
MAy 23, 2003
(ROUND
3)
600 SlST K NOV: I. Ilnndon Pam,"; 2. Geo ff Doyer,
l . J.B. layman . 600 S/ST K EX: I. Mike Smith; 2. Joh n
JooolH; J. DovKlWebeo-. 750 SlSTK NOV: I. Ry>n Gonlon;
2 Ilnndon Pamsh; J. An