CVMA Racing Round 7 – Final Round
The final round (Round 7) of the CVMA 2020/2021 Winter Series wrapped up a great season of racing [April 17-18 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, in Desert Center, California] with several class championship battles being decided on this double-points weekend. Racers were greeted by unseasonably cool weather, for the desert, with temperatures in the mid eighties and sunny skies.
“Friday’s new racer school was very well attended for the final round of our series. Normally with the season ending we don’t see many new racers in the school on the final round but this class was filled with twenty four riders who all achieved their goal and became licensed racers. A large contingent of American Twins racers completed their new racer school and joined one of the fastest growing classes in the club, ” said Stuart Smith, New Racer School instructor and CVMA track announcer.
Saturday
Saturday morning started off with Michael Gilbert taking the honors of fastest qualifier turning a 1:45.498 lap time.
Rocco Landers was the fastest rider on a middleweight bike turning a 1:46.755 lap time.
Gilbert went on to win the first race of the day (Supersport Open), while a battle raged behind him for second and third between Jack Bakken and Landers. Bakken, riding an open-class bike, got a great start from the second row of the grid to slot into second spot with Landers riding a middleweight bike in third at the start of the race. Landers was able to make an outside pass on Bakken in the bowl (Turn 13) but was able to use his horsepower advantage down the back straight to retake the position. Landers pulled off a very brave outside pass in Turn 9 on the next lap and was able to take the second position away for good. Landers finished second and Bakken third.
The Ultralightweight Shootout was a hard-fought battle between Aden Thao and Owen Williams. Thao led Williams for the first five laps of the race. Williams, however, was able to draft past on the last lap down the back straight and hold off Thao for the win. Owen Williams placed first with Thao in second and Jayden Fernandez able to close in on the last lap to finish a very close third.
Landers set a new lap record in the Formula Middleweight race, turning a 1:45.908 lap time early in race number three.
Grant Boldt set a new lap record in the Formula 40 Middleweight class turning a 1:50.754 lap time in the seventh race of the day.
In Race 12 (Formula Open), Bakken and Landers put on a show with one of the best final laps of the weekend. From the start Gilbert jumped out to a sizeable lead with Bakken running second and Landers a bit further back. Landers was able to work his way up through the pack riding a 600cc bike against the other open class bikes to slot into third. On the last lap, Landers was able to make an inside pass in the bowl when Bakken ran a high line. Bakken retaliated in Turn 7 passing Landers on the inside. However, Bakken ran wide after the pass and Landers passed him in Turn 6. Bakken did not give in though and passed Landers again on the short straight heading into Turn 3. Landers then made a brave pass in Turn 2 but Bakken was able to pass him back before the finish. Gilbert took the win with Bakken finishing second and Landers third in the most exciting race of the day.
Sunday
Sunday morning was very windy for the start of the first race. The wind slowed everyone down a bit but made for some great racing. In Formula Open, Gilbert took the win with a very close battle for the podium raging behind him. Bakken ran second for most of the race, but Travis Wyman was able to pass him on the last lap to win the position. Dan Dickerman was able to pass Bakken in the final set of corners on the last lap to take third with Bakken finishing fourth.
Race 2B was the first time the American Twins class was featured with the track to themselves. In the past the class started as a second wave in a race with other bikes on the track, so this was the first time there was a race only for the American Twins. Anthony Sollima took the win with Zack Nation and Frankie Garcia finishing second and third respectively. The American Twins class is one of the fastest growing classes and has quickly become one of the most popular classes in the club.
Unfortunately, after a red flag caused by a rider falling in Turn 16 of Race 5, the desert wind became so intense on track that the conditions were just not safe enough to continue. Race Control decided to end the day’s racing at that point, bringing the season to a premature close.
CVMA would like to thank all the riders for coming out and racing with us all season long and congratulate all of our class champions. We look forward to seeing everyone back at Chuckwalla for the start of our 2021/2022 Winter Series in September.
CVMA offers two full days of racing every race weekend and also includes Saturday qualifying for grid position in all classes, amateur and expert, as well as a wide variety of classes to choose from.
Additionally, CVMA offers free reciprocity as a means of encouraging racers from other clubs to come out and compete. Log on to www.cvmaracing.com for more information.
CVMA. It’s club racing done right.
*Note: when running the track in the CCW direction we still refer to the corner numbers used when running the track CW.
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