Round Seven Michelin Team Challenge Series Summit Point Raceway August 26, 2012 Chester Auto Repair Makes it Three in a Row at Summit Point Raceway Summit Point, WV First it was the competition then it was the weather that tried to keep the Chester Auto Repair team from making it three victories in a row in the 2012 Michelin Team Challenge Series. With temperatures in the 80’s and no real rain in sight it seemed to be perfect conditions at the start for the teams entered in the ASRA-sanctioned event, and Eric Helmbach wasted no time in getting the Chester Auto Repair BMW out front of the 23-bike field. On lap 10, it was LB Racing’s Lloyd Bayley pushing his Suzuki to the point with Chester Auto in tow, only to have the positions reversed 2 laps later. This would be the battle for the lead until the red flag came out on lap 39 for rain. Unfortunately for the Thrashed Bike Racing team, Walt Sipp suffered a vicious high-side in turn ten just after the red flag was called for and the third place machine was in shambles on the ground. The teams were given a 10-minute window to change tires, and the race was called back to the grid for the restart. The field had not completed a lap before another rider went down in an impact area and the event was stopped for a second time. After the second restart, both Chester Auto and LB Racing took some time to get used to the wet conditions and miraculously the Thrashed Bike crew finished repairs and rejoined the race only 2 laps down to the leaders. Helmbach quickly got comfortable with the conditions and took off as the leader and never looked back. Bayley and the LB Racing Suzuki chose discretion over valor and backed off a few notches and finished the race in second Overall, second in GTO behind Chester Auto Repair. Thrashed Bike Racing finished third in GTO, fourth Overall for their efforts. Thrashed Bike now leads Chester Auto by 14 points in the chase for the Overall Michelin Team Challenge Championship. The GTU class witnessed strategy play a key role in victory for the RnR Repsol Kawasaki. Rick Beggs, RnR Repsol team captain, decided to pit late in the race so by staying out, his plan provided the team with a 1 lap lead over the class at the red flag on lap 39. This allowed the team to refuel during the break so it was only an 11 second stop on lap 45 to meet the mandatory green flag pit stop requirement. This strategy along with the unfortunate crash from Thrashed Bike, allowed the team to secure the GTU class win along with third place Overall. Meanwhile the battle for second in the GTU class between the XRay Racing Yamaha, ridden by Christian Meekma and former Team Challenge Solo Champion Ray Hofman and the Angry Peaches Honda, with Allison Fournier and Dan Heverly aboard, was heated as the two teams literally raced nose to tail up to the red flag at lap 39. Even after the restart it looked to be a close race to the end but on lap 41 Angry Peaches lost a lap while making repairs to their machine. That allowed XRay to breathe easier and take second place 1 lap ahead of the third place Angry Peaches Honda. XRay Racing now holds just a 1 point lead in the 2012 GTU Championship for the Michelin Team Challenge Series over 2010 GTU champions RnR Repsol Racing. For the GTL class, another new team pulled off a win in 2012, TOBC 3 Racing with Brian Kcraget and Darrell Emerson aboard. The season long battle between GMB Now Racing and G-Baby Racing for dominance in the GTL class took a back seat as the TOBC 3 team used Kcraget’s knowledge of Summit point to build a 1 lap lead in the first 15 laps then worked hard to maintain the advantage to the end. The GMB Now Suzuki with Clayton Fisk and Max Grant sharing the riding the riding duties did what they needed to do by holding off Team LMB Again at the checkered flag to take second place and open up a 15 point lead going into the final round at Daytona. The G-Baby Racing team, second in the championship to GMB Now, held on to fifth place, forcing the championship to be decided at Daytona on October 19th. With all four of the 2012 Michelin Team Challenge Championships up for grabs, the 29th Annual CCS Race of Champions will be just that, a race for the championships. The final round will be October 18-21 at the famed Daytona International Speedway. 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 sanctioned 47 events for 2012 at popular tracks around the united states. Tracks include Daytona International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Heartland Park Topeka, and Virginia International among other fine venues. In 2012 ASRA and CCS provide riders with access to millions of dollars of sponsorship awards through participation in its sanctioned events. For complete results and current Michelin Team Challenge Championship Standings, visit our website at ~http://www.asraracing.com~.