This past weekend Team VAMMUS Racing attended the opening round of the RACE Superseries held at Shannonville Motorsport Park on the Fabi Circuit.
The weekends weather was very cool and windy, but the bright sun warmed up the track enough to make for some decent race conditions. The wind on the other hand would prove to make perfect laps a bit difficult as the gusts pushed riders off line making riding unpredictable.
The weekend began with news as Dunlop Tires being the contingency Sponsor and Race Tire supplier for this season.
On Saturday morning the team worked at finding an ideal set up for the new Ducati 1098 on Dunlop Tires. By lunch break after a drastic change in the bikes geometry Vammus was able to drop almost two seconds off his lap times. This was perfect timing as after Saturdays lunch break the first heat races of the year began.
Vammus got up to speed quickly and had a good Top ten Finish in the Pro Superbike heat race.
In the Thunder Heat Vammus would renew the BMW/ Ducati rivalry with National Factory BMW rider Michael Ferreira. Vammus took the hole-shot but going into the first slow hairpin Ferreira attempted a late breaking block pass. Vammus was forced to take a wide line but was able to out ride Ferreira to the next corner holding on to the lead. From there Vammus sped off to the race win with a new lap record, one and a half seconds quicker than the previous one.
In the Heavyweight Heat Vammus would battle with long time rival, Jim Proulx (Former RACE Superseries Pro Superbike Champion). Proulx took the hole-shot but a pass in the hairpin put Vammus in the lead. Vammus went on to take his second victory of the day.
More impressive was that during the afternoon's races Vammus had to battle thru poor visibility as a fluid leak covered the windshield. The team tore down the 1098 discovering that the radiator had been punctured causing water to spray out during the races. The team worked hard repairing the rad overnight and rebuilding the bike the next morning.
For Sunday morning practice, the team's set up was looking good, as Vammus was able to run with RACE's perennial Superbike Champion, Frank Trombino, and other top riders.
In Sundays first Final, the Heavyweight class, Ferreira took the hole shot followed by Proulx and Vammus. Vammus tried a pass in the hairpin and collided with Proulx, which was nothing new as the rivals have swapped paint many times over the years. Vammus lost the drive and stayed in third. Vammus remained persistent and then successfully passed both Ferreira and Proulx taking the lead. Vammus put his head down, broke away lapping just short of the lap record, and took his first final victory of the year.
In the Thunder class Vammus rode unchallenged, from pole position to race victory, taking his second win of the day.
After battling a migraine headache all afternoon, Vammus parked his Ducati choosing to take the battle to the Superbike class in Round 2.
Excellent weekend results proved the team is coming to grips with the Ducati 1098 and Dunlop Tires. The standard 1098 and Vammus showed it's awesome potential as even without traction control, only available on the 'R' and 'S' models, the bike remained hooked up and fast off the corners under acceleration.
The team is looking forward to Round 2 coming up May 15-17 at Shannonville Motorsport Park.
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2009 Season
Sportsman HeavyWeight Final
| 1 |
Derek Vammus |
139 |
| 2 |
James Proulx |
111 |
| 3 |
Robert Busby |
73 |
| 4 |
Dean Plater |
58 |
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