Millennium/KWS Suzuki Survive Crashes and Rain for Top 15 in Superbike

Lexington, OH – August 2007 – Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports was a victim of the so called “million dollar corner” this weekend at Mid-Ohio. The key-hole area of the famed Ohio sports car course proved unusually treacherous with nearly every major team suffering at least one crash in this relatively small area of the track. John Haner and David Weber only raced Superbike this weekend because the Superstock race was cancelled on Sunday due to inclement weather.

In Superbike Qualifying the Millennium/KWS Suzuki duo of Haner and Weber ran nearly identical times to qualify back to back on the fourth row with their Dunlop shod Suzuki GSX-R1000’s. Haner qualified with a time of 1:27.826 for the fourteenth position while Weber qualified right behind Haner with a time of 1:27.856 for the fifteenth despite a huge crash at the exit of turn four. Weber suffered a concussion and a severely bruised foot and was transported to the hospital Friday afternoon. Weber returned to the track on Friday night after being cleared by the doctor to ride.

By the start of Saturday’s Superbike Race One Weber could not walk without the assistance of crutches but he was determined to ride if he could turn competitive lap times. Haner and Weber both got good starts and were racing together in the fourteenth and fifteenth positions until lap thirteen when Weber crashed again in almost the exactly the same spot at the exit of turn four. This brought out the red flag stopping the race. While the team anxiously waited for the safety crew to bring Weber and his bike back to the pits, Haner’s crew changed Dunlop tires and fine tuned to his Penske suspension. The Mid-Ohio safety crew brought Weber’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 back to the pits and the team quickly assessed the damage to the bike and Weber. Weber fortunately suffered no additional injuries and the team went to work repairing his bike. The team did an amazing job with the help of several people along pit road to get the bike repaired in less than twelve minutes. Unfortunately the team was not able to get the bike fixed before the restart and Weber was black flagged by the AMA for not rejoining the race before the leaders completed one lap on the restart. Meanwhile the adjustments made by the teams Penske technicians worked wonders on Haner’s bike and on lap eighteen he turned his fastest lap of the weekend. On lap nineteen the “million dollar corner” bit the Millennium/KWS Suzuki team again when Haner crashed the same spot as his teammate at the exit of turn four. Luckily Haner was not injured.

The Millennium Technologies team woke Sunday morning to a soaking rain. Due to the proximity of the wall in some critical parts of the track the AMA Superbike series does not compete in the rain at Mid-Ohio. This was a blessing in disguise as it gave David Weber’s foot a chance to heal. After waiting for almost ten hours the AMA Superbike race started at just after seven in the evening. Haner and Weber both got excellent starts. Haner raced with the Factory MV of Luca Scassa and ex-MotoGP rider James Ellison for the majority of the race to finish in the thirteenth position, the highest finishing true privateer. Weber showed a tremendous amount of heart and dedication by riding through injury sustained in two major crashes to finish in the sixteenth position and get valuable points.

John Haner – The weekend went pretty well all things considered. The team as a whole had a very difficult Saturday and then with the Superstock race canceled on Sunday, we really didn’t have a chance to redeem ourselves. The Superbike race on Sunday went pretty good, I can’t say enough about the Dunlop tires. They are sticky and consistent over the course of a race distance. I have to thank my crew Michael Godin, Chip Spalding, and Blake Kelley. Those guys worked really hard this weekend in some difficult conditions. I also want to thank Komodo and HJC for keeping me safe as well as Rockstar Energy Drink and Dragon for all their support.

David Weber – It was a crazy weekend with the weather and all the crashes. In the end I was glad we got to race and salvage points. We were running really good in the beginning of the weekend and would have been really competitive in Superstock, but with the weather and the crashes that didn’t happen. I really want to thank my mechanics Rick Matheny and Matt Hill. They had to work really hard this weekend to put my bike back together. I also want to thank Chuck and Kyle from Team Hunter for their help during the red flag, that was amazing. My Komodo gear worked great and kept me safe through two major crashes and I can’t thank them enough. I am feeling better already and can’t wait for VIR in two weeks.

Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – Wow, what a weekend. This team seems to do best when everything is stacked against them. It was disappointing that we did not have a Superstock race to compete in. Superstock is the teams focus this year and I think that we would have done really well, but I respect the AMA’s decision to cancel it. We are definitely looking forward to VIR in two weeks.

Millennium/KWS Suzuki is proudly sponsored by:

Millennium Technologies, American Suzuki, Ron Ayers Motorsports, Dunlop Tires, Pit Bull, LeoVince Exhaust, GP Tech, Penske Suspension, Komodo Gear, Catalyst Racing Composites, VP Fuels, EK Chains, Wiseco Pistons, BG Lubricants, Webcam, Performance Friction Brakes, Shock Doctor, Worldwide Bearing, Zero Gravity, XT Racing, APE, CTR Suspensions, Chickenhawk, K&N Filters, Hel Brake Lines

For Information:  http://www.kwsracing.com