Jeff Wood rode his Dunlop-equipped Arclight Suzuki GSX-R600 to wins in Sportbike and Superbike while Dan Bilanksy piloted his Pirelli-shod Hal’s Performance Buell XB-12R to victory in Thunderbike during the American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) National Memorial Day Monday at Summit Point Raceway, in Summit Point, West Virginia. Wood was pursued closely in each race by Martinmoto.com’s Michael Himmelsbach, who rode a still-in-development Triumph Daytona 675 on Pirelli tires. Himmelsbach and his set-up were unable, however, to match Wood’s pace over the long, hot, 18-lap events. Local hero Tim Bemisderfer also raced closely with Wood and Himmelsbach during the start of each race, but Bemisderfer, who underwent a kidney transplant in 2005, said he did not have the endurance to stay with Wood and Himmelsbach. Bemisderfer, however, said he was happy to show his speed had returned and to have finished third in each race on his Dunlop-fitted Shenandoah Honda CBR600RR. Former Sportbike and Superbike Champion Robert Jensen made repairs to his crashed Butler Machinery Suzuki GSX-R600 overnight but chose to sit out the long ASRA National races to focus on running the shorter, contingency-paying CCS races Sunday at Summit Point Raceway. The 14-lap ASRA Thunderbike race was a three-way battle of the Buells between Bilansky, defending Thunderbike Champion Dave Estok, who rode a Pirelli-backed Veatch Motorsports XB-12R, and former Thunderbike Champion Bryan Bemisderfer, who rode a XB-12R backed by Harley-Davidson/Buell of Frederick. On the final lap, Bryan Bemisderfer put his home track knowledge to work to get in front of Bilansky, but Bilansky clearly had the strongest Buell and motored past Bryan Bemisderfer out of the final corner to take the win. Nate Kern maintained his ASRA Thunderbike Championship point lead by finishing fourth on his Main Line BMW R1100S. Shortly after the race, Kern, who had ridden in several races during the 90-plus-degree weekend, collapsed with heat exhaustion and was transported to a local hospital. RESULTS: ASRA SUPERBIKE: 1. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Michael Himmelsbach (Tri Daytona 675); 3. Tim Bemisderfer (Hon CBR600RR); 4. Reuben Frankfield (Kaw ZX-6RR); 5. Jonathan Lawrence (Kaw ZX-6RR); 6. Ryan Patterson (Yam YZF-R6), crash; 7. Rick Beggs (Kaw ZX-6R); 8. Gustavo Laya (Kaw ZX-6RR), -2 laps, DNF, mechanical; 9. Nick Scoggins (Suz GSX-R600), -15 laps, DNF; 10. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600), -17 laps, DNF, mechanical; 11. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB-RR), DQ, failure to report to post-race tech. ASRA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 8 races): 1. Wood, 97 points; 2. Scott Greenwood, 44 points; 3. Frankenfield, 43 points; 4. Patterson, 37 points; 5. Geoff May, 35 points; 6. Himmelsbach, 34 points; 7. TIE, Michael Barnes/Shawn Conrad, 30 points; 9. TIE, Bemisderfer/Mark Junge, 26 points. ASRA THUNDERBIKE: 1. Dan Bilansky (Buell XB-12R); 2. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB12R); 3. Dave Estok (Buell XB-12R); 4. Nate Kern (BMW R1100S); 5. Sam Rozynski (Buell XB-12R); 6. Gary Bunner (Duc 748); 7. Art Diaz (Buell XB-12R); 8. Joe Rozynski (Buell XB-12R); 9. Arnold Hastings (Suz SV650); 10. Sean Marston (Suz SV650); 11. Gilbert Schweitzer, III (Hon CBR600), -1 lap; 12. Chris Kalb (Suz SV650), -1 lap; 13. Jeff Gochenour (Buell XB-12R), -1 lap; 14. Jeff Dunn (Buell XB), -1 lap; 15. James Delk, Jr. (Buell XB-12R), -1 lap; 16. Patrick Wakefield (Buell 1200), -1 lap; 17. Chris Dunn (Buell 1200), -1 lap; 18. Chris Young (Buell 1200), -2 laps; 19. Walt Sipp (Buell XB-12R), -8 laps, DNF, mechanical. ASRA THUNDERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 8 races: 1. Kern, 81 points; 2. Bemisderfer, 79 points; 3. Bilansky, 73 points; 4. Sam Rozynski, 61 points; 5. Estok, 58 points; 6. Jeffrey Johnson, 44 points; 7. Sipp, 38 points; 8. Paul James, 36 points; 9. Ed Key, 35 points; 10. Young, 24 points. ASRA SPORTBIKE: 1. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Michael Himmelsbach (Tri Daytona 675); 3. Tim Bemisderfer (Hon CBR600RR); 4. Kenny Martin (Kaw ZX-6RR); 5. Steven Giacomaro (Yam YZF-R6); 6. Shawn Scott (Kaw ZX-6RR); 7. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R600); 8. Michael Arwood (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap; 9. Nick Scoggins (Suz GSX-R600), -8 laps, DNF, crash; 10. Jason Moss (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF. ASRA SPORTBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS (After 3 of 8 races): 1. Wood, 71 points; 2. Scott Greenwood, 56 points; 3. Himmelsbach, 51 points; 4. Robert Jensen, 31 points; 5. Arwood, 28 points; 6. Barrett Long, 26 points; 7. Matt Hall, 25 points; 8. Geoff May, 24 points; 9. TIE, Jason Farrell/Mark Schnettler, 23 points.
Wood, Bilansky Win ASRA Nationals Monday At Summit Point Raceway
Wood, Bilansky Win ASRA Nationals Monday At Summit Point Raceway
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