Honda of Troy/Kilbarger Racing Red Bud Race Report
The team as a whole continued it's improvement as the first half of the series concluded with Red Bud. Justin Shantie was the Mechanic of the Week. Justin has a positive attitude is a team player and his attention to detail is very good.
All the riders qualified this weekend with Darryn Durham AKA DD 18th, Smith 22nd, Willard 28th and Lipanovich 31st.
DD: went 8-20 for 14th OA. DD ran out of gas on the last lap while running 10th in the second moto. Darryn did move up to 15th in the championship point standings despite his second moto DNF. DD was credited with 20th in the second moto as he had lapped that many guys. The blame for this mishap falls on the team’s management and was not an error on the mechanics fault as the bikes are topped off after the parade lap. Not having larger capacity fuel tanks on the bikes was an oversight on management’s part. Darryn rode great both motos and did not fade AT ALL towards the end of either moto. We all feel terrible DD was robbed of his best outdoor finish.
Smith: 16-14 for 16th overall. This was Smith's best performance to date and moved him into the top 20 in points for the season. Smith did however fade toward the end of both motos as much as six seconds a lap. Had he not faded in moto two, he could have possibly finished as high as 12th. Les needs to work harder on his conditioning as well as his starts. He had the excuse of being sick last week but got over that so he really doesn't have any excuse. I know Smith works pretty hard but apparently just needs a little more guidance.
Willard: 23-19 for 22nd overall. Willard's starts were once again horrible and we need to see more effort out of him stat. Willard is capable of top 15 finishes and his results to date are not acceptable for a rider with this potential. Willard did fall in the first moto while running in the top 20. Willard got up and at least tried a little after the fall instead of pulling off.
Lipanovich: 28-24 for 24th OA. This obviously isn't a great result but it was only Sean's third National. Sean got a top ten start in moto two, which was strong. However, he was passed in droves on the first lap and dropped out of the top twenty. He did ride hard and got back into the top twenty towards the end of the moto. A late race fall dropped him back to 24th at the finish. We’re hoping he continues to qualify and garner much needed experience.
The team will be spending the week off expanding gas tank capacity, testing suspension and a new throttle body in order to prepare for a strong and improved second half of the season.
Honda of Troy/Kilbarger Racing would like to thank our sponsors who make all of this possible:
Honda of Troy, Kilbarger Racing LLC, Eleven 10 Mods, WAR - We All Ride, Cycra Racing, Motorex, TAG Metals, Yoshimura, Motion Pro, Renegade Race Fuel, Faction Mx, N-Style, Dunlop, DP Brake Pads, QTM, G2 Ergonomics, ARC, Boyesen, Light Speed, Hinson, RK/Excel, Ride Eng., Hammerhead, Straight Shot Air Filters, Bell Helmets, Hot Hedz Designs, Von Zipper, Total Image AutoSport, Kicker, ICW, Rocks Racing Services, IMS Foot Pegs, Franklin Equipment, and Gabriel Logan.
