Bel-Ray Racing-Weekend Racing Wrap-Up
March came roaring to a close for Bel-Ray’s professional racers as racing took place in the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom this week.
Carlos Checa was the dominant rider this weekend in Imola, Italy. The defending World Superbike Champion scored a convincing double win in front of 81,000 screaming fans and is now the points leader in the chase for the 2012 World Championship. Checa has now won 3 out of 4 races this season and appears to be the man to beat in 2012. Althea Ducati teammate, Davide Giugliano had a day to forget, as he failed to finish both races and therefore, scored no points. After a first race DNF, Giugliano was in 5th place on the final lap, when the 1198 Ducati ran out of fuel, causing his 2nd DNF f the afternoon. The series continues on April 22nd in Assen, Netherlands.
The 2012 Monster Energy Supercross series continued on Saturday night in Houston, Texas. Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Blake Wharton was again the top finishing Bel-Ray racer. Consistency has been Wharton’s forte all season long, as he has top 5 finishes in each round so far this season. With only 2 rounds remaining in the series, Wharton is in 2nd place in the standing. Although Josh Hill was scheduled to make a return to racing this weekend, the Dodge/Hart & Huntington/Sycuan Casino/Bel-Ray Racing rider injured himself in a practice crash just prior to the event and could not compete. The team picked up privateer rider, Mike Hoban and gave him a chance to show his speed and Hoban did just that, setting one of the fastest times in early afternoon qualifying. Unfortunately, Hoban was injured near the end of qualifying and was forced to sit out the night show. Team riders Kyle Regal and Josh Hansen rode well during the evening, qualifying directly to the main event from their respective heat races. In the main event, both were just outside the top 10 most of the race. Hansen, who was making his return to action following an ankle injury, again twisted that ankle, forcing him out of the main event. Regal, however, continued to charge and was 14th by the time the checkered flag flew. The Supercross series will enjoy their first weekend off since the series began in January and will resume on April 14th in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Round 2 of the Maxxis British Motocross Series took place this weekend in Canada Heights, Kent. Bel-Ray’s newest racing team, Route77energy MVR-D Honda, had mixed results on the challenging track. MX1 competitors, Gert Krestinov and Jason Dougan finished 9th and 15th overall respectively, while teammate Bradley Pocock was 15th overall in MX2 competition. The series continues in Norfolk on May 6th.
Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com.
