Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Reigns at High Point

Corona, Calif. – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki didn’t let the weather or the changing track conditions slow them down at High Point Raceway in Mt. Morris, Penn. as Tyla Rattray and Christophe Pourcel grabbed the top-two spots of the podium. Rookie Dean Wilson finished fifth overall and Jake Weimer was 10th overall.

For the third straight event, Pourcel paced qualifying and earned the first gate pick. The Frenchman chose his gate wisely as he was able to nail the holeshot in both motos. Wilson qualified ninth with Weimer 13th and Rattray 16th during the qualifying all setting their best times during the second session.

"This is a very good track," said Pourcel. "Everything was going good for me in the first moto until I went down. In the second moto I was able to stay up and raced for the win. I extended my championship lead so I’m happy about that."

In the first moto, Pourcel rocketed out to the holeshot with Rattray right behind him in third. Weimer was also near the front, ending the first lap fifth and Wilson sitting in eighth. On the second lap, Pourcel went down and fell back to fourth with Weimer and Wilson occupying the spots right behind him. Rattray moved up to second and rode consistently to stay there. The other Pro Circuit riders all jockeyed for position ending up fourth for Pourcel, fifth for Wilson and seventh for Weimer.

"It feels good to get my first overall win," said Rattray. "I’ve been trying to get this for the last two years and I got moto wins, but to claim the overall is what I need to do. Consistency is the key to this championship so though I’d rather go 1-1, but going 2-2 for the overall is still good."

The second moto started off nearly the same for three-quarters of the team as Pourcel again grabbed the holeshot, with Wilson right behind him and Rattray sitting in fourth. Weimer went down in he first turn and had his work cut out for him as he crossed the line 32nd on the first lap. While Weimer was making quick work of the field, moving up 20 positions in 10 laps, eventually finishing 11th. Pourcel continued to set the pace with Wilson following his lines, but on lap four Wilson made a small mistake on a jump face and he went down, dropping to seventh in the running order and eventually finishing sixth. With Rattray on his back fender, Pourcel pushed hard to get his third moto win of the year.

"In the second moto, I got a good start," said Wilson. "I was just behind Chris (Pourcel), following his lines when I cross-rutted on a jump face and I’m not sure what happened but I went over the bars. It was a pretty rough weekend for me. I didn’t feel good in either moto."

Pourcel, Rattray and Wilson now hold down the top three spots in the championship standings, as the team gets ready for Budds Creek this week.