LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 14) — After a solid World Superbike debut last weekend, GEICO Motorcycle Honda rider Chris Ulrich is ready to return to the AMA Pro Road Racing Series circuit and duke it out for a podium finish during the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop, July 19-20, at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
“Running with the World Superbike guys at Laguna Seca was really good in a number of ways,” Ulrich said. “As a rider you always push yourself to get better, but seeing the level those guys are at has really motivated me to dig even deeper. They were all world-class riders and it was really something to be out there racing with them.
“We’ll be on a much more level playing field this weekend at Mid-Ohio getting back to AMA Pro SuperBike. This is what we’re used to running and what our bike is built for. The World Superbike guys have different things they can do with their engines. It’s more than just different fuel and different tires. Now we can get back to what we know and race this domestic series again.”
GEICO Motorcycle Honda SportBike rider Jake Zemke continued his consistent 2014 season at Laguna Seca with another top-10 finish, and he will now return to a track where he has enjoyed much success in his career. After making unrelenting progress this entire year, Zemke and the GEICO Honda team will work toward running up front all weekend.
“It’s a track I’ve always enjoyed,” Zemke said. “I’ve won there in a bunch of different classes, so my personal history at Mid-Ohio is really good. They repaved it and smoothed it out a few years back and it’s great, but to be honest I liked the old days with the rough concrete patches. There were grooves and they’d kind of grab your front wheel. It freaked some people out but it never bothered me. I’d just power through there.
“Each week, each test session, each race we’re getting better. It takes time and it can be frustrating, so I’m constantly reminding myself to be patient. The guys on this team work super-hard and no one wants to see us up front more than the people you see wearing these GEICO Honda shirts, I promise you. We’re just going to keep our heads down and keep working.”
Racing action starts Saturday with GoPro Daytona SportBike qualifying at 8:40 a.m. and 11:40 a.m. and AMA Pro SuperBike qualifying at 9:25 a.m. The first GoPro Daytona SportBike race will begin at 2 p.m., followed by the first AMA Pro SuperBike race of the weekend at 3 p.m. The weekend wraps up Sunday with the final 19-lap SportBike race at 2 p.m. and a 21-lap SuperBike race at 3 p.m.
