Bel-Ray Weekend Racing Wrap-Up‏

For decades, Bel-Ray has supplied professional racers the lubricants they need to perform in competition. They rely on the performance advantages that Bel-Ray offers in order to win. This past weekend, Bel-Ray professional teams experienced success in several forms of racing including MotoGP in France, Motocross racing in the United States and Brazil and ATV racing in the United States.

AMA Motocross

The 2012 AMA National Motocross Championship series kicked with the 44^th running of the FMF Hangtown Motocross Classic from Prairie City OHV Park in Sacramento, California.

250 Class

After a long Supercross series, the Bel-Ray backed Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki experienced a difficult first moto with only Jason Anderson breaking the top 10. The second moto proved to be better for the team as Martin Davalos scored a 4^th, Blake Wharton a 6^th and Anderson a 9^th. Teammate Hunter Hewitt finished 17^th in moto 1 and improved in moto 2 with a 16^th place. Davalos led the overall results for the day in 6^th followed by Anderson in 8^th, Wharton in 12^th and Hewitt in 18^th.

Bel-Ray Elite racer Steve Roman took the long trip from Pennsylvania and finished 32-33 for 34^th overall.

450 Class

Bel-Ray Elite support racers Derek Anderson and Dakota Kessler competed in the 450 Class in Sacramento. Colorado native Anderson finished 23-19 for 23^rd overall, while New Jersey based Kessler finished 35-38 for 38^th overall. 

WMX

The newest Bel-Ray racer, Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jessica Patterson came out swinging on Saturday as the 2012 WMX Series began. Patterson’s consistent 2-2 moto finishes were enough for the overall victory and the series' points lead. Bel-Ray backed Fist City MX racer Heather Lockwood finished 27^th in the first moto and 26^th in the second for 28^th overall. The series continues this Saturday at Freestone Raceway in Wortham, Texas.

World Motocross Championship

Following a difficult race last weekend in Mexico, the Bel-Ray backed racers in the FIM World Motocross Championship came to the Beto Carreiro MX Park outside Florianopolis, Brazil looking for redemption. They were rewarded for their efforts with the overall victories in both the MX1 and MX2 classes.

MX1

Bel-Ray backed Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider Christophe Pourcel overcame the difficult track conditions to win the first moto of the day and backed it up with a strong 4^th in moto 2 to score his second Grand Prix overall victory of 2012. Heavy rains overnight created difficult track conditions, but Pourcel was able to overcome them in excellent fashion. He received the checkered flag in moto 1 more than a minute and a half in front of his nearest competitor. The second moto again saw Pourcel at the front of the field, but difficulty with lapped riders caused him to slip back to 4^th place, still good enough for the overall win. He spoke about the race following the second moto. “It's never easy in conditions like these, but my Kawasaki gave me a great start in both races and the first moto was unbelievable. I didn't feel I was riding super fast, but after only a few laps, my mechanic boarded me that I was a minute in front. In the second race, I made a few mistakes with the lappers. In the end, it was me who made a couple of mistakes and I lost two places, but I knew I still had the overall win.” Teammate Sebastien Pourcel was not as successful in the Brazilian mud. Following his disappointing 22-21 moto finishes he had this to say. “I was not riding so well this weekend, and I made too many mistakes. In both races, I crashed on the first lap. Each time I came back through the pack, but then crashed again; the second time I was trapped under the bike.” Christophe is currently 3^rd and Sebastein is 18^th in the overall series' standings as the series takes a week off before resuming in France on June 3^rd.

MX2

Bel-Ray backed Tommy Searle reaffirmed his contention for a World Championship title with convincing double moto win and overall victory in Brazil. His dominance was so overpowering that even a stop for a fresh pair of gloves couldn’t diminish his lead. The victory allowed him to close on the leader in the championship points after 5 rounds of the series complete. Searle spoke about the day’s events following the second moto. "I'm not the best mud rider, but I knew I needed good starts and to ride smart. I took the lead quickly in both races and concentrated on not making mistakes and keeping my goggles free of mud when I came up behind lappers. The result today means I have halved the point’s gap to the series leader and makes up for my bad luck in Italy." Searle’s teammate, Joel Roelants, continues to recover from his heavy crash in Fermo and despite the conditions he was able to race to 5-4 moto scores for 4^th overall. Roelants was angry with his results and vows to prepare for the upcoming Grand Prix in France with increased fervor. “I had a really good start in the first race, but then I crashed no less than six times during the race! I was still able to finish fifth. The second race was better with a fourth position, but I feel that I can do much better and that is frustrating for me. I will go back home to train even harder during the next two weeks; I want better results in France.”

With 5 rounds of the series completed, Searle is in 2^nd while Roelants is in 4^th in the overall series' points standings.

MotoGP

The French round of the 2012 MotoGP series took place under wet conditions and disappointing finishes were the results. In his home race, Randy DePuniet experienced two crashes and an eventual DNF while teammate Aleix Espargaro suffered from an ill handling bike and could only salvage a 13^th place finish. Espargaro spoke about the race and looked forward to the next round in his home country of Spain. "This weekend was a disaster. It couldn't have gone worse. In the morning warm-up, I felt more or less okay, but then when the race came around, I was not comfortable at all. I didn't have any weight on the rear and was sliding around on the gas. We rode really slowly and were far off everyone, but at least this weekend is over and I can look ahead to Montmeló." DePuniet was upset with his showing in front of his home crowd and spoke about his disastrous weekend. "The team made some changes for the race, but I was only able to check how the bike was on the warm-up lap. The start was really strange, as when I put the clutch in the bike high sided; that has never happened to me before. To be honest, I was lucky, because it could have been much worse with the riders behind me coming through. I went back to the pits, got on the second bike and was already a lap behind, plus the feeling wasn't great with that machine either. In the end, shortly before the finish, I crashed again. It is a shame, because up until yesterday I was riding well in the dry, but in the wet, this weekend was a disaster. Fortunately I didn't re-injure myself, and I hope to be at 100% for Barcelona." The series continues June 3^rd in Spain with Espargaro currently in 12^th and DePuniet 14^th in the series' points standings.

Moto2

Under difficult conditions, the Bel-Ray backed Mapfre Aspar team of Toni Elias and Nico Terol competed to respectable 12^th and 14^th place finishes in the French Grand Prix. Rain was falling at the beginning of the race and worsened during the event, so smooth, careful, consistent laps were the key to finishing. Toni Elias was not happy with the results he achieved, but saw the event as a learning experience and will prepare for the next hopefully sunny round in Spain at the beginning of June. “This was my 200th GP, but we celebrated this as a team yesterday. Today it was just a number. The most important thing is to keep on going and to focus on my home race at Montmeló. We have noted what didn't work in the wet this time around, in order to improve for next time, but I hope that there are no more wet races.” Teammate Nico Terol scored his first ever Moto2 points this weekend and looked at that as a positive as he prepares for his home race June 3^rd. "Today, the conditions were too difficult to be riding a bike, at a circuit where you slide around a lot. I felt very confident in the dry, with sixth in one of the weekend practice sessions, and I started off well in the wet today. However, I was lacking pace and I think that I should have been aiming for the top ten. In any case, at the end of the day, I've picked up my first Moto2 points, which is a positive. The next race is at the Circuit de Catalunya, which is a track that I love." The series continues June 3^rd in Spain with Elias currently in 10^th and Terol 23^rd in the series point’s standings.

Moto3

The Moto3 class began the French Grand Prix with 33 racers and ended with just 15 as the treacherous weather conditions took control of the competitors. In the end, Bel-Ray backed Bankia Aspar rider, Alberto Moncayo earned a 2^nd place finish, while teammate Hector Faubel was a victim of the conditions and crashed out while leading. Moncayo was very happy with his results and ready to continue them at the next round. "That was my best start of the year and my best race to boot. I took things with calm on the opening laps, keeping up with the lead group, but the rain started to come down more heavily at the midway point of the race. Rins caught up with me and I gave all that I had to hold onto second place, the best result of my career. This is a big boost for the team, as this is where we should be all the time. We have to change our mentality now, and see if we receive some adjustments to improve things in the dry at the next race." Although disappointed with his finish, Faubel was able to speak about the positive experiences from the race. "We knew that we were strong in the wet and I kept up a good pace. The crash seems strange to me, because I was comfortable and was saving something for the end. I am happy with my riding, but annoyed at the same time, because I led the race, but could have taken a podium if I had stayed upright. That's racing and I always try to win when I see that there is a chance. The best th ing about the weekend has been solving the engine braking issue and going fast in the wet." The series continues June 3^rd in Spain with Moncayo currently in 6^th and Faubel 14^th in the series' points standings.

ATV Motocross

Round 4 of the 2012 AMA ATV National Championship was at Sunset Ridge in Walnut, Illinois this past weekend. Baldwin Motorsports Bel-Ray sponsored Josh Upperman continued his consistent top 5 results by finishing 4^th in the first moto and 5^th in the second moto for 5^th overall. He is currently in 4^th in the series' points standings as the series takes a one week break before resuming in Oakland, Kentucky at Balance MX on June 2^nd.

Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week 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.

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