Bel-Ray Racing Weekend Wrap-Up February 27, 2012

2012-02-28 19:03
Bel-Ray racers were in action on opposite sides of the world this past weekend as the 2012 Monster Energy Supercross Series continued in Atlanta, Georgia and the 2012 World Superbike Championship series began on Phillip Island in Melbourne, Australia.

Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki’s Blake Wharton continued to be a front runner in the Lites class. Wharton qualified 4th fastest in timed qualifying, 4th in his heat race and backed it up with a 4th place in the main event. Wharton’s consistency moves him into 3rd place in the series points standings after 2 rounds. Teammate Hunter Hewitt also qualified directly to the main event with a 4th place finish in his heat race. Hewitt, who finished 12th place last weekend, improved on his results this week. An 8th place finish in the main event moved him up to 8th place in the points standings.

Both Dodge/Hart & Huntington/Sycuan Casino/Bel-Ray Racing’s riders had rough nights in Atlanta. Josh Hansen’s night started off well with a 4th place in his heat race. After a great start, Hansen was up in the top 5, challenging the front of the field. A detrimental mistake in one of the track's rhythm sections caused his bike to stall. By the time he was able to get it started, Hansen found himself a full lap down. Hansen's perseverance eventually got him into 15th place by the end of the race and in 11th in the series' points standings. Hansen’s teammate, Kyle Partridge, found luck in the Last Chance Qualifier, put in consistent laps for an eventual 17th place finish in the main event and 16th in the series' standings.

The Supercross series continues this weekend in St. Louis, Missouri at the Edward Jones Dome.

The 2012 World Superbike Series got under way in Melbourne, Australia. The Althea Ducati team of Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano are Bel-Ray’s entrants into the competition this season. The series features two races for each event, both offering valuable points toward the World Championship. The defending series champion, Carlos Checa, found himself in the lead of race one after the 2nd lap, but lost traction from the rear wheel during the 6th lap and spectacularly crashed his Ducati. Although he was uninjured, he could not rejoin the race. Checa bounced back in the second race, gaining the lead on the 4th lap and holding on for the race victory. Checa’s teammate, Davide Giugliano, stepped up into the World Superbike class for the 2012 season and finished 9th and 13th, respectively, for each race. Both racers are in the top 15 in the series' points standings, with Checa in 4th and Giugliano in 12th. The series continues April 1st in Italy.

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.

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Source: Bel-Ray Lubricants

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