Bel-Ray-Weekend Racing Wrap Up – July 23, 2012

Bel-Ray’s teams of professional racers were in action this past weekend in Russia, the Czech Republic and the United States.

WSBK

Team Althea Ducati’s racer Carlos Checa was on the podium with a 3rd place finish in the second race at Brno in the Czech Republic this past weekend. Following a first race 4th place finish, Checa rebounded to score his eighth podium result of the 2012 season. Teammate, Davide Giugliano, suffered an unfortunate DNF in the first race of the weekend as a crash put him on the ground and out of the race. The second race of the day was better for the Italian rider. He ran inside the top ten eventually finishing 11th place at the checkered flag. Checa is currently 4th and Giugliano 9th in the World Championship points standings with twelve races remaining.

Checa spoke about the weekend following the race on Sunday. “We knew it would be hard at this track so I think we can be happy with third and fourth place finishes today. The team has worked really well together and it’s also thanks to the harmony in the garage that I was able to take these results today.”

Giugliano was disappointed with his race one results and spoke about it after the event. “What a pity about race one. It was my mistake because on the grid we were deciding which tire to use and I didn’t want to go out on slicks. It was the wrong decision and after a couple of laps it was impossible to ride and I crashed. It’s a shame because I felt really fast and though I don’t know whether I could have fought for the win, I could surely have been a podium contender. In the second race I had grip issues right from lap two onwards. It became increasingly difficult to manage the situation and I lost a lot of ground. I thank my team for all their hard work this weekend because, even if we didn’t take the results that we wanted, we know that was have the pace and are competitive. Let’s see what we can do now in the upcoming races.”

The series continues August 5th in England.

World Motocross

For the first time since 2002, the FIM World Grand Prix Motocross Championship series includes a round in Russia. The GP of Russia took place 300 miles East of Moscow, in Semigorje, this past weekend to a large crowd of enthusiastic spectators.

MX1

Bel-Ray backed CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit racer Christophe Pourcel overcame an injury sustained in Saturday qualifying to persevere and keep his hopes for a World Championship in sight.

A 4th place overall finish keeps him in 3rd place in the championship, 49 points away from the championship lead. He spoke about his finish following the race. “I had bad luck in the qualifying race when another rider hit me at the start and I crashed on my side. I had pain in my neck, and later I collided with a slower rider and lost too much time to continue. That meant that I was nineteenth on the grid but the first corner was wider than in Latvia and I managed to get two good starts. There were four of us at the front who all had the same speed and I finished fourth; it was difficult to pass and I also made a few mistakes in the second moto. It wasn't an easy GP for me but I like the tracks for the next two races and I expect to get back on the podium.”

Teammate Sebastein Pourcel was also suffering from an injury. His ribs were damaged in a crash last week in Latvia and despite a 12th place finish in moto 1 the pain was just too bad for him to finish the 2nd moto. “I haven't yet recovered from my crash last weekend in Latvia,” Sebastein said following the second moto. “When I ride on the bike I have pain to my ribs. Nothing seems broken, but it’s very painful and all I could manage was a twelfth position in the first race.” Sebastein is currently 14th in the overall series standings.

MX2

Bel-Ray backedTeam Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit racer Tommy Searle bounced back from his disappointing results in Latvia to score two podium finishes and 2nd overall in Russia on Sunday. An unfortunate finish in Saturday’s qualifying race forced Searle to overcome poor starts in both motos. Despite the disadvantage, Searle overcame his competitors and raced to 3-2 moto finishes. His world championship hopes are still alive as he is second in the overall standings with five rounds remaining. Searle spoke about the weekend following the second moto. "My chances of winning the GP disappeared yesterday when another rider crashed right in front of me during the qualifying race. I turned to miss him but the radiator was damaged by his handlebars so I had the outside gate for the GP and it was impossible to get a start in the top 20 from there. I used a lot of energy to come through to third in the first moto and the first two were too far ahead to catch, but as usual I was even stronger in the second race. Another rider lost control at turn two and we crashed together, so I was completely last, but I never stopped fighting and took second place with a couple of laps to go. It's hard to accept the bad luck I have had this year, but I will keep fighting for the title even though it will now be difficult."

Teammate Joel Roelants was close to the podium in both motos and scored 5-4 moto finishes for 4th overall.  Roelants had this to say after the race. “I got a decent start in the first moto and was chasing the leaders but after a few laps I had a strange feeling with my back wheel and I came in the pits to check it out; in fact I had some mud on the wheel and it affected my riding. I lost several places but was able to fight back again from eighth to fifth. In the second moto I had stomach pains but still managed to get fourth position.”

The series continues on August 5th in the Czech Republic.

AMA National Motocross

The 2012 AMA National Motocross series continued this weekend in the Pacific Northwest at Washougal Motocross Park in Washougal, Washington.

Bel-Ray backed Andrew Short put his Chaparral Honda on the podium with 4-3 moto finishes for 3rd overall. This was his second overall podium finish of the season. Bel-Ray Elite riders Derek Anderson and Tucker Saye also performed well at Washougal with Anderson using 19-12 moto scores for 17th overall and Saye’s 32-30 moto scores earned him 32nd overall.

Dodge/ Sycuan/ Hart and Huntington/ Bel-Ray Racing’s Josh Hill made his return to racing this weekend. An injury at the first Supercross of the season put Hill on the sidelines. He is now recovered well enough to race and his 28-19 moto finishes show promise for the remainder of the series.

In the 250 class, Bel-Ray backed Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki scored 2 top 10 overall finishes with Blake Wharton finishing 6th and Jason Anderson finishing 10th. Martin Davalos made his return to competition this weekend after missing several rounds due to an injury. Davalos finished 14th overall.

WMX racer, Jessica Patterson held on to a slim points lead following the racing action in Washington. Less than 2 weeks from surgery to repair a broken hand, Patterson showed her heart and determination to finish 4th overall with 2-8 moto finishes. She is now 2 points ahead of her nearest rival with only 3 rounds remaining in the series.

The AMA National series will enjoy a 2 week break before resuming in Massachusetts on August 11th.

Follow Bel-Ray racers in action all season long onwww.belray.com andwww.belrayracing.com.

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