Race Report - Road America - June 2002

Stargel Aprilia team issue's race report on Chuck Sorensen's victory in 250 race

6-11-02 (from AMA Pro Racing website)

Studying the AMA 250GP schedule before the season began">

Race Report - Road America - June 2002 Stargel Aprilia team issue's race report on Chuck Sorensen's victory in 250 race 6-11-02 (from AMA Pro Racing website) Studying the AMA 250GP schedule before the season began, Team Stargel Aprilia felt that the high speed straightaways and flowing corners of Road America would be well suited to their Aprilia RSV250. With some flawless riding from Chuck Sorensen, this theory proved to be true. As has been the case of every track they travel to this year, Sorensen had logged no time at Road America on the Aprilia. Thursday and Friday's practice sessions were vitally important as the team tried various engine and chassis combinations to make the motorcycle as effective as possible. With every practice session, the Aprilia performed better, lap times came down, and Sorensen gained confidence. As an added incentive, longtime rival, Rich Oliver, was turning record setting lap times in Saturday's practice and qualifying sessions. The Team Stargel Aprilia crew, performed their now customary Saturday late night R&D session in an effort to extract even more performance from their motorcycle. (That would be us, on the Factory Pro Low Inertia EC997 Eddy Current dynamometer, in the 9pm darkness, running the loudest 250 in the USA - Thanks Paul Riccio and Leigh Thomas for working so late that there was only a Red Lobster (or similar) open in Fond du Lac for dinner and to Pilot Avionics for the awesome Active Noise Reduction headset. Just push the "On" button and 250's go away.... :-)  Their labor bore fruit Sunday morning, when Sorensen bettered his qualifying time and moved to the top of the time sheets for the first time during the week. The race proved to be a masterful performance by Sorensen. The San Jose, California rider passed for the lead on the first lap and would never look back. Displaying machine like consistency and an iron will, Sorensen turned nothing but 2:16 lap times from lap two through lap nine. The long straights at Road America once again showcased the team's Aprilia RSV250 as being in a class by itself. Team Stargel Aprilia has now completed all six races entered, winning four. Their point total stands at 203, 45 points ahead of their nearest competitor. The team looks forward to the next race at Brainerd, Minnesota on June 30th. Team Stargel Aprilia would like to thank the supporters who make their efforts possible: Aprilia USA Aprilia Italy FGF Corse Dunlop Performance Powersports VP Racing Fuels Castrol EBC Brakes Shoei Helimot Held Gloves Daytona Boots Fox Racing Smith Sport TC's Specialized Graphics Regina Chains & Factory Pro Tuning. Click here for more AMA Pro Racing information