Barber AMA 2007 - Racing Notes

With deference to Click and Clack, "Well, it's happened again, I've squandered another perfectly good weekend watching AMA racing."

The weather gods certainly smiled on central Alabama this year as we enjoyed 3 days of nearly perfect racing conditions. It was just a touch cool in the morning with a gentle breeze in the warming afternoons. Crowds were unusually heavy and the excitement was building.



There certainly seems to be a lot of drama in the AMA paddock this season. Top stories are the rivalry between teammates Spies and Mladin, the return of Yamaha to superbike racing and the switching of teams by Tommy Hayden and Jamie Hacking. In superstock, the mood has certainly shifted with the arrival of Aaron Yates to Jordan Suzuki. I see this as a really promising year for Jordan and if they really have the resources they should be contenders in superstock for sure.





This year brought some extra excitement as at least two WERA racers (Thomas Moore and Chad Dupree) were attempting to qualify and race in supersport. I first met Thomas about 3 years ago at Talladega. He and his girlfriend are such nice, friendly people. Unfortunately, the next time I would see Thomas he had crashed hard at the end of the back stretch at Barber during a practice, totaling his bike. There's really no worse feeling for a racer than to recognize a crashed bike. All you have time to think is, "I hope the rider is not injured".

Chad did qualify and race in supersport but Thomas fell victim to the number of entrants rule. He made the field on time but only the top 44 are allowed to race. He missed it by two bikes, I believe. Hang in there Thomas, you'll make it for sure.

With all that said, here then are some highlights of the racing for me:

1. Josh Herrin in Supersport. Wow that kid is crazy good. He came from nowhere to finish second. It seems clear that Josh, Garrett Carter and Tyler McDonald are the future for Yamaha.



2. 2007 Honda CBR600RR. Holy crap, this bike's for real. It dominated supersport and formula extreme and is clearly the class of the current 600 crop.

3. Josh Hayes just keeps getting better and better.



4. Surprise of the weekend....Rockwall Honda. I loved the battle in formula extreme between the Ducati's of Larry Pegram and Marty Cragill and the Rockwall Hondas of Ryan Andrews and Ryan Elleby. I met Ryan's dad last year at the AMA's when Ryan was riding a Honda with Larry Pegram's team. Nice people, I hope he makes it big.

5. Jordan Suzuki...first and second place and the pole in Superstock. Outstanding performances.





6. Superbike...Mladin and Spies are clearly the class of the field. I've never seen a more determined rider than Matt this year but Ben is so very, very good. It will be a season long battle. Tommy Hayden did a great job in superbike as well. Honda and Yamaha aren't as far back from Yoshimura Suzuki as I expected. They will surely pick up a win somethere. Miguel continues to be ageless.

7. James Elison...came over from MotoGP and made an impressive showing. It can't be easy to adjust to these machines and this type of track, even for someone with his experience. His battle with Roger Lee Hayden in Superbike race 1 was great fun to watch.

8. Ben Bostrom...teammates with his brother Eric at factory Yamaha. Ben seems to be genuinely enjoying racing again and I hope he will be able to get a win this year.



So the season is off to a proper start with Daytona and Barber now behind and Fontana looming for this weekend. When they get to Infineon and Road America we'll see who really has the legs this year. Can't wait.

Barber AMA 2007, Spectator Notes

April in Alabama carries two important dates in my world, my birthday on the 25th and AMA race weekend at Barber. This year while roaming the paddock I was able to meet some very nice privateer racers and even have a word with new AMA racer, James Ellison (fugitive from the MotoGP wars).



James came over from Europe to ride with Corona Extra Honda. I was able to talk with him long enough to welcome him to the states and let him know how much I enjoyed his epic battle with Roger Lee Hayden in Superbike race 1.

One of the privateer racers I met was Michael Morgan of Goshen, Indiana. Michael was running in Formula Extreme and was a very friendly guy. Best of luck, Michael.



The racer pictured below is Brian Hall of Spring Grove , Illinois.



This is Ryan Clay from Lula, Georgia. (Thanks to WERA BBS member SmokeSignalRT for identifying this racer for me.)



This is Randall Kienast a CMRA racer from Texas. (Thanks to WERA BBS member "ishc" for identifying this racer for me.)



This next racer is expert 292, Keith Marshall of Canton, Georgia. Keith had an ugly crash on Friday in practice where his engine blew and he lost it on his own oil. The bike tumbled over the airfence and the tire barrier. Keith was fortunately unhurt.

Congratulations Gill Cutchen - WERA Expert 105

Congratulations go out to my good friend Gill Cutchen, WERA expert racer 105. Gill picked up a nice third place finish in the Lightweight Solo race on Saturday at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway.

This was Gill's first race weekend on his newly built Suzuki SV650. Gill's best time was a 1:08.157 on the SV.

Above is a picture of Gill on his Suzuki 750 after the Senior Superbike race on Sunday.

Congratulations Bob Eady - Expert 146

I'm excited to report that my friend Bob Eady, WERA expert 146, picked up a well deserved third place in the Senior Superbike Heavyweight race this past Sunday at Talladega Grand Prix Raceway.

Bob's best time was a 1:05.773 and I believe this was his first ever expert podium.