Bel-Ray Press Release- Bel-Ray Weekend Racing Wrap Up

AMA National Motocross-

The FMF Steel City National took place in Delmont, Pennsylvania this weekend. Bel-Ray racers were in action at this next-to-last round of the 2012 AMA National Motocross Championship series. With the series drawing to a close, each racer is looking to make their efforts count in the chase for series points.

In 450 class racing Bel-Ray backed Chaparral Honda racer Andrew Short came out swinging in moto 1 with a strong second place finish. An excellent start in moto 1 allowed Short to settle into a pace that saw him remain close to the leader but pull away from the third-place rider. The second moto wasn’t as kind to Short. While charging inside the top-10 Short came together with another rider and went down. The crash resulted in his bike too damaged to continue, resulting in a second moto DNF. Despite this finish Short held on to his third place in the series points standings with only the final round remaining this weekend in California. Bel-Ray Elite racers Ronnie Stewart, Derek Anderson, and Dakota Kessler all qualified for the 450 main events with Stewart taking 25th overall, followed by Anderson in 29th overall and Kessler in 34th overall.

Bel-Ray backed racers scored well in the 250 class at Steel City as well. Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki racers Blake Wharton, Jason Anderson and Martin Davalos all scored top-20 overall results with Wharton leading the way in 8th place. He was followed by Anderson in 13th and Davalos in 19th. Bel-Ray Elite racers AJ Catanzaro and Steve Roman both competed in the 250 motos as well with Catanzaro finishing 23rd overall followed by Roman in 37th overall.

The final round of the 2012 series will take place this weekend at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park in Lake Elsinore, California. Both the 250 and 450 classes, as well at the WMX series will conclude on Saturday September 8th.

World Motocross

The fourteenth round of the sixteen-round FIM World Motocross Championship continued this weekend in Holland at the Lierop circuit.

MX1

Both Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit racers came to Lierop with the intention of improving their Matterly Basin results but unfortunately that was not the case for either. Suffering from an injured ankle that occurred earlier in the week during training, Sebastien Pourcel withdrew from the event and didn’t compete. Younger brother and teammate Christophe was also dealing with an injury from a previous crash. He attempted to compete but the pain was too great and he retired early in moto 1 and did not compete in moto 2. As a result he dropped from third to fourth in the overall series standings.  Christophe spoke about the injury and his hopes to finish the season on a high note. “I had several examinations last week, as I had pain in my back after my crash in Great Britain, and finally the doctors discovered a crack in my left shoulder blade. I had three injections before the weekend as I wanted to ride here, but the pain was too intense in the first moto and I had to retire. I didn’t start the second race as the track was even more demanding, but I will try to race next week in Faenza; we have some great memories from this place with my brother as we each won our respective classes the last time we raced there in 2007."

MX2

Bel-Ray sponsored Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit racer Tommy Searle cemented his place in the 2012 championship standings with consistent 4-4 moto finishes for fourth overall in the Dutch sand. Although he is not considered a sand rider, Searle soldiered on in each grueling moto. Although the championship title might be out of reach, Searle has performed with drive and determination each round this year and will take this confidence when he joins the MX1 class in 2013.  “I don’t really like the sand and struggled here, but four and four is not so bad,” said Searle following the second moto. “I didn’t ride so much in the sand this year, maybe I will have to come more often to be more ready than I was this weekend. In the second moto I felt better; I got a good start, put in some good laps but then I suddenly lost ten seconds in one lap. It’s always tough here, and I will come back soon in the Netherlands to prepare the Motocross of Nations.”

The series continues in Faenza, Italy this upcoming weekend.

World Enduro Championship-

The 2012 World Enduro Championship series continued last weekend in Heinola, Finland. The Bel-Ray backed TM Factory race team scored respectable finishes during the course of the weekend, including a second day victory by Aigar Leok in the E3 class. Leok finished third on the first day and won the second day against difficult competition. Teammates Nicolo Mori finished thirteenth and eleventh in the Juniors class while Antti Hellsten finished eleventh on day one and failed to finish on day two in the E1 class.

The series concludes in France on October 20-21.

Follow Bel-Ray’s racers and teams all season long on www.belray.com and their racing only site 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.

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