Update: Travis Ohge crashed during the race, causing a red flag. He was transported via helicopter to a local hospital. As of Sunday morning, he was in an Intensive Care Unit with head trauma, according to his mother Tina Ohge. We will post more details as they become available.
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 20, 2013 Provisional Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Joe Roberts (Hon CBR600RR), 16 laps 2. Tomas Puerta (Yam YZF-R6), -0.117 second 3. Corey Alexander (Suz GSX-R600), -0.295 4. Jeffrey Tigert (Yam YZF-R6), -6.845 seconds 5. Stefano Mesa (Yam YZF-R6), -6.911 6. Sebastiao Ferreira (Yam YZF-R6), -6.940 7. Wyatt Farris (Yam YZF-R6), -8.380 8. Charles Weaver (Yam YZF-R6), -9.225 9. Ryan Matter (Yam YZF-R6), -9.489 10. Cameron Gish (Yam YZF-R6), -14.420 11. Devon McDonough (Yam YZF-R6), -20.955 12. Brandon Cleland (Tri Daytona 675R), -21.244 13. Andrew DiBrino (Yam YZF-R6), -23.083 14. Erick Sanchez (Yam YZF-R6), -27.311 15. Thomas G. Montano (Tri Daytona 675R), -29.105 16. Daytona Anderson (Yam YZF-R6), -40.011 17. Michael Pond (Yam YZF-R6), -41.614 18. Javelin Broderick (Yam YZF-R6), -41.690 19. Felipe MacLean (Yam YZF-R6), -41.793 20. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-R6), -51.268 21. Danielle Diaz (Suz GSX-R600), -53.414 22. JC Gibbs (Yam YZF-R6), -53.850 23. Jeremy Simmons (Yam YZF-R6), -54.561 24. Oscar Covarrubias (Kaw ZX-6R), -55.764 25. Jorge Castro (Yam YZF-R6), -62.856 26. Ricky Brown (Yam YZF-R6), -71.257 27. Brian Rose (Suz GSX-R600), -79.147 28. Patricia Fernandez (Yam YZF-R6), -85.991 29. Bruce Bleecker (Yam YZF-R6), -87.395 30. Phil Horwitz (Yam YZF-R6), -87.722 31. Edmundo Duenez (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 32. Travis Ohge (Suz GSX-R600), -9 laps, DNF, crash 33. Neill Herbert (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, DNF, crash
SuperSport West Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 9 events):
1. Puerta, 143 points 2. Tigert, 98 3. Ferreira, 81 4. Farris, 66 5. Weaver, 61 6. David Sadowski, Jr., 56 7. Ohge, 55 8. Roberts, 53 9. Matter, 48 10. Gish, 27
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer PR:
ROBERTS AND TEAM HAMMER WIN THRILLER AT LAGUNA SECA
California Superbike School Roadracingworld.com Racing’s Joe Roberts remained perfect in AMA Pro Road Racing competition, backing up his spectacular debut double victory at Barber Motorsports Park with a clutch victory in Saturday’s AMA SuperSport race at Laguna Seca. The 16-year-old engaged in a thrilling three-way dogfight for the race win in the once-stopped race, showing rare determination, bravery, and skill en route to his third triumph in as many attempts.
Roberts led the tight three-man pack on the penultimate lap but a minor mistake and subsequent save allowed both competitors to overtake him as they climbed the hill. However, Roberts, who had owned the Corkscrew throughout the race, overtook one rival on entrance. He opened the final lap in second position and once again used his superiority in the track’s trademark corner to take back the lead. He then held his line down the following left, fending off an attempted counter attack. His rival attempted a last-corner pass, but Roberts calmly let him dive past, ducked back underneath and got the better drive to the flag, winning at the stripe by 0.117 seconds.
Roberts said, “It was a really, really good race. I thought I’d be able to pull away and do something like I did at Barber but the guys were really quick this weekend. It was a hard race for sure, but I put my head down. I made a little mistake so I had to make some aggressive passes to get right back to the front.
“It’s been like a dream come true to come to Laguna and win. I’ve always wanted to come here and ride and to come here and win is just amazing.”
For Roberts, the three-win streak to begin his AMA Pro career is unprecedented. He will compete at the next round in Utah as well.
The contenders in the Daytona SportBike class hit the track just once on Saturday, going out early in the morning to complete the second of two weekend qualifying sessions. Unfortunately, the morning Monterey mist meant that conditions were not overly conducive to putting in a blistering lap and relatively few riders improved upon their Friday afternoon times. As a result, the provisional times of GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing’s Dane Westby (1:28.681), M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s s Benny Solis (1:30.163), and MPH Racing’s Melissa Paris (1:33.177) remained unaltered following the conclusion of qualifying.
The provisional grid positions of Solis (12th) and Paris (19th) were finalized, while Westby was dropped from sixth to seventh. Due to the unique MotoGP-style three-rider-per-row grid arrangement used this weekend, that small drop bumped the Oklahoman down from the second to the third row. Despite being unable to show any improvements on Saturday, the Team Hammer DSB contingent is confident of delivering strong Sunday showings aboard their CBR600RRs in their 20-lap final.
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s Chris Ulrich slashed nearly a second-and-a-half off his provisional time in QP2, posting a fast lap of 1:27.628 aboard his CBR1000RR. That put him 14th fastest and on the fifth row for Sunday’s 23-lap AMA Superbike finale.
About Team Hammer: In 2013, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 33rd consecutive racing season, and is marking its seventh year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 57 AMA Pro National race wins; 133 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 5 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles.
More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of Motorcycle-Superstore.com:
Youngster Roberts scores again in Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport
MONTEREY, Calif. (July 20) – Joe Roberts is fast becoming a terror on the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport series. Roberts, 16, scored his third victory in the class Saturday, storming to a win during the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
“It’s been like a dream come true coming back to Laguna and winning,” Roberts said. “I’ve always wanted to come here and ride, to come here and win.” Roberts, aboard his California Superbike School/RoadRacingWorld.com Honda, held off points leader Tomas Puerta and Corey Alexander to score the victory.
“It was a really, really good race,” Roberts said. “I thought I’d be able to pull away and do something like I did at Barber, but these guys were really quick this weekend. It was a hard race, for sure. I put my head down.”
Roberts held the lead during the 16-lap race but made a mistake in Laguna Seca’s Turn 1 on Lap 9 to allow Puerta and Alexander to slip past. But Roberts didn’t give up, slicing back through the top two to retake the lead.
“I made a little mistake in Turn 1 and ran wide, and Corey Alexander and Tomas Puerta went by me,” Roberts said. “I had to make some aggressive passes to get back to the front, but I did it right away. It was a lot of fun.”
On the final lap, Roberts was ready for the move Puerta made. “It was crazy on the last lap because I knew Puerta was going to try and make a move on the last corner,” Roberts said, “so as soon as I saw his bike, I knew he was going to run wide because I broke really late. So if I broke really late, he broke even later. Then I just got the drive and went by him.”
Puerta, who finished .117-second behind Roberts, started from the pole on his RoadRace Factory Yamaha. “It was a really fun race,” Puerta said. “We were almost there on the last lap. I was trying to pass, and it didn’t work. I was trying to keep my head up and hopefully hit our window.”
Alexander figured the dicing up front would give him an opening on the last lap, but he came across the finish line in third place on his National Guard Celtic Racing Suzuki. “They rode an amazing race and there was a lot of passing going on,” Alexander said. “I was kind of banking on something happening in the last turn, and I thought I’d get a good enough drive off the turn to pass on the straightaway.”