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/128394
Riders Drive at VIR The inaugural Suzuki Big Kahuna VIR National go-kart extravaganza ended in a flurry of accusations and countercharges after the anchor of the winning team was accused of cutting the course. But no one took it too seriously, and all involved, including most of the top riders in the AHA Superbike Championship, are hoping for a repeat next year. '1\nything like that is just a right bit of fun," Ducat; Austin's Neil Hodgson, the backbone of the secondplaced tearn, said. "Everybody's competitive as well. There should be more events like that. Certainly fans could see the human side of the racers. We all do get on, really, you know what I mean? We're all a bunch of kids, so any excuse to do childish things - blast around in ago-kart." The event pitted 10 tearns of four drivers each - a rider, a media celebrity, a staff member from VIR, AMA or race promoters Race Promotion Management and a fan - against one another in 200cc go-karts in an enduro format on VIR's SIB-mile Plantation Valley Kart Track. "I really, really enjoyed it," Hodgson said, before joking, "I thought Miguel [Duhamel] was really dirty, you know what I mean? I put in a protest, butI'm still waiting to see if the stewards are going to get together." Hodgson's team included a ringer, former 2S0cc racer Danny Walker, now an announcer for RPM; fan Paul Thorpe of Sicklerville, New Jersey; and SpeedTV personality Greg White. "I was concerned when I got Greg White," Hodgson said. "Those go-karts have no power at all. I thought, 'Oh shit, not Greg White. We're going to struggle for speed.'" Hodgson struggled for speed over the one slight ascent, always losing ground to Duhamel, who won the first leg, which was made up mostly of riders. "I'm not bullshitting, but Duhamel's kart was definitely faster than mine," Hodgson said. "No matter what I did, if I got a perfect drive up there, he just pulled away to the next corner." The winning team consisted of Kawasaki Formula Xtreme competitor jessica Zalusky, SpeedTV's Mark Mitchell, AMA road race manager Ron Barrick and fan Matt Boike of Charlotte, North Carolina. Zalusky ran with the riders in the first leg, but more than one racer saw her cut the course. Zalusky was sensitive to the criticism in accepting the top prize. "They may argue the point, but we are confident that the best tearn won," she smiled. "Plus, we have the trophies!" Duhamel thought there might have been some funny business with the AM!,:s Barrick ending up victorious. "I think, for sure, though, with Ron Barrick being in the picture there, something must have been done," Duhamel joked. "There's no way that guy could be part of any winning team in kart racing." To cast your vote, log on to www.cyclenews.com. WEb INSiYE Cyclenews.com reader poll question of the week ~ Online poll results from last week Who's weekend performance impressed you the most? A. Jeff Ward's four AMA Supermoto National wins. 1114 (38.55%) B. Ricky Cannidtael's pair of wins at Binghamton, New York. 771 (14.48%) C. Mike Alessi's overall victory in the I15cc class at Binghamton, New York. What do you think of the Mike Brown MX des Nations situation? A. Brown deservers to be on the team and got screwed over. B. They never should have picked Brown in the first place. C. It doesn't matter if Brown was the best choice or not, once selected, the AHA should've stuck to its decision. D. The team made the proper decision removing Brown. The best team needs to be sent. 602 (19.12%) D. Henry Wiles' second consecutive Peoria TT victory. 562 (17.85%) Total Replies: ] 149 CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 7, 2005 85