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2008 Race Season News
Two Events: Event I (4/18-20/2008)
Barber Motorsports Park Leeds, Alabama 4/18-20/2008 Formula Extreme
Steve Rapp (15) and Chaz Davies (57) each qualified for a front row start, posting
fast qualifying laps only .435 sec. and .582, respectively, behind pole sitter Josh
Hayes
A bad start hampered Davies, knocking him back to p6 as his team mate and the competition
got away. Early in the race, Rapp ran wide in Turn 5 and then put the hammer down
to catch the leaders and crashed while trying to make up time. He picked the bike
up and clawed through the field in a masterful attempt to catch back up with the
leaders.
Supersport
The team and both riders struggled throughout the weekend trying to get better edge
grip by altering chassis set up, but to little avail. Rapp qualified 4th, almost
finishing the race in the same position after getting nipped at the line and finishing
5th. Davies had an even tougher time finding that elusive sweet spot, qualifying
and finishing in 10th position.
Two Events: Event II (4/25-27/2008)
Auto Club Speedway Fontana, California 4/25-27/2008 Formula Extreme Steve Rapp qualified
2nd, a mere .257 behind pole sitter Jake Zemke. Both Pirelli Q's and race tires
were deemed "very good," and Steve felt confident in his ability to put another
one on the box.
A bad start and corner entry chatter hampered his ability to keep it pinned, and
Rapp was forced to baby his equipment for a 4th place finish.
Chaz Davies qualified 7th on his spare bike after crashing early in the session.
He put his head down in the race to finish 5th after discovering mid-race that his
engine was overheating. He nursed the Attack Kawasaki FX machine through a pretty
hairy set of circumstances - including a very greasy track, high ambient temperatures,
gale force winds and riders crashing out all around him, to bring it home in one
piece just behind his team mate.
Supersport
Pretty much the same issues plagued both riders as the week before at Barber - getting
positive traction out of some very good tires with the correct set up. Switching
from a 190 rear, which seemed to hamper turning, to a 180 improved cornering dramatically.
However, traction seemed to go away, and without enough time to tweak set up satisfactorily.
Qualifying 9th and 10th respectively, Davies and Rapp finished the Supersport race
in 8th and 9th place, each improving from the start by one position. Looking forward
to the next contest in Sonoma, California at Steve Rapp's home track, Infineon Raceway,
the team looks to improve performance in a big way.
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