Bel-Ray Racing-Weekend Racing Wrap-Up – June 19, 2012

MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3

The MotoGP tour continued this weekend after a week break in racing action. The Hertz British Grand Prix took place at the historic Silverstone Circuit in the heart of the United Kingdom.

MotoGP

The Bel-Ray backed Power Electronics Aspar racers Aleix Espargaro and Randy DePuniet have been the top CRT racers each weekend and this weekend in Silverstone was no different.

Espargaro finished a strong 11^th place, while teammate DePuniet was close on his heels in 12^th, as they continue to lead this new class of Moto GP machines. The two racers traded positions during the event and Espargaro made his pass just 2 laps from the end to secure his finish.

Espargaro was very excited about the race and his friendly teammate rivalry. "I'm happier than ever today, as both my brother Pol (Espargaro) and I got good results here at Silverstone. I started well and tried to follow the satellite bikes, but they kept leaving me behind on the straights. I was able to pull away from the other CRT riders, but little by little, Randy caught me back up. I let him set the pace once he had passed. Two laps from the end, I took over in front and broke away, just as I did at Montmeló. I outbroke him on the first chicane, gritted my teeth and did what I needed to do in order to finish ahead. I have never had a more competitive rival who I get on so well with at the same time. I love this atmosphere that we have in POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar. It is very difficult for me to beat him over the course of a single hot lap in practice, especially when we work more on the race, but I am getting good results recently."

The series veteran DePuniet spoke about what he will need to do in order to beat his teammate this season. "I didn't get a very good start and I had to get past (Michele) Pirro and make up ground in order to get back in touch with Aleix. Once I caught up with him, I made a pass and stayed in front for practically the whole race, but I was having a lot of problems with the rear tire. I felt a lot of movement and I was lacking grip. I tried to put up with this throughout the course of the race and shake off Aleix's moves, but in the end he must have seen that he was faster than me at certain points on the track. Once he'd got past, he managed to open up a gap, and whilst I was able to pull it back on the final laps, it wasn't enough to try and regain the position. I am annoyed, because we did a good job and yet, still didn't find the best chassis setting. In the warmup, we improved the feel on the front, but it was the rear that gave us the most scares and affected us most in the race. We will have to keep on working in order to perfect the bike and be more consistent."

Moto2

Under threatening skies the Moto2 class got underway at Silverstone on Sunday. The Bel-Ray sponsored Mapfre Aspar Team of Toni Elias and Nico Terol competed two top 20 finishes with Elias in 12^th and Terol in 20^th.

Elias spoke about his results at the end of the day’s events."Yesterday we had a morning crash that meant I didn't feel comfortable in qualifying, so that's why I was so far down on the grid. We changed the chassis for today and I felt better this morning. We improved our pace and our fastest lap in the race, and I gained a lot of places on the opening lap. However, starting from so far back meant that I got embroiled in the typical tussles of Moto2, which all end up costing you time. We knew that this could happen before we started, but we fought well for twelfth. It is a shame about qualifying, as maybe I could have been part of the second group and taken sixth or seventh."

Terol was disappointed with his results, but is looking to the next round for improvement. He spoke about the weekend and the future following the race. "The team has supported me the entire weekend, but I still found it hard to go fast here; the wind was a big factor. In the warm-up, I gained more confidence and we put on a front tire for the race that we hadn't tried before. On the opening laps,  I was lacking a little pace with this new rubber and I didn't have the right feel when I opened the throttle. I felt better when it had warmed up and I am satisfied with my pace during the second half of the race. I passed a few riders, but wasn't able to get into the points. It is a pity to end this weekend so low down in the standings. We have to be positive and focus on Assen now, which is a track that I love. We will get back into the points."

Moto3

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone took place this past weekend and Bel-Ray sponsored Bankia Aspar riders Hector Faubel and Alberto Moncayo raced to excellent top 15 finishes in this highly competitive Moto3 class.Despite a 23^rd place starting position, Faubel was able to slice past his rivals and finish in 12^th place. He spoke about his race following the event. "The race was a tricky one, because I started from very far back. I knew that I had to get a good start and that the three opening laps would be very important. I moved up three or four places off the line, but on the third lap, a rider crashed right in front of me and cut me off from the group. I started to push and caught up with the second group, ending up getting a decent pace going. At the end of the race, I pushed hard to break away, but a couple of other riders kept with me, ending with me finishing twelfth.Teammate Alberto Moncayo was testing new bike setups this weekend in hopes of getting the handling he was looking for. The team was successful and scored a 15^th place finish at the checkered flag.

Moncayo was happy with the changes he made and spoke about them following the race."We had the opportunity to try out the new chassis this weekend. We really like it and it has helped us to improve a lot. However, we still need to improve our engine setting, because we have been having some small problems for a while now. On the opening laps I felt good and was not having trouble maintaining my position. We don't know why, but later on the tire went off completely. We can't make excuses though and should keep working hard to resolve the problems that we have had and be more competitive for the next race."

World Motocross

The 2012 FIM World Motocross Championship Series will cross the halfway point this weekend as the series continues in Bastogne, Belgium for the GP of Belgium.

MX1

Bel-Ray backed CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider Christophe Pourcel grabbed his fifth podium of the season with 5-2 moto finishes. The talented Frenchman’s third place overall allowed him to move up into third in the standings, just 6 points away from second place.  He spoke about his first moto struggles and overcoming them for another podium result. “I didn’t choose the best position on the grid in the first race, and my start was not so good; I came back to fourth, but lost time when I crashed as a lapper destroyed a rut just when I was coming! I got the holeshot in the second race and battled first with Bobryshev and later with Desalle. We passed each other several times, but it was costing all of us time and allowed Cairoli to catch us. But I got another podium and that’s important for the series.”

Teammate Sebastein Pourcel competed to another top 10 overall result with consistent 8-11 moto scores for 9^th overall. He spoke about his results following the event.  “I’m happy as I have now finished the last six races in the top thirteen, and, if I hadn't crashed in the second race, it could have been even better today. I had a good start in the first moto and soon found a good rhythm. Then, in the second, I was fighting with Gonçalves when I crashed in the waves after the finish line; I got back on in sixteenth place and recovered to eleventh. Despite the crash, it was my second best GP of the year.”

MX2

Bel-Ray backed Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit team rider Tommy Searle scored his third victory of the season and cemented himself firmly in the chase for the 2012 World Championship. Just days after his 23^rd birthday, Searle grabbed the holeshot in both motos and raced to a second place in moto one followed by the victory in moto two, for the overall grand prix victory.  Searle spoke with confidence following the second moto. "My Kawasaki got me out of the gate first in both motos today and that is really important in my battles with Herlings. I was a little too cautious on the first lap of the first race, but the track was really tricky and I didn't want to take any risks. I knew I was the fastest and I soon caught him up again, but we were both using the same lines, so I had to search for new ones, but they were not so good; I nearly crashed and lost a lot of time, but I knew I could still win the GP on the second moto. The track was better in the second race and I just concentrated on keeping him off my rear wheel. The points gap is still 24 points, but we are only halfway through the series and I have again proved that I am the fastest."

Teammate Roelants came to his home Grand Prix with confidence and finished just off the podium in fourth overall. He is improving from his major crash that occurred earlier this season and as the series reached the halfway point, he is still in contention for a top finish in the 2012 standings. Roelants spoke about the race following the checkered flag. “I’m still not 100%, but this weekend I felt better than in France and Portugal and I think that in Sweden, it will be OK. Here in Belgium, my starts were not so good; I lost several positions at the first corner, but then fought hard for fourth and fifth place, so that’s not so bad.” The 2012 World Motocross Championship series will continue in Sweden on July 1^st.

AMA Motocross

The 2012 AMA National Motocross Championship continued on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Budd’s Creek National.In 250 class racing, Bel-Ray backed Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki riders Jason Anderson, Blake Wharton and Hunter Hewitt all scored top twenty overall results despite obstacles along the way. Anderson was the top finisher for the team with a 6th overall,  followed by Wharton in 12th and Hewitt in 18th. Bel-Ray Elite racers Lowell Spangler and Steve Roman also put in commendable results with Spangler in 27^th and Roman in 28^th overall. In the 450 class, Bel-Ray backed L&Mc Racing’s Andrew Short finished 6-10 for 9^th overall, while Elite racers Derek Anderson finished 26^th, Ronnie Stewart finished 28^th and Dakota Kessler was 36^th overall.

The series will take a break before resuming on July 7^th in Michigan.

ATV Motocross

The 2012 ATV Motocross Championship series came to Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania this past weekend for round six of the ten race series. Bel-Ray racer Josh Upperman has been consistently putting the Baldwin Motorsports Honda near the front of the pack each race. Despite a couple of mistakes that lead to crashes, Upperman was still able to score 5-4 moto finishes for fourth overall in the final results. Upperman is currently fourth place in the series' standings, just five points away from the third place racer. The series will enjoy a week break before resuming at Sunday Creek Raceway in Millfield, Ohio the last weekend of June.

Follow Bel-Ray racers in action all season long 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.