DUMAS BATTLES TO FOUR-IN-A-ROW – RC CUP CHAMPIONSHIP TIED INTO FINAL ROUND

Round Eight – RC Cup Championship Series – September 9-10

Millvile, NJ. –The eighth round of the 2017 KTM RC Cup Championship, held in conjunction with the 2017 AMA MotoAmerica/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, roared into New Jersey Motorsports Park’s 2.25-mile circuit and JP43 Junior Team’s Alex Dumas came away with another incredible double victory—adding wins three and four to his season total in as many events.

Thanks to his landmark four-in-a-row win streak, Dumas now sits in second place, one point behind co-leaders Cory Ventura (CSVMoto) and Benjamin Smith (Quarterly Racing/On Track Development) going into the final round.

The 2017 KTM RC Cup Championship is going down to the wire at Barber Motorsports Park September 15-17.

Savage Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky dominated pre-race qualifying in New Jersey as he topped both day’s qualifying sheets, earning a sweep of grid starting positions for the weekend.

In race one, Dumas launched off the line to the Holeshot with Ungvarsky and Ventura. The three battle up front most of the race despite Dumas’ efforts to shake the rest of the would-be podium finishers from his tail. Ungvarsky and Ventura reeled Dumas in just after the halfway point to keep the race to the line tight.

On lap six, points leader Smith had a spectacular crash on the front straight as his Quarterly Racing/ On Track Development teammate Draik Beauchamp miscalculated his distance to Smith and came across his line, clipping the front wheel. A lap later, Beauchamp went down as Aces High Racing’s Dylan Deutschlander pushed the front end, taking himself and Beauchamp out of contention.

The wild race continued as more riders went down later in the race. Racing continued without a Red Flag.

Meanwhile, Jackson Blackmon from the Quarterly Racing/ On Track Development team was charging towards the front after starting from Pit Lane after pulling in after the sighting lap. He would eventually finish a strong fourth after the serious disadvantage of starting off the grid.

As the final laps came winding down, Ungvarsky and Ventura caught, and passed, race leader Dumas. But Dumas used the draft to his advantage with two laps to go and took the lead all the way to the finish. Close behind, Ungvarsky and Ventura stretched it to the wire for second place with Ventura edging out Ungvarsky by an incredibly thin .003-second margin.

Dumas’ race win made it three-for-three for the young gun on the JP43 Junior Team while Ventura grabbed his seventh podium of the season. Third place made Ungvarsky’s best finish and the first podium of his young career.

Alex Dumas: “I’m happy for this win this weekend and I hope to do four races in a row during the next race (tomorrow)! I had a fun battle with Sean and Cory—it was a lot of fun, and I look forward to having a good race tomorrow, too.

Race two started with a similar grid but this time it was Ventura who grabbed the Holeshot and the early lead with Ungvarsky, Blackmon Smith, Toby Khamsouk (Toby K 727) and Dumas all breaking away early to form the lead pack. Soon, Ungvarsky, Ventura, and Dumas started edging away from the rest as they traded spots for the lead.

On lap nine, Ungvarsky pushed the front end too hard at the end of the start straight, sending him down and taking him out of the race. This left Ventura and Dumas alone to fight for the lead with Smith trying to close the gap on the two front runners after splitting away from Khamsouk while Blackmon was forced to take a penalty drive-through for jumping the start.

Dumas and Ventura battled on the last lap with Dumas making the pass with two laps to go and, like he did the day before, looked to check out. Ventura, trying to maintain position and set up a pass, made a small mistake, which cost him valuable momentum and allowed a gap to settle in.

Dumas took the checkers for the fourth race in a row and his second doubleheader weekend.

Alex Dumas: “At first Cory passed me with two laps to go and I didn’t know if I wanted to be in the lead on the last lap but I was in his draft and I thought I could pull a gap and try to win the race without getting in the draft. And it went well. I had a good battle with Sean and Cory throughout the race but Sean crashed in turn 1 in front of me. We’ve had a good setup on the bike since Pittsburgh and I’m really happy.”

Next Event: Series Finale – Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL – September 15-17

KTM RC Cup Race 1 Results

1. Alex Dumas

2. Cory Ventura

3. Sean Ungvarsky

4. Jackson Blackmon

5. Jake Leahey

KTM RC Cup Race 2 Results

1. Alex Dumas

2. Cory Ventura

3. Benjamin Smith

4. Toby Khamsouk

5. Dylan Deutschlander

KTM RC Cup Championship Point Standings

1. Benjamin Smith (224)

2. Cory Ventura (224)

3. Alex Dumas (223)

4. Jackson Blackmon (192)

5. Draik Beauchamp (165)