Cycle News

ROAD RACE ROUND 5 / JUNE 22-24, 2018 WEATHERTECH RACEWAY / MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA P84 MOTOAMERICA ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP iii My Own Race: 36 JAYSON URIBE DNS-11 SUPERBIKE Jayson Uribe made his debut on the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda with mixed results. A mechanical issue in Superpole kept him out of race one, but in race two, the Californian rode to a strong 11th. "It was a great opening weekend for me and the Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda crew," Uribe said. "We had our ups and downs, but we ended on a high note. I was pretty nervous the first time I hopped on the bike, not going to lie. We went straight into qualifying, and right off the bat, I knew we had some work to do. The team and I worked together well and got the bike in a good spot for Saturday's events. We ended up P14. We got about four laps into free practice on Saturday morning then the bike went into a fail-safe mode and cut almost all power going up the hill out of turn six. That sat us out for the remainder of that session, and unfortunately race one. My team and I worked very hard to solve the issues, and in the end we narrowed it down to a faulty camshaft position sensor. Morning warm up on Sunday was quite damp, but the bike ran well and that's all we really cared about. We had a great start to the race, going from P14 to P6 or seven by the first corner! I slotted in behind [teammate] Cam Peterson and tried to stick with him for as long as possible. I ended up battling with him for five or six laps before riding my own race. I ended up finishing P11. I'm happy with the result, and I know that when we actually get some proper testing, we will be capable of much more." 85 VALENTIN DEBISE 2ND SUPERSPORT Valentin Debise (M4 Ecstar Suzuki/Team Hammer) started the Supersport race on the pole but was forced to settle for second in the race after a great battle with eventual winner JD Beach. "After this morning I was thinking I could run away," Debise admitted. "I was a little surprised to see my rival had a little stronger pace than I did. So I just decided to sit behind him, study his lines, see what I could learn, and maybe try something new with my style in hopes if I could go faster at the end. With five or six laps to go, I knew I had to make a pass, if only to disrupt him and prevent him from just riding his pace. I was a little bit wide and went to block him on exit. But he knows me, so he squared up the corner and came back underneath me. So credit to him, it was a good move on his part. On the last lap, I put my head down, pushed really hard, and made a killer final lap. I almost crashed like 20 times, but I waited a too little long. If I would have tried a pass, I would have sent it to the moon, so I just relaxed and finished second." 11 MATHEW SCHOLTZ 5-4 SUPERBIKE Mathew Scholtz was in the thick of things in both Superbike races, going 5-4 over the weekend. "Saturday's race was really good," he said. "Finishing fifth was a positive step forward for us, and I felt comfortable. Overnight, we made a couple more changes, and in the morning warm-up, they seemed positive. My start wasn't that good, but I passed a couple of guys early on and then, Toni [Elias], Roger [Hayden], and I were battling the whole race. Finishing fourth, I couldn't be happier. I've gotten that positive feeling back with the setup. I kind of know what the bike's doing, when it's going to move, and I'm really happy. I know that the Westby guys have been working hard. They've been making the bike quicker and made the setup a million times better, and I'm really, really thankful. To be part of the podium battle again, and to be dicing with Toni and Rog, the factory guys, we're back to where we should be. It was a brilliant weekend for us." 23 ALEX DUMAS 1ST JUNIOR CUP "I had a really good start, and I was really happy with how the race was," said Junior Cup winner Alex Dumas. "But then, two guys passed me. I was fourth or something. I managed to get back to second and then the red flag came out. Then, when we restarted, I was fifth. I saw Ashton (Yates) crash in the first lap or something. I felt pretty good. I just did it at my pace. I kind of slowed down a little bit just to make sure I could keep it up and finish first."

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