AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series Presented by Michelin Tire
May 16, 2015
Blackhawk Farms Raceway
South Beloit, IL
Farrell Performance Does It Again at Blackhawk Farms
South Beloit, IL– The AMA sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series presented by Michelin Tire had its troubles getting started but once the riders and teams got into their rhythm, they made it one to remember. Late-race pit strategy and near record pace in the final laps gave Farrell Performance another overall victory in the ASRA Team Challenge Series.
On the initial green flag the field had just completed the first lap when the Ducati Depot entry crashed forcing the first red flag of the day. With less than 2 laps complete, the rules called for a complete restart, giving Ducati Depot their first DNF in the last 2 seasons. After the clean up, the field managed 5 laps before Doc Stein Racing (Alex Stein, Aaron Stein) suffered a crash stopped the contest again. This would be the last delay of the day but the damage was done so the race became a 2 hour timed event instead of the posted 75 lap distance.
From the restart on lap 5, Farrell Performance (Jason Farrell, Calvin Martinez) took command of the event and had enough of a cushion that they still had a 1 lap lead after their first stop for fuel and rider change on lap 44. It was soon apparent that the rider change After a stop on lap 60 for fuel and a rider change, Farrell Performance gave up the race lead for the first time to Pool Boy Racing (Carl Soltisz, Dan Ortega) and the race to the flag was on. Over the last 10 laps of the contest, Farrell Performance on the Kawasaki ZX10 reeled the Pool Boy Racing Yamaha R6 in and regained the top spot with just 5 laps remaining and cruised to the checkered flag. The LB Sports Team (Lloyd Bayley) was able to hold off the SRT Racing Team (Mike O’Malley, Jeff Purk,) for the final spot on the podium for the Overall class.
For GTO (Unlimited class), it was Farrell Performance followed by the LB Sports Suzuki GSXR 1000 and then the SRT Racing Suzuki GSXR 1000 in third position.
The GTU (Middleweight class) was well represented by Pool Boy Racing with the win and second Overall, while the battle for the runner up position in the class became a story of race strategy. The Jinba Ittai Team (Joel Link, Matt Brown) made one stop for fuel and a rider change while running consistent laps to put themselves in a position for the podium. The MDM/Bubblegum Team (James Fotinopoulos, Xavier Zayat) choose to chase an Overall position as well as the GTU class win by pushing hard and turning fast laps the entire race. Their strategy required a rear tire change which allowed Jinba Ittai to move past MDM into second place by the end of the race. All the podium finishers in GTU were on Yamaha R6s, giving another sweep of the class for the manufacturer.
As the race started for the GTL class, it looked like it would be another battle between Mavros Motorsports (Charlie Mavros, Seth Starnes) and Ducati Depot Team (Charlie Long) but a second lap incident took Ducati Depot out of the event before they could score a single point. After the restart, it was all Mavros Motorsports, as the team moved out to a 3 lap lead over runner up Coming In Hot Racing (Brian Hanna, Terry Wilkinson). Coming back from the lap 4 crash to finish third was Doc Stein Racing (Alex Stein, Aaron Stein) on their Kawasaki 300 Ninja.
For complete results and point standings, please visit our website at www.asraracing.com and follow the links.
The next event for the ASRA Team Challenge Series Presented by Michelin Tire is July 4 at Road America in Elkhart Lake WI. For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.asraracing.com or www.ccsracing.us.
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 issuing over 3,000 licenses per year. ASRA promotes eight AMA sanctioned Sprint Series and eight AMA sanctioned Team Challenge road racing events for 2015. The CCS Series sanctions 45 events at popular tracks around the United States, including Daytona International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Road America, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Virginia International Raceway among other fine venues. In 2015 ASRA and CCS will 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.
More, from a press release issued by Team Mavros Motorsports:
Team Mavors Motorsports Leading in Points
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge
May 16, 2015
Blackhawk Farms Raceway
Seth Starnes and Charlie Mavros, of Florida-based Team Mavros Motorsports, takes the win in the GT Lights class, and secured a solid points lead in round three of the in the AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series at Blackhawk Farms Raceway.
The pair led every lap in their class from start to finish in the 75-lap race on a MotoCorse Performance-built Bimota DB5C with an air-cooled 1000cc Ducati engine. Starnes and Mavros completed the race with a substantial margin of victory. The team would like to thank Bridgestone tires and everyone involved in making the weekend successful.