New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Round 2 of the Loudon Road Racing Series is all about finding speed. Teams are still sorting new machines and sizing each other up. They have one more round to get it right before the all-important 87th running of the Loudon Classic coming up on June 11, 12 and 13. Motorace $1500 Dash for Cash (Middleweight GP)- The feature race of the weekend promised to be tough. Among the top middleweight riders in the club, only Jeff Wood was missing. He had a rare incident during testing on Friday and broke enough bones to be sidelined an estimated 8 weeks. DAS Performance’ big bore ace, Shane Narbonne, surprised everyone by showing up with a Suzuki GSX-R600 for the Dash. He lined up in row 5 alongside Christian Cronin’s freshly rebuilt Egg Shell/Chronic Motorsports Yamaha R6. Meanwhile, the front row was filled by defending champ, Scott Greenwood, aboard his Argo/Dunlop Kawasaki ZX-6R, Bruce Transportation/Dunlop teammates Cory Hildebrand and Brent Lyskawa; and Kip Peterson aboard his Motorace/Michelin Suzuki. Peterson took the outside line into turn 1, crowding Greenwood down low. In a flash, both Greenwood and Hildebrand were by and made a break. Lyskawa soon claimed third with Peterson left to fight off the pack. By the 2nd lap Narbonne was coming fast and towing Cronin with him. He claimed third on the next lap but by then Greenwood and Hildebrand had a large gap on the field. In the middle laps Narbonne and Cronin began steadily reeling the lead pair in. They were running laps in mid and high elevens to Greenwood’s twelve flat. Narbonne took Hildebrand for second on lap 8 and put his head down to catch the flying Greenwood. By then lappers were thick. With three laps to go, Narbonne caught Greenwood and began probing for a pass. Greenwood wasn’t giving up and held the lead past the white flag. Cronin had also caught Hildebrand and tried an aggressive outside pass in turn 1 that Hildebrand defended. Narbonne somehow passed Greenwood in turn 1 of the last lap and held it to the checkers. Cronin also managed to pip Hildebrand, claiming third place on the podium. Christian Cronin told the crowd: “I hooked up with Shane and he made it happen for us. This weekend is my first time racing the bike this season. It feels good because I was struggling earlier today.” Scott Greenwood explained: “I was hoping twelve laps would be enough with them back in row 5. I knew Shane and Christian would be coming. They are excellent riders and improving all the time. Cory is stepping up his game too, so the pressure was there. I did the best I could” Shane Narbonne remarked: “Well, I finally got so I could see them and I put my head down. But nothing happened! I was still with the same gap. I just kept on trying. It was fun. I want to thank my Dad for getting me here and building my bikes. I want to thank Dunlop too.” Redemption- Sunday’s Middleweight Supersport featured a similar battle. Greenwood took an early lead with Narbonne eventually catching and passing him. Scott stuck to Shane’s tail section and passed him back in the final turns of the race for a spectacular comeback win. Scott Greenwood commented later on his turn of fortune: “Shane got caught up with a lapper in turn 11. He tried him on the outside but the guy was taking him wide. I waited and waited”¦ and dove underneath both of them to lead coming onto the straight and just held him off. I got a break with the traffic.” Battle of the Motards- Tyler Sweeney and Mike Martire put on a great show every time they took a grid together. Martire, a great starter, typically grabbed the holeshot only to have Sweeney reel him in and motor by on the front straight. Lap after lap and race after race, they battled bar to bar and flag to flag. After Sweeney took the Supersingles win, Martire said: “I have a little something for him. I’ll have a little more for him next race weekend, too” In Ultra Light Superbike, Martire again took the lead, only to get motored later. This time he crowded Sweeney tight, catching a whiff of a draft on every straight. Together they lapped nose to tail. In turn 11 of the last lap, Martire took the lead and managed to hold it to the stripe in what was practically a photo finish. Martire mentioned after the win: ” I told you I had something for him. I was a little bit better in turn 11 and 12. I needed to pull up alongside in 11 and take the line in 11a and 12. It worked! Wait till next weekend. I think I’ll have more power. Later Sweeney remarked: “Well I have something for him too!” In the Motard sprint, Tyler took a massive holeshot and left Mike for the scraps. Unfortunately for him, Brent Lyskawa rolled his Honda CR450 onto the grid and set about reeling Tyler back in. After a shrinking and widening gap, Lyskawa found his rhythm and charged into the lead on the last lap to take a hard-fought victory. Round 3 takes place May 29-30. It is the traditional warm-up race for the Loudon Classic. RESULTS: Motorace $1500 Dash for Cash: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 3. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Brent Lyskawa (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Kip Peterson (Suz GSX-R600) 7. David Fett (Yam YZF-R6) 8. Joel Allen (Yam YZF-R6) Middleweight Supersport: 1. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 2. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Brent Lyskawa (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Davis Fett (Yam YZF-R6) Middleweight Production Twins: 1. Mark Dages (Suz SV650) 2. Rick Doucette (Suz SV650) 3. Rick Mullin (Kaw EX650) 4. Dana Temple (Kaw EX500) Lightweight Sportsman: 1. Tyler Sweeney (KTM 450) 2. Jason Hillsgrove (KTM 450) 3. Eric Shaw (Yam YZ450) 4. Eric Block (KTM 450) 5. Jason Cavanaugh (Hon CRF450) 6. BJ Worsham (Kaw EX500) Unlimited Grand Prix: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Eric Wood (Duc 1098) 3. Steven Giacomaro (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Brett Guyer (Apr RSV4) 5. Robby Nigl (BMW S1000RR) 6. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R1) Lightweight Supersport: 1. Todd Babcock (Suz SV650) 2. Rick Doucette (Suz SV650) 3. Mark Dages (Suz SV650) 4. Scott Mullin (Kaw EX650) 5. Peter Gaboriault (Suz SV650) 6. Brian Kent (Kaw EX650) Formula 50: 1. Neal Garvin (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Ron Poulin (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Jim Brown (Apr RSV1000) 4. Bob Poetzsch (Yam TZ250) 5. Shawn McCormic (Suz GSX-R600) Heavyweight Supersport: 1. Eric Wood (Duc 1098) 2. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Charles Sandoz (Duc 848) 4. Neal Garvin (Suz GSX-R750) 5. Chris Carella (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Jason Carter (Yam YZF-R6) Heavyweight Supersport: 1. Eric Wood (Duc 1098) 2. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Charles Sandoz (Duc 848) 4. Neal Garvin (Suz GSX-R750) 5. Chris Carella (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Jason Carter (Yam YZF-R6) Unlimited Superbike: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 3. Robby Nigl (BMW S1000RR) 4. Brett Guyer (Apr RSV4) 5. Charles Sandoz (Duc 848) 6. Norm Pomerleau (Suz GSX-R600) Unlimited Supersport: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 3. Steve Giacomaro (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Brett Guyer (Apr RSV4) 5. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Antal Halasz (Suz GSX-R600) Thunderbike: 1. Todd Babcock (Suz SV1000) 2. Rick Doucette (Suz SV1000) 3. Kyle Thompson (Duc 749) 4. Dan Frisbie (Duc PS1000) 5. Nathaniel Mendell (Duc SS1000) 6. Doug Fogg (Suz SV650) GTO: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Brett Guyer (Apr RSV4) 4. Robby Nigl (BMW S1000RR) 5. Norm Pomerleau (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Neal Garvin (Suz GSX-R750) GTU: 1. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 2. Brent Lyskawa (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Scott James (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Jason Staley (Kaw ZX-6R) 6. Ron Poulin (Yam YZF-R6) GTL: 1. Rick Doucette (Suz SV650) 2. Todd Babcock (Suz SV650) 3. Nathaniel Mendell (Duc SS1000) 4. Mark Dages (Suz SV650) 5. Wayne MacKert (Suz SV650) 6. William Tansey (Suz SV650) Middleweight Superbike: 1. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R) 2. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Brent Lyskawa (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Kip Peterson (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Rick Breen (Yam YZF-R6) Supersingles: 1. Tyler Sweeney (KTM 450) 2. Mike Martire (Kaw KX450) 3. Eric Shaw (Yam YZF450) 4. Eric Block (KTM 450) 5. Jason Cavanaugh (Hon CRF450) 6. Travis Beaudoin (Hon CRF450) Heavyweight Supersport: 1. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R750) 2. Christian Cronin (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Cory Hildebrand (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Rick Doucette (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Kip Peterson (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Norm Pomerleau (Suz GSX-R600) Formula 50 Lights: 1. Dan Frisbie (Duc PS1000) 2. Michael Dube (Duc SS800) 3. Jerry Clark (Duc SS800) 4. David Sargent (Suz SV650) 5. Geno Witherell (Yam TZ250) 6. Rick Patrolia (Suz SV650) Lightweight Superbike: 1. Todd Babcock (Suz SV650) 2. Rick Doucette (Suz SV650) 3. Peter Gaboriault (Suz SV650) 4. Nathaniel Mendell (Duc SS1000) 5. Brian Kent (Kaw EX650) 6. William Tansey (Suz SV650) Ultra Light Superbike: 1. Mike Martire (Kaw KX450) 2. Tyler Sweeney (KTM 450) 3. Scott Furguson (Hon CRF450) 4. Michael Dube (Duc SS800) 5. Rick Breen (Hon CRF450) 6. Travis Beaudin (Hon CRF450) Formula 40: 1. Rick Doucette (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Dennis Levesque (Duc 1098) 3. Neal Garvin (Suz GSX-R750) 4. Scott James (Yam YZF-R6) 5. David Fett (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Jason Carter (Yam YZF-R6) Formula 40 Lights: 1. Todd Babcock (Suz SV650) 2. Brian Kent (Kaw EX650) 3. Doug Fogg (Suz SV650) 4. Michael Dube (Duc SS800) 5. Wayne MacKert (Suz SV650) 6. Ted Temple (Suz SV650)