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DiSalvo Impresses in Indy Moto2 with GP Tech and Öhlins USA
For immediate release: August 31, 2010 Hendersonville, North Carolina: USA racer Jason DiSalvo showed his smarts with a startling 9th-place finish in Moto2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s round of the motorcycle World Grand Prix championship, riding for team GP Tech. DiSalvo, a native of Western New York, entered the Indy Moto2 race as a wildcard rider, learning quickly how to manage the task of racing a new bike on a new circuit with a new team. DiSalvo’s American effort with the FTR chassis was managed by Geoff Maloney, owner of GP Tech, and supported by Crew Chief Al Ludington and Öhlins USA Road Racing Manager Mike Fitzgerald, preparing the distinctive FTR bike painted blue with white stars. Friday’s practice saw DiSalvo lay down the 10th fastest time of the day, but in Saturday’s qualifying he only managed to earn 27th on the huge Moto2 grid. The parity of bikes results from spec Honda engines and spec Dunlop tires, and use of Öhlins suspension components so endemic it might seem like the spec suspension for the series. The only difference between Moto2 bikes is chassis, paint and rider, making the class basically a race of champions where racer skill and motivation outweigh material and money. In Sunday’s race, DiSalvo quickly made waste of most of the field, climbing quickly up to do battle for a top-ten position from his 27th grid spot, dicing with seasoned Moto2 racers Anthony West and Dominique Aegerter. Running speeds comparable to the podium finishers, DiSalvo traded paces during the closing laps, taking one position in the turn off the back straight and another before the finish line, making DiSalvo the top finishing rider on a Moto2 bike on an FTR chassis, with his 9th-place finish. DiSalvo said, “Having help from Öhlins USA was awesome. Mike knows how to give a rider what he needs. He knows how to talk with a rider and how to interpret what I’m saying about the feel of the bike, and he immediately answers with set-up changes that allow me to go faster. And the faster I go, the more he adjusts the Öhlins set-up to make the bike suit my speed.” Öhlins USA distributes and services the world’s leading performance suspension for automobiles, motorcycles, and ATVs. Öhlins develops its proprietary and innovative suspension components at the highest levels of racing from open-wheel car racing, to Moto GP, to off-road competition on two and four wheels. Öhlins USA also provides training for service centers and dealers. www.Ohlinsusa.com
Öhlins USA Staff Ride (Off-Road)
The Öhlins USA gearheads aren’t just dedicated suspension specialists, they’re motorcycle enthusiasts through and through. So, on Saturday, August 21st, they headed to the tracks in Union Point, Georgia for two days of MX riding. Brad Stokes, Marty Lange, Joey Subrizi, and Stacey Berger from Öhlins USA, met up with seven other friends, taking advantage of a rare off weekend from the major race series. They left the Öhlins USA shop in Hendersonville, North Carolina at 5:00 a.m. Saturday morning, trucking their bikes for the three-hour ride to the Durhamtown Plantation. Berger said, “This is what we do when we finally get a weekend off. It’s very hard to find a weekend when everyone isn’t at a race supporting Öhlins riders. We wanted to be there by 8:00 a.m. and get signed in so we could start riding at 9:00 a.m. But the weather wasn’t with us and it was wet and it only got worse. The rain came at around 10:30 a.m. We rode anyway. It was slick for most of the day with the trails finally drying out somewhat towards the end. After eight hours of riding we called it a day, looking forward to the trail conditions being better on Sunday. “We woke up to a beautiful morning with the temperatures already in the mid 80’s at 8:00 a.m. We geared up and headed out to one of the many MX tracks on the Durhamtown Plantation property. The trails were in much better shape heading out to the track, so we were all exited about the day’s riding. Unfortunately, our excitement was short lived after our friend Mark ended up over the bars, and his bike land on him after flipping several times. When we got him out of the woods, we realized he wasn’t going to be able to ride for the rest of the day. So we loaded up disappointed that the ride was over, but relieved that he’ll make a full recovery and be back on the bike as soon as the doctors clear him to ride.” Next weekend it’s back to work. Öhlins USA off road technicians will be at the Moto-X 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, while Öhlins USA road racing technicians will be at the international Moto GP event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, providing support to many and specifically to an American Moto2 competitor.
Garret Toth, Privateer, Competes and Completes at Unadilla MX on Öhlins
For immediate release: August 18, 2010 Hendersonville, North Carolina: Working towards creating an edge for the up-coming Unadilla, New York round of the national Lucas Oils Motocross Championship Series, privateer racer Garret Toth was joined by Öhlins USA technician Marty Lange last week for testing in Toth’s hometown of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Thursday before the races. But just as testing began, Toth’s bike was toast. The best made plans of motorcycles and men… Toth got a new bike. A bone-stock 2008 Suzuki RM-Z450. Lange fitted up an Öhlins shock out of the box, a cartridge kit, and they headed to Unadilla without time for testing, resorting instead to a quick guess and couple clicks. With an otherwise showroom bike, Toth set out to compete, managing to qualify for the Motos in 37th, three places ahead of the 40-bike cut off from the 77 riders vying for a place on the grid. For a privateer, just making it into the show is half the reward. Toth, though, was too tardy taking off from the gate in Moto 1, heading towards turn one with three riders behind him, and 36 out front. Making the most of his stock bike, Dunlop tires, and nearly perfect suspension, Toth took on two groups of riders he came upon, making his way through each in leaps, literally, and bounds too. At the checked flag, Toth had climbed all the way up to 24th. Trapped in a time warp, in Moto 2, Toth had a repeat of Moto 1, except this time he modified his challenge slightly by running off track early, and having the entire field of competitors before him rather than nearly all of it. Again Toth took 24th, adding up to an overall finish in 27th. Öhlins USA congratulates Toth for a totally awesome twosome at Unadilla. Toth, an 18-year-old privateer, said, “I like the track at Unadilla, and the bike, but I didn’t have much time to get used to the bike. In the second Moto I went into the ditch in the gravity cavity and stalled, on about the third lap. So I had to make my way through riders from there. I like the dirt at Unadilla, and how the hills are all natural. It’s a great place.” This was Toth’s fourth attempt to race in a national and his third time to qualify. He’ll be competing in two more this year, at Moto-X 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts, August 28, and at Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pennsylvania, September 4.
Shane McElrath’s Loretta Lynn Adventure
School-boy Shane McElrath(Öhlins Racer Profile), a 15-yar-old from Canton, North Carolina, came home from the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Motocross Championship with a handful of good finishes and a basketful of experiences. Competing in both SchoolBoy 1 and SchoolBoy 2, McElrath was in six races and earned overall results of 21st and 16th respectively, with a best race finish of 10th. Like always, it was hot at Loretta Lynn’s. But unlike always it was really, really hot this year, registering 104 in the shade for most days of this annual amateur Superbowl of MX races, with a heat index of six-million degrees. Really. On his way to his 21st overall in SchoolBoy 1, McElrath posted finishes of 14th, 38th, and 18th. His 16th overall in SchoolBoy 2 was the result of his 13th, 35th, and 10th place finishes in each race. McElrath’s week started with the first races of his two classes taking place the same day, Tuesday, requiring lots and lots of hydrating. His top-15 place finishes on His KTM in SB 1 and Kawasaki in SB2 put him in a great standing to do well overall, but a misfiring bike in Wednesday’s Race 2 of SB1 sidelined him while he was running sixth, and in SB2 on Thursday’s Race 2 he fell and was unable to restart his Kawasaki, dropping 30 positions from where he’d been running. My kingdom for a nail, or a push start. In Friday’s SB1 Race 3, McElrath made a slight error that he will never make again, running off to relive himself just as the two minute flag came out. The problem with two-minute flags is that they don’t know how to keep time very well, and as he was running back to his bike the grid was waved off. By the time he started the riders were clear of turn one and he was, as you’d guess, last. And, he was dragged out from a high-heat dash on foot. In his charge through the field, McElrath made it up to 13th before his body said to him, “You know what, Shane? I’m all worn out.” Finishing 18th in that race was nearly heroic on McElrath’s part. I the SB2 final race on his Kawasaki, taking place Saturday, McElrath had to fight forward from his worst start of the week. Well, okay, second worst start. He laid down lap times as fast as some some pro riders, earning his best finish of the week in 10th. All of us at Öhlins USA congratulate Shane on his perseverance and excellent performance. In the bog pond of riders nationwide, Shane showed he can perform at the front and that with his heart, and his father Max’s hands preparing his bikes, he’s on his way to better and better results
Öhlins USA Racer Profile: Chris Madden, Super Late Model
Is he fast and consistent? Gray Court, South Carolina native Chris “Smokey” Madden is a fifteen-year dirt-track veteran with over 140 feature wins to his credit. At each dirt-track event his black, number-44, Super Late Model racecar is so detailed it looks as if he shows up with a new car at every race. That’s because he knows that preparation and detail are key to wining, details like a finely tuned Öhlins suspension. Madden, a 35-year-old racer, has by early August scored four wins in 2010, 20 top-five and 13 top-three finishes, in his 30 starts for the season. His wins this year include taking the top prize at the Commonwealth 100 at Virginia Motor Speedway, a $25,000-to-win event that attracts an overflowing number of the best driver from around the country, making it a particularly difficult and special accomplishment. Madden is the 2009 Late Model Southern Champion and is currently tied for sixth in the 2010 points, just ten points away from the top three. A dedicated and experienced crew ensures that Madden’s machine is properly prepared, with Jamie “Cotton” Owens, Brian Morbabito and Shane Worley sharing a combined 26 years of working with Madden. His crew’s deft hands, combined with work performed by sponsor Bloomquist Race Cars, help maintain Madden as a frontrunner at every event, and a fan favorite throughout the Southern region. Madden’s dedication to the sport includes keeping his fans abreast of his schedule and results through his team’s website (www.chrismadden44.com) and on facebook.com (Chris Madden Racing). Basically, if it’s Saturday night, Madden is racing, it’s just a question of where.
