Well we just
wrapped up the second to last round of the WERA West Series. I was
riding solo this round as my teammate Corey Neuer was still recovering
from shoulder surgery from the last round at California Speedway. I went back to Vancouver for 4 days only to come down with the worst flu I've ever had putting me in bed for all 4 days. Not even sure if I was going to be able to ride I packed up Thursday night and headed back to Buttonwillow. Luckily I woke up Friday feeling somewhat better. I was able to get out on the track on Friday for some track time bringing my times down to race pace quite quickly. I was fortunate enough to have one of the top WERA racers, Lenny Hale, to spend some time to work with me on lines and giving me some suggestions for the track. Thanks Lenny! Saturday was a slow day with only two short practice sessions in the morning then back to the hotel to rest and sleep. After Friday I was worn out! Sunday was race day. Woke up not feeling 100% but definitely getting better each day. Had a quick practice session in the morning, then off to the races! First race up was the Heavyweight Twins Superbike. First lap I was feeling a little too eager and ran the bike into turn 7 way too hot, and the bike went sliding into the gravel. Unfortunately it caused a red flag, but the bike suffered very little damage and I was able to get back out for the restart and complete the race finishing 4th. I placed 3rd in the Twin Superstock class and 5th and 7th in the 750 Superbike and Superstock classes. Overall I was happy with my times for a new track and only suffered a broken toe in the crash! We have a huge break until the final round in Las Vegas, November 3rd & 4th. I will fill the next few months with an AFM race at Infineon and Jason Pridmore's STAR School.
A special
thanks to EMoney for all the help this weekend…you're a star!, Lenny
Hale for the coaching, the Track Club for the great track day experience
and a HUGE thanks to SHIFT for the awesome suit that kept me safe again
this weekend! |
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Las Vegas Motor Speedway - June 30th/July 1st |
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Well it was quit a scramble to get this round together.
After Miller only 2 weekends previous, I walked away with transmission
issues on the Ducati and a blown motor on the Yamaha. I struggled to
have any bike to ride for this round. It all came together Friday
morning, thanks to
DMD Racing's Darren Murray and Mark Applebee I was able to ride.
Going into the Las Vegas round, I sat 1st in points in the Heavyweight
Twins Superbike Class and tied for 2nd place in the Heavyweight Twin
Supersport Class. Going into the weekend without my Ducati 749R meant I
had no chance at defending those positions. Thanks to everyone at DMD
Racing based out of Seattle WA, they were able to put together a back up
bike for me and have it shipped to LAX on Friday Morning... cutting
things a little thin on time! The DMD Prepared Ducati 749R performed
perfectly in the heat, allowing me to finish the weekend off with a
podium 3rd place in Supersport and a 4th in Superbike, leaving me second
in the championship in Superbike, only one point behind the leader, and
3rd position in the Supersport championship. In California I had EMoney
working just as hard on the Yamaha. A big thanks to Yamaha Motor Corp
USA, I was able to get a new Motor in the 2007 R6 and the bike was ready
to roll! Temperature was our biggest battle this weekend. Las Vegas' Saturday and Sunday heat wave hit 120 degrees, this is the hottest I have ever experienced let alone raced in. Having just come from Vancouver where it was practically snowing all week, it was tough to acclimatize to. Saturday consisted of practice and a Solo Endurance Race. I entered the Solo on the Yamaha R6 to get more seat time and finished the race in 2nd place. After the red flag and restart, we were out riding in that heat for over 40 minutes... but it was all worth it for the 2nd place finish. Sunday was the main Sprint events. I raced the two twins classes and the 750 Superbike and 750 Supersport on the Yamaha. The Yamaha was responding to the heat well, placing 6th and 7th and achieving my personal best lap time of a 1:23.6. Teammate Corey Neuer had a great weekend as well. Winning 2 of the 3 races he entered, leaving him leading both the 750 Supersport and 750 Superbike Championships. A special Thanks to Mark Applebee of DMD Racing for working so hard to get the Ducati together and Darren Murray for the use of the DMD Racing's 749R. EMoney for the countless hours he puts into the team. The bikes are always prepared perfectly and he has the ability to work 24hours a day to make sure this happens..... I have no idea when he ever sleeps. With back to back race weekends, I will be heading to Fontana CA @ California Speedway for Round 4 of WERA West July 7th & 8th. Amber |
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Congratulations to Chad Lewin for
the successful finishes at Miller Motorsports Park, |
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Testing the new Yamaha R6 |
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Welcome new sponsor: Strapless Transport Stands |
 Please welcome one of my newest sponsors Strapless Transport Stands to the Team! It is truly the best way to transport your bike. No straps, no worries of your bike coming loose, just roll your bikes into the stand and you are locked-in and ready to roll. Please visit |
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Welcome new sponsor: Shift Racing |
 Welcome Shift Racing Gear! Shift has branched out from MotorX to cover a range of Road Race and Street products for both Male and Female. Check out their site to see some of Shifts New Road Racing and Street Gear. A big Thanks to Shift for working with the team for 2007, you will see the team in full Shift gear......jackets , gloves, suits, shirts and hats in the pits and on the street this year! Thanks Shift! |
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Rimes Motorsports Race Report - WERA West Round 1 |
 After
all the riding I've been doing over the winter in preparation for the
WERA West Series, it is finally here. The first round was in Las Vegas,
NV. That spells trouble already. I flew in a day early thinking
there would be practice on Friday, but so such luck! That meant I
had a whole 48 hours to kill in Vegas with out getting into too much
trouble. Luckily I had Josh from Pirelli and Tigarshark Racing in
town to keep things in order....haha.The rest of my team, Corey Neuer and E-Money arrived Friday night from LA with the trailer and all the bikes. It was our intention to race the 749R in the Heavy Weight Twins Classes and the 2007 Yamaha R6 in the 600 classes but with limited time we were not able to have the bike prepped and ready to go. The bike arrive in our hands with only a few days to prep and we just ran out of time. So it was the Ducati's weekend to shine! Saturday was interesting, having never been to the track before there was a lot to learn. We were only given two 10 minute practice sessions to have the bike set up and learn the track. It was a fun track, but I was not able to get up to speed with only 20 minutes on the track. I entered a 20 lap Solo race on Saturday to see if I could put it all together for Sunday. Unfortunately, I ran off the track in the second lap and was put one lap behind. I used the 20 lap race to get comfortable on the track and make a few changes to the suspension and tire choice on the bike, so I was set for Sunday. After the 2 practice sessions in the morning, I felt comfortable with the track and was ready to shine. The Ducati was eligible for both of the Heavyweight Twins classes. I finished the day with a 2nd in the HWT Supersport and 3rd in the HWT Superbike. In Addition to all of my sponsors, I would not have even been able to race if it weren't for a few special people this year. I would like to thank my team, Corey Neuer and E-Money for everything they have done to make it possible for me to race in the WERA West Series, Jason Pridmore and his instructors for the time they have taken to help me with my racing all winter and Josh Bryan from Pirelli and Tigarshark Racing for all the continued support. Overall the weekend was extremely successful for Rimes Motorsports. Team-mate Corey Neuer was able to finish the weekend on his Suzuki GSXR 600 with a 3rd in B Superbike, 6th in C Superbike, 14th in C Superstock and a 5th in B Superstock. We will be back at LVMS two more times this year and I hope to see my times drop now that I am familiar with the track. The next event will be May 26th/27th in Fontana, CA at California Speedway, you will see both the R6 and the 749r in action at that event. The schedule up until the next event is packed. I will be in Fontana for the AMA round April 27th-29th to help out with the DMD Racing Team, then off to Miller Motorsports Park, Salt Lake City UT for a two day School with Jason Pridmore and the Star School. Check out the Photo Gallery from the Weekend Thanks again to all that have supported my racing efforts for 2007! Amber |
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Rimes Motorsports Race Report- WMRRA Round 1 |
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What a start to the 2007 Season.
 The first round of WMRRA was a success for both Colin and I. We endured the freezing temperatures....literally it did snow...and hail! We had a test day on Friday with Adrenaline Freaks, but with the weather being a little cold and really wet, it was minimized to 2 dry sessions on the track. Just enough to familiarize myself with the track again, as I hadn't been on it since last October. There had been a few changes and the pavement took a huge hit with the cold temperatures over the winter, causing some pretty severe damage/missing pavement in turn 2. I lucked out with the weather on Sunday, both my races schedule for the morning when the skies were clear. The weather was able to hold off until the last lap where there were scattered snowflakes... I was able to walk away with a 4th place in Formula Thunder and a 5th place in Open GP Twins. These were my best finishes to date. Colin was not so lucky with the weather hitting all four races in the rain but was still able to run strong lap times placing 13th in 600 SuperBike, 8th in 600 SuperSport, 15th in 750 SuperSport and his best finish was a 5th in 750 Superbike. From the cold, I then travelled to Willows, California for a 3 day school with Jason Pridmore at the Thunderhills Track with my crew, Kirby, Troy and Brian. It was a 14 hour drive that was extended by a few hours of shopping after seeing how many outlet stores there were along the way...oops...sorry crew We arrived to Willows late Monday night, for 3 solid days of riding. Jason's School is very unique, very personalized and you get more track time then you can handle. You are being critiqued and taught by some of the finest instructors including the AFM Champ and Previous lap record holder of Thunderhills Race track Dave Stanton, AMA Rider Danny Eslick, AMA and WERA Endurance Rider Jimmy Wood, Our Favorite Canadian Champ and Sport Rider Magazine Editor Andrew Trevi  t,
AMA Rider Dean Mizdal and AMA Crew Chief James Lickwar.
I also received instruction from Mark Gallardo, Buzz, Jon
Nichols and Roger Middleton. A fine group of
instructors. After the three days, I can't say there
is one of them that did not spend some time working on my
lines, body positioning, down shifting, braking, technique
etc with me. If you ever have the opportunity to
attend the Star School I highly recommend it!
www.starmotorcycle.comIt is a top notch school and how cool is it to be racing around with Danny Eslick and Jason Pridmore stuffing you on the inside! Once in a life time experience. I look forward to the next Star School that I will be attending at Miller Motorsports Park April 30th and May 1st! Hopefully the Canadians will take over that event too! A special Thanks to Brandon Bones of Studio819, Barry Wressell of GP Suspension North, Mark Applebee of MachSpeed and Darren Murrey of DMD racing for making this WMRRA weekend possible! Also a huge thanks to Kirby Sewell, Troy Cook, Bryan Gould, Spero Benias and Andrew McKeachie for making the trip to Thunderhills memorable!  I am off to Vegas this weekend for the First Round of the WERA West Series, I will be racing the Ducati 749R, and if time permits to get the bike ready, there is a new family member a 2007 Yamaha R6 that I will be racing in the WERA West Series as well. I am looking forward to having the opportunity to get out on the R6 and see what I can do on it. Thanks for your continued Support! Amber |
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Star Motorcycle School -
Pahrump, NV |
 Huge thanks to Jason Pridmore and all the Star School Staff and Instructors...  Special thanks to Steve Munch of Munch Photos for the Photography |
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Thank you! From Rimes Motorsports |
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Well this season seemed to fly by, and I am sad that it has.
It was a great season full of new challenges, new goals, new
achievements and new highs. The year began on new
bikes for the both of us. We learned the bikes and
succeeded in taking them to the levels we wanted to ride
at.
 I
finished off the WMRRA Season in 10th position overall in
both Formula Thunder and Open GP Twins, collecting a total
of 141 points. Colin completed the season with his top
finish 6th position in 600 Superbike, knocking a total of
3.5 seconds off his time from the start of the year.....not
to mention NO CRASHES! Wish I could say them same for
the Ducati.Although the 2006 season is over, it feels like there haven't and will not be any breaks. I have been fortunate enough this year to watch both the final round of AMA at MidOhio, and the final round of MotoGP in Valencia, Spain, live. They were both absolutely inspiring trips. To see riders at that level live brings me chills.  The remainder of the year will continue to be busy. The Ducati has headed south for the winter. I attended Jason Pridmore's STAR School in Pahrump, Nevada last weekend. I was excited to learn a new track and pick up all the tips I possibly could from a premier motorcycle school. I learned a ton and can't wait get on the bike again. A big thanks to Jason Pridmore, Mark Gallardo, all the Star School Instructors and Staff for an amazing weekend, and an even bigger thanks to E-Money for taking care of the Ducati for the winter! I plan on spending the winter racing and/or attending trackdays California and Nevada. This will allow me to get more track time and ride over the winter, something that most Canadians don't get to do. 2007.....WOW! I can hardly wait! After attending as many events as I can over the winter I will jump right into the 2007 season. I will be doing something very unique for next year. We will be starting an all female national endurance team. I will complete the full season with teammates Melissa Paris of Gulfport, MS and Teri Gorrell of Oceanside, CA. The three of us along with the help of our crew, will competitively compete in the WERA National Endurance Series. The season will begin in March and will be 10 events ranging from 4 to 8 hour races.  Along
with the Endurance Team, I will continue to race the Ducati
749R locally, with the WMRRA Club.Colin will continue on the Suzuki to compete with WMRRA and you may even see him in a few AMA events next year. His mind is set and his goals are to qualify, with the help of Dave Lanigan of the SpeedDealer, for a few of the Westcoast AMA events. We would like to thank the following people, without them we would not have been able to complete the season with the success that we had. Mark Applebee of Mach Speed, Darren Murrey of DMD Racing, Barry Wressell of GP Suspension North, Josh Bryon of Tigershark racing and Pirelli Tires, Mark Russo of EuroCorsa Performance, Alfred Kobacker of CycleCat, Fred Renz of Yoyodyne, Rick Nakagaki of Eastside MotoSports, Andy Mollica of Anducci's Pasta Bar and Brandon Bones or Studio819.  We would
also like to thank Kirby and Adela Sewell, Troy Cook and
Brian Gould for all their help in the pit this year!I hope to be able to work with all of you in the upcoming season. Thank you for your continued support throughout the year! Amber |
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Congratulations Josh Hayes
and Melissa Paris |
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Congratulations to Teamate
Darren Murrey |
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Join D&B Racing at DNW2006 |
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 Well
a bit of a change from the local races! The D&B Race Team headed
to Fontana California for Round III of the AMA Superbike
Championship, as pit crew for teamate Darren Murrey AMA #348.We arrived at the California Speedway Friday morning a little overwhelmed. The place is huge! We had a great response, being the only privateer Ducati Team. We also received a ton of help, suggestions and compliments from the Parts Unlimited Ducati team. Everyone was really supportive and excited to see the privateer effort that we put on. Due to an unfortunate mishap at WMRRA, Darren had to display some the D&B Race Team bodywork on the 999S...I have to admit it was very cool to see my bike ripping around the track and in the AMA pits! This being the only AMA event we have attended outside of the MotoGP/WSBK weekends at Laguna, it had a surprisingly calm atmosphere. Something not really seen at a Laguna Seca event, was the ability to walk into the pits and chat with any racer you like....which was cool. We had time in between races to catch-up with friends that we hadn't seen in quite some time. The best part of the weekend was being able to feel the energy of the racers getting ready right on the starting grid, being less then 10ft from them on the start and watching the entire race from pit wall. It was a great weekend, we all learned a ton and met a lots of new people! I was even able to catch Ben Bostrom and Neil Hodgson together for a photo and autographs on my upper fairing...that in itself should make me faster! I would like to thank everyone for their continued support, Amber |
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D&B Racing has a successful start to the 2006 season |
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The 2006 racing
season is finally here!
There are a few changes to the team this year. Although Colin and I will still be racing together under the D&B Custom Racing Team, I will also be riding under the Eastside Motosports Ducati banner alongside the #4 plate holder, Darren Murrey. We will be working together with Mark Applebee of MachSpeed to show the Northwest what the 2006 Ducati 749R can do. D&B Racing also has an exciting new color scheme.
Weather was an issue ....with the early start to the Washington Motorcycling RoadRacing Association schedule. The temperatures varied from cold to colder, 10-14 C (50-55F) we even had a giant hailstorm in mid morning practice on Saturday.
Friday we had a full
day of testing with Adrenaline Freaks trackdays. It was a great
opportunity to get some time out on the new bikes. A new 2006 Suzuki
GSXR 600 for Colin, and a 2006 Ducati 749R for myself. Colin was
pleased with the overall performance of the new bike, considering the
scramble we had just to make the bike track worthy for the first round.
We will have everything completed for the second round and hopefully the
bike will just keep getting better.
The Ducati 749R was
perfect. We added a few goodies from STM, a ZARD Exhaust, Braking wave
rotors, and of course a few Carbon bits to make sure she
looked her finest!
Saturday started out
as expected with rain showers...and they stayed with us for the majority
of the day, although this gave us the chance to test the Pirelli
rains....they did their job thankfully!
The first race of
the day was Colin's 750 Supersport. Colin was not able to get out and
practice due to some last minute preparations that needed to be
completed. It was a rain race start to finish. Colin got a great start
and finished the race without incident in 14th place.
Formula Thunder was
the next up for us, and you guessed it another rain race! The 749R
handled amazingly smooth in the rain and I was able to pull out a 6th
place finish, passing a rival AnatraCorsa team member down the hill on
the brakes into turn 3 on the last lap. The DMD/D&B Eastside Motosports &
AnatraCorsa have side bets going for the season's points totals. (Amber
Rimes #29 and Darren Murrey #4 vs. Lindsay Gupton #25 and Rick Rinaldo
#123) After the first round we are kickin' their butts!
Sunday came with
brighter skies but a racers worst nightmare for weather conditions
rain...sun...rain...sun. No matter how much you analyzed the clouds you
could not get the tire choice right. We went with a DOT and decided to
take it easy in the wet areas. This tire choice worked out well for the
first race of the day, which was Open GP Twins. I was able to record my
fastest ever lap time and finish in 8th place, passing
Lindsey Gupton seconds before the checkered flag.
Colin chose the DOT
tire as well for the 750 Superbike race, which worked out nicely. He
was able to make his way through the pack for another 14th
place finish, getting more and more comfortable on the new bike as the
race went on.
600 Supersport was
an interesting race for our team. For the first time ever Colin and I
were racing each other.....I am not sure if Colin was more worried about
me entering my first 600 race with 45 riders on the grid, or if there
were any thoughts of...."what if she beats me!" Either way he looked
terrified.
With track
conditions drying, DOT was again the tire of choice for a majority of
the field. We completed the warm-up lap with a clear dry line. The
light went out and the race was on. We made it through he first 4 turns
before noticing the spray coming for the riders in front of us. I
gently rolled of the throttle, only to approach turn 5 for a red flag.
My teammate Darren Murray along with 3 other riders were down. Coming
through the mess of bikes and mud and parts all I could think was
Darren's poor 749R had nothing left to it...
We re-gridded and
waited for the mess to be cleaned up. Luckily no one was hurt, and
Darren was actually able to run back to the pits and grab his "B" bike
to restart the race.
On the first lap
after the restart, coming down the front straight my entire right
fairing flew off. Knowing that meant there was really nothing holding
on the other side, I had to take the rest of the race a bit slower and I
was only able to finish in 19th place. Wow, what an eventful
first 600 race for me. I am excited that the 749r is very competitive
in this class and I can't wait to see the results of the next round, I
think you will see some surprising results for the Ducati's.
Colin finished the
race clean and in 10th position, recording his fastest lap of
the weekend. And thankfully he did not have to deal with the latter
part of his worries!
We would like to thank all
of you that made this weekend, and the rest of the season possible.
Please
check the website for a full gallery of photos from the weekend with the
new team colors.
Our next race report will come from the 3rd round of AMA races in Fontana, CA, teammate Darren Murray will be racing his 749R in the formula extreme class, and I will be....well... dreaming of doing it myself one day!
Thanks for your continued support,
Amber |
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Thunderhill Welcomes the D&B Race Team! |
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They're Here! Welcome the latest additions to the D&B Race Team! |
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D&B Race Team and Friends at Rich Oliver's Mystery School - Fresno California |
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Eastside MotoSports Annouces Sponsorhip Deal |
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D&B Racing's Amber Rimes Featured In Road Racer X Privateer Profile |
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Introducing D&B Racing's Latest Sponsor: Zard Exhaust System |
Welcome D&B Racing's latest
sponsor, Zard Exhaust System. Based in Italy and now available in
North America, Zard will be supplying their premier exhaust systems for
Amber's Ducati. |
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