Ty Howard and the Ride Smart/RPM Cycle/KTM Team Earn First Endurance Victory on KTM 1190 RC8 College Station, TX KTM support rider Ty Howard took his KTM 1190 RC8 to an undefeated race weekend earning its first team endurance victory at the opening round of the CMRA Championship Series at Texas World Speedway. Saturday’s 4-hour endurance race garnered over 40 entries. Howard’s Ridesmart/RPM Cycle/KTM Team competed aboard the standard KTM 1190 RC8 that was basically stock with the exception of KTM PowerParts fairings, rear sets and Akrapovic exhaust system. “Everything went our way today. Practice was great, our stock suspension was perfect, and we felt really comfortable heading into the main event,” commented Howard. As the race got underway the team quickly moved from its fifth row starting position into 2nd place and began a battle for the lead against the 2009 CMRA Championship winning team. The battle continued for the first 20 laps of the race until a red flag appeared and the race was brought to a halt. On the restart the teams switched riders to give the first rider a rest. The KTM Team ran into a problem around lap 23 when they realized that they had not accurately assessed how far the bike would run on fuel. The bike ran out of gas and the current rider, Ricky Jordan, had to push the bike to the pit area as fast as possible. Once refueled, the team returned to the race, now three laps down. The KTM Team continued to turn faster lap times than the lead team and was slowly moving back up in the overall standings. Other teams had to stop for tire changes while the RC8 continued to charge on thanks to the durability of the Dunlop rear tire and the RC8 being able to put the power to the ground with minimum wheel spin. With one hour to go, the KTM Team was sitting in 4th place. Team member Bryan West climbed on board and began to turn times 4 seconds a lap faster than the other teams. With 30 minutes to run the top three teams took a final stop to change their rear tire. Meanwhile, West handed over the reins to Ty Howard who passed the top three teams to take the win by 21 seconds. The RC8 finished the 4-hour endurance race on the same tires it started on. On Sunday, Ty Howard returned to the track, along with 520 other racers to compete in the CMRA Sprint Races. Howard entered his RC8 into three classes: 1000 Superstock, Formula One and 1000 Superbike. Rains the night before left the track quite damp during the opening race. Nonetheless, Howard and his RC8 excelled in the challenging conditions and pulled away to a 10 second victory in the Superstock class. Howard and his KTM repeated their victory in the Formula One and 1000 Superbike class while also turning the fastest lap time of the day. Winning all races they entered over the weekend Ty Howard and his KTM 1190 RC8 left Texas World Speedway undefeated. You can catch Howard next at round 2 of the Series taking place at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, TX on March 13-14 or as an instructor at the Skip Barber Superbike School Powered by KTM. Howard and his team would like to thank its sponsors: KTM Motorsports, KTM PowerParts, Comedy Defensive Driving, Dunlop Tires, RPM Cycle, Ridesmart Motorcycle Schools, Motorex Oils, Dynojet, Totally Graphic Designs, Raceworx, Kyle USA, Skip Barber KTM Superbike School, Komodo Gear, Arai and 5th Gear Motorsports.