Panek and Ackerman Trade Wins at Summit Point 5.14.07 Team Pro-Motion’s GP Moto Cup Racing Series kicked off its first of 7 Premier Racing Events at Summit Point Raceway Monday. For 2007, the class structures were revised to bring better and more exciting racing. The new classes offered great challenges and competition, and offered up some of the most exciting bar to bar racing action we have ever seen. Race 1 is Supersport Endurance, which tests both skills and longevity in a 12 lap contest. Starting from Row 2, Nate Panek got a great start and finished lap 1 leading the pack across finish line. He would never look back for the next 11 laps, stretching out his lead lap after lap and won the race in convincing fashion. Behind him David Riccodonna and Tom Novelli was engaged in a close batter race long, and Riccodonna edged Novelli by a small margin at the line to take home 2nd place. Race 2 Superbike saw regular and last year’s 5th place championship finisher Brian Ackerman grabbing the hole shot and disappearing into the distance. New comer Dara Lor started from the 2nd row and held on to the lead pack after turn 1, and eventually picked off everyone in front of him to claim 2nd place. Bart Defranceso and Dave East rounded out 3rd and 4th. Race 3 was the new Twister class, which offers an opportunity to run any of the unusual machinery. Alex Lazo won the LightWeight Twister on a SV650 while Bernard Wilson took home the HeavyWeight win on a TL1000R. In Race 4, Supersport Sprint, Panek did not get the same great start as earlier, and he had his work cut out for him as he trailed DeFrancesco by 2 seconds by the start of lap 2. But that obstacle didn’t prove to be enough to bar him from winning his second race of the day, as he slipped past DeFrancesco and took swept the 2 Supersport races on the day. Rob Allen was in close pursue all race long in 3rd place but unable to keep pace with the lead pair and had to settle for 3rd. Race 5 was the revised Dash for cash class. For 2007 the class is divided into Expert and Novice classes and each paid its own separate purse. The race did not disappoint and served up the most exciting comeback victory we have ever seen. Supersport race winner Nate Panek got off to a good start while Superbike winner Brian Ackerman bogged his bike at the flag and went into turn 1 trailing the pack. Panek went to work immediately and stretched out to a huge lead. It took Ackerman half of the 10-lap race to pick off everyone between him and the lead, and Panek was seemingly out of reach. But Ackerman never gave up, and ate away at the lead bit-by-bit and finally sniffed up a little draft under the white flag. With the entire paddock thinking that it was too little too late, Ackerman received a little assistance from a lapped rider and got ever closer to Panek with 3 corners to spare. When both rider emerged from the final turn 10, it was Panek still holding on to 3 bike lengths. He got a great drive onto the front straight, but Ackerman used his displacement advantage wisely and pulled out of the draft just in time to cross the line side by side with Panek. In a photo finish it was Ackerman edging out Panek by the smallest margins less than 6 inches. It was a comeback for the ages! On the Novice side of things it was Alex Lazo upsetting the competition aboard his SV650 while Christopher Gorham and Mathew Lewis finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. The conditions were perfect and the racing action was fierce. We at Team Pro-Motion are proud and please to bring you this event, and strive to offer an even better experience at our next GP Moto Premier event June 11, back again at Summit Point Raceway. For more information regarding Team Pro-Motion’s GP Moto Cup racing series, please visit our website at http://www.teampromotion.com/tpm.php?page_id=gpmoto or email race director Dafan Zhang at [email protected]. Results GP Moto Supersport Endurance 1 Nate Panek 2 David Riccodonna 3 Tom Novelli 4 Marty Crotty 5 Ryan Fleming 6 Mark Dolente 7 Mike Skowronek 8 Robert Crenshaw III 9 Andy Reiss 10 Christopher Gorham 11 Paul Nelson 12 Alex Vulakh 13 Mathew Lewis GP Moto Superbike 1 Brian Ackerman 2 Dara Lor 3 Bart Defrancesco 4 Dave East 5 Brian Mosholder 6 Andy Reiss 7 Joe Riccodonna 8 Coleman Howard 9 Mike Burham GP Moto Twister HW 1 Bernad Wilson GP Moto Twister LW 1 Alex Lazo 2 Jonas Ferro 3 Paul Nelson GP Moto Supersport Sprint 1 Nate Panek 2 Bart Defrancesco 3 Robert Allen 4 Mark Dolente 5 Tom Novelli 6 Marty Crotty 7 Robert Crenshaw III 8 Andy Reiss 9 Ryan Fleming 10 Dale Jackson 11 Nick Berken 12 Alex Vulakh 13 Mike Burham 14 Jimmy Lenayel GP Moto Dash Expert 1 Brian Ackerman 2 Nate Panek 3 Alex Vulakh GP Moto Dash Novice 1 Alex Lazo 2 Christopher Gorham 3 Mathew Lewis