JIMMY MERCK – WERA Cycle Jam @ Road Atlanta
Atlanta, GA’s Jimmy Merck competed this past weekend at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA at the yearly WERA Cycle Jam. With Regional competition on Saturday along with the National series on Sunday, Jimmy was well poised for continued results. Being his second race weekend of the year, Jimmy’s Mountain Motorsports sponsored Suzuki GSXR 600 was prepared for battle. The weather forecast showed a chance of rain on Saturday, so the plan was to do a full day of practice on Friday preparing rider and bike for battle. Friday’s practice was reasonably uneventful with temperatures in the mid-90’s. The track surface was fantastic, and tire wear equally impressive with those sticky Dunlop’s! #148 was ready!
Saturday saw warm temperatures again and a chance of rain. After morning practice, it was game on. First up was C Superstock Expert with a grid of 22 riders. With no points, Jimmy was gridded up toward the back of the field. After a great start and consistent laps in the six lap sprint, Jimmy Merck came out on top with the win! Next up was B Superstock Expert competing against larger displacement 750’cc bikes. Jimmy’s start was okay, but he found himself at the back of a freight train at the bus stop. By lap one the leader had a nine second lead. While turning the fastest lap of the race at a 1:33.1, Jimmy came up 1.788 seconds short at the line for a tough-fought second place.
Next up was C Superbike Expert with a field of over 20 riders. The green flag dropped with rain looming in the distance. By lap three turns 2 through 5 were wet, and Jimmy backed way down and pulled off the track. Since it was a six lap sprint, and three laps were complete, the race was called and Jimmy parked his weapon for the day.
Sunday’s weather was gorgeous for the final day of competition and the National Challenge Series. First race up was 600 Superstock Expert. With a grid of 15 riders for this 12 lap event, and a fifth row start, Jimmy had some work to do. Running the fastest times in the class, Jimmy checked out for a 23.6 second lead at the flag for his first National win for the weekend! 750 Superstock Expert was the final race of the day for Jimmy, with a full grid for this eight lap race. Again starting from the back of the grid, a fantastic launch saw Jimmy in the lead by the end of lap one. Running times as fast as 1:32’s Jimmy enjoyed his second win in as many entries for the day!
Jimmy is proud to work with Max and Martin at Traxxion Dynamics, Mountain Motorsports, Dunlop and Race Tire Services (especially Paul Von Dunlop), Livengood, Silkolene Oils, Shoei Helmets, Vortex Sprockets, Pit Bull, Cycle Gear, Lee Fields with Active Shooter Photography, Sonya E’Dalgo, and his father Jimmy SR,.
More, from a press release issued by Honda East of Toledo:
KRAFT BUILDS MOMENTUM, WINS AT ROAD ATLANTA WERA CYCLE JAM
Maumee, OH – Honda East Suzuki of Toledo’s rider Eddie Kraft had an outstanding event at Road Atlanta during the WERA Cycle Jam this past weekend. Kraft won two races, most notably the WERA National 1000 Superstock race, along with finishing 2nd in three others against a stacked field of national-level competition.
“We always enjoy Road Atlanta,” commented Eddie. “The track is so much fun and there’s always a great turnout for the Cycle Jam. This was our second event this season on the new Yamaha R1 and we were able to get things sorted out pretty quickly. We went a second and a half faster than we’ve ever gone here which was great. Sure, the extra power helped but we’re currently running a stock motor, trying to focus our efforts on the suspension and electronics.”
Kraft continued, “Between our start at Grattan Raceway last month and now Road Atlanta, hopping onto the 1000 has been a great challenge so far. I’m really looking forward to carrying this momentum into our next race at Pittsburgh International Raceway.”
About Honda East: As a family owned and operated Ohio motorcycle dealer, Honda East’s philosophy is to treat each customer like a family member, every visit. Our award-winning sales staff will strive to meet and exceed
your expectations, whether you are purchasing a new vehicle, calling with a question, picking up a part, or just looking in our shop. Located in Northwest Ohio, Honda East is the #1 ranked dealership in both Ohio and Michigan; offering a full line of sport bikes, cruisers, dirt bikes, ATVs, scooters, watercraft and snowmobiles not only by Honda, but Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Aprilia, Indian, Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Can-Am, Kymco, Bombardier, Polaris and Artic Cat. Honda East prides themselves on the best out the door deal, period. No games, no hassles.
Witchkraft Racing would also like to thank Pirelli Tires, Yoshimura, GoPro, Dynojet, Motul, Millennium Technologies, Moto Liberty, RS Taichi, Arai Helmets, NGK, Worldwide Bearings, Chicken Hawk Racing, Ballistic Performance Components and Motion Pro. Also Performance Cycleworx, Pit Bull, Sharkskinz, Samco, Hammer Nutrition, PopShadow Decals, Spider Grips, M.C. Designs, Andrew Swenson Designs and Yamaha Motorsports USA.
For more information on Honda East, visit hondaeast.com. For information on the race team, please visit witchkraftracing.com.
More, from a press release issued by Jackson Blackmon Racing:
Jackson Blackmon wins at WERA Cycle Jam in Preparation for RC390 Cup at Miller.
Rock Hill, SC – June, 2015 – Jackson Blackmon celebrated his 14th birthday in style at the WERA Cycle Jam by winning the ESS (E Superstock) race and achieving three additional podium finishes over the course of the weekend. Although this was only his second weekend on the Kawasaki Ninja 300, Jackson learning to ride a street based race bike quickly in preparation for his MotoAmerica Pro debut at Miller Motorsports Park next weekend.
Jackson will be racing the RC390 Cup MotoAmerica event at Miller Motorsports Park this weekend and in preparation, decided to only race the Ninja300 instead of his usual purpose built Moriwaki. Both the KTM RC390 and Ninja300 are slightly modified budget based street bikes. This is quite different for the pure race bike Moriwaki, so there is a learning curve. Friday practice was only the second time Blackmon had an opportunity to ride the medAge® sponsored Ninja 300 and he spent most of the day trying to get the most out of it.
Saturday was the first of two race days at the combined National / Regional Cycle Jam. This was also Jackson’s 14th birthday so it was bound to be a good day even though it didn’t start off well with Jackson running off the track in F2. Fortunately Jackson did not need to use his Bell Helmet or Ballistik leathers as he was able to keep it upright and finish 19th.
The combined Clubman/F3 race saw Jackson get his first podium of the weekend with a third overall and second in class. This was a tough race as Jackson usually dominated this class with his Moriwaki, but it showed progress with the Ninja 300.
The big race for the Ninja 300 is E Superstock. Jackson a got a great start thanks to some coaching by Dale Quarterley of ¼-ley Racing. Once out front, Blackmon never looked back and scored his first win on the Ninja 300.
The last race of the day was a combined D Superstock /Lightweight SS event against much faster SV650s. Again, Jackson got a great start but was held up too long behind a slower rider and was unable to catch the leader. This resulted in a second place finish.
Jackson raced in three events on Sunday’s national schedule, all against much faster equipment, but the team felt it was important to get as much time on the production based Ninja 300 as possible. The first race of the day turned out to be the best race of the day. Jackson got the holeshot in F3 and had a race long battle with another rider on a much faster RS125 GP bike. Thanks to a brilliant chassis setting from Fast Bike Industries, Jackson was able to put up an incredible fight but in the end had to settle for second to the faster equipment.
During the Lightweight Twins race Jackson battled hard with SV650’s that had more than twice the power of his Ninja 300. He was able to use the skill, bravery, and corner speed to finish a solid 10th place.
The last race of the day was F2 which saw Jackson turn his fastest lap of the weekend of a 1:51.8, which was nearly a second faster than the previous day. The fast lap time gave him a 10th place finish.
Jackson finished the weekend with a win, three seconds, a pair of top tens, and recovered from a near crash to finish 19th. Blackmon was able get lots of track time on the production based Ninja 300 and improved every session. All of this track time and success on the Ninja 300 should help him a lot in both preparation and confidence for his pro debut next weekend at RC390 Cup.
Jackson Blackmon – “What a great weekend. I could not have asked for a more fun birthday than to be at the track with my friends and my dad. I was surprised at how much fun the 300 is as it is so much slower than the Moriwaki.I cannot wait for next weekend to try the KTM RC390 and to run my first pro race with MotoAmerica. I want to thank Laura Ellis and medAge® for all the support and also Ballistic Performance Components for getting us a lightweight battery in time for the weekend.”
Chuck Blackmon – (Crew Chief) – “Jackson rode great and we are very happy with his progress on the Ninja 300. He simply got faster every time he rode it. The hardest part of the weekend was parking the Moriwaki knowing he could win his races on it and race a new bike knowing the bike didn’t have the speed to run up front. In the end it was the right thing to do in preparation for next weekend on the RC390 and MotoAmerica.”
Jackson Blackmon Racing is proudly sponsored by – medAge®, Laura Ellis , Bell Helmets , EBC Brakes, XT Racing, Ballistic Performance Components , ¼ ley Racing , WERA , Moto-D , Redspade, Fast Bike Industries , Risk Racing , Chuck Blackmon (Dad) and Papa Charlie.
For Information– www.jacksonblackmonracing.com