Bel-Ray News Release
For decades professional racers around the world have experienced the performance advantages that Bel-Ray powersports lubricant provide. This weekend Bel-Ray’s professional racers will be competing in MotoGP, World Motocross and Supercross competitions.
MotoGP
The Bel-Ray sponsored Power Electronics Aspar team comes to the Jerez Circuit in the South of Spain confident that they can provide a strong finish. Team riders Randy DuPuniet and Aleix Espargaro both raced to top 15 finishes at the first round in Qatar, and their familiarity with the Jerez circuit should prove helpful for this weekend’s event. The team had good results in winter testing at Jerez and team rider DePuniet expects to be the first of the CRT bikes in the standings at the checkered flag. He spoke about lacking some confidence in Qatar due to track characteristics but in his words “it should be a different scenario at Jerez.” Teammate Espargaro added, “I am very motivated for this weekend. We were faster than our rivals at Jerez during the IRTA tests so we'll be looking to confirm that this weekend." Coming into Jerez, DePuniet is ranked 13th and Espargaro 15th in the points standings.
Moto 2
The Moto2 series continues this weekend in Jerez, Spain. This will mark the home round for the Bel-Ray backed Mapfre Aspar team. Both team riders Toni Elias and Nico Terol have won events at the popular Spanish circuit. Despite struggling in the opening round in Qatar both riders come to their home Grand Prix confident of their abilities and are aiming for podium positions. Elias called the Jerez circuit his favorite on the Grand Prix tour with special memories of past victories and a unique atmosphere. He added that he was feeling positive for the event. Terol explained that the track has always been good to him in the past and that the combination of fast and slow sections that really suit his riding style. Following round 1 of racing, Elias is 13th and Terol is unranked in the overall season’s standings.
Moto 3
Bel-Ray sponsored Bankia Aspar joins the rest of the World Championship series in Jerez, Spain this upcoming weekend. For the 26th consecutive year the series comes to this famous racetrack known to the local motorcycle fan as “The Cathedral”. With the large crowd expected winning this event is a must for every Spanish rider. Both team riders, Hector Faubel and Alberto Moncayo, hail from Spain and despite struggling at round 1 in Qatar, they are confident of a top finish in Jerez. The team made several changes to the set-up and engine performance in hopes of providing the riders the extra advantage necessary for a top finish. Faubel spoke about the changes and the teams ability to react quickly to issues, calling them the best team in the championship. He added that they “need to keep working hard to achieve our objective of podium finishes." When asked about how it would be for him to win in front of his home country, Moncayo said, “This is the race every Spanish rider wants to win but as you can imagine for a local rider such as myself it would be extra special. I'll be giving my best to make it happen on Sunday." After the opening round Faubel is ranked 12th and Moncayo 14th in the world championship point’s standings.
World Motocross
Round 2 of the FIM World Motocross Series continues this weekend at the Monterostao Circuit in Fermo, Italy. Both MX1 and MX2 classes will be in action and Bel-Ray racers will be on hand competing. Coming off their excellent first and third place overall finishes last weekend in Bulgaria, Tommy Searle and Joel Roelants of the Bel-Ray sponsored Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit team, are considered top contenders for a podium this weekend. The duo traded wins in Bulgaria, a trend they hope to continue on Sunday at the Italian circuit. The Bel-Ray entry in MX1 class action, Team CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit, also had success last weekend in Bulgaria. After winning the opening moto in a dominant manner, Christophe Pourcel, settled for second in moto 2 and second overall while teammate Sebastien Pourcel overcame a disappointing fifteenth place in moto 1 to score a strong sixth place moto 2 finish, food for a tenth place overall finish. In the World Championship points standings Christophe Pourcel is currently ranked fifth and Sebastein is ranked fifteenth in the MX1 class while in the MX2 class points standings Searle is ranked second and Roelants is third.
AMA Supercross
As the AMA Monster Energy Supercross series draws to a close Bel-Ray’s teams continue to compete each weekend looking for the top spot on the podium.
With all four original Dodge/ Sycuan Casino/ Hart and Huntington/ Bel-Ray racing team riders, Josh Hill, Josh Hansen , Ivan Tedesco and Kyle Partridge still out due to injuries suffered this season, fill in riders Kyle Regal and Tyler Bowers will be in Salt Lake City to represent the team. Last weekend, at Century Link Field, in Seattle, Washington, Bowers finished 16th and Regal was 17th after both riders experienced crashes in the main event. Coming into the open air Rice-Eccles Stadium this weekend in Salk Lake City, Utah, weather and the altitude can sometimes cause issues with bike setup and racer preparation. The thin mountain air will cause the bikes to have less power, something that is critical on the start. With that in mind Bowers spent time this week practicing starts, something that he hopes will pay dividends on Saturday night. “It is critical that you get out front in these 450-class races,” said Bowers. “I wasn’t very good out of the gate in Seattle and it cost me a bunch of spots” he added. Regal confirmed Bowers feelings of a critical start by saying “as soon as that gate drops you just pin it and go like heck.” With only 2 rounds left in the series both riders are expecting to leave Salt Lake City with good results.
The West Coast Lites series continues on Saturday night for Bel-Ray sponsored Team Rockstar Energy Racing Suzuki. After a disappointing main event last weekend in Seattle Martin Davalos is looking to rebound and close out the series with a podium finish. Despite competing up front early in the main event, Davalos fell over in a corner and had trouble restarting his bike. He charged back to a 14th place finish. Teammate Jason Anderson overcame a poor start to work his way through the field to an eventual 6th place finish. With only the Salt Lake City and Las Vegas rounds remaining top finishes are necessary to cement their positions in the points series standings.
Follow all of Bel-Ray’s racers in action each week on www.belray.com and www.belrayracing.com.
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