Verderico Extends Overall Lead in WMRRA Championship

June 27/28 marked the 3^rd round of the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing championship at The Ridge Motorsports Park under scorching weather for the state. Sam Verderico wasted no time in picking up his first win of the weekend in the rounds opening race of OpenSS, putting his Superbike Underground Yamaha R1M on the top spot. Verderico was pretty stoked about the win as it meant some good Yamaha contingency money in his pocket. Allister MacKinnon picked up 2^nd on his Speeddealer Motors GSXR1000 and Tim Kingston finished the podium aboard his GSXR1000 to close out the first race of the weekend. Saturday’s races also included a Sounds of the Past Vintage race with a legitimate Lemans start; so fitting for the SOTP event. Tim O’Mahony took 1^st on his Honda CL175, Mick Hart grabbed 2^nd on a Honda CB175, and Joseph Wright earned a solid 3^rd aboard his Honda CB175. With temperatures reaching 96° near the end of the day, (very hot for Washington standards) riders were struggling with heat and exhaustion. That didn’t seem to bother Adam Robarts who won the final race of the day in Formula Ultra riding his Redline Motorsports GSXR1000. Sam Verderico on his Yamaha R1M and Mark DeGross riding his GSXR1000 finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively, both whom ride for Superbike Underground.

As is the case with Washington weather, Sunday proved to be a different animal for weather conditions. With rain and lightning coming down in practice, the pits were full of riders taking wheels down to the tire vendors for rain tires to be mounted. Such a surprise since the forecast was for more hot temperatures. Sunday’s Formula Ultra race fell victim to this weather chaos. Just minutes before the race, light rain began, causing riders to begin to wonder if they’d made the right tire choice. Superbike Underground Mark DeGross took the lead with the dampish track and opened up a good gap looking like he would take a win. However, a mild mechanical on the last lap rendered his GSXR1000 to about 60 mph, and team mate Sam Verderico was right there on his Yamaha R1M to capitalize by taking the win in the end. DeGross was able to limp the bike to the finish line for 2^nd with Allister MacKinnon placing 3^rd on his Speeddealer GSXR1000. Verderico was happy for another win and earning valuable points for his overall championship. Allister MacKinnon added to his overall championship run by winning 750SB on his Speeddealer Motors built GSXR750. This was expected to be a good battle between himself and DeGross on his R6, but DeGross crashed out while leading the opening lap. The podium was rounded out by Aaron Rogers in 2^nd and Wes Stults in 3^rd. OpenSB was the last big bike race of the day and Adam Robarts put his head down on his Redline Motorsports GSXR1000 and won that race by putting in some blistering laps. Sam Verderico took 3^rd on his Yamaha R1M with Mark DeGross right on his heals on his CBR1000rr.

After the weekend finished, it’s now a battle between Verderico and MacKinnon for the overall championship lead. Verderico has a solid lead and is the man to beat at 514 overall points. MacKinnon is chomping at the bit to close that gap, sitting at 443 overall points.