Sipp Claims Round 3 Michelin Team Challenge in Carolina Kershaw, SC April 15, 2012 Reliability and pace kept Buell rider Walt Sipp in position to take the overall and GTO class victory in Round 3 of the Michelin Team Challenge at Carolina Motorsports Park. In the GTU class RnR Repsol riders Rick Beggs and Terry Taylor took their #4 Kawasaki to the GTU class win. In GT Lights Clayton Fisk and Max Grant rode the GMB Now Suzuki to the win over G-Baby Racing’s Jim Doyle and Nicole Ayers. This was the first win for GMB Now and the first time this year G-Baby has not won the GT Lights class. It is no secret that improvised teams with a local hot shoe can steal a round from the series regulars. In 2012 it looks like several of the more seasoned teams have built stability into their formula for winning. There are still teams thrown together for a couple rounds of fun, which is a great idea in itself. But several more serious teams have settled on a similar rider pairing formula for the entire 2012 season. Tim Ivanoff and Walt Sipp at Thrashed Bike are one example of combining a reliable team owner/rider with one fast privateer for the entire season. Another example is Kawasaki equipped Martinez/Farrell Performance. They pair two reliable riders, Farrell being a very fast privateer, with perennial Team Challenge owner and champion Calvin Martinez for a run at the championship. Bucking that formula and each taking different approaches are RnR Repsol and Chester Auto Repair. At RnR Repsol Rick Beggs runs two bikes sharing riding with Terry Taylor, Jason Gibbens and Rachel Sasse. The lineup makes for a known quantity in planning the team’s year. But multiple Team Challenge Champion Eric Helmbach goes it alone on the Chester Auto Repair BMW. Then there is another fairly new team owner in the series, Christian Meekma, who formed XRay with well-known ASRA champion Ray Hofman, Hofman playing the role of the fast rider. There are more teams and more formulas. These are just a few worth noting. All this might suggest that on any given weekend you have a recipe for racing drama. and Round 3 was no exception. Beautiful weather, a few clouds and moderate temps welcomed 110 riders to Carolina Motorsports Park this weekend. A total of 594 entries peppered classes in CCS and the Michelin Team Challenge. Overall & GTO In this event Walt Sipp rode the Thrashed Bike Buell 1125 to victory while teammate/owner Ivanoff managed the pit operation for the team. Having finished fourth and third in the first and second rounds respectively the win was a welcome result for the team’s preparation as they work to make their two Buell’s more reliable. Leading early in the race, and perhaps the favorite to win the Overall and GTO after taking the first two rounds at Roebling and Heartland Park, was the Martinez/Ferrell Performance Kawasaki 1000. But a late-race miscalculation contributed to the team’s runner up finish. After a blazing start and holding the lead for 43 laps Jason Farrell pitted for fuel and a rider change relinquishing the lead to Helmbach’s BMW. Helmbach pitted four laps later handing the lead to Sipp’s Buell. Martinez now on board the Kawasaki took the lead again as Sipp pitted on lap 57. On lap 62 Sipp re-assumed the lead as Martinez pitted to hand the ZX10R back to Farrell. Farrell, thinking Sipp’s Buell to be a lap down, upon re-entry made no attempt to re-pass Walt Sipp. Sipp assumed Farrell would be coming and was managing the fasted pace he dared on a tire that was becoming more of a challenge with each passing lap. As the pair of riders saw the white flag Farrell realized that Sipp received it first and that he (Farrell) would need to make a pass on Sipp on the last lap for the win. Farrell made up no time on Sipp through the turn 4-5-6-7-8 complex and could not catch Sipp on the back straight leaving no real opportunity to make up the 3-second gap. Sipp commented on the podium that he had the flu and that tire management on a bike without traction control was a chore. But anyone could see his pride in having overcome those challenges, bringing the burly Buell home for the win. Eric Helmbach, also sick from a bad cold, finished third in GTO and overall. GTU The Beggs and Taylor #4 RnR Repsol Kawasaki was the first GTU entry off the line at the green flag. But by lap four Seth Starnes on the Team Fallon CBR600RR slipped by RnR for the lead. By lap seven XRay had wheeled their Yamaha past RnR and were running second. The Rog & Don Honda was fourth and the Quicktime Racing R6 was fifth. By lap 12 Quicktime was up to fourth, and on lap 18 the RnR Repsol #4 entry resumed the lead as Team Fallon pitted. The Team Fallon Honda would not return to challenge for the lead. RnR Repsol #4 continued to dominate GTU while Bud Lawter and Derrick Cantrell’s Quicktime Racing entry steadily and quietly moved forward to the runner up slot. Meekma and Hofman brought the XRay R6 Yamaha home third. It’s worth noting that XRay won the last round at Heartland Park-Topeka. Premier Racing having won Round One at Roebling finished eighth. GT Lights For the first two rounds this season G-Baby Racing had their way with the GT Lights class. For Carolina GMB Now took their first win of the season. G-Baby maintains their points lead heading into Round 4 at Blackhawk Farms in Beloit, Wisconsin. Here are the complete results: Overall 1 Thrashed Bike Racing Buell 1125 Erik Buell Racing, Arrow Aviation, Avcal Decals, Dunlop 2 Martinez/Farrell Performance Kawasaki 1000 3 Chester Auto Repair BMW 1000 BMW of Manhattan, Washington Cycle Works, Pirelli 4 RnR Repsol Racing Kawasaki 600 Repsol, Pit Bull, RnR Cycles, Dunlop, Woodcraft, VP 5 C&H Racing by Honda Honda 1000 6 Quick Time Racing Yamaha 600 7 XRay Yamaha 600 Swift Molly, Bridgestone 8 RnR Cycles Racing Kawasaki 600 Repsol, Pit Bull, RnR Cycles, Dunlop, Woodcraft, VP 9 Angry Peaches Honda 600 Metric Devil Moto, Vortex, Rob Allen Limited, Pit Bull 10 GMB Now Racing Suzuki 650 11 G-Baby Racing Suzuki 650 MPHBikes.com, Cafe Racer KC, Vortex, EBC, VaVaVroom 12 Rog & Don Racing Honda 600 13 Team Fallon Starnes Honda 600 Fallon Tucker, Doug Starnes, Jim Wall Plastering 14 Premier Racing Yamaha 600 15 Foy Bros Racing Yamaha 600 Jupiter Cycle Racing, Cycle Gear Racing 16 RPM Motorsports Suzuki 1000 BG Products, Thermosman Suspensions, OP Racing GTO 1 Thrashed Bike Racing Breaux Bridge, LA Walt Sipp & Tim Ivanoff 2 Martinez/Farrell Performance Slinger, WI Calvin Martinez & Jason Farrell 3 Chester Auto Repair Califon, NJ Eric Helmbach 4 C&H Racing by Honda Hanover, PA Dennie Huff & Branden Creto 5 RPM Motorsports Herndon, VA Chris Cooke & Stephen Clarke GTU 1 RnR Repsol Racing Sterling, VA Rick Beggs, Terry Taylor 2 Quick Time Racing Spartanburg, SC Derrick Cantrell, Bud Lawter 3 XRay Menomonee Falls, WI Christian Meekma & Ray Hofman 4 RnR Cycles Racing Sterling, VA Jason Gibbens & Rick Beggs 5 Angry Peaches Deerfield Beach, FL Allison Fournier & Daniel Heverly 6 Rog & Don Racing Manassas, VA Roger Neumann & Don Thibeault 7 Team Fallon Starnes China Grove, NC Seth Starnes & David Brown 8 Premier Racing Monrovia, MD Daniel Dougherty & Dennie Huff 9 Foy Bros Racing Jupiter, FL Jon Foy & Eddy Foy GTL 1 GMB Now Racing Baltimore, MD Clayton Fisk & Max Grant 2 G-Baby Racing Overbrook, KS Jim Doyle & Nicole Ayers The American SportBike Racing Association (ASRA) the parent organization of the Championship Cup Series (CCS), the largest amateur motorcycle road racing organization in the United States. ASRA sanctions eight Michelin Pro Series and eight Michelin Team Challenge road racing events for 2012. The CCS Series runs 45 events in 2012 at popular tracks around the United States. Tracks include Road America, Daytona, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Heartland Park, and Virginia International among other fine venues. In 2012 ASRA and CCS provide riders with access to nearly $10,000,000 in sponsorship awards through participation in its sanctioned events. Join CCS and ASRA in the greatest road racing experience available today. Race CCS! To learn more visit our website at http://www.ccsracing.us or call us at (817) 246-1127. More, from a press release issued by Brandon Cretu: C&H Racing By Continental Tires Makes Progress At Carolina Motorsports Park Riders Brandon Cretu and Dennie Huff, of C&H Racing by Continental Tires, made the trek down to Carolina Motorsports Park this past weekend for round 3 of the ASRA Team Challenge series. After a 5th place finish overall at Heartland Park they had aspirations of a podium finish this time. The competition was on point though and both riders knew they would have their work cut out for them. Friday and Saturday practice went well but the team was struggling with bike setup and getting their CBR1000RR to handle and do what they needed it to do in the turns. They still had to drop a few seconds to be close enough to the top 3 teams to challenge for a podium. After some changes Saturday afternoon the bike was handling much better during the Sunday warm up. It was time to see if they could drop the time and get on the box. Huff took on the first stint and was in 4th place overall after the start of the race and maintained that position until about halfway through his stint where he began a back and forth battle with 2 other teams. The team decided to have Huff pit at exactly the halfway point of the race, a decision they would later regret. When Cretu took over the reigns of the CBR1000RR after the pit stop they were in 5th place overall. Cretu managed to bring the team back to 4th place during his stint but the team would now see where pit stop strategy needed to be more accurately planned for future rounds. With less than 10 laps to go Cretu noticed the fuel light come on. After circulating at a slower pace for a few laps Cretu knew there was no way the bike would make it to the checkered flag so he signaled the team and had to make the unfortunate decision to come in for a quick “splash and go” of fuel. This caused the team to relinquish 4th place overall and put them back into 5th place. With only a few laps to go Cretu was unable to make up the gap to put them back into 4th overall. “This weekend was good and bad at the same time for us. We gathered some very valuable setup information for our bike which we think will help us tremendously for the rest of the season once we get the parts we need. Along with this we also learned a valuable lesson in pit stop strategy and will plan more effectively next time. 5th place isn’t bad but it is not where we want to be and we know we are capable of podium finishes.” says Cretu. C&H Racing by Continental Tires will compete in round 4 of the ASRA Team Challenge at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit, IL on May 19. 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