We knew there was work to be done before the rest of the season started back up, so we brought in fellow Californian and all around fast guy, Steve Rapp to help with the testing. Steve liked the bike so much that he has decided to stay on with the team to race it in Infineon and Miller Motorsports Park Utah. OK, I admit I'm having a little fun with calling Steve "my replacement". He is one of the top riders on the grid and WAAAYYY faster than I would be! Not only is he fast, he's a nice guy and a perfect addition to the team.
We also picked up a third rider, Chris Trounson, who will help share expenses. Chris is an Aussie racer whose father crews for the Championship points leading Procon Maxima team in Australia. They have a lot of experience with the S1000RR at home and should be a great addition to the team.
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| Steve Rapp Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
While there is little time for practice in the AMA, there were two 50 min. Qualifying Sessions for the weekend, and the laps times began to plummet when the factory teams installed softer rubber and pressed their riders for faster times. Steve bettered his previous time with a 1:37.9 and was one of three BMW riders to sneak under the 1:38 mark. Jeremy and Chris both easily qualified for the race with a 1:39.4 and a 1:41.2 respectively.
Now that the pressure was off for qualifying, the team was able to focus on getting the best grid positions possible for the race. Qualifying Session #2 was all about getting a flying lap in to do just that. Unfortunately, everyone else was doing the same thing.
Qualifying always seems like a game of cat and mouse. Teams start the sessions out with the harder option race tires and switch to softer compound tires in an effort to gain an advantage on the starting grid. Who are we to argue? Rapp set the 4th fastest time of the session, a lightening fast 1:37.0, but Ben Bostrom had a slightly faster time in the first session. That relegated Steve to the fifth position on the grid. First spot on the second row. Needeless to say we were ecstatic.
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| Jeremy Toye Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
Race two was never a sure thing to start. The weather on Sunday was threatening all morning and radar was showing a thunderstorm was bearing down on us near starting time. It never really materialised, but rained a bit and caused a minor delay. When the clouds cleared enough to dry out the track, it made tire selection difficult. Toye chose a harder rear tire while Trounson chose a softer front tire. Neither turned out to be the best choice. Rapp had stuck with the hard front, soft rear combination that proved to be the best choice. On the first lap with Rapp running fifth, Chris Ulrich had a massive crash in turn three. Less than a half lap later, his teammate Martin Cardenas crashed and caused a red flag to come out.
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| Chris Trounson Photo by: Will Guyan, BMWRA.org/OTL |
Steve had a couple of seconds to make up if he was going to catch Pegram, and he put his head down and did just that. Taking a few tenths a lap out, Steve closed the gap several laps before the end. He waited for an opportunity and squeezed up the inside of the carousel only to have Larry and his BMW beat him to turn 7. Steve definitely had the bike working better on the brakes and late braked him into the corner. Larry, attempting to keep him at bay, out-braked himself and ran a little wide. He lost a second or so and that was all Steve needed. Finishing forth behind an epic battle for the lead as Tommy held Josh off for his first win of the season and Blake rounded out the podium
San Diego BMW Motorcycles is looking forward to the next round at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah May 30th. We would like to thank BMW for building an awesome bike, our partners; Locust and Lee’s Cycles, and our sponsors; Cataylist Racing Composites, and Yoshuramura.
