Pianykh and Canadian racers take glory at Masters of the Mountains Round 4

Tooele, Utah. August 21, 2012: Oleg Pianykh extended his points lead in the King of the Mountain ‘O’ class and Canadian racers took a string of victories in the UtahSBA Masters of the Mountains series at Miller Motorsports Park this past weekend [August 18-19].

The gauntlet was thrown in the Open Superbike race, with Canadian Jesse Sherstan and local racer Oleg Pianykh engaging in a tightly fought battle. Pianykh got off to a flying start and was the first rider into turn one, Sherstan quickly retaliated with a pass in turn three and then laid down a series of 1:34 lap times that Pianykh could not counter. Sherstan reflected after the race: “Oleg ran a great race today – that was one of the best races I’ve had around here.”

Pianykh found redemption in the prestigious King of the Mountain ‘O’ event later in the afternoon. The race developed into a thrilling act of two parts — with the youth of Oleg Pianykh and Jesse Sherstan battling for a first place finish, and journeyman racers Jeff Stern and Pete de Graff engaged in a dog-fight for third. When the flag dropped on Miller’s East Course, Pianykh got off to a good start, taking the holeshot into turn one with Sherstan hot on his tail. The two riders then put on a masterful display of racing in the 12 lap battle. Sherstan fought hard to pass Pianykh with a bold series of maneuvers up the inside of Clubhouse Corner and then again at the complex of Wind-up and Release, but Pianykh rode a defensive race and kept the harassing challenges of his rival at bay. Sherstan faded in the later stages of the race when he hit a false neutral in Toole Corner. Pianyk capitalized on the mistake and extended his lead, leaving Sherstan, exhausted with the physical demands of the East Track, unable to mount another challenge.

Further back in the field, veteran racers Jeff Stern and Peter de Graff were engaged in their own battle for the last podium position. Despite a poor start by Stern (due to a traction control glitch on his Kawasaki ZX-10R), he relentlessly hounded down the GSX-R1000 of de Graff with dogged determination. On lap 6 Stern managed a well-executed pass on the inside of Clubhouse Corner only to have de Graff take it back on East One. In a desperate measure to gap Stern, de Graff attempted a late breaking maneuver on the fast entry into the Agony corner and ran wide allowing Stern to take a well-earned third. Jeff Stern of Las Vegas, NV credited his team and his sponsors — Dunlop tires, Fastline Performance, Arai and Motul — for his podium finish.

“He [de Graff] is not afraid of late breaking,” Stern said following the race. “That was a bold move going into Agony, I saw him go wide and I got up the inside and never looked back.”

With only two rounds remaining in the series, Pianykh’s win gives him a comfortable point’s margin in the KOM class. Pianykh expressed his gratitude to the sponsors of his Suzuki GSX-R1000: Edge Powersports, Evolution Machine and his crew chief Jay McCarthy for his round 4 victory.

In the King of the Mountain ‘U’ class, Canadian Scott Decker stamped his characteristic dominance of the series with his third win of the season on his EDR-built Suzuki GSX-R600. However, fellow Canadian Chad Swain is proving to be a formidable foe in the 600cc classes with series of inspirational rides on his Speed by Spencer-prepared Yamaha R6. The 7 lap Middleweight Superbike race saw a cat-and-mouse battle between Swain and Decker. The experienced Decker made a clean pass on East One to take another victory.

With a wry grin, Decker reflected after the race: “I have to race [Swain] again today so I took my time, found his weak spots and made my pass on the brakes into turn one.”

Swain’s moment of glory came during the final 600cc race of the weekend in the Middleweight Superstock. A compressed schedule saw Chad Swain miss the warm-up lap and start from pit lane. Swain gave fans and competitors a masterful display of racing as he forged his machine through the field resulting in a last lap battle with Gerry Hicks.

“I could hear him coming,” Gerry reflected after the race. “He’s riding extremely well on the Yamaha and the package he has right now is hard to beat.” The Masters of the Mountains series resumes on September 15/16 on Miller Motorsports Park West Course.

The Masters of the Mountains is a motorcycle road racing series organized by the Utah Sport Bike Association, held at Miller Motorsports Park, and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The UtahSBA is a member-based non-profit organization committed to furthering the sport of motorcycle road racing through racing, rider education and safety. For more information on schedule, rulebook, class sponsors, purses and contingency please visit www.utahsba.com/racing or link to the UtahSBA page on Facebook.

Masters of the Mountains 2012 Round 4 Results

Deseret Dash (Expert) 1. Oleg Pianykh (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Shane White (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Jay Millhiser (KTM RC8R) 4. David Mobley (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Rob Kaufman (Yam YZF-R1) 6. David Purcell (Tri 675) 

 Deseret Dash (Novice) 1. Sean Griffiths (KTM RC8) 2. Steven Marco (Hon CBR1000RR) 3. Colton Hicks (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Trent Owens (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. David Haak (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Colt Staake (Yam YZF-R1) 

Endurance GTO / GTU / LWT 1. Jim King (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Dylon Husband (Kaw ZX-6R) 3. Raymond Clark (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Colton Hicks (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. Cody Steggell (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Tim Gallagher (Suz SV650) 

Formula 5 1. Aj Amman (Suz GSX-R750) 2. John Hopperstad (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Tim Johnson (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Briar Handly (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Jason Hurrell (Kaw ZX-10R) 6. David Petersen (Suz GSX-R750) 

 Super Twins 1. Sean Griffiths (KTM RC8) 2. Jay Millhiser (KTM RC8R) 3. Eric Grimm (KTM RC8R) 4. Chris Crump (Buell 1125R) 5. Jeff Masters (Buell 1125R) 

Middleweight Superbike 1. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-R6) 3. David Mobley (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Shane Kelsey (Suz GSX-R600) 6. James Davis (Yam YZF-R6) 

 Moto 3 1. Brian Childree (Mor MD250H) 2. Gauge Rees (Hon RS125) 

Twins O 1. Chris Crump (Buell 1125R) 2. Brad Moore (Suz SV650) 

Womens GTO 1. Brooke Bailey (Hon CBR600R) 2. Lisa Ballehr (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Caya Snethen (Kaw ZX636) 4. Lindsey Willis (Suz SV650) 

 Novice GTU 1. Jeremy Ross (Yam YZF-R6) 2. David Haak (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Cody Steggell (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Malachi Roybal (Hon CBR600R) 5. Mike Testa (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Devin Husband (Kaw ZX-6R) 

Open Superbike 1. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Oleg Pianykh (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Pete De Graaf (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Michael Bradshaw (BMW S1000RR) 6. Mark Harper (Hon CBR1000RR) 

 GP250 1. Bruce Lind (Yam TZ250) 2. Daniel Qualtire (Yam TZ250) 

Combined GTO 1. Sean Griffiths (KTM RC8) 2. Steven Marco (Hon CBR1000RR) 3. Rob Kaufman (Yam YZF-R1) 4. Doug Pogue (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. Tyler Smith (Hon CBR1000RR) 6. Trent Owens (Hon CBR1000RR) 

King of the Mountain U 1. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-6R) 3. Gerry Hicks (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Jeff Stern (Kaw ZX-6R) 5. David Mobley (Yam YZF-6R) 6. James Davis (Yam YZF-6R) 

Combined U 1. David Mobley (Yam YZF-6R) 2. David Purcell (Tri 675) 3. Shane Kelsey (Suz GSXR-600) 4. David Haak (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Cody Steggell (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Eric Bradley (Tri 675) 

Twins GTU 1. Brian Childree (Mor MD250H) 2. Brad Moore (Suz SV650) 3. Kevin Johnson (Buell XB9R) 4. Tim Gallagher (Suz SV650) 5. Gauge Rees (Hon RS125) 

 Open Superstock 1. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Michael Bradshaw (BMW S1000RR) 3. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Shane White (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Tim Johnson (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Tom Tatosian (Suz GSX-R1000) 

 Heavy Weight Superstock 1. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-R6) 2. David Purcell (Tri 675) 3. David Peterson (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Shane Kelsey (Suz GSX-R600) 

Sportsman 1. Jason Hurrell (Kaw ZX-10R) 2. Stephen Incledon (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Eric Bradley (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Devin Husband (Kaw ZX6R) 5. Marshall Miller (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Tim Gallagher (Suz SV650) 

 Novice GTO 1. Erik Grimm (KTM RC8) 2. Sean Griffiths (KTM RC8R) 3. Trent Owens (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Steven Marco (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. Colt Staake (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Mark Tschampl (Apr RSV4) 

 Middleweight Superstock 1. Chad Swain (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Gerald Hicks (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 4. David Purcell (Tri 675) 5. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Jim King (Yam YZF-R6) 

 King of the Mountain O 1. Oleg Pianykh (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Jeff Stern (Kaw ZX-10R) 4. Peter De Graaf (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Michael Bradshaw (BMW S1000RR) 6. Mark Harper (Hon CBR1000RR) 

Formula 40 1. Peter De Graaf (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Michael Bradshaw (BMW S1000RR) 3. John Hopperstad (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Tim Johnson (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Tyler Smith (Hon CBR1000RR) 6. Kevin Dolan (Suz GSX-R1000)