TOP FIVE MOTOAMERICA KTM RC CUP RACERS SHOWCASE THEIR TALENTS ON THE GLOBAL STAGE THIS WEEKEND IN JEREZ
KTM RC CUP Championship – World Finals
MURRIETA, Calif. – The top five finishers from the 2017 MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Championship are set to do battle this weekend, Oct. 20-22, in Jerez, Spain alongside the prestigious World Superbike Championship for the third running of the KTM RC CUP World Final.
The World Final is open to the best five KTM RC CUP racers from participating KTM subsidiaries in North America, Asia, Finland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico and the United Kingdom – each battling for the top honor of being the best-of-the-best in RC Cup racing worldwide. This year’s 2017 KTM RC CUP Champion, Benjamin Smith (USA), will lead the North American squad in Jerez, joined by 2nd place finisher Cory Ventura (USA), 3rd place finisher Alex Dumas (CAN), 4th place Jackson Blackmon (USA) and 5th place finisher Draik Beauchamp (USA).
Each national series plays host to a stacked grid of talented up-and-coming road racers, each aboard identical versions of the KTM RC CUP RACEBIKE, which provides a level playing field with a competitive and adjustable bike. With top-level coaching from KTM ambassadors such as former professional AMA Superbike racer Chris Fillmore, the KTM RC CUP program runs in conjunction with existing high profile national championships in order to nurture future stars of the sport and help bring their racing careers to the next level.
KTM RC CUP Ambassador, Chris Fillmore: “When KTM introduced the RC CUP program in 2015, the goal was to grow youth road racing in America and I really believe that with the platform that MotoAmerica has provided, this program has done amazing things for these kids as they begin their careers in professional road racing. Not only do they get to experience competitive racing at the highest national level, but KTM has taken it a step further to showcase their talents on a global platform and that’s really exciting for the sport. We wish the best of luck to the five riders who earned a spot to compete this weekend in Jerez!”
Since its inception, the KTM RC 390 has not only proven itself on the road as a versatile and capable machine, its Supersport track potential has also been exploited by utilizing KTM’s wide range of performance PowerParts and fully-adjustable WP Suspension to create an affordable ‘CUP’ specification for racing.
Qualifying practice will get underway this Friday, Oct. 20, followed by two races on Saturday, Oct. 21 and Sunday, Oct. 22. For more information about KTM RC CUP series around the world and how to take part, visit www.ktmrccup.com.
Relive last year’s action and watch the entire version of Race 1 here and Race 2 here.
2017 KTM RC CUP WORLD FINAL ENTRY LIST
(RIDER NAME COUNTRY RACE #)
Glenn van Straalen NL 26
Guus Boes NL 24
Milan Merckelbagh NL 25
Bibi Damen NL 31
Roy Voermans NL 30
Adolfo Delgado MEX 27
Daniel Cano MEX 11
Gabriel Da Silva MEX 33
Clément Barbier FRA 32
Illiès Blanchard FRA 28
Justin Hänse GER 9
Brian David Hart GER 29
David Kubán GER 34
Aaron Schäfer GER 12
Max Schmidt GER 4
Muhammad Izam Ikmal Bin Izamli MYS 7
Ahmad Idham Khairuddin MYS 3
Muhammad Ibrahim Bin Mohd Norrodin MYS 8
Benjamin Smith USA 1
Cory Ventura USA 9
Alex Dumas CAN 23
Jackson Blackmon USA 13
Draik Beauchamp USA 5
Fenton Seabright UK 15
Jack Nixon UK 14
Matthew Bower UK 16
Connor Thomson UK 2
Leevi Johansson FIN 22
Niko Tanskanen FIN 19
Lee Doti ITA 20