Salt Lake Motorsports

Rave Yamaha Racing’s Jason Perez, Shane Turpin and Jay Tanner rode a YZF-R1 to victory—a 4.791-second margin over Vesrah Suzuki—in round four of the Bridgestone/WERA National Endurance. This 6-hour event was held Sunday at Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah. The race was run on the same course configuration that will be used during next weekend’s AMA Superbike National.

Although Vesrah Suzuki’s Tray Batey, Lee Acree and John Jacobi had longer range and slightly faster pit stops, Rave Yamaha Racing was faster on the racetrack. Rave Yamaha Racing was close to lapping Vesrah Suzuki in the fourth hour when the second, and final, red flag of the race came out, erasing Rave Yamaha Racing’s large lead.

Vesrah Suzuki gained a significant advantage when Rave Yamaha Racing had to pit immediately after the restart, but the race would be decided by the final pit stops and riders. Perez, Rave Yamaha Racing’s final rider, started turning the fastest laps of the race. But even with Perez’s pace, Vesrah Suzuki still looked like it would be able to hold its lead to the finish line as long as its final pit stop was clean and quick. It wasn’t. Rave Yamaha Racing passed Vesrah Suzuki in the final 10 minutes and held on to win.

One of the more interesting things about Rave Yamaha Racing’s effort was that the team used both Dunlop and Michelin tires during the race. Perez and Tanner rode on Dunlop slicks, while Turpin, a contracted Michelin rider, used Michelins during his stint.

Ben Bostrom will be live and in-person at Salt Lake Motorsports this Thursday, June 15 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. You’ll have the chance to meet the Ducati Factory rider, get his autograph, take pictures, even have him sign your bike! Drinks and appetizers will be provided.

The Bostrom family name is no secret in the motorcycle industry. The son of a dirt-track racer and brother of a top AMA rider, Ben has lived up to his name. His accolades include 1998 AMA Superbike Champion (he took 2nd in ‘99), 1999 Laguna Seca World Superbike Winner (on a Ducati and racing as the American “wild card” entry), he won 5 races in a row in 2001, was the 2004 AMA Supermoto Champion and won gold in Supermoto at the 2004 X-Games.

This weekend will make your heart race at the new Miller Motorsports Park. Admission and parking are completely free for this, the public grand opening. The WERA Motorcycle Roadracing events are sure to drop jaws, and our own Shane Turpin will be there to compete. Turpin’s endurance team for Sunday’s highly competitive race includes MotoGP’s Jason Perez. Visit Shane and the SLM crew at the garages all weekend!

Mr. Turpin had quite the ordeal getting to the MRA Race #2 at La Junta Raceway in Colorado. When his truck broke down near Rock Springs, WY, he had to call in some help. The very kind Matt Murphy of Larry H. Miller Chevrolet was able to send two people to rescue him with a new truck. Shane was only able to get in a short practice session after he arrived Saturday night, but still managed five first place and one second place finish. Way to pull through Shane!

Inspired by the Innovative Ducati MotoGP Bike;
Authentic MotoGP Technology and Ducati Corse Excellence;
The Culmination of Decades of Racing and Development;
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DUCATI DESMOSEDICI RR will be unveiled in North America today, June 1st 2006. Reservations are now being accepted (current 999R owners will have delivery priority). Contact customerservice@saltlakemotorsports.com or 801-478-4000 for reservation info.

Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountain – In association with the Utah SBA, this new series is a five-event championship designed to create fun and competitive road racing at the club and regional levels.

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Salt Lake Motorsports was excited to be there to support the Parts Unlimited Ducati Team at this past weekend’s Superbike doubleheader at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma Valley, CA. Going into the race, Neil Hodgson was in fourth after finishing in the top six in each race so far. Ben Bostrom was also a favorite, as a California native who grew up just minutes from Infineon.

Although rain forced cancellation of the qualifying races on Friday, Hodgson and Bostrom finished fifth and sixth in the first 28-lap race on Saturday. The podium looked promising for Hodgson when he was in third, though he finished in fifth. Bostrom finished in sixth place, relatively uncontested.

At Sunday’s second and final race, Hodgson improved to fourth place after passing Tommy Hayden on lap 22. Bostrom ended in seventh, though both were about a second faster per lap on the second day due to bike improvements made after Saturday’s race. Overall, it was an exciting weekend at Infineon!

Salt Lake Motorsports is proud to announce its partnership with Bimota North America. Bimota is one of motorcycling’s most prestigious names, representing the ultimate in motorcycle design & technology. To compliment the company’s rich heritage of performance and art, Bimota has involved award-winning designers and the most progressive engineers for excellence in motorcycling. See the bikes here.

Salt Lake Motorsports congratulates Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock on being awarded Executive of the Year.

Powersports Business Magazine recently named the Ducati North America CEO as recipient of the Prestigious Ehlert’s Powersports Award. After seeing Lock guide Ducati North America to its highest retail sales in the company’s history (a sales increase of more than 43% since 2003), a panel of leading industry experts and authorities chose Lock for the award. Lock joined Ducati North America less than four years ago. In that time, he has reduced national motorcycle inventory to an all-time low, improved the company’s parts distribution and supply chain and orchestrated a 75% and 38% sales increase in apparel and accessories, respectively.

Once again, we salute Shane for an outstanding performance at the first MRA race of the season in Colorado. Mr. Turpin won 5 of 6 races. Congratulations, Shane!