AMA Sanctioned
ASRA Team Challenge Series Presented by Michelin Tire
September 18, 2016
Virginia International Raceway
Alton, VA
Mazziotto III Leads Jimmy Winters Motorsports to Victory at VIR
Alton, VA – The AMA sanctioned ASRA Team Challenge Series presented by Michelin Tire joined the Championship Cup Series for the final 2016 event at Virginia International Raceway for a near perfect event with great weather and over 200 competitors filling the paddock . Joining the CCS racers, 23 teams entered the 7th round of the ASRA Team Challenge Championship for the 4th and final 200-mile event of 2016.
As soon as the green flag dropped on the 89-lap final, it was obvious there was something a little different about this race as series regulars Mavros Motorsports (Charlie Mavros, Jason Farrell, Seth Starnes), LB Sports (Lloyd Bayley), Grease Monkey Racing (Eric Helmbach) and Jinba Ittai-Oskar Blues Brewing (Joel Lenk, Matt Brown) were joined up front by Jimmy Winters Motorsports (JWM) (Anthony Mazziotto) along with Double B Racing (Jody Barry, Bruce Barry).
The race had begun to drop into a normal rhythm until lap 33 when LB Sports and Double B Racing got tangled in Turn 1 and brought out the red flag sending everyone to pit road as the safety crews cleaned up the aftermath. After the restart JWM, Mavros and Grease Monkey were able to move away from the field and slowly JWM moved away from the battle for second place. By lap 85, JWM was a lap up on the field and Grease Monkey was closing in on Mavros Motorsports for second position.
With 2-laps to go, Grease Monkey moved into second Overall and the lead of the GTO class, finalizing the podium positions. At the checkered flag, it was Jimmy Winter Motorsports with the win, Grease Monkey Racing in second and Mavros Motorsports in third. In the point chase, Mavros Motorsports holds a 19-point lead heading into the final round at Daytona over defending champion Grease Monkey Racing
For the GTO class it was Grease Monkey Racing followed by Mavros Motorsports and MI Boys (Mikal Pechota, Ryan VanLeeuwen) in third. The win brings Grease Monkey to within 10 points of Mavros Motorsports for the GTO Championship heading to the final round at Daytona International Speedway on October 15th.
In the GTU class, it was Jimmy Winters Motorsports cruising to their third win of the season by 2 laps over the Jinba Itta-Oscar Blues followed by LWTRacer.com (Sam Wiest, William Finnerty) in third position and Bad Wolf Brewing (Greg L’Heureux, Tommy Wilson, George Federlin, Dean Smith, William Gawler) in fourth. The second place finish by Jinba Itta-Oscar Blues secures them the 2016 ASRA GTU National Championship with one round remaining in the season as their lead over LWTRacer.com is now 60 points.
After winning at Summit Point, LWT Racer 171 (Todd Alberico, Benjamin Loyle) found some tough going at VIR as RBOM (Michael Copoulos, Simon A Buric) put a lap on the field of GTL racers to take their first win in Team Challenge. Following RBOM was the RBOM Last Minute Misfits (Brian Kcraget, Chris Bays) in second and then the GTL class point leader LWT Racer 171 half a lap behind in third. The good news is that by finishing 3rd, LWT Racer 171 becomes the 2016 ASRA GTL National Champion with a full round remaining in the series.
For complete results and point standings, please visit our website at www.asraracing.com and follow the links.
The next event for the ASRA Team Challenge Series Presented by Michelin Tire is October 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.asraracing.com or www.asraracing.com
The American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) is the parent organization to the Championship Cup Series (CCS), the largest amateur motorcycle road racing organization in the United States issuing over 3,000 licenses per year. ASRA promotes eight AMA sanctioned Sprint Series and eight AMA sanctioned Team Challenge road racing events for 2016. The CCS Series sanctions 45 events at popular tracks around the United States, including Daytona International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Road America, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Virginia International Raceway among other fine venues. In 2016 ASRA and CCS will provide riders with access to millions of dollars of sponsorship awards through participation in its sanctioned events.
Join CCS and ASRA in the greatest road racing experience available today. Race CCS! To learn more visit our website at http://www.ccsracing.us or call us at (817) 246-1127.