These results reflect the record holders, qualifiers, and eliminations contestants at each of the
Doc’s Harley-Davidson Street Bike Shootout Series events held each Wednesday at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois.
All motorcycles compete utilizing street equipment including Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) approved tires without wheelie bars. All other modifications are permitted. Wednesday SBSS Track Records can be set during official qualifying or championship rounds. The Official Street Bike Shootout “suicide qualifying” period, (one qualifying run only), begins at 7:30 PM, (barring unforeseen circumstances). At 8:00 PM, the four quickest qualifiers meet in no-handicap eliminations with the championship final round held at 8:30 PM.
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS
2008 DOC’S STREET BIKE SHOOTOUT SERIES TRACK RECORDS
Class Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
SBSS Eric Sanzottera, St. Peters, MO 03 GSX1100 Suzuki 8.131 04/18/2007
SBSS Eric Sanzottera, St. Peters, MO 03 GSX1100 Suzuki 181.72 05/08/2007
AUGUST 27th, 2008 DOC’S STREET BIKE SHOOTOUT SERIES QUALIFIERS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle Engine ET MPH Date
EVENT 18 08/27/2008
1 Eric Sanzottera St. Peters MO 03 GSX1100 1100 Suz 8.162 169.06
2 Eric Sanzottera St. Peters MO 08 Hayabusa 1300 Suz 9.000 158.80
3 Earl Crawford South Holland IL 04 GSXR1000 1000 Suz 9.029 142.37
4 Bill Whitenen Springfield IL 06 Hayabusa 1300 Suz 9.301 157.69
AUGUST 27th, 2008 DOC’S STREET BIKE SHOOTOUT SERIES ELIMINATIONS
Pos Name Hometown ST Vehicle R.T. ET MPH
Round One:
W Shawn Ingram Robertsville MO 06 ZX1400 0.139 9.929 109.63
L Bill Whitenen Springfield IL 06 Hayabusa 0.077 11.106 126.32
W Eric Sanzottera St. Peters MO 08 Hayabusa 0.090 9.017 158.89
L Evan Holland St. Louis MO 03 GSXR1000 0.003 9.806 130.52
Final Round:
W Eric Sanzottera St. Peters MO 08 Hayabusa 0.037 9.013 158.86
RU Shawn Ingram Robertsville MO 06 ZX1400 0.099 9.806 130.52
Eric Sanzottera’s dominance of the 2008 season seemed to be at an end but the St. Peters, Missourian snatched an amazing sixth consecutive event victory from the jaws of defeat during the 2008 Doc’s Harley-Davidson Street Bike Shootout Series at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Riding an unfamiliar bike and racing without his traditional horsepower advantage, Sanzottera won the race while producing a convincing advertisement for his QuickTime Motorsports motorcycle emporium.
During the SBSS “suicide qualifying” session which allows all entries only one official qualifying attempt to make the field, Sanzottera was the first rider on the track atop his trusty maroon 2003 Suzuki GSX1100 and was on his way to what may have been a new SBSS record. With a stellar 5.38/145.05 eighth-mile clocking, the QuickTime flagship was within a hundred feet of the finish line when Sanzottera noticed a total lack of oil pressure at 175 miles per hour. Coasting across the stripe at only 169.06 mph, Sanzottera still clocked the quickest elapsed time of the season at 8.16 seconds. Before he even made the GIR turn-off, however, Eric knew the maroon bike would never see eliminations. “The way we run this program so fast”, said crew chief and brother Rudy Sanzottera, “we’d never be able to diagnose or fix the problem”.
The brothers had only one option. QuickTime customer Rich Robinson had also arrived at GIR with a bike which had just left the QuickTime shop. “He brought it in this morning with three hundred miles on the odometer”, said Rudy of Robinson’s new 2008 Hayabusa, “and we put a pipe, an arm and an air shifter on it and brought it to the track”. Eric quickly returned to the pits after his 8.16-second ride and, while the rest of the twenty-nine qualifiers continued their runs, entered Robinson’s ‘Busa in the event and pulled to the line faced with running quicker than 9.43 seconds to make the field. In one shot, Sanzoterra not only qualified but beat out Earl Crawford’s 9.02 polesitter with a 9.00/158.80 to lead the field for the seventh straight time this season while securing his twentieth low qualifying spot in the series!
Ironically, Eric’s run bumped fellow QuickTime team rider Shawn Ingram from the four-bike field. However, the withdrawal of Sanzottera’s eight-second GSX allowed Ingram to make the field as an alternate. Interestingly, Crawford was unable to compete on Tony Wilford’s Suzuki and Evan Holland was inserted in the field as second alternate, as well. In eliminations, Ingram was able to coast past Bill Whitenen’s (appropriately) all-white ‘Busa while Sanzoterra drove around Holland’s brilliant 0.003-second Reaction Time with a consistent 9.01/158.89. Ingram, riding his “little bike” Kawasaki ZX1400 which uses no nitrous oxide injection, knew he would have a close battle with Sanzottera’s naturally-aspirated Suzuki but when Sanzottera grabbed a holeshot of six hundredths of a second and streaked to another 9.01/158.86, Ingram’s best run of the night, (9.32/141.52), was no consolation. Sanzottera’s disaster ended with a record sixth straight event title!
“The bike made three runs within seventeen thousandths of a second and the speed only varied nine hundredths of a mile per hour!”, exclaimed an elated Sanzottera during trophy presentations. “Rich was nice enough to offer the bike and we sure didn’t plan to race it but it really did perform. This thing is bone stock except for what little we did to it at the shop today. Rich really saved the day and allowed us to keep this streak alive. We never would’ve had a chance if he hadn’t been here!”.
It should be pointed out that both Sanzottera and Ingram dedicated the race and their trophies to longtime dragbike fan Robert McKee who celebrated with the teams in the winner’s circle after the event.
DOC’S STREET BIKE SHOOTOUT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (as of AUGUST 14th, 2008)
Pos Points Name
1 (29) Eric Sanzottera St. Peters MO 03 GSX 1100 Suz
2 (16) Shawn Ingram Robertsville MO 06 ZX1400 1400 Kaw
3 (9) Amir Brandy St. Louis MO 05 Hayabusa 1300 Suz
4 (5) Josh McDaniel Robertsville MO 03 ZX10-R 1000 Kaw
5 (3) Greg Cave Jacksonville IL 02 GSXR1000 1000 Suz
6 (3) Rickey Johns St. Clair MO 06 ZX1400 1400 Kaw
7 (2) Janie Palm Bunker Hill IL 03 Hayabusa 1300 Suz
8 (2) Jesse Gatlin St. Louis MO 04 Hayabusa 1300 Suz
9 (2) Don Klarer St. Charles MO 00 ZX1200R 1200 Kaw
10 (2) Joe Jordan St. Louis MO 04 Hayabusa 1300 Suz
11 (2) Evan Holland St. Louis MO 03 Hayabusa 1300 Suz
NOTE: Points toward the 2008 Doc’s Street Bike Shootout Series Season Championship are awarded on the basis of one (1) point for qualifying in the Final Four field with one (1) bonus point awarded for winning the first round of eliminations and one (1) bonus point awarded for winning the final round of eliminations. Ties are broken by (1) the earliest date upon which the final point total is earned, (2) quickest elapsed time recorded during the current SBSS season and (3) fastest speed recorded during the current SBSS season.
Photos of the August 27th Street Bike Shootout Series event are now available for viewing at Bret Kepner Photos.com.
Eric Sanzottera, St. Peters, MO 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa
Eric Sanzottera (second from left) and crew with bike owner Rich Robinson (right)
Shawn Ingram, Robertsville, MO 2006 Kawasaki ZX1400
Shawn Ingram, Robertsville, MO 2006 Kawasaki ZX1400
The QuickTime teams of Sanzottera and Ingram with lifelong bike racing fan Robert McKee (foreground)