After taking a considerable break from Virginia International Raceway (VIR), the premiere series returned this past weekend to the historical circuit in Alton, VA. Making a special appearance during the weekend’s festivities, the Sun! The previous two rounds had been absolute soakers and the team was looking forward to a nice dry race weekend. The trio of Supersport riders were also looking to make those critical steps forward in their chase for the championship.
The weather was perfect, the track conditions on day one were as close to perfect as one could ask for, so when the first practice session was green flagged, Tomy, Ben, and Cam launched their weekend. With the new schedule of events and qualifying session one taking place on Friday, the boys needed to find their pace quickly and for newcomer Cameron, it was yet another track to learn on the fly. Using his teammate as a guide, he soon found his rhythm and his pace was coming up quickly. Tomy, on the other hand, had a minor crash but as is the case when a sliding motorcycle hits the grass, the bike needed major repair. All three riders headed into Q1 with confidence and determination. As the session wore on and the crews and riders worked out their set-ups, it was clear that all three had a decent pace and would be factors in the races.
Saturday morning was the final opportunity to go fast and claim top grid positions. As is often the case, times on Saturday morning aren’t faster than Friday afternoon usually due to track temp. This held true for our riders as only a few of the Supersport pilots improved on their times. Our guys did not. The best possible outcome during that session is improved set-up for both Ben and Cam as they continue to learn their Yamaha R6’s. Tomy was the fastest of the three in P5 with Ben in P8 and Cam right behind him in P9.
Race one was held in the early afternoon under ideal conditions. All three riders were within reach of the hole-shot if they got solid starts. The lights went out and grid hurled down the long straight away towards a treacherous Turn One. Everyone made it through the first corner cleanly and Tomy was leading our tightly packed trio in 6th 7th and 9th. As the 23 lap race progressed, there were two distinct breakaway groups. JD Beach was leading Josh Herrin, while 3rd through 5th was being sorted by David Anthony, Garrett Gerloff and Bobby Fong respectively. Tomy was having a good scrap with Kyle Wyman for 6th before clearing away from him and running solo for the remainder of the race. Ben Young would eventually catch Kyle and make the pass to move up to 7th. Sadly for Cameron, his race would be decided by a mechanical in the opening laps and by the time he re-entered the race, he was a lap down. With the leaders swapping places on the final lap, Tomy would bring it home in 6th. Ben would stay in 7th and Cameron continued to dice it up and learn the track as he crossed the line in 15th.
Race 2 on Sunday was almost a complete carbon copy of Saturday’s action. Conditions… perfect. Riders… amped. Cameron’s crew was confident that there would be no mechanical issues and that he would be able to run near the top. Revs up the lights go out and again the herd roared towards T1. By lap 3 it was exactly the same running order as race one. “See carbon copy comment earlier”. The only difference this time was that Bobby Fong had crashed moving Tomy to 5th and Cameron was hot on his heels by mid race. Ben was a few tenths back battling with Wyman again. Unfortunately the race between Tomy and Cam would come to a premature end as Cam suffered massive arm pump and lost all feeling of his Yamaha R6. He would begin the painful last 1/3rd of the race. This played into Ben’s favor as it brought Cam within grasp. Ben would run out of laps however, and finish a respectable 7th behind Cameron in 6th and Tomy in 5th.
“The races were good,” added Ben Young. “I got two solid 7th place finishes and had some decent battles. I felt that my pace was picking up as the races went on. It’s my starts! Again, I had two not so great starts and that’s hard to overcome in this class. That’s the thing I need to work on as we head to Road America. That track favors those who can get out front quick so I’m focused on improving that aspect of my racing.”
It was a solid performance from the Supersport trio and now they rest up and prepare for their next challenge, Road America and Round 4 of the MotoAmerica Series.
“Added Tomy Puerta, “I’m now in Colombia making sure I’m healthy and ready to go in Road America!!!”
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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