Superbike racing continued May 24-25 in Utah for round 2 of the USBA Masters of the Mountains series presented by Utah Motorcycle Law. The Series moved to the West Track configuration at Burt Brothers Motorpark for the second round where racers were greeted with great weather and a full weekend of racing action. Increased Purse Money had racers leaving it all on track battling for their share of over $8000 in payouts for Novice and Expert classes.
Saturday morning started off with Qualifying sessions for all classes and riders wasted no time throwing down their fastest laps to set grids for the weekend. Anthony Norton went straight to the top of the time sheets with a 1:29.4 on his second lap, then besting his time with an astonishing 1:28.8 in his second session to put himself p1 on the King of the Mountain grid followed By Justin Delong qualifying p2 with a 1:31.6 and Brian Childree p3 clocking a 1:32.5. With the weekend’s grids set, it was time to go Racing!
Sprint Racing on Saturday was intense, with great battles throughout the classes. Most notable was in the Expert Moto2 class where Middleweight Racers Lee Mcnutt, Alex Cantrell, and Chayce Lance stole the show. When the lights went out Chayce nailed the start and the secured the Holeshot. Lee Made the pass for the lead on lap 2 and never looked back, but Chayce and Alex kept him firmly in sight for the remainder of the race. In the last two laps Alex and Chayce exchanged positions multiple times fighting over the final podium spots but in the final exchanges on the last , Cantrell would take 2nd over Lance in 3rd. The intensity only built through the afternoon leading into the days main event, The USBA Endurance race.
Riders, Crews, and Fans flocked to hotpit and the grandstands in anticipation of Saturdays main Event, the 90-minute Endurance Race. At the start of the race, it was the Precision Fab Racing duo of Anthony Norton and Kohl Burmester taking an early lead. Paradigm Racing riders Lee Callans and Dale KieWer were putting in consistent laps and firmly in second before the pitstop strategies started to unfold. The Paradigm team was able to run the flag-to-flag race with just one stop for fuel where the Precision Fab Racing team would have to take an extra pitstop. After the final stop, Norton aboard the Precision Fab ZX10 was trailing Lee Callans on the Paradigm R6 with about 15 minutes to go. When time ran out Norton had overtaken Callans for the Team Endurance and Overall win leaving Precision Fab Racing 1st, Paradigm Racing 2nd, and the Relay team of Meyer, Jackson, and Alfano in 3rd overall.
The highlight story of this race may have been the outstanding efforts of the top “Ironman” Richard Findaly, racing fresh off of extensive injuries from another racing incident less than a month prior. Richard finished 1st in the solo class completing 49 laps securing 6th overall along the way. When asked about his triumphant race efforts, Findaly had this to say— “Endurance racing is supposed to be a test of will and skill. For me it was a bit more than that still recovering from a crash that led to 7 broken bones and a punctured lung just 1 month ago. I wanted to prove something to myself. I feel I did that and then some, with an emotional eWort I will never forget. I can’t wait for the next round on East. Huge thanks to my Team, Karla for all she does, Dakota and Lugnut for getting me a bike and prepping it for this weekend, and Dale with Racers Edge Performance for the Dunlop tires that held up for nearly 50 straight laps.”
On Endurance racing, UtahSBA Club President Brian Childree stated “Our Endurance event is quickly building its own unique vibe with music in the pits, intense racing on track, fans cheering, and more teams joining each round. Its become one of the best parts of the weekend.”
After the final checkered flag Racers and Race fans enjoyed podium ceremonies and fresh BBQ provided by the club while gearing up for a full day of high intensity racing action to come on Sunday.
Sunday racing action picked up right where it left oW on the previous day, with the Novice Open Supersport class putting on a show. James Walker jumped to an early lead and held his position at the front for 6 laps while constantly defending the advances of Damon Schuetze in second. On the final lap Damon successfully secured the lead but James wasn’t giving up. The two were wheel to wheel, drag racing to the checkered flag where Damon took the win by just 0.153 of a second. James Walker finishing 2nd, and Eliu Heredia just a few bike lengths behind in 3rd.
The King of the Mountain race is the clubs premier race of the weekend and over 20 racers joined the fight for the podium and Burt Brothers Tire Payout. The top 3 qualifiers Norton, Delong, and Childree were set to lead the field into turn 1. When the lights went out all 3 were elbow to elbow leaning into turn 1 but Norton would secure the holeshot and lead Childree in 2nd and Delong in 3rd. The 3 stayed close for the first 3 laps until Norton started to stretch his lead. Delong continued to push Childree throughout the race, but Childree would answer back firing in similar lap times. After 14 laps they would finish in this order, Norton 1st, Childree 2nd and Delong 3rd finding their way to the Podium and collecting some hefty Paychecks. Anthony Norton’s second consecutive KOM victory on his way to his #1 plate, title defense. Afte the race, Norton had this to say- — “I knew these guys (Childree and Delong) were going to be fast and consistent. We were all on the same amazing Dunlop tires. The track gets greasy in the afternoon, so I just set out to ride fast and clean. I did just that. Thank you Dale and Dunlop, Precision Fab Machinery, Legal ride, Apex Assassins, and Crossbeam Builders for keeping me and my program rolling.”
UtahSBA Supermoto also had its second round of the season. The energy was high for UtahSBA Supermoto Rd 2 at the newly renamed Burt Brothers Motorpark (UMC) as it was a qualifying round for the Moto America Mini Cup series! Youth racers compete for a ticket to the National Finals in Wisconsin at the end of the year. Local 12yr old Parker Busse showed he has what it takes to earn a golden ticket by winning all 8 of his races on Sunday, with both his Ohvale 190 minibike, and even with a borrowed KTM 85 Supermoto from his dad. The adult classes made for great racing with Novice class leaders creating lasting rivalries (Matheus & Miguel) and Expert racers showed they’re not afraid to ride wheel to wheel (JP & Jordan).
Racers have plenty of opportunity to grid up and race all day Saturday and Sunday with UtahSBA superbike as well as lots of opportunities to race for Purse Money which the club would like to thank the generous and ongoing sponsors for providing. Superbike Racing and Endurance action continues in short order with Round 3 set to take place this week June 14th-15th on the Burt Brothers Motorpark East Course in Grantsville, Utah. Supermoto action continues with youth and adult racing at Round 3 June 22nd. Visit Utahsba.com for full results and more information regarding the exhilarating racing in Utah.