The Penguin Racing School held Round Three of the inaugural New England Sport Bike Club (NESBC) races on Sunday August 28th at Cannan Fair Speedway in Canaan, NH. NESBC was founded to give track day riders the opportunity to experience the excitement of racing in a fun, low pressure atmosphere. There are four classes for track day riders, and two purse-paying classes for licensed racers on entry level machines (Motard and Formula 300) to show the track day crowd how much fun a rider can have racing an entry level machine. The first two NESBC rounds were met with the rainy skies all day long, but near perfect weather for the season finale brought exciting racing action and the full grids in all classes. Students in both the Penguin Track Experience and Advanced classes learned universal riding techniques and the secrets of the challenging Canaan course while racers practiced in a separate session all day long. At 4:00 PM everyone was ready to go and the crowd lined the front straight in anticipation of the opening event.

Formula 300 by Kawasaki

The NESBC final started with the Kawasaki Formula 300 class, which was sure to feature a tight battle between points leaders Dan Rosato and Roger Ealy Jr. The spread in championship points was very tight, and whoever won this two rider battle at the end of the day would also be crowned NESBC Formula 300 champion. The drama started before the race even began, and Dan Rosato snapped a chain on his last practice of the day and was feverishly scrambling to mount a new set of chain and sprockets. As the five minute board went up, Dan’s crew had just finished peening over the master link and scrambling to secure the rear wheel. Dan missed the warm-up lap and joined back of the grid with a rapid heart rate and a cold rear tire. When the green flag dropped, it was Roger Ealy Junior with the holeshot and Dan Rosato in 2nd. When the riders entered Turn 1 Dan’s cold tire caught him out and he had a big slide that brought him wide on the exit, allowing Canaan newcomer (but LRRS fast guy) Chris Woodman to slide through. The trio held this order for the first lap but on lap two a small mistake by the leader allowed Chris Woodman slide by into the lead, setting up the Ealy-Rosato battle that had been anticipated all day long. The two riders stayed glued to Woodman and traded places several times several times, but neither rider was able to put Woodman between his rival. In the end lapped traffic came into play and Ealy made all the right moves, moving back into second behind the speedway Woodman and in front of the hard charging Rosato. The three riders were separated by a scant 0.3 seconds at the finish!

Novice A by Arai

The Arai Novice A featured a number of series regulars vying for the championship prizes as well as a rider who switched classes and enjoyed some immediate success. The Arai Novice A class was dominated from start to finish by Nicolas Peterson, who had recently bumped from his Suzuki SV650 Novice B mount to a Kawasaki ZX6 for Novice A and was clearly loving his new middleweight machine. Brian Bloom on his CBR600 made excellent progress during the course of the season and closed out with a 2nd place finish in his first weekend after bumping up from the Street Bike division, followed by Anthony Dicecca in third. Jack Kimball, who clearly had his eye on the Arai Corsair X championship prize, rode a conservative race to finish 4th place and a Arai Novice A Championship.

Novice B by Bazzaz

The Bazzaz Novice B race showcased the talents of “Flat Track” Frank Rounds (also dubbed “Fast” Frank by many of his competitors) and NESBC regular Marc Brown. The pair of motard mounted riders rode away from the field, with Rounds on his trusty Honda CRF450 and Brown on his brand new Husquvarna FS450. Brown got the holeshot and tried to make a run for it, but the veteran flat track racer Rounds tracked him down and grabbed the lead on lap two. Brown stayed within striking distance for several laps, but Rounds pulled away in the latter stages of the race as the pair began to pass lapped riders. Elia Hamilton, who has been gaining speed all season long, made a run at Brown on his new Husquvarna 570, but came up short at the finish line and recorded a solid 3rd place finish. In the end, Frank Rounds was clearly happy to not only have won the event but also to have clinched the season championship in the Bazzaz Novice B division.

Street Bike One by Hindle, Street Bike Two by Garmin

With previous winner Brian Bloom moving up to Novice A, the field was wide open in in the Hindle Street Bike 1 division. The Street Bike classes are run as a “fun” class for Penguin Track Experience riders, and 15 riders came to the grid to experience the thrill of lining up on a starting grid (many for the first time). Hindle Street Bike 1 pole sitter Cameron Ashbaugh grabbed the lead when the green flag dropped, chased by Tyler Arnold and Tony Wells. As the race played out, Wells managed to slip by Arnold on lap 5 as the pair closed down on the Ducati of Ashbuagh, who held on to win by a little more than 2 seconds. Fleming Wertz closed out his fantastic season in 4th place and secured the Hindle Street Bike 1 NESBC Championship. The Garmin Street Bike 2 class had a number of series regulars riding for both good times and for the championship prizes. The strong riding Fletcher Rood took his KTM to the front early and never looked back. The podium was rounded out by Toby Cabot and Fred Bross, and Hannah Rounds closed our her NESBC season with a 5th place finish and the Garmin Street Bike 2 Championship.

Motard by First Trax

The First Trax Motard race was the final event of the day and featured a 19 rider grid of thundering machines ready to do battle. The championship was locked in a tie with Penguin coaches Adam Clark and Sergio Dimofetta intently focused on securing the season title. In addition, all eyes were on a couple riders in the back of the grid. AMA Superbike and Supermoto star Shane Narbonne had been entertaining observers all day with his impressive sideways style, and Penguin coach Eric Block announced his last minute intention to race which prompted a barrage of jokes from his peers about nerves and the propensity for broken bones. Narbonne did not disappoint, somehow managing to make a last to first run to the front as the field exited turn 1. At that point Narbonne set sail away from the field, wowing the crowd with lurid slides both entering and exiting virtually every corner on the racetrack. With Narbonne painting black stripes for the rest of the field to follow, attention focused on both the battle for 2nd place between Eric Block, the surprisingly fast Frank Rounds and LRRS young gun Sammy Greenwood. On lap 3 Block took his KTM and moved around smoothly around Rounds and Greenwood charged hard to close the gap to Rounds, but his gains on corner entry were consistently equalled by the exit drives of Rounds, and the 2nd through 4th positions were set. The race for the championship was settled when Dimofetta ran off the track coming on to the front straight early in the race. This off track adventure ended without a fall, but by the time Dimofetta got back on track Clark had opened up a comfortable gap and cruised home to secure the season Motard Title.

8/28/16 NESBC Results

Street Bike One by Hindle

1. Cameron Ashbaugh (Duc 899)

2. Tony Wells (Kaw ZX-6/636R)

3. Tyler Arnold (Kaw ZX-6R)

4. Fleming Wertz (Yam YZF-R1)

5. Carl Williams (Yam YZF-R6)

6. Marc Biondi (Suz SV650)

2016 Champion: Fleming Wertz

Street Bike Two by Garmin

1. Fletcher Rood (KTM 525)

2. Toby Cabot (Suz SV650)

3. Fred Bross (Yam YZF-R6)

4. Bill Clark (Yam 500)

5. Hannah Rounds (Kaw 250)

6. Beth Bloodgood (KTM 390)

2016 Champion: Hannah Rounds

Novice 1 by Arai

1. Nic Peterson (Kaw ZX-6R)

2. Brian Bloom (Hon CBR600)

3. Anthony Dicecca (Suz GSX-R600)

4. Jack Kimball (Yam YZF-6)

2016 Champion: Jack Kimball

Novice 2 by Bazzaz

1. Frank Rounds (Hon 450)

2. Mark Brown (Hus 450)

3. Elia Hamilton (Hus 570)

4. Ed Forier (Kaw 500)

5. Troy Hodgkins (Suz 650)

6. Ivan Percia (Kaw 250)

2016 Champion: Frank Rounds

Formula 300 by Kawasaki

1. Chris Woodman (Yam YZF-R3)

2. Roger Ealy Jr (Kaw 300)

3. Dan Rosato (Yam YZF-R3)

4. Jeff Vaughn (Yam YZF-R3)

5. Fred Bross (Kaw 300)

6. Mike Wekkert (Kaw 250)

2016 Champion: Roger Ealy Jr

Motard by Firstrax

1. Shane Narbonne (Hon 450)

2. Eric Block (KTM 450)

3. Frank Rounds (Hon 450)

4. Sam Greenwood (Hon 450)

5. Ryan Hobbs (Hon 450)

6. Bill Morey (KTM 450)

2016 Champion: Adam Clark