Continuing on the AMAís Superbike Circuit brought Mauro Cereda and crew to Road Atlanta for the Big Kahuna Nationals May 18th to 20th. The Big Pink Machine Team of C.J. Czaia had the race trailer this time and didn’t have to suffer through the inconveniences of air freighting everything all the way across the country.

"Giovanni, today I’ll cook lunch for you" announced Mauro, Saturday morning before practice. Knowing that Mauro is a professional Italian Chef, I immediately had visions dancing in my head of linguine and prosciutto with cream...but alas, the girls had bought bratwurst and Italian bread that morning. Served with Dijon mustard, and washed down with Gatorade, they hit the spot. The linguine, etc. would have to wait for another day. The only real cookin’ Mauro would do was to the tires on his Suzuki around the Road Atlanta circuit.

The third leg of the AMA’s Superbike Series was held two weeks earlier this year than last. That should have meant cooler daytime temperatures, and did. But it also meant rain, and the effects it would have on the race. The riders who are skilled at riding in wet conditions would have an advantage. Tire choice would be a factor, too. And complicated further by the rain’s off and on appearances making the track conditions actually change during the race.

Road Atlanta’s atmosphere has made it my favorite racetrack. Friendly crowds camping in the hilly infield, the southern hospitality of the track’s staff, and the undulating course itself winding through the hilly terrain are its strong points. On top of that it’s a doubleheader on the Superbike circuit, one of three this year.

Accompanying C.J. Czaia’s Big Pink Machine Racing Team was veteran race mechanic Scotto Morich of Ft. Myers. Scotto’s resume includes experience working with riders and teams that have competed at the national level. Now employed by Superbikes and Skis in Ft. Myers, Scotto spends the occasional race weekend as Lawmaster’s race mechanic in the CCS Florida Region races. Scotto’s wife Arynn who is an experienced cornerworker, and Mauro’s wife Monica pitched in too. Christine Baker of Pompano Beach, FL flew in Friday night to help with the lap timing and paddock duties. Scotto’s experience showed as he took charge of the bike maintenance making the mechanical work look like he had been doing it all his life. The whole crew benefited from Scotto’s knowledge as he always knew what to do next and organized the workload among the staff that respected his take-charge attitude. Mauro’s life was easier too, since all he needed to do now was ride the bike.

After a few practice sessions, Mauro was turning lap times that were only about 3 seconds slower that the fastest riders. Saturday morning he knocked off another second of precious time by watching Mike Cicotto of the Hooterís team, and Valvoline Suzuki rider Ben Spies go through turn 12 in 4^th gear instead of 3^rd. He could then roll the throttle on gently at the exit, instead of shifting. Mauro also used the practice sessions to work on turns 4 and 5.

Also Saturday in practice, Grant Lopez from Gulf Breeze, FL riding for John Ulrich’s Valvoline Suzuki team made an unscheduled test of the AMA’s new Airfence in turn 12. As you may have learned in last month’s issue of CYCLE SCENE, and elsewhere, Roadracing World’s Ulrich was instrumental in raising the money to help the AMA adopt the Austrian company Alpina’s Airfence. Alpina is also known for building safety equipment used in downhill ski racing. At this race it may have saved Ulrich’s own rider from a serious injury, or worse. According to a trackside official Lopez clipped the curb with his front tire throwing the back end out resulting in his slide across the track and into the barrier in excess of 100 mph. Although Lopez’ shoulder was injured it didn’t keep him from competing in the Formula Extreme race on Sunday. The bike’s collision with the inflatable Airfence caused it to be punctured, and the Factory Alpina crew had it patched and re-inflated within a short time. Aaron Yates described his impact with the same barrier at Sears Point as being "like hitting a large pillow". He also said that after he came to a stop, he checked to see if all his fingers and toes still wiggled and was than

A 30% chance of rain was predicted for Saturday’s events. At about noon the skies opened up replete with thunder, lightning and the surprise appearance of hail. Now the tire choice would get complicated. By the start of the first Superbike race at 3PM, the track had been washed clean including the built up rubber, which actually contributes to traction. However, the decisions would have to be made before the race. Whatever choices the teams might make could be wrong if conditions changed during the race. The Harley-Davidson and Ducati teams guessed wrong in hindsight. It was too wet for slicks, and after the rain stopped, too dry for rain tires. The Suzuki Team’s decision to use hand cut slicks produced a podium sweep. Mauro opted for Dunlop 207s, which have more grooves than the newer 208s. Mauro has ridden lots of wet races on the 207s before, and he had confidence in them. By the end of the race Mauro had moved from a starting position of 30^th to finish in 16^th place. Jamie Hacking celebrated his first Superbike victory ever after entering a total of 26. Hackingís teammates Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates finished 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively.

GMD Computrack’s Brian Livengood raced in the 600 Supersport race on Sunday morning. Brian is the chief mechanic at Kent and Tracey Soignier’s Atlanta branch. Brian is a former champion in the North American Sport Bike series. In 1998 he rode a Suzuki to win that championship. During a 600 Supersport race in 1999, Brian was introduced to Yamaha’s R6. His own bike let him down and a friend offered to let him ride his new Yamaha. Brian was so impressed with it that he couldn’t wait to get his own. At that time the R6 was a better bike out of the box and was simple to set up for racing. Now that Brian Is older and wiser, (at 29) as he says, he is now able to relax and concentrate on the mental aspects of racing. He’s been at GMD Computrack in Atlanta for 2 years now and his racing experience is invaluable because he can speak the racer’s language when discussing handling and suspension setups. Since Brian has GMD Computrack’s facilities at his disposal, it was easy for him to o

Although Scott Russell hadnít recovered enough to resume racing, he was at Road Atlanta for the entire weekend. Russell lives close by and had his motorhome parked on the hill above turn 10. Unsubstantiated rumors at the track cast doubt on his being able to return to racing. Before Sundayís race he make a lap of the track in the Corvette Pace Car giving his myriad fans an unexpected thrill.

Sundayís race produced another podium sweep for Suzuki. This time Matt Mladin was in the top position with Yates 2^nd, and Hacking 3^rd. Mauro Cereda rode to a 17^th place finish and was ranked in 14^th place in the total points standings. The next races would be in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America, then a week later at Loudon, NH.