Martinez Motorsports Weathers the Storm

Topeka, KS Just before sunrise on Friday morning, the Topeka area was inundated by powerful thunderstorms with hail and lightning that had the competitors wondering if there was any hope for the days on track activities. But for once the weatherman was right and by 9:00am the rain had stopped and the drying process began with Heartland Park-Topeka officials putting in a herculean effort to get the facility ready for the 3:30pm start time. While most of the practice was done on a wet or damp surface, the track was clean and dry for the start of the Michelin Team Challenge final.

Once again the first bike off the line was the Thrashed Bike Racing Buell 1125R followed by Cyclepath Racing and both of the Martinez Motorsports entries. After the first revolution of the 2.5 mile road course, it was the Martinez Motorsports Kawasaki ZX10 leading the way with the D2 Cycles #2 ZX 10 right on their heels, but that would hold for just 2 laps. On lap 3 the D2 Cycles team of Mike Garner and Ricky Valdez took the lead with Jason Farrell on the Martinez Motorsports machine right on their heels. D2 Cycles joy was short lived as Martinez Motorsports regained the lead on lap 8 then an unscheduled pit stop for mechanical problems one lap later took the D2 team out of contention.

With the D2 team gone it may have seemed that Martinez Motorsports would have an easy time of it but the Valdez Racing Yamaha R6 quickly replaced D2 as a serious threat for the Overall win by taking the lead on lap 13. The two front-runners continued to swap the lead until Valdez Racing made their scheduled pit stop on lap 22, the halfway point of the contest, and their lengthy stop left them nearly 1 minute behind Farrell.

Martinez Motorsports pitted for a splash of fuel on lap 31 handing the lead over to the Thrashed Bike Racing Team Buell, who returned the favor by pitting on lap 35, leaving the Martinez Motorsports Kawasaki out in front to cruise to the Overall victory. Valdez Racing held on for 2nd Overall and 1st in GTU followed by Thrashed Bike Racing in 3rd Overall and 2nd in GTO. Defending GTO and Michelin Team Challenge Champion Chester Auto Repair finished 3rd in GTO to stay in the hunt for a second straight class championship.

The GTU class was a study in contrasts as Valdez Racing took off like a rabbit while Stiles Racing set the a measured pace to insure they made up for their misfortune Carolina Motorsports Park two weeks prior. Stiles used their pit road experience and consistent laps to keep themselves within striking distance of the class leader, ready to take advantage of any mishap that may befall the Valdez team, while keeping an eye on the larger picture of the championship chase. At the end of the race it was Valdez Racing by 51 seconds over Stiles Racing in 2nd followed by Huff Racing in 3rd place.

With the GTL point leader Saddlebaum Racing a no-show at Heartland Park, they opened the door for Old Glory Speed Shop and Dennie Huff’s team wasted no time in trying to capitalize. Old Glory took the holeshot and led Tank Slappers Racing for the first 4 laps, then Tank Slappers moved to the point for the next 9 laps before relinquishing the lead back to Old Glory. With a pit stop on lap 15, Tank Slappers slipped in 3rd place as G-Baby Racing swept past while they were servicing their Suzuki SV650 on pit road. It looked like the battle was on when Tank Slappers moved past G-Baby back into second but that was short-lived when a crash in turn 5 ended Tank Slappers day on lap 17. With Tank Slappers gone and G-Baby on a 2 stop pit strategy Old Gory Speed Shop cruised to a easy victory in GTL. The victory gives Old Glory a 21 point lead over Saddlebaum Racing in the class with 5 rounds left in the Michelin Team Challenge GTL championship for 2011.

The top three finishing orders overall and by class were: Overall

1 Martinez Motorsports Calvin Martinez, Jason Farrell Slinger WI 2 Valdez Racing Ricardo Valdez, Michael Garner Evergreen IL 3 Thrashed Bike Racing Walt Sipp, Joel Spalding Breaux Bridge, LA 4 Stiles Racing Scotty Ryan, Mark Stiles Delavan WI 5 Huff Racing Kevin Huff, Shane Clark Blue Springs MD

GTO 1 Martinez Motorsports Calvin Martinez, Jason Farrell Slinger WI 2 Thrashed Bike Racing Walt Sipp, Joel Spalding Breaux Bridge, LA 3 Chester Auto Repair Eric Helmbach Califon, NJ

GTU 1 Valdez Racing Ricardo Valdez, Michael Garner Evergreen IL 2 Stiles Racing Scotty Ryan, Mark Stiles Delavan WI 3 Huff Racing Kevin Huff, Shane Clark Blue Springs MD

GTL 1 Old Glory Speed Shop Dennie Huff, Brandon Creto Hanover, PA 2 G-Baby Racing Jim Doyle, Suzanne Mears Overbrook KS 3 Tank Slappers Geno Gargac, Joe Behlmann Granite City IL

With three of the eight rounds of the series completed, the current Overall Michelin Team Challenge Championship is shaping up to be one of the best in the series history. The current Top 5 are:

Pos Points Team 1 76 STILES RACING, DELAVAN, WI. Meghan Ryan, Scotty Ryan, Mark Stiles

2 72 THRASHED BIKE RACING, BREAUX BRIDGE, LA. Joel Spalding, Walt Sipp, Tim Ivanoff, Nick Hansen

3 71 PREMIER RACING, MOHROVIA, MD. Daniel Dougherty, Adam Horton

4 68 CHESTER AUTO REPAIR, CALIFON, NJ. Eric Helmbach, Alex Shaw

5 67 RNR REPSOL RACING, STERLING, VA. Rick Beggs, Jason Gibbens, Dave Rosno,

Don’t miss the action! Round 4 is just three weeks away as the riders gear up to take on the Thunderbolt Circuit on May 13, 2011 at the fan friendly New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville NJ. This will mark the half way point of the 2011 Michelin Team Challenge Championship.

The American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA) is the parent organization to the Championship Cup Series (CCS), the largest amateur motorcycle road racing organization in the United States with 4,000 licensed riders. ASRA sanctions eight Michelin Pro Series and eight Michelin Team Challenge road racing events for 2011. The CCS Series runs 50 events at popular tracks around the united states. Tracks include Daytona, Loudon, Firebird, Heartland Park, and Virginia International among other fine venues. In 2011 ASRA and CCS provide riders with access to millions of dollars of sponsorship awards through participation in its sanctioned events.

Join CCS and ASRA in the greatest road racing experience available today. Race CCS! To learn more visit our website at http://www.ccsracing.us or call us at (817) 246-1127.