| VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL
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Alton, Va., April 30, 2007…It was both a good day
and a bad day for the Florida-based Team RightsForBikers.com. Fighting
against the odds, determination paid off and the GST team of John
Linder and Jason Edmonds took their first podium finish at Round
3 of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series at Virginia International Raceway
this past weekend.
"Earning a podium finish at this race is really
a true testament to our crew," says John Linder of Tampa, Fla.,
who drove the Team RightsForBikers.com Ducati PS1000LE across the
Finish Line. "I went to get the bike after Jason (Edmonds)
crashed just about mid-way through the event. Luckily he wasn't
hurt, but the bike was. I wasn't sure we could get it back on track.
But the crew didn't falter. They got right to work. Replacing the
shifter, handlebars, pegs, front tire and more, they did an outstanding
job and we were able to get on track and finish 3rd in class. I
take my hat off to our chief mechanic Larry Zullo who kept everything
working at an incredible pace."
"This is the perfect example of what two-wheeled endurance
racing is all about," sums up team owner C.J, Czaia who hails
from Palmetto, Fla. "Everyone on the crew put their heart and
soul into getting our GST bike back on the track and it worked.
They did an awesome job and getting a podium finish made it all
worthwhile."
Flying the SST RightsForBikers.com banner, Mark
Crozier of Palm Coast, Fla., and Nathan Dressman scored a 5th place
finish. "We are a little down on horsepower," said Dressman.
We made great time in the corners, but the straights were a different
matter. We know we can gain a fair amount more and will be ready
to rock and roll come the next road at Road America."
"All in all it was a good race," said
Crozier. "I had brain fade a couple of times and did some off-roading.
I even called in and told the crew to get me some knobby tires.
Luckily my two forays off the track only lost us a few seconds.
We had great pit stops all day long. Our crew chief Charles Worley
and our gas man got us in and out and were really awesome."
Aboard the RghtsForBikers.com ST Suzuki 650, Nicole Hoffman of
Palm Coast, Fla., and her co-rider Eric Spector earned a 7th in
class. "Neither Eric or I had ever ridden the VIR track,"
explains Hoffman. "While this was the first time anyone had
raced the full course, almost all the riders had tackled the North
course. Eric, who came onboard at the last minute to fill in for
Bob Fisher did a great job. For two riders to learn a brand new
course in just two practice session with only one bike is tough,
but we both felt comfortable learning the track and everything went
very smoothly throughout the 500 k event."
"We learn a lot at each event," summed up Czaia. "We
now have two months between races and that will give us time to
get everything dialed in to perfection. I am definitely optimistic
about the second half of the season and everyone on the team is
looking forward to beng right up in the thick of things."
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