Army of Darkness Wins N2/WERA National Endurance Series by Dunlop Championship.

Summit Point, WV September 2021 – The Army of Darkness with riders Chris Peris and Ben Walters took the overall victory and won the 2021 Heavyweight and Overall National Championship on a Yamaha YZF-R1 at the Summit Point round of the N2/WERA National Endurance Series by Dunlop. The 4-Hour Endurance Race was held under picture perfect conditions with 46 teams competing for a huge purse and bonuses at one of the most iconic tracks in the country.

In total, a whopping 92 teams and hundreds of riders competed in the 2021 N2/WERA National Endurance Series by Dunlop with an average attendance of 43 teams per event, while Pitt Race hosted an amazing 56 teams in a single round. This represents a huge increase and interest in Endurance racing.

The Heavyweight and Overall war has raged all year between Army of Darkness and Twisted Speed Racing. The two teams came into the final round at Summit Point Raceway in a winner take all scenario for the championship. The AoD duo of Chris Peris and Ben Walters were set for battle against Twisted Speed’s Taylor Knapp, Danny Eslick, and Brad Burns. Knapp and Peris took the first stint and spent more than 20 minutes exchanging fastest laps as they sliced through traffic. Knapp came in early and Eslick took over the Dunlop shod Twisted Speed GSX-R1000, but after only 20 minutes the bike was on the side of the track with a mechanical signaling an end to Twisted Speeds quest for victory, and the championship. Army of Darkness was able to cruise home with a 28-lap lead to take their fourth consecutive National Endurance Championship. N2/BobbleHeadMoto with Emerson Amaya, Corey Heflin, and CJ Crosslin finished a season best second and Team Club Racers, No Ringers with Anthony Sabbatino, Tom Delegram, and Ian Groom finishing third.

The Middleweight Class was won by Mr. CBX Racing with riders Jose Lloreda, Joby Maynard, and

Robby Ringnalda on a Yamaha YZF-R6.  Although Top Box Road Racing finished the Summit 4-Hour Endurance in ninth, they won the 2021 Middleweight National Championship by 66 points with riders Doug Royce, Mark Faulkner, Brandon Salyer, and Caleb Odom on a Yamaha YZF-R6. Indy United SBK finished second at Summit and third in Middleweight points with riders Ben Napier, Christian Guffy, Geoff Gruber, and Damian Jigalov on a Yamaha YZF-R6.

Yeam Yo! won the Lightweight Class race and with it, the 2021 Lightweight National Endurance Championship and a brand new 2022 Yamaha YZF-R7 provided by Yamaha Motors USA. Team Yo! riders are Chris Parrish, Kris Lillegard, and Darren Crooks. SWG Motorsports/419 Racing came in second place at Summit point. This was a fantastic podium for 419 Racing riders Jerry Reeves and Jon Crawford after a difficult year.  Some Expense Spared came in third on a Suzuki SV650.

The new for 2021 Road Race Relay Class which features individual riders on their own bikes, only switching transponders was won by Kings Fitness with riders Dennis King, Arnold Hastings, Arthur Diaz, Michael Swank, and Todd Stoner.  Tar Heels Twins and Triples won the inaugural 2021 Road Race Relay Championship with riders Pete TenHoopen, Eric Burrell, Shawn Veisz, and Danny Miller.

The 2-Hour Ultralightweight Endurance Race was won by Team Yo! Ultra on a Kawasaki Ninja 400. The 2021 Ultralightweight National Endurance Championship was dominated by Blake Davis on a Yamaha YZF-R3, but Blake had previous commitments at MotoAmerica and could not attend the final round. Riders Tea Music and Kayleigh Buyck rode in place of Blake at Summit Point, but unfortunately broke a chain. Despite the mechanical, they scored enough points to win the championship.

“When we started this experiment in 2018 with WERA, endurance racing in America had all but died completely. Flash forward just a few years, we had had 56 team participate at this year’s PittRace round alone.” said N2 CEO Rob Cichielo. “This would not have been possible without all the amazing sponsors and the fantastic staff at N2 and WERA. I would also like to extend a heart felt thank you to all the teams and riders and those that supported them. 2022 is already shaping up to be even bigger and better with additional venues in consideration for next year.”

The N2/WERA National Endurance Series by Dunlop is proudly sponsored by: N2 Track Days, Dunlop Motorcycle Tires, Yamaha Motor USA, WERA Road Racing, Arai Helmets America, Innovative Motorsports, R.E.B Graphics, Woodcraft, Rise Moto, Ghetto Customs, JE Pistons, Wiseco Pistons, Yamaha Power Products and Boxo USA.

For Information: N2 Track Days – www.N2td.org

More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:

Pirelli Congratulates Army of Darkness Race Team on Capturing the WERA/N2 Endurance Championship

DIABLO Superbike Slicks Lead Army of Darkness to Summit Point Raceway Series Finale Victory and 17th National Championship

ROME, Ga. (September 15, 2021) – Pirelli Tire North America congratulates the Army of Darkness (AoD) racing team of Chris Peris and Ben Walters on capturing the WERA/N2 endurance victory at Summit Point Raceway and their 17th national endurance championship. The AoD Yamaha YZF-R1 relied on the performance of Pirelli’s DIABLO Superbike 125/70R-17 SC2 front and 200/65R-17 SC1 rear slicks to take the race win and secure the Heavyweight and overall championships for the fourth consecutive season.

The Army of Darkness racing team captured their 17th national championship.

“Endurance racing is definitely making the most of a lot of variables together to give the team the best chance to win in the long run,” said Oscar Solis, senior racing manager, Pirelli. “Army of Darkness have managed to do this both on and off the track this year. We applaud them for their tenacity. This not only proves Pirelli as a great tire for a single race, but also for an endurance of four hours. It has been great to work with the team to secure the championship.”

Peris managed to put in an incredible time during qualifying that saw him take pole position with 1.5 seconds to spare on his nearest competitor. Peris would go on to set the fastest laps of the race and was backed by his teammate Walters’ strong, consistent laps and the team’s quick pit stops, making it too much for their competition to overcome.

Chris Peris set the quickest time for pole position and would go on to set the fastest laps of racing at Summit Point Raceway.

“There have been 18 WERA/N2 endurance races over the last four years and I’ve been privileged to be a part of AoD winning 13 of them,” said Walters. “There are thousands of things that can go wrong with the bike, track, or another competitor and then we still have to bring a fast platform to the track and turn the lap times and, after all that, still have perfect pit stops. If you told me at the start of 2018 that we were going to win over 70 percent of the races going forward, I wouldn’t have believed it. We have had very strong competition each year, but racing fortune is smiling upon us and we keep pulling off the late-season rally to win the championships. It’s like a storybook ending each year!”

In addition to the national endurance championship, Pirelli has consistently proven the performance capabilities of its DIABLO Superbike range throughout the 2021-racing season, capturing more than five absolute motorcycle track records as well as countless victories in regions across the nation. Whether racers are looking for an endurance race tire, the performance needed in a traditional race, or even going all out for a single lap, Pirelli remains the go-to option for racers competing at events that do not require the use of a spec tire.

For more information about the complete line of Pirelli motorcycle tires, please visit Pirelli.com

DIABLOTM is a registered trademark of Pirelli Tire S.p.A