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/128226
DunlopIWERA National Endu,..ance Se,..ies Round 6: G,..attan Raceway Pa,..k Suzuki under the Team Xtreme II banner in order to move that team higher in the overall points standings. In the Superstock class, we have a great points lead, and we decided to just go for overall points." During the third hour, both of the Tight Squeeze teams were having trouble and were in the last two places on the scoring charts. Tight Squeeze II, the points leader of the Lightweight Superbike class, was in and out of the pits, trying to correct their woes. Vesrah Suzuki continued to pour on the coals and lead the race. Army of Darkness took their 600cc Suzuki past Team Info Tech for third, one lap down from Ray C's. Firehawk held fifth, with Team Velocity sixth, Team Xtreme II seventh, Velocity Crew eighth and Ricochet Racing ninth . Mart< Junge charge. through the _ . on the V.....h Suzulcl GSX-R1000 en route to the team's sixth victory in .Ill rounds 01 the DunloplWERA NatIonal Enduranc:e Series. ...-----------------------,,, Mark Crozier, on the Army of :J Darkness Suzulcl GSX-RlIOO, takes ~ another victory in the Mlddl_elght ~ Superbike c:lass, at Gr8ttan 8 Rac:-.y Park. l5 . r ~ SIX FOR SIX :r w '" z ~ w a: o Team Vesrah remains undefeated after six rounds By DAN SCHMITT GRATTAN, MI, JULY 19 ,aJhen ERA wanted to expand its • • club road-racing reach westward in the early '70s, Peter Frank approached E.J. Faasan of Grattan Raceway to hold a motorcycle event. This first successful event led to the creation of WERA (Western/Eastern Roadracing Association). Next came Blackhawk Farms, Road America, etc., etc. This expansion added to the growth of road racing in America. Faasan had a great road course that brought thousands of racers to this sport over the years. Grattan was a regular stop on the WERA National circuit until 1998. Now, this grand- daddy event of the WERA Series is back, and the current racers of the Dunlop/WERA National Endurance Series were up for the challenge presented by this great 2-mile track . The weather was perfect for this eight-hour National Endurance contest. With temperatures in the high 70s, the green flag flew at 10:30 a.m. Tray Batey took the Vesrah Brake/Suzuki 1000 to the lead out of the second corner to the downhill turn three. Bradley Champion, on the Colorado-based Info Tech/Valter Moto Yamaha R6, charged over the hump to take second place. Three laps later, local hero Fritz Kling grabbed third on the Taylor Knapp/Ray C's R6. After the first lap, the Blue Ridge Per- The Deal. Gap Rac:ing Lightweight Superblke team - (from left to right) Joe Renn, Joe Sc:hoc:k, Brian Renn lin leathers), Steve Green and Corey Bowen - c:elebrate. Its first NatIonal Enduranc:e victory. 38 AUGUST 6. 2003' eye len e _ s ~ w z a: ~ w ~ iO ~ ==""'------_........ forma nee SV with its 6-gallon "FrankenTank" was back in the pit with a nonfiring cylinder. Quickly, they moved to their backup sprint bike and continued on. With half of this 28-team field being made up by the 14 Middleweight Superstock bikes, it was no surprise that six of the top 10 teams were on the stock-based 600cc bikes. Army of Darkness ran fourth. Another local team, Firehawk Racing, came from the last row and moved up to fifth. The pace during this first hour was that of a sprint race, the first five bikes turning 1 :22s or better, but Batey, on the Vesrah Suzuki, lapped everyone except the two R6s of Info Tech and Ray C's. Grattan's layout, with both slow and fast corners and the 3000-foot front straightaway, lends itself to great gas mileage. Most of the Superstock bikes ended up running 15 to 20 minutes into the second hour. After the first set of pit stops, the top five remained the same. Ruben Frankenfield dropped the Team Velocity Suzuki in the bowl, got back up, and, with a quick stop in the pits for a "retech," he was back on track in sixth place. Team Xtreme II ran in seventh, but they had a strange race strategy. "We were short on riders," Billy Etheridge explained, "so we rode the Team HMR, the Honda boys on the 954, moved to 10th and led the Heavyweight Superstock class. "The 954 is a good bike," Jim Kerker said after their second pit stop. "It makes great power. It's basically stock with a pipe. We are doing this race with two people, but we have a lot of help today, people from work, taking care of business. So far, we are having a great day." Local hero Scotty Van Scoik was on the boil as he charged to third overall and second in class on the Firehawk Racing Yamaha R6 in the fourth hour. A close battle developed between Team Xtreme II and Team Velocity Racing for sixth place, with the Xtreme Suzuki 1000 leading down the long front straightaway. Phil Caudill took the Team Chicago/4£,6 Racing R6 into the top 10 with some consistent laps. Vesrah Suzuki held a two-lap advantage over Taylor Knapp/Ray C's Yamaha R6. Tight Squeeze II and Earls Racing Team were both out of the raC'e at the halfway point. When Kling finally pitted for a rear-tire change, Vesrah gained another two laps on this local team. "With only two riders, Ray Yoder and myself," said Kling, "we have to make it over an hour on the pit stops and take it easy on the tires. We are going the whole distance on just one front tire. That first hour was a sprint