MARRC News: April CCS at VIR

CCS at Virginia Internation Raceway (VIR)

April 15-16, 2000

For race results, go to the CCS Results Page.

Virginia International Raceway (VIR) had its inaugural motorcycle race event with CCS running a combined Mid-Atlantic and SouthEast region event. MARRC had the privilege of providing the safety crew for the event, and Roger Lyle reprised his well-accustomed role as Safety Director for the club.

MARRC had an excellent turnout for the event, considering the long drive for many, and the lack of time to prepare for the event. Over 30 cornerworkers were on hand, and did little complaining during the wet and cold conditions on Saturday. Hot chocolate during lunch and the pizza dinner went a long to warming up a cold and wet crew.

The construction work at VIR is about half finished. The work that is done has already made it a first class facility, and no doubt it will be even better when finished. A few of the "old timers" believe that it will be better than the old circuit was in almost every way.

The last race of the day, Unlimited Grand Prix, was a hotly contested race with Tim Bemisderfer (Expert #517) of Greencastle, PA and #135 going handlebar to handlebar the entire race. Unfortunately, the action ended abruptly when a crash brought out the only red flag on Sunday. Michael Dye (on a Suzuki 750, Expert #98) of Concord, NC went down near the cross-over bridge and the attending ambulance was too close to the track to continue racing. But by then the unofficial track record of 1:33.12 was set by a deserving Bemisderfer aboard his Yamaha R1. Also don't forget that CCS ran on the 2.75 mile North Course at VIR, and did not use the entire track.

Everyone in MARRC is looking forward to seeing the upgrades to VIR. When you go to VIR, you will find that the staff is courteous and helpful, and believes in the project. MARRC spent Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday trading thoughts based upon our experience since the Staff had not worked bikes, and MARRC had not worked VIR. There were a couple of rough spots, but they were quickly ironed out.

The town of Danville, VA, is a nice place, with many motels nearby and quite a few restaurants. See the VIR website has plenty of information about the Danville area.

Thanks go to intrepid MARRC member Glen Ouye for the race photos, especially in the wet conditions. If you want Glen to get your picture and have it appear on these pages, put a MARRC sticker on your bike. That's it! For more information about Glen and see more of his outstanding work, go to his pages at www.seapup.com.

Young Ben Walters (#162) has obviously mastered riding in the rain. But then what rider from Summit Point hasn't? Here Ben wheelies his Yamaha TZ250 out of Turn 21 at VIR during Saturday's sloppy conditions. Thankfully the smooth new pavement was predictable in the wet.

Laurence Borst (#4) runs away with the Expert GTU on Saturday. Borst and his Yamaha R6 took advantage of difficult conditions and rarely put a wheel wrong during the day. Borst was one of the lucky few who spent more time on the podium than at the water hose washing off mud.

Triple-digit speeds are the norm for one of the fastest turns at VIR. Newly minted expert Jonathon Broga (#502) navigates the fast downhill Turn 17 before entering the front straight. Since its a downhill, slightly off-camber turn and comes just before the longest straightaway on the North Course configuration, Turn 17 claimed several riders on Saturday and a few on Sunday. Broga put in a terrific effort learning the tricky VIR circuit and posted good results given his bike raced against many with much more horsepower.

Ed Cobb of Cummings, GA, waves to the cornerworkers on his cool-down lap after winning his final race of the day, Amateur Heavyweight Supersport, on Saturday. Cobb dominated the competition, taking a 5 wins in 5 races on his Suzuki GSXR-600. That also included a win in the Amateur Unlimited Supersport against much larger machines. Cummings also placed first at Daytona in March and will be the amateur to watch in 2000.

An interesting contrast of two popular lightweight machines fighting for position at VIR's uphill righthander. Chris Eklund (#393) certainly has the handling performance advantage on his RS125 over Jonathon Broga (#502) on his Suzuki SV650. The RS125 has about 20 less horsepower than the SV650, but wieghs more than half as much. Here Eklund takes the tighter line during the Expert SuperTwins event before starting to chase down the leaders. Eklund finished 7th behind the big horsepower bikes while Broga had to settle for 13th.

Quentin Mise (#123) leads Larry Denning (#360) in Turn 17 during the Unlimited GP race. Mise had made his move on the brakes earlier in the lap, but had to forfeit 3rd place to Denning when the race was red-flagged and the results were moved back to the previous lap.

Newly minted VIR lap record holder Tim Bemisderfer cuts turns into the uphill section of the circuit on his Yamaha R1. Here Bemisderfer rides in 4th place during the Expert Unlimited Supersport event. Bemisderfer later redeemed himself by riding in the front of the Unlimited GP race.

Andy Deatherage of Cleveland, Ohio, leads the Expert Heavyweight Superbike race, which he eventually won. Deatherage was probably the most consistently fast rider of the weekend going 4 for 4 on the weekend, which included a victory during the Expert GTO in the rain on Saturday. Its only to be expected with the years of experience he has racing all over the country, and no doubt he has grown very comfortable on the Suzuki. But it was only by a twist of fate that he took the Unlimited GP race, where Bemisderfer set the track's lap record.

Turn 17 provides a great view of racing through the Roller Coaster downhill section, and some high speed action onto the front straight. Here Michael Myers (#57) pushes his Ducati 996 hard onto the front straight during the Unlimited GP.

Bob Stevens (#30) taking his RS250 through the uphill Turn 20 on Sunday. Always smooth, Bob shows the way to correctly ride a two-stroke racebike, a bike that may prove to be the weapon of choice for a twisty circuit like VIR. We also like that fact that Bob put his MARRC sticker on his can -- his exhaust canister that is.

Here's a great view of the picturesque VIR, showing all the elements that define the circuit. Winding turns one after the other, elevation changes, and a beautiful and well-maintained location.

Thanks go to all the intrepid cornerworkers that made the first MARRC VIR weekend successful:

Mike Adams
Steven Barber
Rick Beck
Vonna Beck
Bob Black
Sherry Black
John Capen
Spencer Cole
Jeannie Dalmas
Randy Dalmas
Nick Gibson
Janet Gunn
Richard Halstead
Brad Haskin
Jeff Haskin Tom Haskin
Wendy Leland
Roger Lyle
Bill Martin
Gary McQuiston
Blake Montgomery
Michael Moscati
Glen Ouye
Bill Powers
Tim Redmond
Pamela Russell
Phil Sears
Clara Tucker
Heather Tucker
Richard Tucker

	Young Ben Walters (#162) has obviously mastered riding in the rain. But then what rider from Summit Point hasn't? Here Ben wheelies his Yamaha TZ250 out of Turn 21 at VIR during Saturday's sloppy conditions. Thankfully the smooth new pavement was predictable in the wet.
	Laurence Borst (#4) runs away with the Expert GTU on Saturday. Borst and his Yamaha R6 took advantage of difficult conditions and rarely put a wheel wrong during the day. Borst was one of the lucky few who spent more time on the podium than at the water hose washing off mud.
	Triple-digit speeds are the norm for one of the fastest turns at VIR. Newly minted expert Jonathon Broga (#502) navigates the fast downhill Turn 17 before entering the front straight. Since its a downhill, slightly off-camber turn and comes just before the longest straightaway on the North Course configuration, Turn 17 claimed several riders on Saturday and a few on Sunday. Broga put in a terrific effort learning the tricky VIR circuit and posted good results given his bike raced against many with much more horsepower.
	Ed Cobb of Cummings, GA, waves to the cornerworkers on his cool-down lap after winning his final race of the day, Amateur Heavyweight Supersport, on Saturday. Cobb dominated the competition, taking a 5 wins in 5 races on his Suzuki GSXR-600. That also included a win in the Amateur Unlimited Supersport against much larger machines. Cummings also placed first at Daytona in March and will be the amateur to watch in 2000.
	An interesting contrast of two popular lightweight machines fighting for position at VIR's uphill righthander. Chris Eklund (#393) certainly has the handling performance advantage on his RS125 over Jonathon Broga (#502) on his Suzuki SV650. The RS125 has about 20 less horsepower than the SV650, but wieghs more than half as much. Here Eklund takes the tighter line during the Expert SuperTwins event before starting to chase down the leaders. Eklund finished 7th behind the big horsepower bikes while Broga had to settle for 13th.
	Quentin Mise (#123) leads Larry Denning (#360) in Turn 17 during the Unlimited GP race. Mise had made his move on the brakes earlier in the lap, but had to forfeit 3rd place to Denning when the race was red-flagged and the results were moved back to the previous lap.
	Newly minted VIR lap record holder Tim Bemisderfer cuts turns into the uphill section of the circuit on his Yamaha R1. Here Bemisderfer rides in 4th place during the Expert Unlimited Supersport event. Bemisderfer later redeemed himself by riding in the front of the Unlimited GP race.
	Andy Deatherage of Cleveland, Ohio, leads the Expert Heavyweight Superbike race, which he eventually won. Deatherage was probably the most consistently fast rider of the weekend going 4 for 4 on the weekend, which included a victory during the Expert GTO in the rain on Saturday. Its only to be expected with the years of experience he has racing all over the country, and no doubt he has grown very comfortable on the Suzuki. But it was only by a twist of fate that he took the Unlimited GP race, where Bemisderfer set the track's lap record.
	Turn 17 provides a great view of racing through the Roller Coaster downhill section, and some high speed action onto the front straight. Here Michael Myers (#57) pushes his Ducati 996 hard onto the front straight during the Unlimited GP.
	Bob Stevens (#30) taking his RS250 through the uphill Turn 20 on Sunday. Always smooth, Bob shows the way to correctly ride a two-stroke racebike, a bike that may prove to be the weapon of choice for a twisty circuit like VIR. We also like that fact that Bob put his MARRC sticker on his can -- his exhaust canister that is.
	Here's a great view of the picturesque VIR, showing all the elements that define the circuit. Winding turns one after the other, elevation changes, and a beautiful and well-maintained location.