Motorcycles and news

Flat Track: In evening of changes Aprilia just misses transfer to main July 19, 2006

As the qualifying session finished, a downpour soaked the track at the Virginia Motor Speedway in Saluda, VA. After a short delay, racing resumed. As the track dried throughout the evening changing conditions wreaked havoc from one end of the paddock to the other with every team desperately searching for the perfect setup. Last minute changes to tires and gearing were frantically reset in a gamble to gain traction.

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Aprilia rider, Henry Wiles had a solid outing during qualifying, finishing 17th out of a 40 rider field. First place qualifier completed his best lap only .419 of a second better than Wiles. Henry’s lap earned him his first front row heat race starting position aboard the Aprilia this season. He managed a 4th place finish in the heat race behind Chris Carr, Kenny Coolebeth and Mike Hacker (all three main event winners this season) just missing a top 3 finish needed to transfer into the main.

After a slight bobble on the start of the semi, Henry slipped back to 4th where he finished. Only the top 2 riders in the semi transfer and Wiles was a mere .989 of a second from making his 3rd consecutive half mile main event.

The track was extremely slick in the heat races and gradually progressed to pavement like traction in the main. These quickly changing conditions saw riders from the front row of the main event fall back as far as 16th position while Bryan Smith, who started in the back row, worked his way up to 3rd.

‘I know it sounds a bit odd, but even though the results do not show it, we had one of our best nights ever,” said David Lloyd, Team Co-Owner. “When you consider that now only 5 riders have qualified for all 6 main events so far this year, you realize how difficult it is to make these mains, especially with a brand new program with a brand new type of motorcycle. The team and the Aprilia have been getting better and more competitive each week and that’s our goal right now.”

”The bike handled the best that it has so far, the engine ran great and Henry felt the setup could have gotten us into the main with a little better fortune. Unfortunately we barely missed our transfer spot by less than a secondthat’s the way it goesit’s a game of split seconds.” Continued Team Co-Owner Michael Lloyd.

“We’ve come a long way with the Aprilia in a very short time”, continued Henry Wiles, “It’s a matter of a few small changes here and there that will take us to the next level with the Aprilia. I am getting more comfortable on the bike each time that I ride it.”

Upcoming schedule:
July 22, Darke County Fairgrounds, Greenville, OH
July 29, Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, MD
Aug. 5, Farley Speedway, Farley, IA Half-mile
Aug. 26, Bridgeport Speedway, Bridgeport, NJ
Sept. 3, Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, IL
Sept 23, Scioto Downs, Columbus, OH

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports are sponsored by Aprilia USA, Spectro Oils, Motion Pro, www.flattrack.com, Diamond chain, K& N Air Filters, Martin Eurosports, Delano Cycle Center, Leo Vince Exhausts, Vortex Sprockets, VP race fuels, Saddleman and AF1 Racing.

Henry Wiles is sponsored by Arai Helmets, Komodo Leathers, and Troy Lee Designs.