Team Challenge Round 5 – VIR Alton, VA – With Temperatures in the mid eighties and beautiful clear blue sky all day long the Michelin Team Challenge got under way for Round 5 at Virginia International Raceway. This event was to see the culmination of a multi-year slog for one team, and a runaway Solo win for a first timer. At race end Rick Beggs was just about as excited as a GTU team owner/rider could be Sunday after he and co-rider Krishna Pribadi rode a flawless race and took the Overall victory and the GTU class win at VIR. Beggs said, “It took us four years to do this,” showing obvious signs of emotion and satisfaction with his teammates and his own performance. Team R&R Repsol took the win on a Kawasaki 600. GTO riders followed with Wisconsin Racing’s Calvin Martinez and Steve Levow on the podium taking second overall riding their Suzuki 1000. Central States Racing’s Paul Gilchrist and Matt Flowers rounded out the overall podium also on a one-liter Suzuki. It is not uncommon for a Solo class rider to run the distance in the shortest time. Sunday was no different as Solo newcomer Nate Kern opened up a tremendous lead and kept it there even using a two-pit stop strategy. Kern was running steady 1:35’s with a fastest lap in the 33’s. From the opening flag Central States leveraged an excellent start into a lead going into turn one, but Wisconsin Racing emerged from turn two leading the pack. The Repsol 600 was on the move right away too running in fifth by turn four. Martinez and Levow did a fine job of running up front most of the race. It was only in the closing laps that Beggs and Pribadi closed the gap for the win. Solo rider, Christian Loudon, running the Cronin Racing Yamaha 600 actually charged to the front of the pack early only to have Kern catch him on lap three. The two went at it fiercely for half a dozen laps until Loudon started to slip behind, eventually dropping out of the contest. GTO third place went to Christian Meekma and Chuck Zuleger aboard their Suzuki 1000. Alex Shaw and Eric Helmbach did a nice job reigning in the GTU second place spot on their Chester Auto Repair Kawasaki 600. Robert Nowlin and Michael Davis placed third aboard a Yamaha 600 fielded by Dooley racing. In GT Lights it was the familiar Grease Monkey team where Helmbach shared rider duties with Alex Shaw on and SV650. Trinity Motorsports riders Bobby Kim and Christopher Cooke took their SV650 to the runner-up slot and Joel Spalding and Jay Smith took their Buell 1200 two the third position. Rounding out the A&J Recognition Solo Challenge podium after Nate Kern were Alex Smith in second and Ray Hofman in third aboard the Wisconsin Sportbike Honda CBR600. August will see the Team Challenge arrive in Summit Point, West Virginia for Round 7.