Sherstan sweeps three superbike races and Stern grabs middleweight King of the Mountain win in Masters of the Mountains Round 4
(Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele UT) After an unusually rainy Utah spring that left the first three race rounds fighting cool and wet weather, the sun and 100 degree temps for Masters of the Mountains round 4 were welcomed by racers. Jesse Sherstan of Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada took his Intermountain Racer’s Supply GSX-R1000 to a perfect weekend in the big bike classes, winning all three races entered including the premier class, King of the Mountain GTO. “I won all three of them, and once I got out front no one even showed me a wheel. The weekend went great, ” said Sherstan. “Oleg (Pianykh) got a wicked start in Open Superbike–no one usually beats me for the hole-shot–so I followed him for a couple laps and got by him mid-turn on the inside. I pulled away and then just managed the gap. Other than that, a pretty uneventful race weekend drama-wise.”
In the King of the Mountain GTO race, Sherstan got the hole-shot from P2 on the grid, led going into lap one and never looked back. From there on it was a battle of the fittest for the 14 lap race in the dry, 100 degree heat of the afternoon. Jeff Stern of Las Vegas kept Sherstan in sight, but could not make a pass and grabbed the second spot, with Ryan Brand of Salt Lake City rounding out the podium. “The heat was brutal coming from home where it never gets that hot,” said Sherstan. “In KoM GTO I came around expecting to see a white flag, but got that half-way flags and though, ‘you have got to be kidding me.’ This was a big working weekend for us. The ‘thousand is a new bike this year, and all my career I’ve race a 600, so we spent a lot of time making the big bike feel like the 600 I’m comfortable with.”
In Open Superbike, Sherstan started from Pole but Oleg Pianykh nailed a great start from P3 on the grid to get the lead in lap one. Sherstan got by Pianykh in “the triple Ds” of Millers West Course on lap 2, setting the fastest lap of the day at 1:32 flat, and leaving Pianykh and Ryan Brand to battle for a tight second spot. Sherstan added, “I want to thank my parent’s company, TG Transports, Kory Cowan and Aaron Clark. They’ve been a huge help this season. Also AXO, Arai, Galfer and FMX Optics.”
Jeff Stern was in the hunt all day for a superbike win, but settled with a victory in the premier middleweight class, King of the Mountain GTU. Scott Decker of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta got the jump and took the lead laying down quick, consistent laps to gap the field by as much as 10 second only to have his Honda CBR suffer heat-related mechanical problems and slow. Stern, with Chad Swain of Alberta, Canada in tow, kept Decker in sight and got by on lap 11 of the 12 lap race taking the win with Swain in second and Decker bringing it home to round out the podium.
“I wasn’t even really planning on running the little bike, but things came together,” said Stern. “Scott (Decker) checked out pretty good, and at about half way I was thinking, ‘he’s really controlling this thing.’ Then two laps later he was 10 yards closer, then a little closer. Swain got by me in Blackrock when I braked a little early, but I got him right back. We got past Scott and I took the flag. Now Scott and I are tied in points, so it will be like a whole new series from Round 5 on. A big thanks to Dunlop tires, Fastline Performance, mechanic Chris Boileau, Arai helmets, Motul oils, EBC pads, LP, LeBard and Underwood, Pro-Line Fasteners.”
The new Racing Experience introduction, licensing and mentor program offered by UtahSBA has proven to be a big success at building the novice grids and preparing riders for a successful first season. With nearly 40 riders attending the class over the first four rounds of racing, graduates have gone on to show skill, poise and maturity as provisional novices with virtually no drama or racer attrition. Racing Experience lets riders interested in racing test the waters with a UtahSBA membership, a new racer certification class, a mentor, track time, practice starts and a mock race all on a regular race weekend for just $200. Regular trackday-prepped bikes are OK, so full race-prep is not required.
The seven-race Mountains series, developed by Miller Motorsports Park, organized by the Utah Sportbike Association (UtahSBA) and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), was created to encourage competitive road racing at the club and regional levels. In its seventh year, the series has quickly turned into a premier event drawing top-level talent from around the nation. For more information on schedule, rulebook, purses and contingency, visit www.utahsba.com/racing 2011 Masters of the Mountains race schedule: August 20-21 – Miller Motorsports Park East Course September 3-4 – Miller Motorsports Park West Course October 1-2 – Miller Motorsports Park Full Course Masters of the Mountains 2011 Round 4 Results
Endurance GTO 1. Paul Parrot (Hon CBR1000RR) 2. Chris Petersen (Yam YZF-R1) 3. Colton Hicks (Hon CBR1000RR)
Endurance GTU 1. Jim King (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Mark Bigelow (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Dana Wilson (Yam YZF-R6)
Endurance Relay 1. Clint Warner 2. Clint Gibson 3. James Davis
SuperTwins 1. Michael Bradshaw (Duc 1098) 2. Brad Moore (Suz SV650) 3. Jeff Healy (Duc 999)
Formula 5 1. Mark Snethen (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. James Mckay (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Aaron Landingham (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Austin Carpenter (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Shane White (Suz GSX-R750) 6. Brian Prax (Kaw ZX-10R)
Middleweight Superbike 1. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Chad Swain (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Brad Moore (Kaw ZX-6R) 4. Darrel Cherry (Hon CBR600RR) 5. Clint Gibson (Kaw ZX-6R) 6. Mark Bigelow (Yam YZF-R6)
Novice GTU 1. Harith Albadri (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Zach Austin (Kaw ZX-6R) 3. David Purcell (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Anthony Loucks (Hon CBR600RR) 5. Rob Gisseman (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Danny Egbert (Yam YZF-R6)
Open Superbike 1. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Oleg Pianykh (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Eric Jones (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. Michael Bradshaw (Duc 1098) 6. Shane White (Suz GSX-R750)
Twins GTU 1. Brad Moore (Suz SV650) 2. Thomas Berry (Kaw EX650) 3. Aaron Nourbakhsh (Suz SV650) 4. Mike Housley (Yam TZ125) 5. Tim Gallagher (Suz SV650)
King of the Mountain GTU 1. Jeff Stern (Kaw ZX-6R) 2. Chad Swain (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Clint Gibson (Kaw ZX-6R) 5. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600) 6. James Davis (Yam YZF-R6)
Amateur GTO 1. Jared Green (Hon CBR1000RR) 2. Mark Harper (Hon CBR1000RR) 3. Darrel Cherry (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Gary Gerber (Yam YZF-R1) 5. Mark Snethen (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Warren Rose (Hon CBR600RR)
Open Superstock 1. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Eric Jones (Hon CBR1000RR) 4. Michael Bradshaw (Duc 1098) 5. Zach Herrin (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Tommy Richardson (Suz GSX-R1000)
Heavyweight Superstock 1. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Chad Swain (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Gerald Hicks (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Austin Carpenter (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Clint Gibson (Kaw ZX-6R) 6. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600)
Sportsman 1. Harlan Wells (Duc Monster) 2. Rob “Raab” Gisseman (Yam YZF-R6) 3. Trent Owens (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Thomas Berry (Kaw EX650) 5. Derek Festavan (Yam YZF-R6) 6. Danny Egbert (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight Superstock 1. Zach Herrin (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Chad Swain (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Austin Carpenter (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Gerald Hicks (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Clint Gibson (Kaw ZX-6R) 6. Brad Moore (Suz GSX-R600)
Novice GTO 1. Jared Green (Hon CBR1000RR) 2. Mark Harper (Hon CBR1000RR) 3. Gary Gerber (Yam YZF-R1) 4. David Purcell (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Anthony Loucks (Hon CBR600RR) 6. Rob Kaufman (Yam YZF-R1)
King of the Mountain GTO 1. Jesse Sherstan (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Jeff Stern (Hon CBR1000RR) 3. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Eric Jones (Hon CBR1000RR) 5. Ray Thibedeou (Hon CBR1000RR) 6. John Hoppersted (Suz GSX-R1000)
Formula 40 1. Michael Bradshaw (Duc 1098) 2. John Hoppersted (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Tommy Richardson (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Mark Snethen (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Gary Gerber (Yam YZF-R1) 6. Kevin Dolan (Suz GSX-R1000)
Amateur GTU 1. Austin Carpenter (Yam YZF-R6) 2. Darrel Cherry (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Harith Albadri (Yam YZF-R6) 4. Mark Bigelow (Yam YZF-R6) 5. Anthony Loucks (Hon CBR600RR) 6. Warren Rose (Hon CBR600RR)
Twins GTO 1. Jeff Healy (Duc 999) 2. Brad Moore (Suz SV650) 3. Thomas Berry (Kaw EX650)