AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport BigM Weekend Presented by Lucas Oil Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 29 Provisional Race Results (wet conditions, all on Dunlop tires):
1. Corey Alexander (Suz GSX-R600), 13 laps 2. David Gaviria (Yam YZF-R6), -18.873 seconds 3. Travis Ohge (Yam YZF-R6), -19.249 4. Tomas Puerta (Yam YZF-R6), -19.707 5. Elena Myers (Suz GSX-R600), -45.607 6. Ryan Tarr (Yam YZF-R6), -48.910 7. Sebastiao Ferreira (Yam YZF-R6), -65.436 8. Jason Lauritzen (Yam YZF-R6), -69.002 9. Roi Holster (Yam YZF-R6), -116.211 10. Rocco Horvath (Kaw ZX-6R), -121.505 11. Kelly Barnett (Yam YZF-R6), -140.699 12. N. Grice (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 13. Shelina Moreda (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 4.547 seconds 14. Howard Crow (Duc 848), -1 lap, 123.173 seconds 15. Ron Gentile (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps, crash 16. Charles Strong (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps, DNF, crash 17. Quentin Wilson (Duc 848), -6 laps, DNF, crash 18. Nicholas Hayman (Duc 848), -6 laps, DNF, crash 19. Phil Horwitz (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, DNF, crash 20. Benny Solis (Hon CBR600RR), -7 laps, DNF, crashed twice 21. Nadr Riad (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps, DNF, crash 22. Jose Flores (Duc 848), -8 laps, DNF, crash 23. Miles Thornton (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, crash 24. Colton Dimick (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNS
Revised Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 10 events):
1. Gaviria, 123 points 2. Solis, 112 3. Alexander, 101 4. Ohge, 72 5. Ferreira, 69 6. Myers, 54 7. Lauritzen, 49 8. Holster, 39 9. TIE, Riad/Horvath, 38
More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Corey Alexander Earns Career-First AMA Pro Podium in BigM MotorcycleSuperstore.com SuperSport
Tooele, UT (May 29, 2011) Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory Alexander captured his career-first AMA Pro podium in today’s AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport contest, skipping the second- and third-place steps on the dais to turn in a wildly dominant win. Seventeen-year-old Alexander made the most of his front-row starting position, taking the lead on Lap 2 and immediately running away with the race.
While Corey may be relatively new to AMA Pro fans, his surname isn’t; his uncle, Richie Alexander, is both current Team Director for the Michael Jordan Motorsports effort and a former AMA national road race champion. Corey did his family more than proud this morning, leading 12 of 13 laps and crossing the finish line a staggering 18.873 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Y.E.S./LTD Racing’s David Gaviria.
Pole sitter Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com) went into today’s race looking for a third consecutive podium, but ended up with a very different result. After leading briefly at the start, he diced with Gaviria for only a few turns before sliding off-course in Turn 9. Though he was up and okay quickly and eventually reentered the race, he suffered a second fall late in the contest. The single-race points-paying system ensured Solis won’t go home empty-handed (for a non-doubleheader event, points are paid for both qualifying positions and race results, using the 20-position race scale), but his misfortune has allowed the rest of the field to draw closer.
Gaviria, meanwhile, made it his priority to collect championship points, maintaining a comfortable pace that kept him out of reach of the battle for third, which raged behind between Gaviria’s LTD teammate, Tomas Puerta, and GP Bike Parts’ Travis Ohge. Ohge had made an impressive charge up from thirteenth on the grid, and he wasn’t done yet. Puerta and Ohge diced all the way to the checkered flag, Ohge getting by just before the pair crossed the finish.
Fifth-place finisher Elena Myers (SuzukiScoopFans Racing) also turned in an impressive performance, fighting her way up from twelfth in difficult conditions. She likewise holds fifth in the overall AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division Championship, behind Sebastiao Ferreira (GP Bike Parts). Solis leads the championship with 112 points, followed by Alexander (101 points) and Ohge (72).
Today’s Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race will be part of a special SPEED TV broadcast airing tomorrow, May 30, at 9 p.m. PST. The class’ next round runs June 3-5 at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, for AMA Pro Road Racing Round 4.
For detailed results, visit http://results.amaproracing.com/. To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us via facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing, twitter.com/AMAProSBK, and twitter.com/AMAProLIVE. Corey Alexander, 1st: “We went out there this morning [for Q2] and I just didn’t want to crash or create any extra work for my guys””I just wanted to get to know the track and see how it was in the wet, and it was really good, there was a lot of grip. I was just kind of waiting to see what was going to happen in the race, and that’s what I did. Benny went down, so I was just riding behind Tomas. Then I caught up to them, made my way around them, and I thought they would stay with me, but a couple laps later I looked at my board and had a ten-second lead, so it was really good. This was only my second time racing in the rain.”
David Gaviria, 2nd: “I was behind Benny and tried to be behind him all the time, but he made a few mistakes even before he crashed. I was just, like, taking care of myself during the race, then Corey caught me and I couldn’t do anything because he was way faster than me. When he passed me he went away, so I was again just taking care of me, trying to go fast to make a difference between me and third and fourth. I think it was a good result for today and for the team also. If you crash, it’s done; you don’t win anything, you don’t win any points. It’s difficult to know how fast you’re going in the rain, especially when you’re in the front, because you can’t feel too much the tires””it’s very fast when you lose a tire in the rain; it’s very fast when the rear tire goes and you crash. I was pushing so hard to do a good race.”
Travis Ohge, 3rd: “In the first qualifying yesterday I didn’t feel too good, but I went out this morning and knew I was confident in the rain, being from the Northwest. I was second this morning, so I knew I should be up front but I had to start on the fourth row from yesterday’s qualifying, so I knew I had to be aggressive and get up there quick if I had any chance of getting on the box. I made my way up there, and Tomas put up a great race, but in the end I wanted the podium worse, I guess. I was pushing so hard”¦. You can feel your front just ready to go, but you’ve got to ride on that edge if you want to be on the box that bad.”
More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing:
LTD RACING’S GAVIRIA SAYS ‘Y.E.S’ TO WEST DIVISION POINTS LEAD IN UTAH
Tooele, UT (May 29, 2011) LTD Racing’s David Gaviria leads the AMA Pro West Division SuperSport points after earning second in a wet race at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on Sunday.
Gaviria took his fourth podium finish of the season with a calculated but quick ride in the 13-lap race. Tomas Puerta finished fourth and unfortunately saw his podium streak end but the Colombian rode hard and finished less than one second behind Gaviria. Huntley Nash took 15th place in his wet Daytona SportBike battle and nearly took an even better result in the competitive class before a late-race issue.
Gaviria pushed early and led the SuperSport race before eventually taking second place. “I think it was a good result for me and for the team also,” said Gaviria. “If you crash, it’s done; you don’t win anything, you don’t win any points. It’s difficult to know how fast you’re going in the rain, especially when you’re in the front, because you can’t feel the tires too much. It’s very fast when you lose your traction in the rain. It’s very fast when the rear tire goes and you crash. I was pushing so hard to do a good race but we are also trying to win the championship for our sponsors like Yamaha Extended Services, Akrapovic, K&N, and Motul.”
The resilient Colombian Puerta still managed to impress despite adversity. “I had an issue with seeing the track in the wet conditions and we tried several things with my equipment before the race to help but it didn’t work out for us today. I had a hard time seeing my braking points and so I couldn’t give it my best,” said Puerta. “I’m disappointed with fourth place and it was my first time off the podium this year. What is important is we finished and did not crash. I am looking forward to the race next week at Elkhart Lake and think we can do well.”
Heading into Elkhart Lake next weekend, LTD Racing’s pilots lead both the East and West SuperSport Divisions.
Huntley Nash took 15th in a challenging event held on a wet but drying track. The young racer ran as high as 13th in the contest and continued his improvement in just his third event (fourth race) in the Daytona SportBike class. He diced with several more experienced racers in Utah. “At one point, I thought I could catch the group in front of me but I ended up fading,” sad Nash. “The track started drying and conditions were tricky. I probably would have gotten 13th but my visor started fogging up with four laps to go. So the race went okay, probably a little better than the result looks. We’re trying to get some momentum going and start moving forward. I’m excited to go back to Elkhart, a track where I won last year in SuperSport, and see how we fare there.”
LTD Racing’s Director of Competition Gary Medley said, “I think today went pretty well. Huntley is getting better and better. He may not be happy with the results but the team is pleased with how he’s progressing. David and Tomas rode smart today. They used their heads and not their bodies, so to speak. The team has taken a step forward in riding ability and performance. The riders were really mature out there for this event. We have a race in Wisconsin in a few days and it would not help us at all if guys fighting in the season’s points chase and fighting to get better each weekend had crashed and faced a setback. The crew worked hard and we also got a performance increase with Akrapovic coming on board with the team, which I think is a big plus. We’re looking forward to Road America and seeing what we can do there.”