Heemsbergen Crowned Formula Arroyo Champion

Arroyo Seco Raceway Owner Reclaims the #1 Plate

Last Sunday, October 11, Roger Heemsbergen once again dominated Arroyo Seco Raceway located near Deming, New Mexico. Heemsbergen won each of his races, and most importantly, the premier Formula Arroyo sponsored by Evan Steel Performance. With this triumph, he has scored ample points to tie up the championship in the penultimate round, and he will now need find a new shelf to place this championship trophy beside the last he earned back in 2014.

The Formula Arroyo began with Jason Brown grabbing the hole shot, with Mario Burgos and Heemsbergen just behind in the two and three spots. Brown and his Kawasaki ZX-10R held onto the first position for mere seconds until Heemsbergen forced his way past to take the lead. From that point on, Heemsbergen’s determination to wrap up the championship proved too strong for his rivals as he walked away and left the pursuing group in his vanishing footprints.

Hungry for more than the bottom step of the podium, Burgos and his Kawasaki ZX-10R made a bid to steal the two spot from Brown during the third lap when he showed Brown a tire inside of the Horseshoe, but Brown refused to relinquish his position and it was Burgos who’d lose a position the following lap to Ben Alarcon and his Yamaha YZF-R6 who was harder on the brakes into the Bus Stop. On lap five, Burgos retired from the race due to overwhelming frustration with his new machine that proved too unruly to tame.

On lap six, just before the half point of the race, Alarcon caught up to Brown and moved his machine into second, thanks to a dive for the inside line in the Horseshoe. But Brown snapped at the reins of his ZX-10R and galloped past Alarcon on the front straight. The two continued to tussle as Alarcon snatched second back in the 111 a lap later and Brown threatened into the Carousel and Esses, but Alarcon’s late braking once again proved unsurmountable. With drastic tire loss and shifting issues, Brown’s pace capsized on lap eight. Jordan Trapkoff and his Suzuki GSX-R600, in contrast, had been shedding time with each lap, and he took advantage of Brown’s misfortunes to grab the third spot that he’d hold until the checkers.

The fastest three were Heemsbergen with a 1:08.846, and a 1:11.553 and 1:11.587 from Alarcon and Trapkoff respectively. Heemsbergen was especially proud of his lightning-quick time as he hadn’t been in the 8’s since his previous championship-winning season in 2014.

In the ranks of amateur riders, Alex Cusick onboard a Triumph Daytona 675 was most impressive as he swept the day’s races with top-of-the-podium finishes. The soon-to-be expert rider had crashed out of the final race last round, but he was able to make repairs to the Triumph’s fuel tank, forks, foot pegs, handle bars, and throttle in time for this penultimate round. In a new, unscathed suit, Cusick dominated the day as well as the premier amateur race, the Formula Amateur sponsored by Speedcell. He led the race from green to checkered, and with yet another win, Cusick is likely to claim the series throne as champion.

Second in the series Alissa Fergusson and her Yamaha YZF-R6 maintained the two spot until the fourth lap when she momentarily left the track into the Esses and Joshua Steele and his R6 made a pass, and he would hold onto his new position until the checkers. It seemed that Fergusson would surrender another position in the seventh lap when Joey Soule and his R6 charged past Fergusson on the back straight, but he had difficulty slowing his machine and also went off track just before the Esses. Scott George and his R6 tried a roll of the dice with a pass on Fergusson that same lap, and he succeeded by squeezing past on the inside of the Horseshoe. George fended off Fergusson for the remaining half of the race and blazed past the finish line in third position.

The final round of racing at Arroyo Seco Raceway is scheduled for the weekend of November 7-8, with testing on the seventh and racing on the eighth. Information and schedule can be found on the ASMA website at www.asmaracing.com.

Race Results for Round Four at Arroyo Seco Raceway

Formula Arroyo by Evan Steel Performance

1. Roger Heemsbergen (BMW S1000RR)
2. Ben Alarcon (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Jordan Trapkoff (Suz GSX-R600)
4. Jason Brown (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Mario Burgos (Kaw ZX-10R)

Formula Amateur by Speedcell

1. Alex Cusick (Tri 675)
2. Joshua Steele (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Scott George (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Alissa Fergusson (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Joey Soule (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Ryan McMicken

Formula Femme by Law Tigers

1. Janeth Edwards (Kaw 400)
2. Alissa Fergusson (Hon 500)
3. Jessica Dawson (Kaw 300)
4. Jasmine Owens (Hon 250)
5. Capri Stuart (Kaw 400)

Unlimited Superbike by kurveygirl.com

Expert

1. Jason Brown (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Andre Pettas (Yam YZF-R6)

Amateur

1. Alex Cusick (Tri 675)
2. Joshua Steele (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Scott George (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Joey Soule (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Alfonso Sanchez
6. Aaron Schlagel

Unlimited Superstock by New Mexico Orthopaedics

Expert

1. Mario Burgos (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Andre Pettas (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Keith Hertell

Amateur

1. Alex Cusick (Tri 675)
2. Scott George (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Joshua Steele (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Joey Soule (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Aaron Schlagel
6. Kevin Caputo

Formula 40 by Southwest Suzuki / Kawasaki / Beta

1. Roger Heemsbergen (BMW S1000RR)
2. Mario Burgos (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. John Friesen (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Keith Hertell
5. Aaron Schlagel
6. Loren Jury (Yam YZF-R6)

Middleweight Superbike by Law Tigers

Expert

1. Jordan Trapkoff (Suz GSX-R600)
2. Ben Alarcon (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Andre Pettas (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Joe Janiga (Kaw ZX-6R)
5. John Friesen (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Keith Hertell

Amateur

1. Alex Cusick (Tri 675)
2. Joshua Steele (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Scott George (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Alissa Fergusson (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Joey Soule (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Alfonso Sanchez (Yam YZF-R6)

Middleweight Superstock by Las Cruces Smoke Shop

Expert

1. Ben Alarcon (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Jordan Trapkoff (Suz GSX-R600)
3. Andre Pettas (Yam YZF-R6)
4. John Friesen (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Keith Hertell
6. Joe Janiga (Kaw ZX-6R)

Amateur

1. Alex Cusick (Tri 675)
2. Joshua Steele (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Scott George (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Joey Soule (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Alfonso Sanchez (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Kevin Caputo

Southwest Thunder / 500 Cup by Fast by Few

1. Jared Kapoor (Kaw 400)
2. Leif Munson (Kaw 400)
3. Justin Rutledge (Kaw 400)
4. Andre Orozco (Kaw 650)
5. Daniel Berger (Tri 675)
6. Kevin Hanlon

Formula 500 by Law Tigers

1. Jared Kapoor (Kaw 400)
2. Justin Rutledge (Kaw 400)
3. Dan Garrison (Hon 450)
4. Steven Kopp
5. Greg Talbot (Kaw 300)
6. Charles Silver

Lightweight Gran Prix by Fast by Few

1. Dan Garrison (Hon 450)
2. Jared Kapoor (Kaw 300)
3. Leif Munson (Kaw 400)
4. Andre Orozco (Kaw 300)
5. Steven Kopp
6. Andres Morales

300 Superbike

1. Dan Garrison (Kaw 300)
2. Jared Kapoor (Kaw 300)
3. Greg Talbot (Kaw 300)
4. Andre Orozco (Kaw 300)
5. Charles Silver
6. Jasmine Owens (Yam YZF-R3)

Ultralight Gran Prix

Expert

1. Greg Talbot (Kaw 300)
2. Jared Kapoor (Kaw 300)
3. Leif Munson (Kaw 300)

Amateur

1. Andres Morales
2. Remington Glorioso (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Andre Orozco (Kaw 300)
4. Jaffet Sotelo
5. Brandon Lee
6. Loren Jury (Yam YZF-R3)

Beginner by Rio Grande Shovelheads

1. Kevin Caputo
2. Jose Rios
3. Jeff Jordan
4. Jesus Palma
5. Taylor Dewey