Editorial note: Hayden Gillim rode solo for TOBC 600 and won this race overall. The fact that Gillim was on the bike and did not have a teammate, was not noted in the ASRA/CCS press release which follows:
AMA Sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series Presented by Michelin Tire
July 5, 2014
Elkhart Lake’s Road America
Elkhart Lake, WI
Team TOBC Tops All in ASRA Team Challenge at Road America Cyclefest
Elkhart Lake, WI – The AMA sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series presented by Michelin Tire competitors made their annual trek to Elkhart Lake’s Road America Cyclefest on July 5 and they started the second half of the season with a real barn burner. From the green flag Martinez Racing with Kaleb DeKeyrel aboard jumped out in front of the field of 28 and set the pace for the event, leading the Overall class for 36 of the 39 laps of the race. The TOBC 1000 team of Scott Harwell and Jon Couch briefly held the lead on lap 20 while DeKeyrel pitted, then TOBC relinquished the lead back to Martinez Racing on lap 21. Over the next ten laps Martinez Racing was able to build a solid lead over the field but a second stop on lap 31 for a rider change to put Calvin Martinez aboard allowed the TOBC 600 team to close the gap. Within six laps the pressure was on as TOBC 600 closed in on the leader. As they completed lap 38, it was TOBC 600 out in front of Martinez Racing and pulling away by 13.648 seconds as they reached the checkered flag. On the podium it was TOBC 600 with the win, Martinez Racing in second and TOBC 1000 in third. By virtue of their second place finish, Martinez Racing now holds a 5 point lead over Grease Monkey Racing in the Overall standings while TOBC 600 has moved into 3rd Overall just 13-points behind the championship leader.
For the GTO class, it was Martinez Racing with DeKeyrel and team captain Calvin Martinez on top of the podium, followed by TOBC 1000 in second and defending GTO National Champion Grease Monkey Racing with Eric Helmbach aboard in third position. The third place finish kept GMR within striking distance for the GTO championship, just 11points behind the leader Martinez Racing with 4 rounds to go in the series.
In the Team Challenge GTU class, TOBC 600 took the win while Pool Boy Racing finished in second with Carl Soltisz and Dan Ortega splitting the riding chores. The final spot on the GTU podium went to Worldwide Racing with John Anderson and Drew See in their first Team Challenge. The win by TOBC 600 coupled with a fifth place finish for RnR Repsol gives TOBC a 4 point lead for the GTU championship with just 4 rounds to go.
The championship for the GTL class took an unusual turn at Road America. In a protest after the race, the winning GTL team BP Performance, was found to be 15cc over the class limit and the ensuing disqualification awarded the win to the runner-up Faceplant/Ducati Depot team of Tom Eubank, Greg Melka and Charlie Long. With credit for the win and a little bad luck by the Mavros & Boy Racing team when rider Seth Starnes ran out of gas on lap 21, the Faceplant team took full advantage of the opportunities to move into a tie for the GTL championship with Mavros & Boy Racing. Mid-West veterans Alfredo Cantu Jr and Steve Kessenich riding for Black Ops Racing turned in a solid performance to take second place in the race and move up to fourth in the championship. Heading for the next round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Mavros & Boy are tied with the Faceplant/Ducati Depot team at 117 points apiece with BP Performance sliding back into third place for the championship.
For complete results and point standings, please visit our website at www.asraracing.com and follow the links.
The next event for the ASRA Team Challenge Presented by Michelin Tire is July 19 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville NJ. For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.asraracing.com or www.asraracing.com
The American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA) is the parent organization to the Championship Cup Series (CCS), the largest amateur motorcycle road racing organization in the United States issuing over 3,000 licenses per year. ASRA promotes eight AMA sanctioned Sprint Series and eight AMA sanctioned Team Challenge road racing events for 2014. The CCS Series sanctions 45 events at popular tracks around the United States, including Daytona International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Road America, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Virginia International Raceway among other fine venues. In 2014 ASRA and CCS will provide riders with access to millions of dollars of sponsorship awards through participation in its sanctioned events.
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