SEMRA at VIR 5/20/07

The 4th weekend of SEMRA’s schedule took us to the pristine VIR Kart track located just across the VA/NC border. It would turn out to be a GREAT weekend for SEMRA with perfect weather conditions to balance out the monsoon we received at the BTK round in Alabama. We had a large number of riders show which made for great racing and full grids.

The highlight of the weekend had to be the ever dominant Carlo Gagliardo making his triumphant entry into the Supermoto class. I think we were all anxious to see how the race would go once we saw Carlo pull the Husky out of the trailer. It was still setup with street lights, ready to ride home from the track. Yet, he managed to pull away from everyone except Dan Lane on his KTM. This was the only race in which I actually saw Carlo battle for the lead. He still managed victory while turning the overall fastest lap of the weekend, a 37.260 and Dan a close second with a 37.7.

F2 had Cam Morehead doing his best to keep up with Carlo. As with most all races Carlo was in, he managed to steal the show as Cam slowly slid back. Dan Lane also managed to swipe the lead from Cam knocking him to 3rd place. F2 was only overshadowed by Thumper 125 in entries with 21 while T125 had 23.

F1 was the most noteworthy race of the weekend to highlight the “Carlo show”. It appeared that he forgot to turn on his gas petcock as he pulled off only 1⁄2 lap into the race, but quickly returning in last place. Within 2 laps he had passed the field and caught the leading Trent Prater. Trent put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough! Carlo crossed the finish line roughly 4 seconds ahead of Trent at the checkered.

The Spec bike class continues to be the class to watch and enter for close racing. While the lap times are down, the racing action isn’t! As usual Carlo got the win; but most impressive was the newcomer of Jamie Spencer at 15 years old, who managed to keep Carlo honest most of the race. Not until the very end did Jamie fall back while catching a field of lappers. Jamie still walked away with the lightweight win and ALMOST matched Carlo’s fastest time with a 41.877 to Carlo’s 41.838. Further back though, many races for position came down to the wire with elbow to elbow racing the full 15 laps. If you want to get into mini racing, THIS IS THE CLASS!

The grand finale of the weekend was the “stock 50″ (loosely interpreted) charity race. All proceeds went to the Make a Wish foundation in which we raised over 1500 dollars for. With a “Le Mans” style start fun was to be had by all, and just as much fun was to be had by watching. With certain people throwing their bike over the guard rail to achieve a head start, to others turning esses into straight-aways, and some managing to cut 30 yards off of a turn, it was nice to see the seriousness of racing thrown out for pure fun and hilarity. In the end the podium finishers were: well, it doesn’t matter æcause it was just for fun!

The kids novice class had Cole Mattison and Palmer Kling battling for the win in the B class, both on KTM 50s. Less than one tenth of a second separated their fastest times and the last lap had them neck and neck to the line. Caleb Adams walked away with the A class win on his KTM 65 and the fastest lap of the race with a 45.2; but still failed to beat Cole and Palmer in the overall due to a poor start. Look out adults, the kids are coming!

From the kids class to the supermoto, VIR was the best weekend SEMRA has had yet. There were no injuries, few crashes, perfect weather, and the VIR staff treated us well. We’ll be back to Palmetto Supertrack in Elgin, SC in just a few short weeks. Saturday the 9th will see the endurance teams take to the grid and Sunday the 10th will be the usual sprint format.

The weekend’s results can be found at: ~http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=210379~

The USMGP will be holding the first ever National mini race at Virginia International Raceway this weekend (June 2nd & 3rd) We are hoping to make this an annual event for the sport and need as many people to show at this event to prove that mini racing is a great sport to be involved with.

We will have classes for adults & kids and classes in all pocket bike sizes and mini-motards & YSR & NSR classes. To see the classes we offer go to ~http://www.usmgp.com~ and go to ~http://www.speedreg.com~ to pre-register. Hope to see you there. Go to ~http://www.virclub.com~ to see the track layout.

Even if you have never raced before you are welcome. No license is required to race in this event or any other USMGP event. Proper equipment is required to protect you is required. Gates open on Saturday at 7:00 am. Camping is allowed at the track for a fee or there are plenty of great hotels in the area.

Chuck Shorie

USMGP President

FNB Racing’s young gun, Peter Lenz batted 1,000 as he won 6 heats and 6 mains, led every lap, and took every holeshot in NMRRA’s motorcycle road racing action this past weekend. After racing five events in California and a Canadian National, road racing’s rising star came back to a track that he knew well. Living in Fort Vancouver, WA, USA the track used by NMRRA in McMinnville, Oregon is as close as it gets for the young road racer.

At the recommendation of Peter’s riding coach, Keith Code, author of The Twist of the Wrist series and coach to such champion riders as Wayne Rainey, Doug Chandler, Ben Bostrom, Peter has been making as many stops within driving distance to gain experience across Western North America. Over the past several months Peter and his Dad have traveled over 10,000 miles to attend races looking for the challenges of new tracks and talented riders to compete with at his level. Peter rode his Metrakit Canada supplied bike in his private coaching session with Keith Code earlier this month and the impact was immediate. Upon Peter’s return to the McMinnville track he was running record lap times in his first practice while reacquainting himself with the track.

Peter was true to form as he took pole, earned every holeshot, led every lap and won all six classes he entered. This weekend he ran smart, conserving himself and his equipment. “I just put my head down and rode hard for the first couple laps until I had a gap, then I would back off a bit to make sure I didn’t use up my bike. The gearing Vortex Racing sent was good. It was good to have the right gearing after Willow and Stratotech where I had ran out. Thanks Lee,” commented Lenz.

This weekend saw Peter giving valuable feedback to FNB Racing team owner, Justin Watkins, who was running Peter’s three bikes this weekend. “I let Peter run the show. He was really good at communicating what was going on with the bikes. I made the adjustments he asked for and we went from there,” explained Watkins. “Peter’s father normally runs his bikes but wasn’t able to attend this weekend due to medical reasons. I was happy to help one of my riders out. It was a change from my responsibilities with AMA Timing and Scoring and my FNB Racing sprint and endurance teams. I have known Peter since he was three, back when his father rode on my team. FNB Racing has been supporting Peter since he gave up the dirt and went to asphalt. I see what we are doing here but in an earlier phase with the same type of program Celtic Racing has been doing with PJ Jacobson with similar success. Peter brought our team its first national championship last year and he is leading the 2007 series right now as well. I believe he has the potential to do something special if given the support,” explained Watkins.

Peter’s 2007 Personal Sponsors include Metrakit Canada, California Superbike School, Arai Helmets, EDR Performance, Elf Lubricants, Performance Under Gear, MiniGPX, PMP, Pro Caliber Motorsports, Miller Paint and Graphics, Suntamers Window Tinting, All Things Drywall, Vortex Racing, and SpyOptic.

You can learn more about Peter and his goals on his website at ~http://www.peterlenz.com~ and about FNB Racing at ~http://www.fnb-racing.com~.

Millennium Technologies announces its 4-stroke single cylinder head repair services using their new simultaneous 5-axis computer numeric controlled cylinder head porting center and a new CNC seat guide machine. In the last ten years Millennium Technologies has established itself as a leader in plated cylinder repair. The new machines were installed April 1st to apply their expertise to 4-stroke single cylinder head repair. The process will resurrect damaged heads for a fraction of the cost of buy a new one.

The 5-axis center uses computer control to accurately replicate any chamber designs. The new machine insures that your head will return exactly the way it was when it was new. A new CNC seat and guide machine delivers valve jobs better than OEM. This will help Millennium Technologies to keep their customers’ costs down while delivering higher, more consistent quality work to them. They also offer complete one sourcing for parts and an extensive list of preventative maintenance services.

According to owner Chris Hackl, “It’s all about striving to have the best possible products.” For more information or to send your cylinder heads to Millennium Technologies, call 1-920-893-5595 or email kurt@mt-llc.com.

Junior Training day a big hit!

Recently, the California Superbike School held a unique junior training day at Oran Park Racetrack in Sydney for the Motorcycle Road Race Development Association (MRRDA). Image

Armed with enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and their CBR150’s, all those students in attendance had a great day in what has to be one of the first times most of these kids have associated fun and school! To read more about the day, have a look in an upcoming issue of Australian Motorcycle News or go to ~http://www.mrrda.com~. If you would like to be part of the next California Superbike School Junior training day, simply call 1300 793 423 to register your interest.

Or ping us here at the school via our website ~http://www.superbikeschool.com.au~

Minimoto Racing SEMRC Round 3 Whilton Mill, Northamptonshire

May 2007

The Whilton Mill circuit, set in the rolling countryside of Nothamptonshire, is always one of the riders favourites, as any visitor could see from the busy paddock area. The racing here is always good, and this round lived up to expectations. The junior classes seem to have expanded by the round since Ellough Park, and this was the best yet, the A group saw Bradley Ray do his usual runner, but the battle behind was what kept spectators attention, Ben Joseph was once again runner up to Ray, enough to retain his title lead, with Jake Archer bagging third, despite valiant attempts by Michael Corderoy, who’s podium aspirations were wrecked by a lowly position in race one. The B’s saw the return, and domination of Wayne Ryan, in the meantime, paint was being swapped behind Ryan for the final positions. Josh Daley was looking good in race one and 2, but a DNF in race three was enough to drop him the 4th, main benefactor was new boy, Chester Buckle, who with some other good peformances, scooped 2nd in race 2 and second overall, snapping at Buckle’s heals, in fact beating him in race one, was Adam Copland, who had to settle for 3rd overall by the end of the day. The ever growing Academy class saw a new race winner, in the shape of Bradley Hughes, this time Jake Bayford, series leader having to settle for 2nd overall, followed by Kieran Hagger in third. The 4.2hp Senior class is one of the most fun to watch, and again, seems to be growing once again, the A group saw Sam Cherry take 3 x clear wins, leaving Adam Panther and Will Shuckford to scrap it out for the final two places, who finished in that order with Shuckford only getting the bette of Panther once all day. The B’s continued to be about Lewis Taylor, leaving 2006 Champion, Bernie Hook and northerner, Paul Garrett to scrap it out for 2nd and 3rd, on this occasion, Garret getting the better of Hook after a poor result in race 2. The Air-Cooled A + B class were combined as always and poduced Drama a-plenty, The A’s saw Alex Olsen and Luke Shelley swapping paint, with Olsen coming out on top, third belonging to a very consistent Jack Keen. The B’s saw Andy Weedon continue his domination of the class, with only Bernie Hook beating Weedon all day in race two, following Hook into third was Darren Norton, who was gifted the 3rd overall after a DNF fom Thomas Wright in race 2, wrights 2 x 3rd places were not enough to get him on the podium. Production A was another Bradley Ray mugging, with Fraser Harris coming home 2nd, with 3 x 2nd places, but not robbing valuable points as he is not a regular. Third was Josh Daley, making up for his bad day in the Junior class. The Production super-lights also run in this class, and Michael Corderoy once again dominated with 3 x straight wins, however, all the drama was behind him, with no other rider managing 2 x 2nd places, it was all very close, Scott Gullen rode the wheels of his bike to come in 2nd overall, with Michael Sipka third, despite race top three finishes from Phil Cannessa, Matt Stainer, they didn’t do enough in the other races to be top of the pile. The Poduction B class was huge, and despite this, Luke Shelley still managed an impressive 3 x 1st places, with a very consistent Max Madero coming in 2nd, despite only posting 3 x 3rd places. 3rd place was Alex Olsen, who despite 2 x 2nd places, a DNF in race one conspired to keep him down the order. The Production C class was again, very big, and it was expected to be a whitewash from British Champion, Chris Martin, however, Grant Villette had other idea’s, and fresh from injury, took his first win overall of the year, followed by Stephen French and winner from round 1, and occasional visitor when not racing his R6, Luke Arter in 3rd. Production D was all about Andy Weeden once again, followed home by Kyle Burgess and Steve Wade, our resident photographer! The Supers class was a little better attended than of late, and the A class was almost anybody’s! Michael Corderoy two race wins secured him 1st overall, and a win in race two was enough to get Luke Holness runner up spot from Lee Williams. The B class was about total domination from British Champion, Chris Matin, with series leader, Stephen French having to settle for second overall and Lewis Taylor 3rd, despite the best efforts of Jamie French. The Conti Cup South saw series leader of both the southern and national series missing most of Saturday through illness, Wayne Ryan seized his chance to take 1st overall with 2 race wins and 1 x 2nd from James White, the first time White has been beaten this year. Kieran Sturley, who came home 3rd, could’n't quite keep the leaders close enough to really get stuck in, as White and Ryan exchanged the lead, sometimes, several times a lap! Connor Wade took another 1st overall in the GP50 Auto class, benefiting from yet another non-finish in race one for little Jake Archer. The Pit Bike class was huge and verging on having to be almost split up, the Cat A, 125cc machines, which strangeley, seem to have the performance edge at the moment from the Cat B 140cc machines, was biggest. Jake Gowing bagged 3 x straight wins with Rik Lewenden coming home 2nd, despite being beaten in race 1 by previous champion, Andy Cowey, who had to settle for 3rd overall. The B’s saw Lydd race winner, Dave Perry repeat his performance, with George Whitton also repeating his Lydd performance with another 2nd overall, with James McNiece bagging 3rd overall, having a great day was James Mac Farran, who bagged a 2nd in race 3, but came home 4th overall. The Modified’s saw Ben Turner make up for machine problems at the previous round, with 2 x race wins and a second, enough for 1st overall, Jim Lovell, his team mate and the only person to beat Turner all day, came home 2nd overall, with the ever hard Charging Tim Dance 3rd.

Anyone thinking of starting minimoto or junior road racing then check out our website ~http://www.phoenix-minimoto-racing.co.uk~

USMGP (~http://www.usmgp.com~) at Mid-Ohio is approved for the Honda Supercycle Weekend!

August 3-5 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH

Honda Super Cycle Weekend, presented by Dunlop Tires

(Superbike Doubleheader) 1.800.MID.OHIO

~http://www.midohio.com~

Yes, we are going to be at the Honda Supercycle weekend in August in the same venue as last year. So lets all thank the Mid-Ohio Staff for helping make this great event happen again!

This event had to be moved to these dates due to the AMA moving the Superbike Finale to Laguna Seca. One thing that is good is that the weather will probably be a lot better and the crowd will probably be a lot larger. The pre-registration for this event is open again at ~http://www.speedreg.com~ also please get registered early so I can see what kind of bikes and attendance we will have so I can make our paddock area big enough.

As with last years event each participant for your $50.00 will receive two weekend passes including paddock passes for Friday, Saturday & Sunday.

Camping will be allowed in an area designated for our group. If you have a large trailer you must contact me to reserve a space. The places for large trailer are limited because we are not allowed to have any vehicles inside the fenced area due to the AMA racers & staff buses that will be parked there. We have a designated area for our vehicle parking and we must stay in that area. There is plenty of room for trailers in our designated paddock area for those vehicles.

See you there!

Today is not just a the Monday of a three day weekend rather is an observation for all of those that have and continue to sacrifice their lives for the freedoms that we all enjoy. Adam made the following post on the SEMRA board…

“We MUST remember that Memorial Day is for honoring and showing our appreciation for our brothers and sisters in arms that have died and are still fighting for our freedom.A young man who lived down the street from me has passed away in Iraq recently, when you can look out your front door and see a house for sale because the owner gave his life for your freedom it really means something.My brother has recently made Lt Col in the Air Force and even though he will be in very little danger he will be deployed soon to the war.He has given most of his life to the service and like every other soldier deserves our respect and honor on this day.God Bless the Troops and their families,” posted by Adam H #406.

In 2000 the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed which asks that at 3 PM local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

You can download a MP3 of taps from the US Memorial Day website here:

~http://www.usmemorialday.org/audio/bugltaps.mp3~

Peter Lenz won three races this past Sunday at the 1.2 mile Stratotech Park International Raceway located outside Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Two were on his Metrakit Canada supplied Metrakit MiniGP50 with the third on his 65cc mini-motard. After 21 hours of driving through mostly pleasant road conditions, Peter and his father arrived to a rainy and cold track. This was the first round of the CMA Pitster Pro Canadian National Mini RoadRacing Series and for the riders who made the trek it won’t be forgotten any time soon.

“I really loved the track. It was so much fun and after running at Willow and Stockton, it was nice to get to a bigger track,” commented Peter. “We ran out of gearing on the 65 the track was so big.”

Peter raced on a new track for the third race weekend in a row, this time with a fresh motor. Eric Dorn of EDR Performance in Portland, Oregon pulled a late night fitting Peter’s bikes into an already packed work schedule to put a fresh top-end on the Metrakit. “The top end looked really good. The service schedule called for a new piston, but it looked nearly new,” explained Dorn. The Elf lubricants have been doing a good job protecting the motor. Other than a main jet change the Metrakit required no adjustments over the weekend.

Although Peter lacked seat time at Stratotech, after the timed qualifiers he ended up on the front row in every class while capturing several pole positions. It was obvious to everyone there that Peter was going to be the rider to beat in the classes where his bikes weren’t out-motored.

“The Metrakit felt great all around, but the KTM had chatter everywhere and tapped out before getting half way down the straights,” explained Peter. “I wasn’t able to hold the KTM open in the places where I could with the Metrakit because the KTM would just shake. And then all the 85s would pass me down the straights, and I would have to get back by them in the corners while it chattered. I wish Metrakit made a bike for the motard class.”

In the Spec Supersport class Peter took his Metrakit to a dominant victory leading flag to flag and was never challenged for the win as he ran laps 4 seconds faster than second place finisher SMRA member Bodie Edie. The same scenario played out in the in the 21 & under Spec class where again Peter took the Metrakit MiniGP50 to a definitive victory.

While Peter also won the Pitster Pro Forumla Thunder class it was a closer race with Peter and Bodie within a second of each other most of the race. While Peter was able to pull out a gap through the corners, Bodie’s RM65 would walk down Peter’s KTM65 as it ran out of gearing. It was a nail biter most of the race with Bodie finishing a bike length behind Peter at the line. Peter shouldn’t have gearing issues for long as Vortex Racing has already shipped several sprockets his way.

The other races saw Peter run his underpowered 65 against larger displacement formula bikes and while he railed in the corners he was just out motored down the straights. He was able to take a 2nd in the 21 & under Formula, and 3rd overall in Formula GP against over 80cc bikes.

A special thank you to Pro Caliber Motorsports for the help on our nearly silent generator and Chicken Hawk for the help on the tire warmers that enabled Peter to get on the gas in the cold.

Peter will be in action again this weekend close to home with the NMRRA in McMinnville, Oregon. You can keep up with Peter via his website: http://www.PeterLenz.com

2007 Sponsors

Metrakit Canada, California Superbike School, Arai Helmets, EDR Performance, Elf Lubricants, Performance Under Gear, MiniGPX, PMP, Pro Caliber Motorsports, Miller Paint and Graphics, All Things Drywall, Vortex Racing, and SpyOptic.

While attending the second round of the Canadian Mini Road Racing National series we recently had the pleasure to visit one of, if not the nicest midi sized road race track in North America. Situated 15 minutes North of Edmonton, Stratotech Park is a first class facility measuring 1.2 miles in length. It isn’t often that the facilities of tracks used by mini road racers are the same caliber as a place like Barber or the recently updated Laguna, but Stratotech Park is in the same league.

The surface is perfect, the corners are wide, the layout and combination of corners challenging while not torture on your body. If you can string corners together and keep the throttle open you will do well at Stratotech Park.

If you have the chance to attend an event at the track you won’t be disappointed. Just be sure to bring gearing, the track is fast and bikes will top out easily with traditional mini track gearing.

To learn more about Stratotech Park visit their website ~http://www.stratotech.ca~