Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Formula USAILockhart-Phillips Unlimited Superbike Series Round S: Portland Inter{"1ational Raceway Shawn Higbee 114) and Lee Ac.... 146) battle In Unllml1ed Supert»lke. Higbee was third both times out. Having witnessed the Acree-Parriott dust-up in the first race, Higbee was cautious in the second. "Parriott did that same move into the same type of drive out of the last corner, and that's been my advantage over the rest of the guys. They weren't getting the drives that Mike and I were. Uke I said, fmishing second to Mike, I'll take it." But it would turn put that he tum oneil just couldn't get enthused about getting up there and taking a chance of getting knocked out," Higbee said. "I thought maybe Parriott's motive was to take me down like he did Acree, so I figured I had to stay behind him until the last lap and wouldn't have to. Barnes finished .302 seconds in front of Parriott, with Higbee a close maybe try to pull something on him. We just didn't have the setup today." Batey was a lone fourth, 13 sec- third. "I tried Barney once as I was going onds behind Higbee and with four on after Mike [Ciccotto] - Barney came Lopez, who had transmission trouble back in again," Parriott said. in the second race, ") was riott. The Hooters bikes began to clear Ciccotto and was disappointed not to just trying all I could. I just didn't out, Barnes in front on the eighth lap win, but happy with second. have it for him today. It was me. The said. bike wasn't holding me back, I was shifts here and there, which we've holding the bike back." had transmission trouble' in the past. until late in the race when Ciccotto "Mike [Ciccotto] was just real came by. Barnes was no match for strong," Barnes said. "He was getting "It's just a little frustrating," Lopez "I just had a couple of missed - Formula USA plans to e"pand their calendar next year, adding two to four races, some at tracks the AMA has forsaken, according to F-USA director of road racing Bill Syfan. "If we end up with between eight and 10 races, we'd be happy," he said, adding that this year's schedule of six races "is not enough for a true National series. - Syfan said he expects all of the tracks on this year's schedule - Daytona International Speedway (twice), Willow Springs International Raceway, Portland Synergy Racing Technologies is here to stay, according to team owner Matt Spiwak, despite International Raceway, Pocono International Raceway and Virginia International Raceway - to be an erroneous press release issued earlier this week by a disgruntled former employee. 'We'li be back, while adding others. The contracts with Daytona, Portland and Pocono were inherited through racing under the same name,' Spiwak said about his plans for 2002 and beyond. "We've got a lot of previous deals with the Championship Cup Series and F-USA. but Syfan expected they'd return. The big things going on. A lot of huge meetings." The misinformation campaign was the work of Bert tracks Syfan is talking to for 2002 include Homestead, Florida: Road America in Elkhart Lake, WisSilos, the former painter for the Synergy team, according to Spiwak. Spiwak said that Silos e-mailed consin: Phoenix International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona; and New Hampshire International Speeda false press release to both media outlets and team sponsors claiming that Synergy Racing was withdrawing after this year. "He waited until I showed up here Gn Portlandl to do it." Spiwak said. way in Loudon, New Hampshire, Syfan is aware of the pitfalls of the last two. "We've talked to "Unfortunately. a lot of people saw it. lAMA Superbike managerl Ron Barrick saw it." According to them," Syfan said of the management of New Hampshire International Speedway, "but we talk to Spiwak, Silos felt he was terminated for the wrong reasons. "He felt he deserved more than what he them every year. Our CC~ affiliate, the Loudon Road Racing Series, runs there eight times a year," was gelling. I felt he wasn't doing enough." Spiwak has hired an attorney to place a gag order On Syfan said he would consider racing there, but realized he.'d be criticized by enthusiasts and industry Silos to prevent future occurrences. Spiwak didn't know about it until Dunlop's West Coast distributypes. "It's a good market and our motorcycles are not as fast as AMA Superbikes," he said, tor, Dennis Smith, called Marc Palazzo, one of SRT's riders. Spiwak called Silos for an explanation. Though no decision by the AMA has been made, it's been speculated that the AMA won't return to "He was an employee who was terminated before Pocono," Spiwak said. "He wanted to reap the Loudon after the fiascos of the last two years. The AMA abandoned Phoenix a fe~ years ago for benefits of Synergy to start his own business." Spiwak, the sole proprietor of the SRT team, said he safety reasons, mostly because of the speeds on the banking in the oval turns three and four. Syfan had a five-year sponsorship agreement with Glenn Dekovan. the owner of Dynamic Logistics. As to said there was a plan to put a chicane between those turns for an upcoming club event and that the where the team would be racing next year. Spiwak was keeping his options open. 'We're not sure infield;,bstacles could be properly protected, "It's a good market. We'd like to go in there," he said. what series we'lI be in," he said. Those events are still mostly confined to the East and West Coasts, with little in the middle of the country, Syfan would like that to change, After a year's absence, Syfan said he believed the series Edge Motorsports closed in on the Engine Ice GTO Team Challenge championship lead by winwould return to Road America, citing a misunderstanding for their vacancy this year. "They want us ning the 200-mile Formula USA race at Portland International Raceway on Friday afternoon. The back and we'd like to go back," Syfan said, The track is especially interested in the ancillary activiSuzuki GSX-R750-mounted team of Mike Fitzpatrick and Greg Leffler completed 104 laps of the ties that F-USA can bring, such as monster truck, freestyle, and the new Xtreme Sport Bike Associtrack. beating Beaverton Honda Yamaha's Todd Frey and Yamaha R-1 rider Andrew Cox by nearly ation, Syfan. would also like to have a race in his home state of Texas, but realizes the track options two laps. They averaged 99.126 mph. Loudoun Motorsports, the championship leaders, finished are limited. third. another lap down, with Greg Hanrison and Bryan Bemisderter doing the riding on the team's Suzuki GSX-R750. In all, there were five entries, With only the season finale at Daytona International Though he'd like to avoid conflicts with the AMA, such as the recent one between Pikes Peak Speedway remaining. Loudoun leads Edge by a point. 91- gO. With only three teams. the Engine Ice and Pocono, Syfan saw it as inevitable. He talked with AMA Superbike manager Ron Barrick the first GTU Challenge wasn't as hotly contested, the winner completing 31 more laps than second place. year and also tried to coordinate this year's schedule with Barrick. There were no conflicts until the who had 33 laps on third place. Edge Junior Varsity's Tony Tinsley, Anthony Cammack and Paolo AMA had to move Pikes Peak and it ended up on the Pocono weekend. "As they expand theirs Maria were the winners. lapping the circuit 97 times on their Suzuki GSX-R600. Brotz Motorsports' [schedule] and we expand ours, there's inevitably going to be conflicts," Syfan said. "Motorsports Richie Monris and Clint Brotz completed 66 laps aboard their Yamaha R-6, and Annandale Racing's are so popular now that you can hardly avoid conflicts with some National series." When the F-USA Kevin Pate and James Compton made 33 laps on their Kawasaki ZX-6. Brotz leads Edge by 25 race ran at Virginia International Raceway early this summer, there was an Indy Racing League event points. 106- 81 . going into Daytona. nearby. BRIEFLY••• The long-lingering effects of injuries suffered by Synergy Racing Technologies' Matt Wait at Daytona Intemational Speedway in March forced him to withdraw from the Formula USA National Road Race Series event at Portland Intemational Raceway. Wait. who broke his left humerus six months ago, rode about 35 laps of the PIR course before deciding that he wasn't fit to race. "There was so much pain from the bone not being healed up enough," Wait said, "I had to brake early and my arm was collapsing. I couldn't make the transitions. My timing was off to be able to race." Wait said the problems began soon after the crash. The plate which was originally inserted was too small, forcing a second operation for a larger plate, That pushed back the healing process, which has progressed slowly. "The muscle's okay. There's one part of the bone that hasn't quite healed up all the way." Wait said. "All the pain goes to that one place and it affects my whole arm." Though he could have ridden, Wait said he wouldn't take to the track if he was going to jeopardize anyone or if he wasn't 100-percent fit, and that could be a while. Both Dr. Arthur Ting and another of Wait's doctors said it could take up to a year to heal. "It's not really going to do anything for me if I race it." he said. It's also unlikely that Wait will race in the season finale at Daytona at the end of October. "I'm playing this safe and planning ahead for March 2002," Wait said. "Even if it's all healed up by October, it's still going to be on the weaker side, I'm still going to be capable of banging it again." Arclight Suzuki's Lee Acree set a new track record in Formula USA Unlimited Superbike qualifying, then fell off soon after, It was early in the even-numbered session, and his mark was in jeopardy, but no one made a credible threat and the championship leader will start the first of Sunday's two 18-lap races at Portland International Raceway from the pole position. "Just a little mistake," Acree said after he and the mildly damaged Suzuki GSX·R750 rode into the pits in the bed of a pickup truck. "I got a lillie off-line going into [tum] four and tucked the front." Acree's best. on the third of the four laps he completed, was a 1:07.755. It bested the 1:07.835 which he'd run in the race here last year. Hooters Suzuki's Mike Ciccotto was second fastest on the track at 1:07.835 but ran afoul of the horsepower limit. His Suzuki GSX·R750 was deemed illegal by the postqualifying dyno check and he was disqualified, Ciccollo's misfortune bumped teammate Michael Barnes 1:07.852 up to second fastest. "It just didn't seem to all come together. I guess I'm just riding too many bikes today," Barnes said, but he's riding them well. In addition to being the second-fastest Superbike, the floridian was on the pole for both the Pro Sportbike and Buell Ughtning Series classes. 30 SEPTEMBER 19.2001 • cue • e n e _ s Despite lackluster entries in a few classes at Portland, Syfan said the structure for the primary classes would remain the same, while there would likely be consolidation in the support races. The Engine Ice Team Challenge had a total of eight teams at PIR, five in GTO and three in GTU. Syfan put it to a lack of communication by the Oregon Motoncycle Road Race Association to their ridership. There were 21 teams at the previous round at Pocono International Raceway. The Aprilia Cup Chal· lenge was almost as sparsely subscribed. "We had 33 Aprilias at Pocono and we have seven here," Syfan said, adding that there was only one Aprilia RS·250 that regularly races in the OMRRA series. "Some of the support classes may go away or get combined with some of the other classes," Washingtonian Mike Sullivan was going from Portland International Raceway to France to take part in the 24 Hour Bol d'Or at Magny Cours. Sullivan was teaming with John Dugg and Englishman Lee Brown on the U.S.-GB Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the Supersport class. "It's probably the stupidest thing I've ever done," Sullivan joked. Sullivan said the rules only allow three riders and Duggan didn't emerge from the PIR weekend in good health, He was involved in a frightening last-turn crash in the second Unlimited Superbike race with Craig Connell and Ty Howard. After recovering on the ground, Duggan walked away. It was only later that Sullivan said his knee gave out on him. There's a promoter's practice on Wednesday, with official practice on Thursday. Following the race, Sullivan said he'd take a day to visit London, then had to head home for an OMRRA race at PIA. Blackmans Cycle's Tray Batey came away with a sixth and a fourth, encouraged by the progress on the Aprilia Mille RSV-1000 and knowing where the deficit was. "We're making 143.7 horsepower," Batey said. "We have to keep an eye on the fuel. Horsepower-wise, we're good. We haven't done anything for the weight. My bike had the fork lock and ignition on it." Teammate Michael Himmelsbach, who finished fourth in the first race, said that ttiis was the first time the bike had made any power. "I've had 123 all year," he said. "There's no parts you can buy for this. We have to build everything, so we were just behind for a long time. Now we have the power and have the bike working, as far as the handling, As of yesterday I was at 134. My good bike made 140, but that blew up. Tray's made 140, we'll see what his made on the dyno." Himmelsbach was quick to praise his teammate for the team's progress, "Without Tray, we wouldn't be as far along as we are."

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