Summit Point, WV - The story of 2010 has been the dominating performance of the Chester Auto Repair team and round 7 of the Michelin Team Challenge Series was another chapter in their march to a second straight title. The BMW S1000RR of Chester Auto trailed only twice during the 75-lap contest, once at the start when the Thrashed Bike Racing Buell got the holeshot and led for the first 100 yards and then again on lap 35 when the Team All Safe Yamaha briefly took over during Chester Auto team’s mandatory pit stop.  Just 20 laps later, Eric Helmbach passed the Team All Safe Yamaha to put himself on a lap all his own. Team All Safe looked like they would hold on to second in GTO and second Overall until a mishap on lap 71 put the machine on the ground in turn one, relegating them to third in GTO and sixth Overall. This allowed Ivan Milan on the Milan Racing Suzuki 1000 to move into second in GTO and second Overall, but with a  2-lap deficit, Milan never challenged Chester Auto in the waning laps. The final podium position in the Overall standings went to the GTU winner, Team Stiles on a Yamaha 600, ridden by Mark Stiles, his daughter Meghan Ryan and her husband Scotty Ryan. Officially Chester Auto led 74 of the 75 laps and cruised home to victory with a 2-lap lead over Milan Racing. The Overall win gave Chester Auto Repair a 78 point lead in the championship, capturing their second straight Michelin Team Challenge Championship with one round to spare.

After missing the first two rounds of the 2010 Michelin Team Challenge championship, Team Stiles making up for lost time by grabbing their second straight victory in the GTU class. Team Stiles was followed by the class point leader RnR Repsol in second and Premier Racing in third. The victory moves Team Stiles to within 9 points of the RnR Repsol team for the class championship with 35 points still available in the final round at the 27^th Annual Race of Champions in October. Premier Racing slipped to 20 points behind RnR with their third place finish and can now only hope for a miracle at the Homestead-Miami Speedway during the October final.

In the GTL class, Grease Monkey Racing clinched their second straight championship in the Michelin Team Challenge Series with a victory at Summit Point Raceway. The Duc Hunters Suzuki was no match this day as Alex Shaw aboard the Grease Monkey Suzuki is won his 7^th race out of 7 races this season with one more to go to set the record for most wins in a season by any team. The win gave Grease Monkey racing an insurmountable lead of 73 points over the Born Cross-eyed Racing Team with one race to go.

The next race for the Michelin Team Challenge Series is Round 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 15-17, 2010.

Michelin Team Challenge Series
Sanctioned by ASRA
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
July 2, 2010

Elkhart Lake, WI – Eric Helmbach rode his Chester Auto Repair BMW 1000 to victory in the fifth round of the 2010 Michelin Team Challenge sanctioned by ASRA.

Geoff May entered the Team Challenge with Team Buell's AMA SuperBike and lead for most of the race, pulling off on lap 38, not to return. It was unclear whether there was a mechanical problem with the Buell entry or whether the team accomplished their mission for the afternoon and pulled in. Helmbach, who had exchanged positions with Mid Cities Motorsport riders Calvin Martinez and Dave Ebben and the SRT Yamaha R6 ridden by Jeff Purk was ready when May retired taking the 44-lap, two-hour timed event and clenching the win in just one hour, fifty-one minutes.

Jeff Purk finished first in GTU and second overall, with the Mid Cities Kawasaki 1000 taking third overall and second in the GTO class. Melissa Appel soloed the Go Appel Honda 1000 to third place in GTO and sixth overall. Following Purk, the second spot on the GTU podium and fourth overall went to the Yamaha R6 piloted by Stiles Racing. Third place in GTU and fifth overall went to the D2 Cycles Kawasaki led by Team Captain Mike Garner in their first outing of the 2010 season.

In the GT Light class Suzuki SV 650s took the top two spots. Alex Shaw's Grease Monkey team brought home the bacon on their SV, with Paul Onley second on his SV. The Born Cross Eyed team of Jay Smith and Ray Hoffman finished third on their Buell machine. This is the 5^th win in a row for the Grease Monkey Squad, leaving them only 3 more races to finish off the perfect season.

Notable retirements included perennial Team Challenge favorite Gene Paul Gilchrist on his Suzuki 1000 for a chain failure on lap 17; Smith & Hoffman's Buell with only three laps to go, for lack of fuel; and former Road America Team Challenge winner Hix Racing, with Brian Blume aboard, on lap 21 in a crash while challenging the lead group.

For complete results, click here.

The Michelin Team Challenge sanctioned by ASRA resumes  July 10, 2010 at Roebling Road Raceway in beautiful Savannah, Georgia.

Michelin Pro Series
Sanctioned by the American Sportbike Racing Association
87^th Annual Loudon Classic
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, NH
June 11-13, 2010

It’s time for the 87^th Annual Loudon Classic and there is good news for the competitors coming to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to participate in this historic motorcycle event.  While the feature event on Sunday June 13^th will be the Michelin Pro Series competitors running in the Loudon Classic, there will also be a full compliment of Loudon Road Race Series/Championship Cup Series sprint races translates to more than $100,000 in cash and prizes offered to riders over the three days of racing.

For those riders entered in the Michelin Pro Sportbike class, not only will they compete for the prestigious Loudon Classic Championship, they’ll be chasing over $8,500 in cash and prizes offered by the Michelin Pro Series and the ASRA Series sponsors for this 20 lap contest on June 13^th. Add to that the $3,000 in cash offered by New Hampshire Motor Speedway to the top 15 riders and these racers will be competing their share of over $11,000 in cash and prizes offered to the contestants in the 87^th Annual Loudon Classic.

As for the favorites in the 87^th Loudon Classic, you only have to look at the past few years results to see that four names stand out from the rest. First on the list has to be multi-time Michelin Pro Series National Champion and former Loudon Classic Champion Jeff Wood of Winchendon MA who missed the 2009 contest because of injury. Next up are the two men who battled for the win in Wood’s absence, 2009 Loudon Classic Champion, Shane Narbonne from Tyngsboro MA and last year’s runner-up Scott Greenwood from Dunbarton NH. The other rider to watch will be Eric Wood of Ashburnham MA, brother of Jeff Wood, whose racing career has featured too many wins on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway road course to count. While these four men may be among the favorites, there will be plenty of competition for the 2010 Loudon Classic Championship.

Here is the breakdown of the 87^th Annual Loudon Classic bonus offered by the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.(This will be paid in addition to the normal Michelin Pro Series awards.)

1^st        $750
2^nd       $350
3^rd        $250
4^th        $200
5^th        $175
6^th        $160
7^th        $145
8^th        $140
9^th        $135
10^th      $130
11^th      $125
12^th      $120
13^th      $115
14^th      $105
15^th      $100

For more information on the 87^th Annual Loudon Classic or the Loudon Road Race Series, visit www.nhms.com.

Michelin Team Challenge Series
Sanctioned by ASRA
May 23, 2010
Blackhawk Farms Raceway
South Beloit, IL

Farrell Does it Again

For the other 24 teams in the 3^rd round of the Michelin Team Challenge it was a case of déjà vu as Jason Farrell took the lead on lap 2 of the 75 lap race and never looked back. Farrell, who is set for a wildcard ride at the World Superbike event at Miller next week, took the Overall win by more than a lap over runner-up and GTO winner Hix Racing. The final spot on the podium went to the “family affair” of Stiles Racing with Meghan Ryan, husband Scotty Ryan and Meghan’s father Mark Stiles handling the riding chores. For 2010 it took Farrell and his Speed Tech Kawasaki 600 only 1:34:06.205 to finish the event, four minutes faster than he ran in 2009.  The class point leader and defending Team Challenge National Champion Chester Auto Repair Racing had to settle for 5^th Overall on a back-up machine after engine failure at New Jersey Motorsports Park earlier this month left their BMW S1000RR parked for the weekend. That was good enough to hold on to the Overall point lead for the series and head for Virginia International Raceway felling good about their chances to repeat as champions.

For the GTO class it was a repeat win for the Hix Racing Team with Ron Hix and Alan Feddersen on their Suzuki 1000, with a 3 lap advantage over class runner-up Chester Auto Repair on their Honda 600. With the second place finish, Cheater Auto Repair extends their lead in the GTO class over Gene Gilchrist GPG Racing, who finished 5^th, to  17 points. The final spot on the GTO podium went to the Buell 1125R of Thrashed Bike Racing from Broussard, LA ridden by Tim Ivanoff, Laird Canfield and Joel Spalding.  The third place finish for Thrashed Bike brings them to within 2 points of the third position in the standings currently held by Mid-Cities Motorsports. With 5 rounds remaining it’s a wide open race to the GTO championship from here.

The big story in GTU was the fantastic ride by Jason Farrell on his Speed Tech Racing Kawasaki 600. With both the Overall and the GTU class win, Farrell earned $1025 in ASRA Cash Contingency to go along with his other contingency prizes for the event. With second spot on the podium going to Stiles Racing from Delavan WI, it seemed only fitting that the third position should be another team from the Badger state and FJL Racing was glad to oblige. It was James Roderfer Jr. on the FJL Honda that nailed down the final podium spot, finishing on the same lap as Stiles Racing but not really challenging the runner-up team. With three teams running in their first race of the year on the podium, the GTU  point leader RnR Repsol suffered little damage to their title hopes when their Kawasaki went out with a problem on lap 23. This seemed the perfect opportunity for the Premier Racing Team of Daniel Dougherty and Adam Horton to make their move, but with multiple pit stops it seemed like they just could not get in the groove at Blackhawk Farms and they could only manage 7^th place in the class. RnR Repsol still enjoys a 27 point lead but knows they must step up their game if they want to stay ahead of Premier Racing and.regain the GTU title for 2010.

In the GTL class, it’s the Grease Monkey Racing Team on their SV650 repeating their class win from last season to remain perfect in 2010, 3 races and 3 wins.  While they continue to hold the top position in the championship they are only 15 points ahead of the Born Cross-Eyed Racing Buell, ridden by Jay Smith and Robert Hofman, who finished second within striking distance of the win for the third straight event. Bringing their SV650 home in third was the Team Fru Fru of Greg Kotlinsi, Daniel Gizynski and Jeff Permanian from Buffalo Grove Il.   The series now heads back to a couple of strong tracks for the Grease Monkey Team of Eric Helmbach and Alex Shaw so the Born Cross-Eyed guys have their work cut out for them with five rounds left in the championship.

The next round of the Team Challenge Series will take place on June 19-20 at Virginia International Raceway during the 10^th Annual VIR Festival of Speed. 

April 11, 2010

Carolina Motorsports Park
Kershaw, South Carolina

Michelin Team Challenge Series
Sanctioned by ASRA

Round 2

The second round of the 2010 Michelin Team Challenge Series came to Carolina Motorsports Park and as expected, the teams searching for the championship put on a spectacular show for the crowd. The defending National Champion Chester Auto Team took their new BMW S1000RR and led 43 of the 45 lap event. Originally scheduled for 65 laps, a crash by Dennis Espinoza on the Trebour Precision 40 Suzuki caused a red flag and brought the 2-hour time limit into play. The Chester Auto Team only gave up the Overall lead only when they pulled off the track for their mandatory green flag pit stop but quickly regained the advantage to cruise to the win by 23.716 seconds.  

The battle for the Overall win was also the battle for GTO class supremacy as Chester Auto took on perennial front runners Mid-Cities Motorsports with Calvin Martinez aboard a Kawasaki and the Suzuki of Ivan Milan Racing. Milan Racing, with Ivan Milan doing the riding chores, stayed hooked up with Mid-Cities even to the point where both teams pitted together on lap 33. With a quicker stop, Milan was able to sneak past Martinez into second place and hold on to the end, finishing in the runner-up spot by 1.2 seconds over third place Mid-Cities. It was Chester Auto’s second Overall win at CMP and solidly moved them into first place for the championship. 

The RnR Cycle teams showed the GTU class their strength with a solid 1-2 finish. By taking the win in their first event of the season the RnR Racing Yamaha ridden by Jonathan Elias and Jason Gibbens may have won the battle but it was the second place team of Rachel Sasse and Krishna Pribaldi on the RnR Cycle Repsol Kawasaki that took the lead in the war. RnR Repsol moved up to a comfortable 21 point lead in the class with six rounds remaining. Unfortunately for the CC Racing entry of Nicholas Cicci, they failed to make the required pit stop before the checkered flag and they were penalized a lap, moving them from third to fifth in the class. Taking advantage of the miscue, Premier Racing with team captain Daniel Dougherty and Adam Horton aboard, moved into the final podium position on their Yamaha 600.

While the field in GTL was small, the racing was fierce between the two teams as Born Cross Eyed Racing, with Jay Smith and 2009 Solo Champion Ray Hofman aboard, faced off with defending National Champion Grease Monkey Racing.  The two teams finished nose to tail after 44 laps of competition with less than a second between them. The culmination of the race long fight was when on lap 43, it was the Buell of Born Crossed Eyed came across the stripe first, but as happens in to the best of teams, it was the Grease Monkey Racing Suzuki who was able to edge out the hard-charging Buell on the final lap for the win. This was the second victory of the season for Grease Monkey Racing and it looks like teammates Eric Helmbach and Alex Shaw are in a good position to repeat as GTL Champions for 2010.

The next race for the Michelin Team Challenge Series sanctioned by ASRA is May 23 at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in South Beloit Illinois.

February 28, 2010

Daytona Beach, FL - The first round of Michelin Pro Series sprint races got underway today at Daytona International Speedway. In the opening SuperStock race Shane Narbonne motored away form the field on his RaceTech equipped Suzuki 1000. Brett McCormick riding also on a Suzuki and supported by Pascal Picotte ran ahead of Dave Loikits. Loikits ran wide on the chicane, pitting on lap five and handing the third spot on the podium to Christopher Clark riding a Yamaha. Clark elected not to go to tech inspection after the race and with that DQ, handed third place to Eric Haugo also riding a Suzuki. Narbonne's margin of victory was 6.5 seconds.

A cheerful Martin Cardenas took the win in the SuperBike race with Russ Wikle 5.5 seconds in arrears. Wikle was not happy about his start but managed to get out front and hold off Cardenas for several laps. By the time the starter was showing the cross flags Cardenas, not to be denied, put a nice gap between himself and the field leaving Eric Wood and Wikle to battle for the second step. And although Wood was right there until the end, he could not better Wikle and finished third.

In the ThunderBike race Nate Kern and Joel Spalding went head to head, but on lap one Kern's BMW was flagged for a jump-start causing him to serve a stop & go penalty. Although Kern fought back he could not overcome the 14-second gap that resulted, and so relaxed a little settling reluctantly for runner up. Spalding, on the other hand, got a nice first run on his new Ducati 749 and felt confident on the new bike. Spalding, a perennial Buell rider, has changed brands after the announcement last last year that the Buell brand would be discontinued by Harley-Davidson, spelling an end to factory support for America's most effective home-grown sportbike effort in decades. Third spot on the podium was nailed down by Ducati rider Robert Buroker who almost created a problem by not reporting to Tech after the race but he realized his mistake and turned around before leaving the view of series officials.Ray Hofman, the 2009 A&J Recognition Solo Challenge Champion,  was fourth piloting his Buell 1200.

In the final Michelin Pro race of the weekend the SportBike field saw the fall of the green flag with Michael Barnes, Russ Wikle, Geoff May and P.J. Jacobsen all on the front row. And although Barnes on his Yamaha 600 seemed to have the measure of the field for most of the race, Russ Wikle had other notions. At the flag Barnes and Wikle were wheel to wheel with a scant 0.069 seconds between them, Wikle's Yamaha nudged Barnes Suzuki for the win. Geoff May rounded out the podium on his Suzuki. Eric Wood was fourth and P.J. Jacobsen fifth.

For complete results, just go to the schedule page and click on the link to the right.

Round 2 for the Michelin Pro Series is the Fourth Annual Heart of America Cyclefestat on April 23-25  at Heartland Park Topeka featuring a full day of practice on Friday and two action-packed days of racing Saturday and Sunday.

February 27, 2010

Daytona Beach, FL - Today "Aussie Dave" Anthony riding a Suzuki 1000 took the overall win and GTO top spot in the first 2010 Michelin Team Challenge here at Daytona International Speedway.  Rounding out the GTO and overall podium were the seasoned Team Challenge experts Paul Gilchrist riding solo on the GPG Racing Suzuki 1000 and the team of Eric Helmbach and Alex Shaw aboard the Chester Auto Racing Honda 600.  Helmbach and Shaw were double-teaming between Chester Auto and their Grease Monkey Racing GT Lights Suzuki 650 entry on which they took the GT Lights class win.

Under new rules a single rider no longer competes in the Solo class and separate from the rest of the Team Challenge riders.  Now single riders compete in class, GTO, GTU or GT Lights, and run head to head with the multi-rider teams for the overall and class wins.  All riders or teams must pit at least once during the timed 2-hour event, but rider changes are no longer mandatory for multi-rider teams.

Shane Williams and Steve Johnson took the the GTU class win on their number 38 Cycle Specialties Suzuki 600 followed by the Trebour Precision Ducati 848 ridden by Dennis Espinoza and Anthony Fania. Third on the podium for GTU was RNR Repsol riders Krishna Pribadi and Jason Gibbens on their Kawasaki 600.

In GT Lights, following Helmbach and Shaw was the team of Jay Smith and Ray Hoffman aboard the "Born Cross Eyed," Buell 1200 and team Predator riders Andres Londono, Russell Wade and Marco Martinez on the number 12, also a Suzuki 650.

Next stop is the Carolina Motorsports Park on April 10-11 with the Championship Cup Series Twin Sprints.

Another team that is no stranger to Michelin Team Challenge class championships is the Wisconsin Racing Team from Slinger Wisconsin, leading the GTO standings by 10 points over the Pekin Illinois based Central States Racin. All Wisconsin Racing has to do is finish third or better in the class and they will win another GTO championship. If they can pull it off it will be the fourth GTO championship that team captain Calvin Martinez has been a part of in the last six years. (Martinez finished as runner up twice in the 2005 and 2007 GTO Championships but his finest performance was the 2006 season where he led the team to a perfect 8 wins in 8 races.) While they have been strong contenders over the last few seasons, Central States Racin’s finds themselves needing to win and get some help to keep the Wisconsin Racing Team from reaching that third position.

With the A&J Solo Recognition Championship already secured, Ray Hofman from Waupun Illinois can relax and work on his tan for the 2009 Michelin Team Challenge Awards Ceremony on October 18^th. Even though Grease Monkey Racing has the GTL Championship in hand, team captain Eric Helmbach is the second rider for Chester Auto Repair so he still has some work to do before enjoy the fruits of his season’s labor at the Sunday evening presentations.