Bel-Ray Racing-Weekend Racing Preview – April 27, 2012

For decades professional racers around the world have experienced the
performance advantages that Bel-Ray powersports lubricant provide. This
weekend Bel-Ray’s professional racers will be competing in MotoGP,
World Motocross and Supercross competitions.

MotoGP

The Bel-Ray sponsored Power Electronics Aspar team comes to the Jerez
Circuit in the South of Spain confident that they can provide a strong
finish. Team riders Randy DuPuniet and Aleix Espargaro both raced to top
15 finishes at the first round in Qatar, and
their familiarity with the Jerez circuit should prove helpful for this
weekend’s event. The team had good results in winter testing at Jerez
and team rider DePuniet expects to be the first of the CRT bikes in the
standings at the checkered flag. He spoke about
lacking some confidence in Qatar due to track characteristics but in
his words “it should be a different scenario at Jerez.” Teammate
Espargaro added, “I am very motivated for this weekend. We were faster
than our rivals at Jerez during the IRTA tests so we'll
be looking to confirm that this weekend." Coming into Jerez, DePuniet
is ranked 13th and Espargaro 15th in the points standings.

Moto 2

The Moto2 series continues this weekend in Jerez, Spain. This will mark
the home round for the Bel-Ray backed Mapfre Aspar team. Both team
riders Toni Elias and Nico Terol have won events at the popular Spanish
circuit. Despite struggling in the opening round
in Qatar both riders come to their home Grand Prix confident of their
abilities and are aiming for podium positions. Elias called the Jerez
circuit his favorite on the Grand Prix tour with special memories of
past victories and a unique atmosphere. He added
that he was feeling positive for the event. Terol explained that the
track has always been good to him in the past and that the combination
of fast and slow sections that really suit his riding style. Following
round 1 of racing, Elias is 13th and Terol is
unranked in the overall season’s standings.

Moto 3

Bel-Ray sponsored Bankia Aspar joins the rest of the World Championship
series in Jerez, Spain this upcoming weekend. For the 26th consecutive
year the series comes to this famous racetrack known to the local
motorcycle fan as “The Cathedral”. With the large
crowd expected winning this event is a must for every Spanish rider.
Both team riders, Hector Faubel and Alberto Moncayo, hail from Spain and
despite struggling at round 1 in Qatar, they are confident of a top
finish in Jerez. The team made several changes
to the set-up and engine performance in hopes of providing the riders
the extra advantage necessary for a top finish. Faubel spoke about the
changes and the teams ability to react quickly to issues, calling them
the best team in the championship. He added
that they “need to keep working hard to achieve our objective of podium
finishes." When asked about how it would be for him to win in front of
his home country, Moncayo said, “This is the race every Spanish rider
wants to win but as you can imagine for a local
rider such as myself it would be extra special. I'll be giving my best
to make it happen on Sunday." After the opening round Faubel is ranked
12th and Moncayo 14th in the world championship point’s standings.

World Motocross

Round 2 of the FIM World Motocross Series continues this weekend at the
Monterostao Circuit in Fermo, Italy. Both MX1 and MX2 classes will be in
action and Bel-Ray racers will be on hand competing. Coming off their
excellent first and third place overall finishes
last weekend in Bulgaria, Tommy Searle and Joel Roelants of the Bel-Ray
sponsored Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit team, are
considered top contenders for a podium this weekend. The duo traded wins
in Bulgaria, a trend they hope to continue
on Sunday at the Italian circuit. The Bel-Ray entry in MX1 class
action, Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit, also had success
last weekend in Bulgaria. After winning the opening moto in a dominant
manner, Christophe Pourcel, settled for second
in moto 2 and second overall while teammate Sebastien Pourcel overcame a
disappointing fifteenth place in moto 1 to score a strong sixth place
moto 2 finish, food for a tenth place overall finish. In the World
Championship points standings Christophe Pourcel
is currently ranked fifth and Sebastein is ranked fifteenth in the MX1
class while in the MX2 class points standings Searle is ranked second
and Roelants is third.

AMA Supercross

As the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series draws to a close Bel-Ray’s
teams continue to compete each weekend looking for the top spot on the
podium.

With all four original Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ Hart and Huntington/
Bel-Ray racing team riders, Josh Hill, Josh Hansen , Ivan Tedesco and
Kyle Partridge still out due to injuries suffered this season, fill in
riders Kyle Regal and Tyler Bowers will be in Salt
Lake City to represent the team. Last weekend, at Century Link Field,
in Seattle, Washington, Bowers finished 16th and Regal was 17th after
both riders experienced crashes in the main event. Coming into the open
air Rice-Eccles Stadium this weekend in Salk
Lake City, Utah, weather and the altitude can sometimes cause issues
with bike setup and racer preparation. The thin mountain air will cause
the bikes to have less power, something that is critical on the start.
With that in mind Bowers spent time this week
practicing starts, something that he hopes will pay dividends on
Saturday night. “It is critical that you get out front in these
450-class races,” said Bowers. “I wasn’t very good out of the gate in
Seattle and it cost me a bunch of spots” he added. Regal
confirmed Bowers feelings of a critical start by saying “as soon as
that gate drops you just pin it and go like heck.” With only 2 rounds
left in the series both riders are expecting to leave Salt Lake City
with good results.

The West Coast Lites series continues on Saturday night for Bel-Ray
sponsored Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki. After a disappointing main
event last weekend in Seattle Martin Davalos is looking to rebound and
close out the series with a podium finish. Despite
competing up front early in the main event, Davalos fell over in a
corner and had trouble restarting his bike. He charged back to a 14th
place finish. Teammate Jason Anderson overcame a poor start to work his
way through the field to an eventual 6th place
finish. With only the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas rounds remaining top
finishes are necessary to cement their positions in the points series
standings.

Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on
www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com.