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/128222
Ounlop/WERA National Endurance Series Round 5: Talladega Gran Prix Raceway Team Vesrah Susuki makes it five wins in five rounds Tray Batey charged on the Vesrah Suzuki GSX·Rl000 en route to the team's fifth overall victory of the WERA National Endurance Series· . in five rounds. STORY By DAN SCHMITT PHOTOS BY STEVE STARNES/ ADRENALINE SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC TALlADEGA, AL, J(]NE 21 wenty-five years ago, Team Tal- Tladega had to travel long distances throughout the USA to go road racing. Mike Upchurch and his brother David, along with the other members of this motorcycle racing team, decided to build a track for motorcycles right in their own home town. As he was also a Kawasaki dealer with the new GPZ550 to sell, Mike wanted something for the local sportbike riders. This 1.3-mile road course was designed and built by motorcyclists, and the current riders of the WERA National Series surely appreciate this nice, challenging track. Twenty-seven teams took the green flag at 12:30 p.m., under perfect racing conditions, with temperatures in the low 80s and the sun shining. Tray Batey took the lead on the Vesrah/Nielson Enterprises Suzuki. A few bikelengths back, Greg Moore, on the Team Xtreme Suzuki 1000, held a good second, with the Yamaha R6 of Team Info TechiValter Moto running in third. Army of Darkness held fourth on the black Suzuki 600. Behind this foursome, a battle developed for fifth among Team Velocity, Jeff Wyler/Blue Moto, Tight Squeeze II and Velocity Crew Racing. A few clicks back, Team Chicago, Northern Getaway, JLR Racing and Ricochet Racing were skirmishing as they screamed down the front straight into the first corner. Forty percent of the field was in the Middleweight Superstock class, 21 percent of the field was contesting the Lightweight Superbike class, and 46 JULY 9, 2003' cue I e the rest of the field was comprised of the other three classes. Being a tight road course, no size of motorcycle held a visible advantage. Winningwould take perfect pit stops with quick tire changes. Twenty minutes into the race, Gary Shilling of Blue Ridge Performance forgot to turn left at the end of the front straight and ran through the first carousel, crossed the track and finally stopped in the mud, 50 feet from the track. He turned his SV around and proceeded back to the pits, leaving a mud trail through turns three and four. An observant cornerworker spotted the shiny streak on n e vv s the track and called for a red flag to stop the action. After a few minutes of downtime to clean the track surface, the green flag flew again, and Vesrah took the lead. Mark Crozier, on the Army of Darkness machine, grabbed second, with 25 teams breathing down his neck. Team Xtreme had a problem with their kill switch and had to make an early pit stop, and this put them at the bottom of the standings. At the end of the first hour, Vesrah Suzuki and Army of Darkness held a one-lap advantage over Team Info TechiValter Moto. Another lap back, Team Xtreme II, now on a Yamaha R1, led the Heavyweight Superstock class. Team Velocity held fifth, JLR Racing held sixth, Ricochet Racing was seventh, Velocity Crew was eighth, Tight Squeeze was ninth, and Team Chicago concluded the top 10. Teams were scrambling after the first hour as they began the pit stops for fuel. The bikes in the Superbike classes, with their enlarged gas tanks, could run much further than the Superstock bikes. Vesrah pitted before Army, and as John Jacobi got up to speed, Crozier ran Jacobi down and put a lap on the number-one team. Moore was flying on the Team Xtreme 1000 to make up lost time. He finally overdrove his tires in the fast right-hand kink (turn six) and slid off the track. With brake fluid on the track from the exploded reservoir, Team Velocity followed Xtreme off the track. This brought out the second red flag of the day. On the second lap of this restarted race, Jeff Wyler/Blue Moto and Tight Squeeze II hit each other, and the Suzuki SV went down in turn eight, allowing Dan Schmitt, on the Team Chicago/4&6 Racing R6, to sneak through and grab seventh place. Vesrah took the lead and put Army down a lap when Army finally pitted. Velocity Crew charged to third, and Info Tech was fourth. Northern Getaway moved to fifth and second in the Heavyweight Superbike class. Team Xtreme II held sixth, and JLR battled past Team Chicago to take seventh and second in the Middleweight Superstock class. Rapid Transit and Tight Squeeze I clashed for the lead in the Lightweight Superbike class and 13th overall. Deals Gap Racing was a lap back in third. Three hours into this four-hour race, Vesrah Suzuki continued to lead