The professional racing teams that rely on the performance advantages that Bel-Ray powersports lubricant provide experienced success in various forms of competition this past weekend. Motocross, Supercross, World Superbike, and ATV racing action all took place around the world, each with Bel-Ray racers competing. The Netherlands hosted round 3 of the championship series at the legendary Assen TT circuit. Bel-Ray’s entry in World Superbike racing, the Althea Ducati team of Carlos Checa and teammate Davide Giugliano, came into the event in first and seventeenth, respectively, in the points’ standings. Initially, beginning under dry conditions, the race was red flagged after 12 of the scheduled 22 laps as a result of several crashes that occurred in the field. On the restart, Checa and Giugliano both got underway in excellent position. Despite the increasing rain and cold winds, both riders pushed through the field on their way to the checkered flag, with Giugliano scoring a second and Checa a third place finish for their efforts. Checa commented on the poor weather conditions, calling it one of the worst SBK races he’s ever ridden and commended his teammate on a great race. Under threatening skies, Race 2 began. Checa chose to employ a rain tire, expecting the oncoming deluge, while Giugliano chose the dry tire with the intention of pitting if the rains came. Unfortunately for Checa, he made the wrong decision and after just 1 lap, he was forced into the pit area to replace his tires, a choice that proved costly to his track position. Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, Checa was only able to come back to seventeenth place. He spoke about his choice following the race and took full responsibility for the decision. Giugliano meanwhile rose through the field after a fourteenth place start to finish ninth at the checkered flag. His fine results in Assen pushed him into the top 10 in the series points’ standings. Despite his second race results, Checa sits just 1 point out of the series lead in second. The World Superbike series continues in Monza, Italy on May 6th. The Gorna Rositza track in Sevlievo, Bulgaria hosted round 2 of the FIM World Motocross Series this weekend. The Bel-Ray sponsored Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit features two of the top MX2 racer in the world, Tommy Searle and Joel Roelants. The opening moto began with both riders at the front of the field with Searle taking the early advantage. Pulling away from the field at a quick pace, he began to slow due to an issue with the front brake that caused him to lose his lead. Teammate Roelants used this to his advantage to pass Searle and go on for the moto win. Searle was able to hold on for an excellent third place finish. The second moto again saw Searle out front at the start. He mentioned in a post race interview that his bike is even faster this year than last year and he had no problem getting both holeshots. Riding a near perfect race, Searle took the moto and overall win. Roelants overcame a hectic first lap of action to settle for a fourth place moto finish and third overall for the Grand Prix. Searle and Roelants are second and third in the points’ standings as the series heads to Fermo, Italy this upcoming weekend. Bel-Ray also had success this weekend in Bulgaria in the MX1 class with Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit. Christophe Pourcel won the opening moto in a dominant fashion. He was into the lead on the first lap and proceeded to show the entire field that he recovered from his disappointing finish in Valkenswaard. Moto 2 again saw Pourcel at the front of the field early, as he took the holeshot and led the opening lap. After getting passed for the lead, Pourcel settled into second place and kept pace with the leader looking for an opportunity to make the pass. The opportunity did not come and he would finish second place for the moto and overall. This fine performance vaulted him into fifth place in the series standings. Teammate Sebastien Pourcel struggled to a fifteenth place finish in the opening moto, but rebounded with a strong sixth in moto 2 to score a tenth place overall finish. The MX1 series continues this weekend in Fermo, Italy. The Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ Hart and Huntington/ Bel-Ray racing featured a new rider in Seattle. Tyler Bowers joined the team just days before the event and with only two days of testing aboard the bike, he performed quite well. After a poor start, Bowers consistently moved through the field and was up to twelfth place with an eye on the top 10. A mistake just past the midway point of the race caused him to go off course and drop back several positions. He regrouped and was able to salvage a sixteenth place finish. Teammate Kyle Regal got a top 10 start in the main event and was turning in consistent lap times until he came in contact with another rider, causing him to crash. He was back up and moving quickly, but near the back of the field. He continued on the rest of the race for an eventual seventeenth place finish. The West Coast Lites championship series resumed in Seattle with Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Martin Davalos and Jason Anderson returning to action. Both riders qualified directly into the main event from their heat races and were poised for excellent finishes. Davalos was in the top 5 for the first several laps, but began slipping back near the midway point of the event. With only a couple of laps to go, he stalled his bike in a tight turn after the triple and had trouble restarting his Suzuki. It eventually re-fired, but the damage was done and he rejoined the race out of the top 10. He would recover enough to finish fourteenth at the checkered flag. Teammate Anderson’s main event would operate in the opposite direction, as he started outside the top 10. Charging through the field, he was able to work his way into a sixth place finish. The Supercross series continues Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah. Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee hosted round 2 of the 2012 ATV MX National Championship this past Saturday. Bel-Ray backed Josh Upperman of the Baldwin Motorsports/PEP Racing team is a top contender in the ATV Pro Class and this weekend would prove to be no exception. The first moto saw Upperman get an excellent start and lead the race early, until getting overtaken on the third lap, eventually slipping back to fourth place. For the third time this season, Upperman grabbed the holeshot at the start of the second moto, eventually slipping back to fourth in the moto and a fourth overall finish. The series takes a week off before continuing at Budd’s Creek Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland on May 5th and 6th. Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com. More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport: IDM: the BMW S 1000 RR enjoys a perfect start to season. BMW riders pick up five of the six spots on the podium at the first event of the 2012 season at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Munich/Klettwitz. The 2012 season of the fiercely-contested International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM) is underway: the BMW S 1000 RR was the dominant bike at the season-opener, which was held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (GER). BMW customer teams secured no less than five of the six podium places on offer in the first two races. This marked an excellent start to BMW’s title defence in the Manufacturers’ Championship. This year, many customer teams have once again put their faith in the direct support offered by the specialist BMW Motorrad HP Race Support department, which provides engineers and performance parts. In both races of the IDM Superbike competition, five of the top six riders were on the BMW S 1000 RR. Race one saw Jörg Teuchert (GER) from Team Wilbers BMW racing and Michael Ranseder (AUT) from Team Technogym Racing Austria Fritze Tuning secure their places on the podium with second and third place respectively. Teuchert’s team-mate Gareth Jones (AUS), Troy Herfoss (AUS) from Team RAC Racing BMW and Erwan Nigon (FRA) of Team Van Zon alpha Technik-BMW completed the top six. Victory went to Yamaha rider Matej Smrz (CZE). BMW had the podium to itself after race two: Teuchert won ahead of Ranseder and Jones, with Nigon and Herfoss finishing fifth and sixth. Young rider Lucy Glöckner (GER), who is contesting her first season in the IDM Superbike with Team Wilbers BMW racing, made an impressive debut, finishing eleventh and tenth. BMW riders occupy the top three positions in the Riders’ Championship: Teuchert leads with 45 points, ahead of Ranseder (36 points) and Jones (29 points). In the Manufacturers’ Championship of the IDM Superbike, BMW is currently sitting pretty at the top of the table on 81 points, 49 points ahead of its closest rival. “Congratulations to all the successful BMW teams in this championship,” explains Berthold Hauser, head of the specialist BMW Motorrad HP Race Support department. “We are obviously delighted that the cooperation with the teams has produced such excellent results. The fact that our rivals have become stronger and improved their technology this season makes it all the more satisfying that the teams who ride with BMW S 1000 RRs were able to dominate to such a degree on bikes that are still predominantly based on production models. There promises to be many more exciting events this season. A start like this to the IDM season gives everyone the enthusiasm and motivation to carry on as we have begun. I would like to wish all our teams the best of luck!” The second round of the IDM will take place from 4th to 6th May at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben (GER). A total of eight race weekends are scheduled for this year. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: WATERS AND SUZUKI WIN AT DARWIN SBK Team Suzuki Press Office – April 24. Team Suzuki’s Josh Waters extended his lead in the QBE Australian Superbike Championship with a clean-sweep of Hidden Valley’s second round in Darwin at the weekend. Waters rode the brand new 2012 model Suzuki GSX-R1000 to Superpole and both race wins in convincing fashion during the weekend, stretching out a 26-point lead in the series after two of seven rounds to be contested. The 2009 Superbike champion and reigning Australian Endurance Champion won the opening 14-lap race of the weekend by 3.066 seconds in hot and humid conditions before backing the result up in the shortened second race with victory by 4.442 seconds. Said Waters: “I didn’t think that the weekend would be so successful, considering how strong the competition is, but it’s a great way to keep the ball rolling and I’m really happy with the 2012 GSX-R1000. It was very warm and it wasn’t easy, but I’ve won in Darwin all three years we’ve raced there and seem to do good on that track. We have to keep our heads down now and keep fighting for this title with the early lead we have.” Team Volvo Group Suzuki rider Robbie Bugden made it two GSX-R1000s on the podium in third overall after claiming second in race one for a Suzuki 1-2, before a fighting fifth in the second outing sealed his first top three finish of the year. Bugden is now third in the Championship standings. “I was comfortable right away and had pretty good speed straight away,” the current New Zealand Superbike Champion said. “I was fastest in regular qualifying but didn’t get the lap I wanted in Superpole and then the first race was strong to finish behind Josh. I got a horrible start in the second race, but caught back up to fifth before the red flag. I’m happy with third overall, for sure.” Team Suzuki newcomer Ben Attard endured a trying round for sixth overall as he continues to gain experience on the GSX-R1000, scoring vital Championship points as he aims to progress throughout the season. Attard scored fifth in race one and sixth in the second and is now sixth in the title hunt. “My results obviously weren’t what I was after,” Attard said. “I just didn’t seem to be able to push and really challenge for the podium, so it was just one of those weekends. I’m pretty disappointed with the result, but the team worked hard and the bike was great – I just couldn’t get comfortable.” The Supersport ranks saw national number two Brodie Waters claimed fourth overall after taking a pair of fourth place finishes in the Top End on the GSX-R600. Waters is also currently ranked fourth in the Championship points tally. “The weekend didn’t go to plan for me,” Waters admitted. “We struggled to find the right settings on the bike for me and didn’t really make any improvements until Sunday – but that was too late. We need to start winning races before we lose touch in the series, so that’s definitely the plan in the upcoming rounds.” The Superbike Championship will continue in a two-plus-four round alongside the V8 Supercars at Wanneroo in Western Australia on May 4-6th. The next Supersport round will take place at Queensland Raceway on June 1-3rd. Superbike Round Results: 1. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 51 2. Wayne MAXWELL 38 3. Robert BUGDEN (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) 36 4. Glenn ALLERTON 35 5. Jamie STAUFFER 32 6. Ben ATTARD (Team Suzuki) 31 7. Scott CHARLTON (Suzuki) 28 8. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 26 9. Chris McMILLAN 24 Superbike Championship Standings: 1. Joshua WATERS (Team Suzuki) 97 2. Glenn ALLERTON 71 3. Robert BUGDEN (Team Volvo Group Suzuki) 69 4. Jamie STAUFFER 67 5. Wayne MAXWELL 63 6. Ben ATTARD (Team Suzuki) 62 7. Ben HENRY (Suzuki) 55 8. Scott CHARLTON (Suzuki) 43 9. Chris TROUNSON 26 10. Chris McMILLAN 24 Supersport Round Results : 1. Mitchell CARR 50 2. Glenn SCOTT 39 3. Josh HOOK 38 4. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 34 5. Chris QUINN 32 6. Levi DAY 30 7. Christan CASELLA 27 8. Adam SENIOR 26 9. Anthony QUINN 24 10. Mitch LEVY 23 Supersport Championship Standings: 1. Mitchell CARR 83.5 2. Josh HOOK 72 3. Glenn SCOTT 63 4. Brodie WATERS (Team Suzuki) 60.5 5. Chris QUINN 56.5 6. Levi DAY 52 7. Adam SENIOR 44.5 8. Christan CASELLA 42 9. Anthony QUINN 37.5 10. Ryan TAYLOR 30.5