From a press release issued by LRRS:
The LRRS Labor Day race weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway was dedicated to the memory of former racer Francis Reed, who died recently of injuries suffered in a car crash, and was topped off with the Francis Reed Memorial 3-Hour Endurance.
Reed, who was 35 when he died, was a much-loved personality in the LRRS paddock. It was a fitting two-day event for a memorial, packed with dramatic racing and a shocking new track record.
Under cloudy skies and cool temperatures, the track promised to be fast. GP Singles opened the weekend competition with a tight Championship battle on the line. Going in, RS125 pilot Eric Yoo led the points by a narrow margin over Todd Puckett on another fast 125. Zack Courts was looking to be the spoiler, having just bumped up to Expert.
Yoo took the holeshot, followed by Puckett and Courts. He tried to pull a break, but could not make it stick. Mid-race, Puckett took the point, while Yoo showed a wheel here and there. Suddenly Courts blew past Eric Yoo for second with a banzai braking move entering turn three while lifting his rear wheel a foot in the air. Eric Yoo gave him room as it looked like Courts could not make it. He did, and locked onto Puckett on the exit going up the hill. From then on Puckett and Courts layed down laps cracking into the high 1:16 bracket, while pulling a steady gap on Eric Yoo. On the penultimate lap, Courts tried to take the lead in the final turn, but found the ground instead. Puckett sailed on to win over Eric Yoo by 3 seconds with Brian Yoo rounding out the podium another 3 seconds back. Just two points separate Puckett and Eric Yoo for the championship going into the final round.
Looking to get some set-up time, Scott Greenwood took his Argo Cycles Yamaha YZF-R6 to the Heavyweight Supersport grid instead of his GSX-R750. From turn two, Greenwood was gone…really gone. The gap grew so quickly, the announcer began tracking his lap times. On the fourth lap he set a new LRRS track record (and all-time record for bikes on DOT-labeled tires) with a 1:11.4. The next lap, he obliterated it with a 1:11.176.
On the podium when asked about the record, Greenwood remarked, “The whole package just works so much better then my previous bike; the tires, the set-up. The track is a couple tenths faster this year with smoother transitions and all. But the bikes are better and the tires are better. With some more work, maybe we can get a 10.”
Greenwood’s 2003 R6 is a salvage bike supplied by ARGO last month. The time was set on Dunlop DOT-labeled race tires. He is the current Formula USA point leader in the Sportbike class.
In Lightweight GP, point leader Chris Reynolds gave up the holeshot to Jason Routhier aboard his Nault’s TZ250. By the third lap, Reynolds put his Honda RS250 in front, but could not pull a gap. Later, Routhier retook the lead as the two fought tooth and tong to the stripe laying down low-15 lap times and gapping the field by 20 seconds. Routhier prevailed, winning for the first time on his new TZ250.
Rookie Expert Carlo Gagliardo showed up with a new Pirelli shod 2003 Yamaha YZF-R6. Carlo has emerged as a phenom this season running top gun speed from the beginning. It was going to be interesting to see how the new bike ran and Middleweight Supersport was his first test. Greenwood took the holeshot, with Gagliardo into second on lap 1. Meanwhile, Gus Holcomb was coming from the back on his Dunlop-mounted CBR600RR. Late, Holcomb pushed into third and closed within 3 seconds of Gaglairdo, while Greenwood took the flag 15 seconds ahead.
The second test was the “Michelin Dash for Cash” Middleweight GP. Greenwood again took the holeshot followed by Holcomb, Gagliardo and John Scheehser on his Michelin-shod CBR600RR. Gagliardo soon moved by Holcomb for 2nd and held an edge to the flag.
The third test was MW Superbike. Holcomb took the holeshot followed by Gagliardo and Steve Giaccomaro on another new R6. Holcomb pulled out a 1 second gap, but was run down by Gagliardo on lap 3. Running mid-13s, both riders swapped the lead and took turns having ‘moments’. At the flag amid a gaggle of lappers, it was Holcomb by a tenth. Giaccomaro was 7 seconds back in third.
Francis Reed Memorial
A full 25 teams took the grid for the Francis Reed 3-hour, and 30 minutes before the start, some teams were still making deals for ringers and bikes. Team Computrack Boston took the holeshot on Peter Kates’ GSX-R750, with Scott Greenwood riding the first shift. Mike Martire followed on the Seacoast Sport Cycle/GMD ZX-6R (636) entered in GTO with Pete Douvris in formation on the Team Lady Luck Honda F4i (GTU). Martire and Douvris swapped positions for the entire first shift, while Greenwood put a lap on them. In GTL, Plaistow Powersports took the early point on an SV with Rich Doucette taking the first shift; 40 minutes into it Zack Courts put the ‘Legends’ RS125 past Doucette into 1st GTL. At the 1 hour mark, he handed it off to Gus Holcomb with the GTL lead and 4th overall. Team Incomplete followed on another RS125, ridden by Puckett, Gregor Halenda and Chris Cosentino.
GMD Boston was never headed and won by two laps, with Peter Kates and Rich Doucette taking successive shifts after Greenwood. Seacoast/GMD held onto 2nd with Jesse Sandoz and Dave Ruocco co-riding with Martire. ‘Legends’ took over 3rd overall late in the 2nd hour on their 125, with Eric Yoo cruising the final shift to insure the GTL win. Team Incomplete had a problem and spend several laps in the pits. Similarly, Lady Luck was running a 2 lap lead in GTU, when they had a problem and turned the GTU race over to Crowbar Racing who won it handily with a 4th overall.
Members of the Francis Reed family were on hand to present awards at the podium. It was a memorable event and Francis would have loved it.
Complete results are posted on www.lrrsracing.com
