Bel-Ray Racing Weekend Wrap Up
The professional racing teams that rely on the performance advantages that Bel-Ray powersports lubricant provide experienced success in various forms of competition this past weekend. Motocross, Supercross, World Superbike, and ATV racing action all took place around the world, each with Bel-Ray racers competing.
The Netherlands hosted round 3 of the championship series at the legendary Assen TT circuit. Bel-Ray’s entry in World Superbike racing, the Althea Ducati team of Carlos Checa and teammate Davide Giugliano, came into the event in first and seventeenth, respectively, in the points' standings. Initially, beginning under dry conditions, the race was red flagged after 12 of the scheduled 22 laps as a result of several crashes that occurred in the field. On the restart, Checa and Giugliano both got underway in excellent position. Despite the increasing rain and cold winds, both riders pushed through the field on their way to the checkered flag, with Giugliano scoring a second and Checa a third place finish for their efforts. Checa commented on the poor weather conditions, calling it one of the worst SBK races he’s ever ridden and commended his teammate on a great race. Under threatening skies, Race 2 began. Checa chose to employ a rain tire, expecting the oncoming deluge, while Giugliano chose the dry tire with the intention of pitting if the rains came. Unfortunately for Checa, he made the wrong decision and after just 1 lap, he was forced into the pit area to replace his tires, a choice that proved costly to his track position. Despite setting the fastest lap of the race, Checa was only able to come back to seventeenth place. He spoke about his choice following the race and took full responsibility for the decision. Giugliano meanwhile rose through the field after a fourteenth place start to finish ninth at the checkered flag. His fine results in Assen pushed him into the top 10 in the series points' standings. Despite his second race results, Checa sits just 1 point out of the series lead in second. The World Superbike series continues in Monza, Italy on May 6th.
The Gorna Rositza track in Sevlievo, Bulgaria hosted round 2 of the FIM World Motocross Series this weekend. The Bel-Ray sponsored Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit features two of the top MX2 racer in the world, Tommy Searle and Joel Roelants. The opening moto began with both riders at the front of the field with Searle taking the early advantage. Pulling away from the field at a quick pace, he began to slow due to an issue with the front brake that caused him to lose his lead. Teammate Roelants used this to his advantage to pass Searle and go on for the moto win. Searle was able to hold on for an excellent third place finish. The second moto again saw Searle out front at the start. He mentioned in a post race interview that his bike is even faster this year than last year and he had no problem getting both holeshots. Riding a near perfect race, Searle took the moto and overall win. Roelants overcame a hectic first lap of action to settle for a fourth place moto finish and third overall for the Grand Prix. Searle and Roelants are second and third in the points' standings as the series heads to Fermo, Italy this upcoming weekend.
Bel-Ray also had success this weekend in Bulgaria in the MX1 class with Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit. Christophe Pourcel won the opening moto in a dominant fashion. He was into the lead on the first lap and proceeded to show the entire field that he recovered from his disappointing finish in Valkenswaard. Moto 2 again saw Pourcel at the front of the field early, as he took the holeshot and led the opening lap. After getting passed for the lead, Pourcel settled into second place and kept pace with the leader looking for an opportunity to make the pass. The opportunity did not come and he would finish second place for the moto and overall. This fine performance vaulted him into fifth place in the series standings. Teammate Sebastien Pourcel struggled to a fifteenth place finish in the opening moto, but rebounded with a strong sixth in moto 2 to score a tenth place overall finish. The MX1 series continues this weekend in Fermo, Italy.
The Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ Hart and Huntington/ Bel-Ray racing featured a new rider in Seattle. Tyler Bowers joined the team just days before the event and with only two days of testing aboard the bike, he performed quite well. After a poor start, Bowers consistently moved through the field and was up to twelfth place with an eye on the top 10. A mistake just past the midway point of the race caused him to go off course and drop back several positions. He regrouped and was able to salvage a sixteenth place finish. Teammate Kyle Regal got a top 10 start in the main event and was turning in consistent lap times until he came in contact with another rider, causing him to crash. He was back up and moving quickly, but near the back of the field. He continued on the rest of the race for an eventual seventeenth place finish.
The West Coast Lites championship series resumed in Seattle with Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Martin Davalos and Jason Anderson returning to action. Both riders qualified directly into the main event from their heat races and were poised for excellent finishes. Davalos was in the top 5 for the first several laps, but began slipping back near the midway point of the event. With only a couple of laps to go, he stalled his bike in a tight turn after the triple and had trouble restarting his Suzuki. It eventually re-fired, but the damage was done and he rejoined the race out of the top 10. He would recover enough to finish fourteenth at the checkered flag. Teammate Anderson’s main event would operate in the opposite direction, as he started outside the top 10. Charging through the field, he was able to work his way into a sixth place finish. The Supercross series continues Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee hosted round 2 of the 2012 ATV MX National Championship this past Saturday. Bel-Ray backed Josh Upperman of the Baldwin Motorsports/PEP Racing team is a top contender in the ATV Pro Class and this weekend would prove to be no exception. The first moto saw Upperman get an excellent start and lead the race early, until getting overtaken on the third lap, eventually slipping back to fourth place. For the third time this season, Upperman grabbed the holeshot at the start of the second moto, eventually slipping back to fourth in the moto and a fourth overall finish. The series takes a week off before continuing at Budd’s Creek Raceway in Mechanicsville, Maryland on May 5th and 6th.
Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com.
Bel Ray Company Inc was founded in 1946 and is a privately held, woman owned business serving the lubrication needs of powersports, industrial and mining customers worldwide. Bel-Ray is recognized as the leader in the specialty lubricants industry for setting high standards of quality and performance with products formulated for the motorcycle, automotive, aviation, energy, food, marine, military, mining, OEM, Industrial steel, and textile industries.
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