Yamaha Superbike Championship of Virginia
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, Virginia
May 15, 2016
Provisional KTM RC390 Cup Race Two Results (all on KTM RC390 Cup racebikes and Dunlop tires):
1. Anthony Mazziotto III, 8 laps, Total Race Time 15:16.335, Best Lap Time 1:40.536
2. Brandon Paasch, -0.111 second, 1:40.267
3. Ashton Yates, -0.334 second, 1:40.062
4. Jody Barry, -0.632 second, 1:40.360
5. Jackson Blackmon, -16.978 seconds, 1:42.780
6. Alejandro Gutierrez, -17.081, 1:42.744
7. Josh Serne, -17.165, 1:42.406
8. Benjamin Smith, -26.568, 1:423.146
9. Sean Ungvarsky, -26.618, 1:43.090
10. Draik Beauchamp, -26.638, 1:43.130
11. Ian Champness, -29.590, 1:43.419
12. Renzo Ferreira, -29.600, 1:43.547
13. Ezra Beaubier, -29.747, 1:43.486
14. Nolan Lamkin, -29.755, 1:43.363
15. Christopher Kosan, -38.802, 1:44.355
16. Jaret Nassaney, -39.216, 1:44.405
17. Tyler Wissel, -47.242, 1:44.929
18. Joshua Jovi, -47.526, 1:45.422
19. Jake Fell, -47.617, 1:44.593
20. Trevor Standish, -48.638, 1:45.594
21. John Knowles, -57.589, 1:46.513
22. Nicholas Swensgard, -57.630, 1:46.447
23. Garrett Parker, -58.145, 1:45.755
24. Valentine Welch, -58.286, 1:46.821
25. Setin West, -86.413, 1:49.347
26. Ryan Wissel, -1 lap, 1:44.979
27. Brandon Altmeyer, -1 lap, crash, 1:43.397
28. Cory Ventura, DNF, crash, 1:43.597
Championship Point Standings (after 6 races):
1. Mazziotto, 128 points
2. Paasch, 123
3. Barry, 84
4. Yates, 70
5. Altmeyer, 60
6. Gutierrez, 57
7. Serne, 53
8. Blackmon, 51
9. Smith, 30
10. Ventura, 28
More, from a press release issued by KTM North America:
ANTHONY MAZZIOTTO DOUBLES DOWN AT KTM RC CUP ROUND 3 IN VIRGINIA
KTM RC Cup Round 3 – May 13 – 15, 2016
ALTON, Va. – Round 3 of the KTM RC Cup Series took place over the weekend at Virginia International Raceway for Round 4 of the 2016 Moto America Road Racing Series. Anthony Mazziotto III had a stand-out performance as he went 1-1 to overtake the championship points lead over fellow New Jersey native Brandon Paasch.
Mazziotto began the weekend in a favorable spot as the 15-year-old earned pole position heading into the two-race format. In race one, Mazziotto jumped out front on the opening lap but he had plenty of company from established front-runners Ashton Yates and Brandon Paasch. Yates, Paasch and Mazziotto passed the lead position back-and-forth several times throughout the 13-lap race, with each rider taking his turn at the front.
Meanwhile, an intense battle was forming just behind the lead pack, as Alejandro Gutierrez, Brandon Altmeyer and Jody Barry vied for the 4th place position. On the final lap, Gutierrez moved past Paasch to secure the 3rd place position just before the checkered flag, claiming his first-career RC Cup podium finish.
“At the beginning of the race I felt good,” Gutierrez said. “The top three riders created a big gap and it was hard to catch them because it’s a new track for me, so I just tried to keep focused on the last lap to catch them.”
Although Yates led the most laps of the race, it was Mazziotto who made them count at the end as he went on to secure the race one victory. Yates finished close behind with a career-best 2nd place finish ahead of Gutierrez.
Paasch ultimately finished 4th in race one, followed by a hard-charging Jody Barry to round out the top five.
In race two, it was Altmeyer who assumed the lead position off the start but Mazziotto quickly made his way to the front on the opening lap. Unfortunately Altmeyer crashed out of the lead on lap one but was able to bounce back and continue the race.
Mazziotto established himself as the leader once again, with Yates, Paasch and Jody Barry close in tow. Paasch continued to work his angles and just before the halfway point he had closed the gap on Mazziotto.
The battle for third was just as intense, as Barry and Yates went back-and-forth just behind the leaders. The duo remained within striking distance of the battle between Mazziotto and Paasch, creating an exciting race to the podium.
On lap 11, a downed rider on the course caused a red flag to be thrown, thus ending the race two laps early. With that, Mazziotto claimed the victory, followed by Paasch in 2nd and Yates in 3rd.
Mazziotto’s third win of the season allowed him to take over the championship points lead after three rounds of racing.
“I just put down some really hard laps and hoped that the other guys wouldn’t catch up to me but I knew in the back of my head that they would,” Mazziotto said. “It was a good weekend, I like this track, it’s really physical and I like tracks with a lot more turns.”
With two wins behind him, Paasch now sits five points back in 2nd. With his third podium in the last two rounds, Yates makes a jump up to 4th overall in the standings.
“This weekend went pretty awesome for me,” Yates said. “It’s too bad the race had to end early but that’s just how it is sometimes. I’ll take the points and look forward to Road America in a few weeks.”
Another exciting battle took place inside the top five as Josh Serne, Gutierrez and Jackson Blackmon diced back-and-forth for the 5th place position. Blackmon held strong in the end, though, maintaining his position ahead of the rest of the pack.
Gutierrez finished 6th, just ahead of Josh Serne in 7th, Benjamin Smith in 8th, Sean Ungvarsky in 9th and Draik Beauchamp in 10th.
Next Event: Road America / June 3 – 5, 2016
Race 1 Results –
Anthony Mazziotto III
Ashton Yates
Alejandro Gutierrez
Brandon Paasch
Jody Barry
Brandon Altmeyer
Josh Serne
Draik Beauchamp
Benjamin Smith
Jackson Blackmon
Race 2 Results –
Anthony Mazziotto III
Brandon Paasch
Ashton Yates
Jody Barry
Jackson Blackmon
Alejandro Gutierrez
Josh Serne
Benjamin Smith
Sean Ungvarsky
Draik Beauchamp
Championship Point Standings –
Anthony Mazziotto – 128
Brandon Paasch – 123
Jody Barry – 84
Ashton Yates – 70
Brandon Altmeyer – 60