Qualified for the AMA Pro Racing MBNA 250GP Main Event (which was ultimately rained out and postponed)  

Virginia is for lovers? Lovers of rain maybe. Sunday's action from Virginia Int'l Raceway was put on hold most of the afternoon as everyone played the waiting game while rains washed in and out of the facility. Throw in a leaking 600cc race bike that oiled pretty much the entire track, and VIR had a mess on their hands.  

As such, racing was called for Sunday, and was run Monday morning. On tap for Monday, was three classes of action: Superbike, 250 Grand Prix and Formula Xtreme. Starting at 8 a.m., with about an hour of practice, starting with Superbike, then 250s, then Formula Xtreme. At roughly 9 a.m., the second Superbike race was run, followed immediately by the 250 race and then Formula Xtreme. Having a 12 hour drive home in front of us, the MFG-Racing.com team was forced to forgo the 250GP final.  

MFG-Racing.com would like to extend a "thank you" to all of the pro 250 guys that helped us out as a first year expert team trying to make the main at our first AMA 250GP pro race last weekend at VIR. It was a weekend that we'll never forget as, unfortunately, we'll never have another opportunity to run again after the AMA drops the 250s next year. Special thanks go out to Rick Merhar, Steve Scott, Sean Wray, Rich Oliver, Joji Tokumoto and many others for their help, and even Ed Sorbo for his blunt but ultimately helpful "advice". MFG-Racing.com and Team Speedbike would also like to thank our mechanic, spotter, and team member Rich Guilbault for his help throughout the weekend at VIR.  

250GP pilot Matt Guilbault said, "To think that I was running a 30-year old RZ350 in the novice class after taking the Penguin Road Racing school in 2001 and was able to qualify for my first AMA Pro 250GP race in 2003 exceeded all of my goals and made a lifetime dream come true. I literally went from running around the track wondering which way the next turn goes (if in doubt, VIR goes to the right ;-) ) to learning the lines in just a few sessions and achieving my goal of "making the main" by running 40 flats to be within the 114% of Rich Oliver's 29's. Thanks again, and good luck to all for the final round."  

250cc Grand Prix Qualifying
1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:28.976
2. Chuck Sorensen, Aprilia, 1:29.752
3. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:31.100
4. Simon Turner, Honda, 1:31.201
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:33.439
6. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:33.468
7. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:33.944
8. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:34.089
9. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:34.498
10. John France, Honda, 1:34.624
11. Chris Pyles, Yamaha, 1:34.637
12. Sean Wray, Yamaha, 1:35.787
13. Steve Scott, Yamaha, 1:36.138
14. Bill Himmelsbach, Yamaha, 1:35.537
15. Shawn Murray, Honda, 1:35.746
16. Jim Bonner, Yamaha, 1:37.142
17. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:37.226
18. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:37.641
19. Rick Merhar, Yamaha, 1:38.584
20. Glen Christianson, Yamaha, 1:38.660
21. Mark Stiles, Yamaha, 1:39.189
22. Bruce Lind, Yamaha, 1:39.298
23. Keith Floyd, Yamaha, 1:39.589
24. Justin Long, Yamaha, 1:39.676
25. Joji Tokumoto, Yamaha, 1:40.139
26. Matt Guilbault, Yamaha, 1:40.409
27. Bryan Hoelzer, Honda, 1:40.468
28. Craig Secosan, Honda, 1:41.119
29. Paul Hoyt Nelson, Honda, 1:41.602