KWS at Barber Motorsports Park
John Noonan Racing Sets Records in 2007
Millennium/KWS Suzuki’s Ben Thompson out for Three Weeks, Lee Acree to Ride at Infineon
Click here to see the video at www.onthethrottle.tv
Charleston, SC – April 2008 – Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Suzuki of Orangeburg’s rider Ben Thompson is out of commission following a violent crash at California Speedway last week in which Thompson broke his right hand. Thompson had surgery Monday with famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Arthur Ting. Ting installed two plates and fourteen screws in Thompson’s right hand. Thompson is expected to be unable to race for three weeks and will miss the Infineon AMA Superbike round. The Millennium Technologies sponsored team is expecting Thompson to be back at the Miller Motorsports Park AMA Superbike round on May 28th.
Due to Thompson’s injury, Millennium/KWS Suzuki has decided to bring in Lee Acree to ride in Thompson’s place at Infineon Raceway. Acree, who rode for Millennium/KWS Suzuki in 2005 has a very storied past at Infineon Raceway, including winning the 2002 AMA 750 Superstock race there. Acree also rode for Millennium/KWS Suzuki in 2006 as a replacement for injured rider John Haner.
“Lee is a close friend and an incredible rider. We have had several interesting offers from some very good riders, but Lee is always out first choice.” said Millennium/KWS Suzuki team manager Chip Spalding. “This is Lee’s first year on Dunlop’s and we are very excited to see what he can do at Infineon.”
Ben Thompson – “I am very disappointed not to be able to ride at Infineon, but these things happen sometime. This is the first time I have been injured since 2004 so I guess I was due. The bones are back together and healing, but the main worry is getting the incision to heal as they had to open up a significant portion of the back of my hand. As soon as that heals I can go back to working out. I am planning on going to the track to support the team and help Lee out if I can, so stop by and get a bad left handed autograph!”
Lee Acree – “I am very excited to be working with Millennium/KWS Suzuki at Infineon. Kevin, Chip, and Michael have a great team and if there is ever an opportunity to help out I am more than willing to ride. Infineon has always been a good track for me and the Millennium/KWS Suzuki’s are super fast as shown by Ben’s performance so far this year.”
Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – “This is one of the big risks we took this year by focusing all our resources behind one rider. If that rider gets hurt, then what do you do? We are very fortunate to have an ultra-talented friend like Lee Acree who can help us out when we are in a pinch like this and very lucky also that Ben is not hurt any worse than he is. We are looking forward to Ben coming back at Miller and to see what Lee can do at Infineon.”
Millennium/KWS Suzuki Scores a Top Five Finish at Barber Motorsports Park
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Leeds, AL – April 2008 -- Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Suzuki of Orangeburg had an excellent weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. This was the teams first outing on their new 2008 Suzuki GSX-R1000’s and despite some initial set up issues the team was able to pull everything together for their first top five finish of the year.
In order to maximize track time the team used Superbike qualifying for practice and set up. Despite making several changes to the chassis through out the session, Thompson was able qualify with a time of 1:27.953 for the sixteenth position. Using the info developed in Superbike Qualifying the team was able to apply those setting to the Superstock bike and Thompson was able to use the incredible grip of the newest generation of Dunlop N-Tec tires to qualify fifth with a time of 1:27.027. This put Thompson on the inside of the second row.
Racing is filled with many variables, most of which you cannot control. In Superbike Race One Ben Thompson found one of those variables. Thompson got a great start, unfortunately Ben drug the shift lever through turn five on the first lap and snapped it off, necessitating a pit stop. The team made the repair in a hurry, but Thompson was still a lap down. Thompson rode around for the remaining laps with ESP’s Chris Paris who finished in the ninth position; this gave the team confidence for Superbike Race Two.
The Superstock race is the focus of the weekend. Thompson got a great start and was racing in sixth position on first lap. In turn two of the second lap Thompson lost traction and crashed for over 40 feet, wearing a hole in his elbow and running over his own right foot. Some how, some way Thompson was able to save it and only lose four positions. For the next fifteen laps Thompson battled with a group of four riders. Thompson eventually passed all the riders in his group, which led to a last lap battle with reigning Canadian Superbike Champion Jordan Szoke. Thompson finished in the fifth position on his LeoVince equipped GSX-R and is now fifth in Superstock points, ten points back from second position.
Third place finisher Chris Ulrich on the Roadracingworld.com Suzuki was behind Thompson in turn two when he almost crashed. “That was the craziest save I have ever seen” said Ulrich. “I thought for sure Ben was down, his whole body was on the ground. I was blown away when I saw his number was still on the board a few laps later.”
One hour after Ben’s fifth place Superstock finish and grinding a hole in his elbow, Thompson mounted the Millennium Technologies Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike for Superbike Race Two. The team made a few adjustments based on what they learned in the Superstock race and Thompson got off to a good start but developed front suspension chatter as the track temperatures increased. This made the bike very difficult to ride and Thompson did a great job maintaining a consistent pace and finishing in the thirteenth position. After three races Thompson is currently fourteenth in Superbike points, fifteen points back from the ninth position.
Ben Thompson – “The weekend started off pretty tough and we didn’t get a lot of track time, but Michael, Chip, Dustin, and Greg worked really hard and stayed up all night to get all the bugs worked out of the new bikes. I can’t thank those guys enough for all their hard work. In the end we got some pretty good results. We had a lot of little issues that were out of our control and I think with a little luck we will be on the podium soon. I really want to thank all the sponsors for their support especially K&N Filters, Fieldsheer, and Bell Helmets.”
Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – “This is the first time we have ever been disappointed with a top five finish. Ben rode great, the team worked hard, and with a little luck we would have been on the podium. The good news is, it’s early in the season and we are off to a great start. The guys are on their way out California and we will go at it again next week. I want to thank all the sponsors for all their support. We have some of the best sponsors in the series and they have stepped up big time to help us get the season started and I am very excited to be able to give them some good results right from the beginning.”
Millennium/KWS Suzuki Finishes Eleventh at Daytona
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Daytona, FL — March 2008 — Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Suzuki of Orangeburg finished eleventh in the AMA Superstock race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway with rider Ben Thompson. Thompson also finished seventeenth in the Superbike race on Saturday. Through out the weekend the team showed great speed but had some problems during the races that affected the end results.
The AMA Superstock class is Millennium/KWS Suzuki’s focus for 2008. This was Thompson’s first visit to the Daytona International Speedway on a Superstock bike and he raised a lot of eyebrows by qualifying on the second row with time of 1:39.530. This was good enough for seventh position. In the race, Thompson got an excellent start and was circulating in sixth place with the lead group when he overshot the chicane. Thompson tried to battle his way back to the front but the bike developed a shifting problem that caused instability on the ultra-fast Daytona banking. Thompson rode a smart race to bring the Pit Bull sponsored Millennium/KWS Suzuki home in eleventh place and get valuable championship points.
The Daytona Superbike race is traditionally a war of attrition so the team didn’t put a lot of emphasis on qualifying. Instead the team used the session to develop a race set up and Thompson was still able to qualify in nineteenth position with a time of 1:40.379. At the start of the race Thompson moved up to the twelfth position and was battling at the tail end of the factory riders. On lap two Thompson had suffered a small problem going into the new horseshoe and dropped back to the twentieth position. Thompson was able to fight back to finish in the seventeenth position.
Ben Thompson – “I was happy with our Superstock qualifying time and we had made good progress with the setup of the bike. When it came time to race, I got off to a good start and was right there with the lead pack. The Millennium Technologies/KWS Suzuki had a really good motor but I immediately started having some shifting problems in the race. I made a mistake on the second lap and missed the chicane which caused me to lose about seven positions. The mechanical issues got worse as the race went on and I rode as hard as I could while just trying to bring it home in one piece. The team did a great job this weekend, and put me on some very competitive bikes. I can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work. I really look forward to the next race and I think we will be able to run at the front of the pack at Barber. I would like to thank Bell, Fieldsheer, Puma, and K&N for all their support.”
Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – “The team did really well this weekend and the results don’t show it. Ben rode really well and was fast enough all weekend to finish in the top five in Superstock and the top fifteen in Superbike. We had some problems and Ben did an excellent job adapting to those problems and bringing the bike home in one piece and getting some points. Both Ben and the team showed a lot of potential and I am very excited to go Barber Motorsports Park in April and show what we can do.”
Congratulations to John Noonan Racing
Congratulations are due to John Noonan Racing for their many accomplishments in 2007: 2007 SCTA Motorcycle Points Championship, Fastest Motorcycle at El Mirage, and Fastest Unfaired Naked record anywhere. We are proud to have sponsored Noonan Racing.
Introducing Cylinder Head Repair and Preventive Maintenance
Millennium Technologies announces its cylinder head repair and maintenance services using their new simultaneous 5-axis computer numeric controlled cylinder head porting center and a new CNC seat guide machine. In the last ten years Millennium Technologies has established itself as a leader in plated cylinder repair. The new machines were installed apply their expertise to cylinder head repair and maintenance. The process will resurrect damaged heads for a fraction of the cost of buy a new one.
The 5-axis center uses computer control to accurately replicate any chamber designs. The new machine insures that your head will return exactly the way it was when it was new. A new CNC seat and guide machine delivers valve jobs better than OEM. This will help Millennium Technologies to keep their customers’ costs down while delivering higher, more consistent quality work to them. They also offer complete one sourcing for parts and an extensive list of preventative maintenance services.
According to owner Chris Hackl, “It’s all about striving to have the best possible products.” Click Here for more information.
