Mesa and Da Silva Tie for Most Expert Wins

ASRA/CCS/ASRA Team Challenge Florida, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast Regions

Roebling Road Raceway, Bloomingdale, GA

February 29 – March 1, 2020

Stefano Mesa won four of his five races at Roebling Road Raceway during the ASRA and Championship Cup Series regional event, including the hotly contested Unlimited Grand Prix race. Young gun, Gabriel da Silva, tied with Mesa for most victories during the event, also winning four of his five races.  The two-day weekend schedule was action packed with GT and sprint races for the Florida, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Championship Series.  Also featured were the AMA Sanctioned Team Challenge, presented by Michelin Tire, and AMA Sanctioned ASRA Sprint races, presented by Pirelli Tire.

Mesa started the weekend with his first victory on Saturday in the 25 minute-long GTO race on his Kawasaki ZX-10R.  Mark Heckles took the lead early with his Yamaha YZF-R1 with Mesa and Frankie Babuska, Jr. in hot pursuit.  After the halfway mark, Mesa was able to use lapped riders to advantage, moving up to second place with Heckles dropping back to third.  After a couple of laps, Heckles was behind the leader and working his way back to the front.  The two swapped positions until very end of the race when Mesa pulled ahead to take the win.  “The GTO was very good,” exclaimed Mesa after the race.  “I had to work hard to get to the front of the pack in no time, and get to the pace the boys were running.  I was able to latch on and made a couple of moves, but at the end, I had to be a bit smart and try to get the drive off the last corner to try and get Heckles at the line and I was able to get by the line just a wheel ahead.”

Mesa finished second to Heckles in the Unlimited Supersport race later on Saturday.   Heckles dominated the front of the race until the final run for the checkered flag when they ran into lap traffic.  “For the supersport race, we had more confidence and we went out and put some heaters on behind Heckles and Babuska,” Mesa stated.  “By the last lap, I was behind Heckles and he had a bunch of lappers in front.  Every hole he found he went through it and in the last corner, I was on his rear tire and I had a plan, but wasn’t able to execute, so we finished in second place.”

Mesa started from the back of the grid during the ten ASRA Superstock race on Sunday and was able to work his way quickly up to second place behind early leader, Babuska.   A few laps later, he was out front and opening a gap on the rest of the field to take his second victory of the weekend.   “We had a little mishap in the practice,” Mesa explained, “which was a burnt clutch. Unfortunately, we missed the ASRA qualifying, so we had to start all the way from the back of the pack.  Sunday was much better with the weather, and it was time to put some fast laps in for the ASRA race. By lap three, I was able to make a move and I put my head down to try and put a gap in between us, and I was able to get the win.”

Mark Heckles nabbed another holeshot and led the first few laps of the  Unlimited Grand Prix race with Babuska and Stefano Mesa in tow.  Mesa was able to maneuver his machine up front after a few laps  to take over the lead he would not relinquish for the rest of the race.  He took the checkered flag with Heckles in second, and Babuska finishing third.

Babuska was the early race leader during the Unlimited Superbike race with Mesa starting his final race of the day on the back row.  Once more, Mesa was able to quickly work his way through the rest of the field, close in on the leader, and take over the front spot.  He claimed his final victory of the day with Babuska in second and Ian Tetrick in third.  Later Mesa summarized, “The other two races were fast with the same company.  I was in the zone and lap times were very good considering the weather we had, and I was able to get the win in both of them.   It was a great weekend for the season opener at Roebling.  It was cold and windy, but Pirelli USA had us in lock and ripping with the new bigger sized tires.”

“Overall, it was a very good, positive weekend with some fast company and we all had a blast battling each other.” Mesa exclaimed.   “It’s always better to race for the win, than to win with no fast company.  Heckles and Babuska were on it all weekend and I can’t wait to go ripping and racing again with them!  I am extremely happy with the performance that Pirelli has given me over these years, and even more that my effort is paying off!  Mesa is sponsored by Pirelli, Thermosman, One-X, SBS Brakes, and Drippin Wet.

Gabriel da Silva dominated the front of the field in all of his races on board his Yamaha YZF-R6, winning the GTU, Heavyweight Supersport, Middleweight Superbike, and Middleweight Grand Prix races.  He finished second to Christian Miranda, with whom he battled all weekend, in the Heavyweight Supersport class.

“I had a blast racing at Roebling Road Raceway,” da Silva exclaimed.  “It’s one of my favorite tracks as it’s super fast going in and out of corners! Had a rough time with the winds on Saturday as they were really strong and pushing me off track. But Sunday’s weather was amazing and I really enjoyed the track had some fun battles and also got to work on some things I wanted to improve so it was a blast racing this past weekend. I got to meet some really great people and see some people I hadn’t seen in a while! I really enjoyed my weekend racing at RRR.”  Da Silva is sponsored by Galfer, Pirelli, Motion Pro, and Broward Motorsports.

The first ASRA Team Challenge race of the season kicked off with 21 teams competing to wrap up Saturday’s schedule.  The 75 lap endurance race ran without incident with only two teams completing the full 75 laps of the race.  LB Sorts and Grease Monkey Racing finished first and second, both Overall and in the GTO class.  Behind them, just one lap down, Bonnavedda Racing rounded off the top three for both Overall and GTO. Team Sticky D’s was the first GTU team to take the checkered flag, also with 74 laps completed.  Team LWT 61 Hardcore was the first to cross the line in the GTL class with 70 laps completed.

Lloyd Bayley, as usual, ran the entire Team Challenge race as the solo rider for LB Sports on board his BMW S1000RR without any practice time.  “It was very cold,” Bayley stated, “so that’s why I chose to skip all practices and qualifying, and just jump into the race cold turkey.   And it felt good every lap!  I would like to thank Dunlop Tires, DP Brakes, and Moto D Racing.”

Amateur Kyle Carrington dominated the lightweight classes on his Suzuki SV650, running undefeated.  He was the winningest racer of the weekend with five victories.  Carrington won the Lightweight Supersport, Rookie’s Cup GTL, Ultralight Superbike, Lightweight Superbike, and Ligtweight GP races.  Carrington is supported by Bridgestone Tires, Mise Mobile, EBC Brakes, Siloklene, and Vortex.

Daytona International Speedway is the venue for the next national event for both the ASRA and Championship Cup Series and will feature the running of the 79th Daytona 200.  The event, scheduled for March 13-15th, will include AMA Sanctioned ASRA Sprint Series & Championship Cup Series GT and sprint races.  The next ASRA Team Challenge race is scheduled to take place April 4-5th at Carolina Motorsports Park.  This regional event will include CCS Twin Sprint races for the Atlantic, Florida and Southeast regions.

Full race results, lap times, points standings, as well as information regarding the remaining 2020 schedule, licensing information, rules, and general information for all regions are available online at:   www.ccsracing.us.