Aprilia USA and RightsForBikers.com Battle it out in Iowa
NEWTON, Iowa (July 14, 2007) -- At the halfway point, the first motorcycle race at Iowa Speedway has been nothing short of exciting as three teams have continuously battled for the lead. Dicing back and forth are the race-leading No. 6 Aprilia USA / Aprilia Tuono 1000R of Henry Wiles, Ty Howard and Troy Green and second-place No. 69 RightsForBikers.com / Suzuki SV1000S of Mark Crozier and Nathan Dressman. Less than one second separates the two, who have pulled away from the No. 21 Team Florida / Ducati Monster 749 of Rodolfo Ramirez, Armando Ferrer and Gustavo Laya, now following just half a lap behind.
In the BMW GST class, the No. 8 Richie Morris Racing / Buell XB12 ridden by Shawn Higbee and Dan Bilansky has built a commanding two-lap lead on the rest of the class. Second place is currently held by Jeff Johnson and Paul James, riders of the No. 70 James Gang Racing Buell XB12. The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati / Ducati Supersport 1000 of Frank Shockley and Pete Friedland rounds out the top three.
ST class action has seen the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines / Kawasaki EX650 of Jimmy Filice and Jay Springsteen take a one-lap lead after a lengthy battle with the second-place No. 87 SpeedWerks.com / Suzuki SV650 ridden by Brian Kcraget and Scott Ryan. Right behind them are Justin Filice and Robert Fisher aboard the No. 16 RightsForBikers.com / Suzuki SV650.
Two caution periods have fallen upon the field, the first to recover the SST class No. 98 Team Lady Luck / MZ1000, which appeared to have had mechanical failure before stopping in Turn 4. The crew was able to repair the bike, and the team of Michael Martire and Galen Miller returned to the field some laps later. The second caution period was called to pick up the rider and bike of No. 61 Team Mid Illini Motorsports / Suzuki SV650 of Mitch Stein, John Foster and Scott Harwood. Foster was taken to the infield medical center for a routine checkup before being released. Concurrent with his release, the team was able to get the bike back on track with Stein aboard to continue.
Three bikes have retired due to mechanical issues at this point, including the No. 2 RightsForBikers.com / Suzuki SV1000S of Nathan Dressman and Justin Filice, No. 5 Aprilia USA 1 / Aprilia Tuono 1000R of Henry Wiles, Troy Green and Ty Howard, No. 23 EDGE Racing / Suzuki SV650 of Chris Mayerle, Tim Luporini and Don Rankin.
MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com.
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