Spectators line sidewalks and rooftops to watch the through-the-streets Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular

Racers travel from as far away as Florida to compete

 WEST BRANCH, Mich. (June 19, 2011)
– A dream was realized by many motorsports fans on Friday, July 15 when
competitors traveled to a northern Michigan town to race on its
downtown streets. The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular took
place in downtown West Branch, Michigan, marking the only completely
through-the-streets motorcycle race ever held in Michigan and the first
supermoto race in a downtown area to draw a large crowd in the United
States held in several years (estimated at 1,750 spectators).
Wisconsin’s Zac Rosine, only 18 years-old, took the top honors by winning the Pro Class on his Honda among a strong field of athletes.

Fans
lined the streets on the 80-degree sunny northern Michigan day to see
racers compete on both asphalt and dirt. They watched athletes sail by
store windows on their motorcycles flying over a 50-foot dirt tabletop
on main street in downtown West Branch.

Preparations
began months ago for the Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular
by MISuperMoto.com and the Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee. The
business community and residents rallied behind this event and were
gracious hosts throughout. Actual course preparations began the day
before the race on Thursday, July 15. Initial course layout was
pre-staging and building the temporary dirt section since the main
street would not be closed until 3 p.m. the day of the event. In total,
the course was built in an impressive 18 hours. Once the main street was
shut down, hay bales, spectator fencing and the dirt tabletop were put
into place within one hour thanks both to proper planning and the
personnel from the Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee.

The
Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular course began on Houghton
Avenue, the main street of downtown West Branch, as part of the annual
Ogemaw Hills Bike Week. Competitors on specialized motocross bikes with
slick road race-style tires took off the start line and backed-it-in to
the first turn where the aged asphalt had loads of traction, making a
right down a short elevation side street (Fourth Street) and then a
right up into a parking lot through a temporary dirt section. Jumping
through the dirt moguls turning left around a bowl turn, clearing a
double jump, and then jumping out onto the street making a right turn.
Shortly after, racers moved through a 180-degree turn back up Fourth
Street flying over a steel ramp. The athletes would back-it-in to the
left back onto main street and hit a 50-foot dirt table top then
continue on main street past the spectators that were three-to-four deep
and fans hanging out the windows and on rooftops. Before they hit the
next block, racers backed-it-in to the left and completed their lap.

“This event was successful for many reasons,” said Dave Duprey,
event promoter and MISuperMoto.com owner. “Nearly the entire West
Branch community – both businesses and residents – supported our event
and recognized the financial impact it would bring to the downtown and
surrounding area. We have a core six man crew at MISuperMoto who have
experience running supermoto races for the past four seasons who led
this spectacular event. We had an additional experienced event
organizing crew in our partnership with Ogemaw Hills Bike Week and Kerry Klug.
There were racers who were itching to ride a unique event on downtown
streets. And we have racing fans and the general public who want to see
an exciting, unique event, and thanks to Taco Bell we were able to let
them watch for free.”

Duprey,
a former pro motorcycle racer himself, added, “The one thing I would
never compromise on was safety for the spectators and racers.”

Competitors
had two practice sessions before the main events. Athletes were
pre-gridded prior to the race. The classes were Beginner, Amateur, Vet
35+ and Pro. Each main event, except the Vet 35+ Class, had multiple
lead changes.

The 18-lap Pro Class was led by KTM’s Jason Hine
of Ortonville, Michigan during the first five laps until he made a
mistake in the turn before the start/finish line and was overtaken by
Wisconsin’s Rosine. Hine would move into second. The battle for the top
five was fierce between Great Lakes Powersports’ Adam Beldyga, Bloomington Power Sports’ Chase Guthrie, Kensington Motorsports’ John Lukasik, Jr. and Jeremy Tucker.
Beldyga moved through the field after starting on the third row. Tucker
started on the fourth row and moved to third within the first three
laps until he crashed. At the checkers it was Rosine, Beldyga and Hine
on the podium. As a result, Hine still leads the 2011 Michigan Supermoto
Championship points, now by nine over Guthrie.

There were a few crashes including one that appeared significant, though fortunately the rider is okay. Scott Sangster
crashed hard in the Amateur Class main near the urban supermoto jump on
Fourth Street. The incident caused the need to red flag the race to get
him safely from the course and make sure there was no oil on the track.
Fortunately, Sangster suffered no major injuries and cleared the
hospital exams.

All
the class finishers are listed below. The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills
Supermoto Spectacular was a points-paying round for the 2011 Michigan
Supermoto Championship. Points have been updated at www.misupermoto.com.

Pro Class

1.     Zac Rosine, Honda, Wisconsin

2.     Adam Beldyga, Honda, Michigan

3.     Jason Hine, KTM, Michigan

4.     Chase Guthrie, Kawasaki, Indiana

5.     John Lukasik, Yamaha, Michigan

6.     Allen Doneth, Honda, Michigan

7.     Andy Cule, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

8.     Kirk Cheney, Honda, Michigan

9.     Ryan Yearwood, Yamaha, Tennessee

10.  Kevin Kiddle, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

11.  Chris Kemp, KTM, Illinois

12.  Tyler Stammer, KTM, Wisconsin

13.  John Kelsey, KTM, Michigan

14.  Jeremy Tucker, Kawasaki, Michigan

Beginner Class

1.     Mark McHaffie, Yamaha, Florida

2.     Keith Fowler, Suzuki, Ontario, Canada

3.     John Love, KTM, Michigan

4.     George Borrison, Yamaha, Michigan

5.     Dylan Bailey, Yamaha, Michigan

6.     Dave Cook, Yamaha, Michigan

7.     Steve Alexander, Honda, Wisconsin

8.     Keith Witherspoon, Yamaha, Michigan

9.     Jason Arnott, Honda, Michigan

Amateur Class

1.     Shannon Kelsey, Yamaha, Michigan

2.     Joe Sangster, Honda, Michigan

3.     Jarrett Bellamy, KTM, Ontario, Canada

4.     Dan Martinucci, Honda, Michigan

5.     Philip Popour, Honda, Ontario, Canada

6.     Ryan Graves, KTM, Michigan

7.     Mark McHaffie, Yamaha, Florida

8.     Kevin Tymensky, Suzuki, Michigan

9.     Albert Cule, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

10.  Alex Scott, Honda, Ontario, Canada

11.  Jason Arnott, Honda, Michigan

12.  Scott Sangster, Yamaha

Vet 35+ Class

1.     John Lukasik, Jr., Yamaha, Michigan

2.     Ron Meredith, Suzuki, Michigan

3.     Chris Barendret, Husqvarna, Ontario, Canada

4.     Chris Kemp, KTM, Illinois

5.     John Love, KTM, Michigan

6.     Ryan Konitzer, KTM, Wisconsin

7.     Kris Weide, Suzuki, Michigan

As
soon as the Pro Class main event ended, the crew went to work to clear
and reopen main street. Within two hours all the hay bales, straw, and
dirt was completely cleared from main street and from the parking lot
where the temporary dirt section sat. At midnight Houghton Avenue was
re-opened to traffic. Saturday morning, as the crew did final clean up,
the only signs that a race ever occurred in downtown West Branch were
the paint markings on the street to layout the start/finish grid.

Duprey
added, “We are extremely thankful to the City of West Branch, West
Branch Chamber of Commerce, Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan
Department of Transportation, Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee and all
the businesses and residents for accommodating us and graciously hosting
this spectacular event.”

The
Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular was promoted by
MISuperMoto.com with support from Taco Bell, ActionSportsTV.com,
Bridgestone, Magnum Distributing, Midwest Motorcyclist, Violation
Goggles and MotoPR. For event photographs and videos, as well as
possible 2012 event information, keep posted to www.supermotospectacular.com. 

The
next round of the 2011 Michigan Supermoto Championship will occur on
Sunday, August 28 at Auto City Speedway in Clio, Michigan. It will be a
fierce battle for the championships in each class. The Pro Class will
have two points-paying main events. Gates open at 10 a.m. and practice
begins shortly after 12 p.m. Competitors may pre-register now at www.misupermoto.com.

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