3 WINS AND 6 PODIUMS FOR SEELEY AT NW200! Alastair Seeley was a hat trick hero at the International North West 200 in Northern Ireland, taking his stable of Tyco Suzuki GSX-R machinery to success in Superstock, Supersport and Superbike classes. The British Superbike regular stood on all six podiums during Thursday and Saturday’s races, taking his win tally at the North Coast showpiece in Northern Ireland to eight victories. A Superstock race one victory in damp conditions on Thursday was followed up with a hard-fought victory over William Dunlop in the second Supersport encounter on Saturday, but the highlight for Tyco Suzuki was his win in the Blue Ribband North West 200 Superbike race where he held off Michael Rutter and John McGuinness to the win over six laps of the famous 8.9-mile North West triangle. Fans’ favourite Guy Martin escaped with minor cuts and bruises after a nasty crash in Supersport race one on Saturday morning, but Team Manager Philip Neill took extreme caution, pulling Martin out of the rest of the meeting as he took quite a heavy blow to the head. The Lincolnshire rider lost the front of his GSX-R600 on the run along the Coast Road, between the Railway Bridge and Black Hill, but will be fully-fit for the start of the Isle of Man TT Races in one week’s time. Conor Cummins was also unfortunate to be taken out by another rider in the North West 200 Superbike race whilst challenging in the top six, but did post seventh in Superbike race one and 11th and eighth in the two Superstock encounters. Alastair Seeley: “I can’t complain too much about those results. Three wins from six podiums and winning the big one – the North West 200 Superbike race – it was really nice to do it again. I didn’t think it was going to be my day after the red flag in the first Supersport race when I’d just caught William going onto the last lap; missing a gear while leading the first Superbike race; then losing out in Superstock race one when Michael Rutter won it on corrected time from the second group, even though I’d crossed the line first. It just shows that dreams can come true if you work hard enough. I’d like to thank to team for a big effort and hope our sponsor Tyco enjoyed its first North West 200.” Conor Cummins: “It was good to get back onto the roads but a bit frustrating for me as I felt I had good pace in that second Superbike race, only to get wiped out by another rider turning into Mather’s Cross chicane. A few bumps and bruises we can sort and I’ll get back to the Isle of Man and relax this week before the start of the TT.” Guy Martin: “I’m disappointed to miss out on the meeting and pretty frustrated as I didn’t feel I was doing anything wrong when I tucked the front, even though the bike does get a bit unsettled through that bumpy section. I had a really stiff neck after the crash and I had taken a bit of a battering so it was best to sit it out. I’ll be grand for the TT.” Philip Neill – Team Manager: “Taking three wins away from an International event is a great achievement for any team, although I do feel there was just a little too much hype in the media about Alastair potentially winning all five on Saturday. The North West produces a quality entry and winning one race is a big deal, so we’re very proud to have given both Suzuki and our new sponsor Tyco Security Products three this year. “It was unfortunate that Guy had to sit out the meeting after a very nasty crash in the opening race on Saturday. He took a fairly hefty bang on the head and was just not fit enough to race on, so it was the best option. Conor had a solid enough meeting and was starting to show some good pace in that NW200 Superbike race before getting taken out. Thankfully he only has cuts and bruises, but both men will be fighting fit for the TT. “I’d like to thank Suzuki and all our associate sponsors for their support this week. Many of them turned up to watch us race and we had a great atmosphere in and around the team environment during the event. It was very pleasing to be able to give Tyco its first International road race wins and I’m sure many of them will now have the road racing bug like the rest of us.” More, from a press release issued by Dan Kneen/Marks Bloom Racing: Supersport races give Kneen best ever NW200 results Manxman Dan Kneen put in two superb performances in the two Supersport races at the International North West 200 road races on Saturday, finishing 8th in each around the 8.9-mile circuit. The Marks Bloom Racing rider was never out of the top ten on his GSXR600 Suzuki and the two eighth places were his best ever results at the high speed venue, which links the towns of Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush. The first Supersport race was Dan’s first event on Saturday and, enjoying a race long dice with Ben Wylie and Ian Hutchinson, Dan kept them successfully at bay and ended the 6-lap race 0.7s clear of Wylie to immediately better his results of previous years. It was a similar story in the second Supersport encounter later in the day where, with conditions again perfect, a strong start saw Dan complete the first lap in seventh place. A lap later he got pushed back to eighth by Gary Johnson but, lapping quicker than he had done in the first race, Dan was able to stay in touch with Johnson throughout the race and was deservedly rewarded at the end of six hard laps with another eighth place finish, comfortably clear of the battle for ninth. Dan’s other races during the week didn’t quite give the same results but he was nevertheless happy with the performance of the GSXR1000 Suzuki Superstock machine. The wet weather for Thursday evening’s Superstock race hampered his chances that day whilst he was forced to start from the very back row of the grid for Saturday’s opening Superbike race. The time lost meant that Dan finished in 26th place but his pace would have seen him finish in the top 15 under normal circumstances. The second Superstock race saw Dan run inside the top 15 in the early stages but after he overshot University Corner he was forced to retire and he then opted to pull out of the feature NW200 Superbike race with the Superbikes proving too hard to match for a Superstock-spec bike. Speaking later, Dan said: “It’s been a solid enough day and whilst the results on the big bike don’t read great, I was happy with how the bike was performing and I learnt a lot in terms of both set-up and what needs to be done prior to the TT. The Supersport races obviously went well and to finish 8th in both and get my best ever finishes here was very pleasing. I was down a bit on top speed, which made it quite difficult, but the little bike was handling really well and I was happy with how I rode, particularly in the first race where I was able to keep Ben and Ian behind me despite the obvious pressure. I was disappointed not to get a decent finish in the Superstock race but I left my braking a little bit too late and that was pretty much that but we weren’t too far away so I’m sure we’ll be up there at the TT.” “The North West is such a fast circuit that you really need a Superbike machine to be competitive so I used those races to get in some good mileage on a dry track so it was definitely a case of mission accomplished there. I would obviously liked to have finished more of the races but I got plenty of time in on the bikes and can now get really stuck in to my TT preparations. These opening few meetings have been done with the TT in mind and whilst we’ve got a bit of work to do, I’m confident we’ll be in the running in each class and be able to give a real good account of ourselves.” Dan will contest all six races at the Isle of Man TT races with the opening practice session taking place around the 37.73-mile circuit on Saturday 26 May. More, from a press release issued by Ryan Farquhar/KMR Kawasaki: Top five finishes for Farquhar at North West 200 Ryan Farquhar’s 2012 International North West 200 campaign finished on a positive note on Saturday when he took two top five finishes from his three races. The KMR Kawasaki rider was in contention for the podium places throughout and ended with 4th in the Superstock race and 5th in the opening Superbike race around the 8.9-mile circuit. The Superbike race was Ryan’s opening race of the day and with a good start, he completed the opening lap in fourth place, riding the bike that he’d only finished building in his workshop the week before! A lap later, race leader Alastair Seeley overshot Church Corner and Ryan was up to third and just 0.4s behind fellow Kawasaki rider Michael Rutter. There was little to choose between the dicing duo and by the end of lap 4, Ryan was running in a superb 2nd although Seeley had regrouped and was now tearing his way through the field. The Suzuki rider seized second on lap 5 and the remainder of the race saw Ryan, Rutter and Cameron Donald dispute the final podium spot with the latter going on to take third as Ryan crossed the line in a solid fifth place. The following Superstock race was even more fraught with never more than a couple of seconds between Ryan, Seeley, James Hillier and John McGuinness at the head of the field. However, Rutter had started from the second wave and it would be he who eventually won the race on corrected time, the other four riders battling for second. Positions changed all the time between Ryan, Seeley and Hillier along both the straights and going into the corners and the result was in doubt right up until the end of the six laps. On the run in to the line along the coast road, Seeley and Hillier took second and third with Ryan in fourth place, just 1.8s separating 2nd to 5th. Ryan’s final race was the feature NW200 Superbike event but after making some changes to the ZX-10R after the earlier race, the set-up wasn’t quite as good and so Ryan retired from sixth place on the 4th lap. Meanwhile, team-mate Jamie Hamilton put in a strong showing on his circuit debut and was unlucky to only take one finish from his three races as brake fade and an oil leak led to retirements in the NW200 and Superstock races. He did finish in a fine 19th though in the first Superbike race. Speaking at the end of the day, a tired, but pleased, Ryan said; “It’s been another good day for me and to be fighting it out for the rostrum positions in every race was very pleasing. To be honest, it was as big a shock to me as anyone else that I was so high up in the Superbike race as the bike hadn’t even turned a wheel until Tuesday’s practice session! Qualifying went well with it so I didn’t take it out in the wet on Thursday and with a good start to the race I was up to 2nd and battling with Michael Rutter before I knew it. It’s the best Superbike I’ve ever ridden and with a bit more time on it, I’ll be able to get it dialled in more and really challenge. The only thing that let me down in the race was my personal fitness and that’s essentially what allowed some of the boys to get me on the last lap. I’ve worked so hard getting all the bikes ready, especially for the Supertwins race, that I haven’t had time to train but the Supertwins race was my priority this week so I’ve no regrets.” “To be riding with people like Michael, who know their bikes inside out, was very pleasing indeed whilst the Superstock race went equally as well. Sure, it would have been nice to have finished on the podium but I gave it my all and couldn’t have ridden any harder. I also think I proved that I could mix it with the short circuit riders like Alastair and James who certainly excel through the slower chicanes and I should be even stronger at the TT, a track that suits me better. All in all, I’m happy with how the day went and it bodes well for the TT. Jamie had a few niggling little issues but for his first North West 200, he gave a very good account of himself and was mixing it with a lot of vastly more experienced riders so the TT’s looking good for him too. We’re all hoping he gets plenty of mileage in, has some good finishes and enjoys himself.” “On behalf of KMR Kawasaki and myself, I’d like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mark Buckley who sadly lost his life after a crash in Saturday’s Superstock race. Mark was a great competitor and I owe my 2010 Southern 100 Championship win to him as he lent me a radiator for my bike which allowed me to take the victory. He’ll be sadly missed.” Ryan now heads to the Isle of Man TT Races where he’ll be looking for more success, particularly in the Superstock and Supertwins categories. Practice around the Mountain Course gets underway on Saturday 26 May. More, from a press release issued by Bel-Ray: For decades, Bel-Ray has supplied professional racers the lubricants they need to perform in competition. They rely on the performance advantages that Bel-Ray offers in order to win. This past weekend, Bel-Ray professional teams experienced success in several forms of racing including MotoGP in France, Motocross racing in the United States and Brazil and ATV racing in the United States. AMA Motocross The 2012 AMA National Motocross Championship series kicked with the 44th running of the FMF Hangtown Motocross Classic from Prairie City OHV Park in Sacramento, California. 250 Class After a long Supercross series, the Bel-Ray backed Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki experienced a difficult first moto with only Jason Anderson breaking the top 10. The second moto proved to be better for the team as Martin Davalos scored a 4th, Blake Wharton a 6th and Anderson a 9th. Teammate Hunter Hewitt finished 17th in moto 1 and improved in moto 2 with a 16th place. Davalos led the overall results for the day in 6th followed by Anderson in 8th, Wharton in 12th and Hewitt in 18th. Bel-Ray Elite racer Steve Roman took the long trip from Pennsylvania and finished 32-33 for 34th overall. 450 Class Bel-Ray Elite support racers Derek Anderson and Dakota Kessler competed in the 450 Class in Sacramento. Colorado native Anderson finished 23-19 for 23rd overall, while New Jersey based Kessler finished 35-38 for 38th overall. WMX The newest Bel-Ray racer, Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Jessica Patterson came out swinging on Saturday as the 2012 WMX Series began. Patterson’s consistent 2-2 moto finishes were enough for the overall victory and the series’ points lead. Bel-Ray backed Fist City MX racer Heather Lockwood finished 27th in the first moto and 26th in the second for 28th overall. The series continues this Saturday at Freestone Raceway in Wortham, Texas. World Motocross Championship Following a difficult race last weekend in Mexico, the Bel-Ray backed racers in the FIM World Motocross Championship came to the Beto Carreiro MX Park outside Florianopolis, Brazil looking for redemption. They were rewarded for their efforts with the overall victories in both the MX1 and MX2 classes. MX1 Bel-Ray backed Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider Christophe Pourcel overcame the difficult track conditions to win the first moto of the day and backed it up with a strong 4th in moto 2 to score his second Grand Prix overall victory of 2012. Heavy rains overnight created difficult track conditions, but Pourcel was able to overcome them in excellent fashion. He received the checkered flag in moto 1 more than a minute and a half in front of his nearest competitor. The second moto again saw Pourcel at the front of the field, but difficulty with lapped riders caused him to slip back to 4th place, still good enough for the overall win. He spoke about the race following the second moto. “It’s never easy in conditions like these, but my Kawasaki gave me a great start in both races and the first moto was unbelievable. I didn’t feel I was riding super fast, but after only a few laps, my mechanic boarded me that I was a minute in front. In the second race, I made a few mistakes with the lappers. In the end, it was me who made a couple of mistakes and I lost two places, but I knew I still had the overall win.” Teammate Sebastien Pourcel was not as successful in the Brazilian mud. Following his disappointing 22-21 moto finishes he had this to say. “I was not riding so well this weekend, and I made too many mistakes. In both races, I crashed on the first lap. Each time I came back through the pack, but then crashed again; the second time I was trapped under the bike.” Christophe is currently 3rd and Sebastein is 18th in the overall series’ standings as the series takes a week off before resuming in France on June 3rd. MX2 Bel-Ray backed Tommy Searle reaffirmed his contention for a World Championship title with convincing double moto win and overall victory in Brazil. His dominance was so overpowering that even a stop for a fresh pair of gloves couldn’t diminish his lead. The victory allowed him to close on the leader in the championship points after 5 rounds of the series complete. Searle spoke about the day’s events following the second moto. “I’m not the best mud rider, but I knew I needed good starts and to ride smart. I took the lead quickly in both races and concentrated on not making mistakes and keeping my goggles free of mud when I came up behind lappers. The result today means I have halved the point’s gap to the series leader and makes up for my bad luck in Italy.” Searle’s teammate, Joel Roelants, continues to recover from his heavy crash in Fermo and despite the conditions he was able to race to 5-4 moto scores for 4th overall. Roelants was angry with his results and vows to prepare for the upcoming Grand Prix in France with increased fervor. “I had a really good start in the first race, but then I crashed no less than six times during the race! I was still able to finish fifth. The second race was better with a fourth position, but I feel that I can do much better and that is frustrating for me. I will go back home to train even harder during the next two weeks; I want better results in France.” With 5 rounds of the series completed, Searle is in 2nd while Roelants is in 4th in the overall series’ points standings. MotoGP The French round of the 2012 MotoGP series took place under wet conditions and disappointing finishes were the results. In his home race, Randy DePuniet experienced two crashes and an eventual DNF while teammate Aleix Espargaro suffered from an ill handling bike and could only salvage a 13th place finish. Espargaro spoke about the race and looked forward to the next round in his home country of Spain. “This weekend was a disaster. It couldn’t have gone worse. In the morning warm-up, I felt more or less okay, but then when the race came around, I was not comfortable at all. I didn’t have any weight on the rear and was sliding around on the gas. We rode really slowly and were far off everyone, but at least this weekend is over and I can look ahead to Montmeló.” DePuniet was upset with his showing in front of his home crowd and spoke about his disastrous weekend. “The team made some changes for the race, but I was only able to check how the bike was on the warm-up lap. The start was really strange, as when I put the clutch in the bike high sided; that has never happened to me before. To be honest, I was lucky, because it could have been much worse with the riders behind me coming through. I went back to the pits, got on the second bike and was already a lap behind, plus the feeling wasn’t great with that machine either. In the end, shortly before the finish, I crashed again. It is a shame, because up until yesterday I was riding well in the dry, but in the wet, this weekend was a disaster. Fortunately I didn’t re-injure myself, and I hope to be at 100% for Barcelona.” The series continues June 3rd in Spain with Espargaro currently in 12th and DePuniet 14th in the series’ points standings. Moto2 Under difficult conditions, the Bel-Ray backed Mapfre Aspar team of Toni Elias and Nico Terol competed to respectable 12th and 14th place finishes in the French Grand Prix. Rain was falling at the beginning of the race and worsened during the event, so smooth, careful, consistent laps were the key to finishing. Toni Elias was not happy with the results he achieved, but saw the event as a learning experience and will prepare for the next hopefully sunny round in Spain at the beginning of June. “This was my 200th GP, but we celebrated this as a team yesterday. Today it was just a number. The most important thing is to keep on going and to focus on my home race at Montmeló. We have noted what didn’t work in the wet this time around, in order to improve for next time, but I hope that there are no more wet races.” Teammate Nico Terol scored his first ever Moto2 points this weekend and looked at that as a positive as he prepares for his home race June 3rd. “Today, the conditions were too difficult to be riding a bike, at a circuit where you slide around a lot. I felt very confident in the dry, with sixth in one of the weekend practice sessions, and I started off well in the wet today. However, I was lacking pace and I think that I should have been aiming for the top ten. In any case, at the end of the day, I’ve picked up my first Moto2 points, which is a positive. The next race is at the Circuit de Catalunya, which is a track that I love.” The series continues June 3rd in Spain with Elias currently in 10th and Terol 23rd in the series point’s standings. Moto3 The Moto3 class began the French Grand Prix with 33 racers and ended with just 15 as the treacherous weather conditions took control of the competitors. In the end, Bel-Ray backed Bankia Aspar rider, Alberto Moncayo earned a 2nd place finish, while teammate Hector Faubel was a victim of the conditions and crashed out while leading. Moncayo was very happy with his results and ready to continue them at the next round. “That was my best start of the year and my best race to boot. I took things with calm on the opening laps, keeping up with the lead group, but the rain started to come down more heavily at the midway point of the race. Rins caught up with me and I gave all that I had to hold onto second place, the best result of my career. This is a big boost for the team, as this is where we should be all the time. We have to change our mentality now, and see if we receive some adjustments to improve things in the dry at the next race.” Although disappointed with his finish, Faubel was able to speak about the positive experiences from the race. “We knew that we were strong in the wet and I kept up a good pace. The crash seems strange to me, because I was comfortable and was saving something for the end. I am happy with my riding, but annoyed at the same time, because I led the race, but could have taken a podium if I had stayed upright. That’s racing and I always try to win when I see that there is a chance. The best thing about the weekend has been solving the engine braking issue and going fast in the wet.” The series continues June 3rd in Spain with Moncayo currently in 6th and Faubel 14th in the series’ points standings. ATV Motocross Round 4 of the 2012 AMA ATV National Championship was at Sunset Ridge in Walnut, Illinois this past weekend. Baldwin Motorsports Bel-Ray sponsored Josh Upperman continued his consistent top 5 results by finishing 4th in the first moto and 5th in the second moto for 5th overall. He is currently in 4th in the series’ points standings as the series takes a one week break before resuming in Oakland, Kentucky at Balance MX on June 2nd. Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com. Bel Ray Company Inc was founded in 1946 and is a privately held, woman owned business serving the lubrication needs of powersports, industrial and mining customers worldwide. Bel-Ray is recognized as the leader in the specialty lubricants industry for setting high standards of quality and performance with products formulated for the motorcycle, automotive, aviation, energy, food, marine, military, mining, OEM, Industrial steel, and textile industries. “Flex Your Engine” with Bel-Ray’s superior Powersports line that delivers top quality Made-in-the-USA products to motorcycle and recreational vehicle enthusiasts around the world. Bel-Ray products are available at powersports dealers worldwide. Visit Bel-Ray.com for a complete dealer listing. Like us on Facebook.com/BelRay or follow us on Twitter/Bel_Ray More, from a press release issued by Shandra Crawford on behalf of Boulder MotorSports: Turpin Grabs Three Podiums At Miller Motorsports Park With WERA Shane Turpin punched through three 30-40 bike grids to nail podium finishes at the first WERA National event of the year at Miller Motorsports Park this past weekend in Tooele, Utah. Turpin started from the 15th row and shredded the fields in 4 laps with his Boulder MotorSports Ducati 1198RS to take first in Formula 40 Heavyweight, second in King of the Mountain/Formula 1, and second in A Superbike, the headline race of the day with 8 laps. This was the final opportunity for the Boulder MotorSports team to dial in the bike for Turpin’s wild card bid to ride next weekend in World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park. Turpin had this to say, ” This was the first weekend I’ve been on the bike with the new electronics, and my next chance for practice is World Superbike practice on Saturday, May 26. We were shooting for 1:52-1:51’s this weekend, and getting the data sorted out. The data helps with fine tuning the traction control, wheelie control, launch control, and auto blip, because the faster you go, you run out of the parameters and need to adjust it. The races were fun, I had a great time pushing this bike to the edges, and I’m really looking forward to next weekend. I’m ready and I’ve got a great team behind me for the effort.” Brian Sharp of Boulder Motorsports had this to say, ” We were approached in January this year to field a bike with Shane as the rider. Their thinking was having a local American racer riding at his home track, and because Shane is a Yamaha Champions Riding School instructor that he is capable of competing with the talent at that level. The last month and half have been non-stop work for us, we have over forty hours into just building the bike, before all the testing. In the last four days we’ve really made a lot of progress. It’s been going forward leaps and bounds – every session keeps getting better. The electronics have been seamless. We have Mick Boasman from the UK who designed the system here working with us to adjust the electronics to Shane. It’s all custom, and he gets quicker, we adjust the bike to him. It really saves a lot of time & guesswork, you can make educated decisions about the bike setup and keep progressing through your program. People don’t’ realize how much of a team effort this is. But I feel we have the right personnel in place to do this, we are well prepared, and we have a great rider. We are looking very forward to next weekend. I would really like to thank the people that have been tremendous helping us with our racing efforts; first, David and Dawn Sprague for all their help and the bike to race for this event, also Mick Boasman of Bike Sport Developments, Ohlins USA, Pierbon, Yoyodine, Motul, Metal tech, Akrapovic, RS Taichi leathers, Moto Liberty, and TJ Grossi.” Shane Turpin will be riding the Boulder Motorsports Ducati 1198RS in FIM World Superbike at Miller Motorsports Park on Monday, May 28, in Tooele, Utah. For more information, go to the company website: www.bouldermotorsports.com