C&H Racing By Continental Tires Earns First Podium Of The Season

C&H Racing by Continental Tires left for Blackhawk Farms Raceway this past weekend for round 4 of the ASRA Team Challenge series. The team learned a lot at the last round at Carolina Motorsports Park where they finished 4th in class and 5th overall. The team consisted of Dennie Huff and a substitute rider, Jimmy Vanderhaar. Brandon Cretu was unable to ride due to his preparations to compete at the 2012 Isle of Man TT.

Huff took the C&H Racing by Continental Tires CBR1000RR to the track for the track day on Friday to test the new rear suspension setup from Thermosman. This would hopefully remedy some of the issues the team had been having all season. After the first session Huff instantly felt more confident with the new setup and was able to run a faster pace. The Continental Race Attack slick on the rear was gripping up perfectly and wearing great. As the day was looking good the team seemed to have gremlins follow them to this round as well. By the afternoon their CBR1000RR started having tranny issues, with the bike not shifting correctly or staying into gear. Huff and fellow Team Challenge competitor Danny Dougherty disassembled the transmission that evening and had Mark Stiles of Bliss Machine to do some last minute repairs to ensure they could still race on Saturday. They had the bike ready to go by 2:00AM Saturday morning.

Saturday would be substitute rider Vanderhaar’s first time on the C&H Racing CBR1000RR as well as his first time ever on Continental Tires. Having co-ridden to previous WERA National Endurance titles Vanderhaar was no stranger to riding or determining if a bike or tires were good or not. Vanderhaar had nothing but praise for the Continental Race Attack slicks but unfortunately the bike would be another matter. While practicing that morning the tranny issues returned, while not quite as severe, the riders would be forced to forego using a quickshifter in order to shift through the gears.

The team decided to have Vanderhaar start the race and Huff finish it out. Vanderhaar began the race well and settled into a groove for his portion of the stint. The first half of the race went fairly uneventful with Vanderhaar slowly getting more comfortable on the bike, tires, and new track. When he came in for the pit stop to hand the bike over to Dennie everything went smooth as glass with Mark Stiles from Bliss Machine helping out again. Huff took over the controls and began catching up to a few of the teams ahead. He managed pick up the pace and pass two of the teams in their class which put them into podium contention. Huff maintained their position while riding through ignition issues on the bike and brought it home to 2nd in class and 5th overall!

“We are really happy to finally put the C&H Racing by Continental Tires CBR1000RR on the box here at Blackhawk Farms. The Race Attack slicks worked awesome with the new rear suspension changes and we feel we can finally start battling for podium positions. Its a shame Brandon couldn’t be here to be part of our first podium but Jimmy rode great and we can’t thank him enough for filling in while Brandon prepares for the TT. We are finally heading into races at our home tracks and can’t wait to ride at VIR!” said Huff.

C&H Racing by Continental Tires will compete in round 5 of the ASRA Team Challenge at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, VA on June 17. In the meantime follow them on their website, www.cretu-huffracing.com.

Cretu and Huff would like to thank their sponsors for their support this year as they would not be able to compete without their help.

Continental Tires, MOTUL, RevZilla.com, REV’IT!, EBC Brakes, Bell Helmets, Drippinwet.com, MRP Motorsports, Lithium Motorsports, Supreme Protein, Blue Monkey Motorsports, HEL Performance, Moto-heaven.com, Zero Gravity, GB Racing, ANT Racing, Spyder Leatherworks, Action Motorsports of York PA, NESBA, Moto D, FP Racing

More, from a press release issued by RPSRaceTeam.com:

Kelsey fastest in CMRA action at Hallet, Oklahoma

RPSRaceTeam.com sponsored Danny Kelsey posted the fastest lap of the day (1:16.7) en route to a big win in the B Superstock race during the CMRA sprint race championship series race at the 11 turn Hallet Motor Racing Circuit. He backed up the win with three 2nd place finishes during round #4 of CMRA competition.

Kelsey who is fighting to retain the CMRA #1 plate has been working hard to regain his championship form after suffering a broken leg in November 2011 and a second corrective surgery in January 2012 to have a screw holding the rod in his leg removed to stop an aggravation to his ligaments. Despite this the Georgetown, Texas rider has been consistently winning in 2012, but with the competition in the CMRA Kelsey found himself 32 points out of the points lead entering the weekend.

Danny would have to beat Ty Howard, Dustin Dominguez, and Derek Wagnon head to head to start the climb back up to the top of the championship standings. With Hallet being Dominguez’s home track, the weekend definitely presented challenges for Kelsey and the team.

Kelsey’s first opportunity to start his points pursuit was in the B Superstock class. Danny dropped the hammer on the Michelin-shod GSX-R750 and lead off the line initially, but missed a shift and found himself in 4th place as he entered turn one. By lap three, Kelsey moved back up to 2nd place. Dustin Dominguez took advantage of the situation and had put himself over 2 seconds in front. Kelsey then began to close the gap on lap 4 and 5. Although it would be a tall order, Kelsey felt he could make a run for the win. On lap 6 red flags were shown and the race was called complete. It was a disappointing start to the race day, but Kelsey and the team still had 3 races to show their mettle.

The next race for Kelsey and the team was A Superstock and at the drop of the green flag, he lead through turn one. Ty Howard quickly motored by Kelsey as they entered turn 2. Danny worked hard, but Howard worked just as hard, and posted a 1:16.9 lap to set the pace. In the end, Howard took the win by over 2 seconds.

RPSRaceTeam.com team manager Marcus McBain observed the suspension on the GSX-R750 and felt some critical changes to the GP Suspension Cartridges and Penske shock would allow Kelsey to up his performance. With Danny facing Dustin Dominguez again in the next race (B Superbike), Kelsey would need everything to be right to defeat the accomplished Oklahoma rider and AMA competitor.

As the flag dropped on the B Superbike race, Dominquez showed his talent and quickly took the point and a 1+ second lead. Kelsey was not deterred and posted a 1:16.7 on the second lap to start closing the gap. By lap three Kelsey and Dominguez were shadowing each other as they began to swap the lead each lap. On lap 5, Dominquez moved inside Kelsey in the turn affectionately known as “the bitch”. Kelsey immediately countered and made an impossible pass in the final turn to start lap six and the two veteran CMRA riders continued a high-speed chess game while splitting lappers. On the final lap of this “steel cage death match” race, Kelsey held the tight line in the turns to hold off Dominquez and was able to take the win by .5 seconds and post the fastest lap of the day.

The final race of the day was another rematch of Kelsey and Howard. The differentiating factor was the rain that had come down and provided for a quickly drying track for two Texas riders to battle on. Howard however snookered the field as 60 seconds before the field left for the warm up lap, he had a DOT rear mounted to take advantage of the drying conditions. Kelsey realized that at the drop of the green flag, his Michelin rain tires would probably be a detriment as track dried. Despite this, the DP Brakes sponsored rider put the RPSRaceTeam.com GSX-R750 into the lead and lead the first two laps. On lap three, Howard who had been shadowing Kelsey the first two laps pulled by to take the lead and then run away from Kelsey who was doing everything possible to hold on to 2nd place on a track that was for the most part completely dry by lap 4. At the checkers, Kelsey finished 2nd and relieved to have the race completed as the tires were disintegrated by the end of the race.

Danny Kelsey reflected on the weekend, “I had hoped to post more wins, but I realize that the competition level of the CMRA and the classes I race”¦every win is a dogfight. I am thankful that we had DP Brakes for the B Superbike race. The only way I was going to win that race was on the brakes and the DP Brakes were flawless.”

The weekend for the CMRA did provide several red flags and the RPSRaceTeam.com team want to extend their wishes for a speedy recovery for Brandon Cleland who has emerged as both a top CMRA rider as well as one of the classiest competitors.

RPSRaceTeam.com and Danny Kelsey are sponsored by KMC Controls, Komodo, Lone Star Track Days, GP Suspension, Dynojet, DP Brakes, LP Racing, Hotbodies, Arata, Penske, Vortex, Michelin, and Island Racing Services.

More, from a press release issued by Lindemann Engineering:

Claims that Lindemann Engineering’s Ed Sorbo is a “Genius” may be true.

In WERA racing at Miller Motorsports Park this past weekend, riders supported by Lindemann Engineering won races, set personal best lap times and generally had a great time blasting around a fun, safe track with a great club.

Starting with the youngest: Kenny Anderson took two wins, Heavyweight SB Novice & F-II Novice as well as a second in 125 GP. This was his first visit to Miller. Kenny rode two RS125’s tuned by his hard working Dad, Eric. Both bikes have suspension that has been valved and sprung by LE.

Kenny’s hard working Dad, Eric some how found time to ride his ZX-6R with LE fork valving and had a blast.

Scott Reavey rode his SV650 to a new personal best at Miller of 2:06, 1.5 sec better than last years time! Scott says “Oh yah, I also got my 1st ever win in Lightweight Twins and a 3rd in F-2.” Scott’s forks have been valved and sprung by LE and he has a custom Penske shock by LE.

Team Short Bus’s Andy Kenefick was so happy when he called while driving home that I could only understand a few things he said, like: “I went faster every time I went out.” And “You are a Genius!” Andy seems to like the job LE did re-valving and re-spring the stock shock on his ’06 GSXR 750. His forks already had a kit installed with the correct springs, LE adjusted the valving and look what happened. Andy decided to have LE valve his suspension after we adjusted his clickers at a CVMA race and he dropped 5 seconds off his best lap time.

In other news: Albert rode his R-6 with LE valving at a Streets of Willow track day and went two seconds faster than he ever has and with less drama.

About Ed Sorbo: He’s OK with being called a Genius.

About Lindemann Engineering, aka LE. Provides suspension services to racers as well as street and track day riders. Rebuilds, re-valves and correct spring rates for your stock suspension bits or your aftermarket suspension bits.

le-suspension.com (909) 838-4587

More, from a press release issued by Shannon Moham’s publicist:

MRA Racer Shannon Moham wins 6th Race of the Weekend after Impressive Crash

As the MRA hosted their second race weekend, May 19-20th, at PPIR in Fountain Colorado, racers and spectators alike wondered how racer #945, Shannon Moham, would fare after his previous 8 wins in round one. Despite high winds, cold temperatures and threatening rain clouds on Saturday, Moham did not disappoint. Winning Lightweight GP, Lightweight Endurance and Heavyweight Endurance was just the beginning for this overzealous racer, known for his “marathon” racing. Moham noted, “Even with the shifting weather, the Dunlop tires held up great and we were very happy with how the bikes ran”.

Sunday proved to be sunny and beautiful and Moham started his day with a vengeance, taking second in Supertwins GTO on his SV650. With his plate full, and five races to go, Moham was ready but didn’t realize his race day was about to take a drastic change. Taking the grid for Middleweight Superbike, a race that he won the previous round at HPR, Moham knew something was wrong with his R6. Getting off the bike, he pushed on the tire and realized he had a flat. Discouraged, Moham knew there would be no win for him in this competitive race, and he slowly pulled off into the pits. Moham stated, “Dunlop was awesome in figuring out what the problem was. Steve (Mills) immediately took my tire and wheel and found that there was actually a crack in my wheel. It wasn’t the tire, just some bad luck, but I was grateful that he was able to find the problem so promptly”. Moham had to rebound quickly for his next race, and rebound he did, winning his fourth race of the weekend in Modern Vintage GTU. After the lunch break and a wheel change, Moham felt that he and his R6 were ready for the premier race of the day, Race of the Rockies. Once again, he did not disappoint. Moham was able to bring home the win in Race of the Rockies GTU noting, “The R6 ran great, my Race Tech suspension is spot on and, once again, Dunlop tires stepped up to the plate and did their job in this 20 lap race”. Eager to keep his winning streak alive, Moham easily got the hole shot in his next race Supertwins GTU. Unfortunately, this was when his luck changed yet again. Entering turn three, Moham’s throttle stuck. At almost 140 miles per hour, his bike flew in one direction and he in another. This impressive crash left his SV destroyed and unknown injuries to his left hand. Most racers might (and probably should) call it a day after such an event. Not Moham. After paramedics gave him the go ahead to “take it easy on the racetrack”, Moham hopped on his R6 for his next and final race, Heavyweight Superbike. Moham dominated the field and took home his 6th race win of the weekend! “It all happened so quickly”, Moham noted of his crash in STGTU, “All I kept thinking was when am I going to stop flop pin down this track like a ragdoll? There was never a doubt in my mind that I had to get on my R6 and win Heavyweight Superbike. I guess I was a man on a mission. I want to thank everyone, especially the corner workers and the ambulance crew for getting to my bike and me so quickly after my get-off”. The MRA will host their next event at High Plains Raceway on June 9th and 10th, to include a 4 hour Endurance/Pony Express. Stay tuned to see what Shannon Moham will have up his sleeve, as we all know he won’t let us down! Shannon would like to express his gratitude to the following: Nordic Nursing, Dunlop Tires, Race Tech, Renegade Fuel, Woodcraft, Vortex, GPR Stabilizer, Galfer, Lockhart Phillips, Silkolene, Ogio, Pit Bull, 35 Motorsports, Rex at Tri City Cycle, Vickery Motorsports, K&N, Bazzaz Performance, Motonation, Rocky Mountain Photo, Racing Batteries USA, Worldwide Bearings, Pit Posse, his wife Segren, daughter Denver, Mom, the Papajohns, the MRA corner workers and the Western Ambulance crew.