CCS at Summit Point

For race results, go to the CCS Results Page.

The weekend started with once-a-year MARRC Track Day on Friday. Right on schedule, the gate opened at 7:00am, and the rain started promptly at 7:30am. Fortunately, the rain came down hard and quickly subsided, at least washing off the track. Several adventurous riders got some good practice in the rain. As the morning went on, more riders ventured out onto the track. Things were looking more positive during lunch, but the rain restarted soon after bikes returned to the course and practice was shut down for nearly 45 minutes. But by 3:30pm, a dry line had developed, and the track time became more like a practice session for the last 90 minutes of the day. Since rider turnout was reflected by the weather, the track sessions were left open to any rider willing to brave the elements. By the end of the day, all riders were on course and got more than their share of track time.

MARRC Track Day is a great benefit to our members (its the only Friday before an event track day at Summit Point open to any racer), and its also a great fundraiser for MARRC. In return for working the Jefferson 500 and SVRA car event during the year, Summit Point provides MARRC a full day of track time free of charge. Although MARRC does run the risk of bad weather as the club did this year, Track Day has always received a great response from riders and MARRC has a great time playing event promoter.

CCS returned for its first weekend at Summit Point for the Year 2000 and brought with it wind and rain. And George Mood wasn't anywhere near the track. Friday night more rain poured on the area. The conditions Saturday started out cold, and the cloudy damp conditions remained the entire day. Light drizzles occurred occasionally. The exit of the Carousel had some treacherous areas, and many riders reported sliding through Turns 8 and 9 when on the throttle. Sunday opened with some promise of warmer weather, but the skies remained gloomy, and thankfully no more rain came down for the rest of the weekend.

The weekend could have been named "The Diaz, Yaakov, and Kcraget Show." All three riders put on a masterful display of riding in cold conditions, rode like demons through the Carousel, and dominated every race they entered. Only Brian Kcraget could put a damper on Yaakov's weekend, being the only person able to beat Dave Yaakov head-to-head.

Neither Yaakov nor Kcraget could lay claim to a perfect weekend. Yaakov lowsided his SV650 on Saturday in wet conditions in Turn 9, was unable to restart, and threw away a nearly lap-long lead in the GT Lights event. Kcraget also lowsided his machine in Turn 10 on Sunday morning in equally slippery conditions, and did only minor damage to his FZR560. Both Kcraget and Yaakov were unhurt.

Art Diaz (Expert #83), on the other hand, was riding faster than any other racer all weekend, and did it flawlessly aboard his Yamaha R6. Diaz finished first or second every race he entered, and usually won by huge margins. The race of the day, Unlimited GP, Diaz got the holeshot and jumped out to the early lead. Only experts Laurence Borst and Quentin Mise could even keep him in sight and they rounded out the podium for the race.

Another victim of the wet conditions on Saturday was Chris Eklund. Turn 8 and 9 collected several bikes during the Expert GT Lights event, but Eklund's was unique. Eklund high-sided his RS125 as he passed the access road in Turn 8 and his bike catapulted itself into the tire wall on the right side of the track. The impact not only ripped the front-end off of the bike, but it snapped the aluminum frame completely apart behind the steering stem. Amazing damage considering how strong and light RS125s have proven to be, and unlike the usually crash worthy record of the bike. Fortunately, Chris survived the crash with only a badly bruised hip.

The cornerworkers had a tough weekend in more ways than one. Besides cold and wet weather throughout the weekend, the new pavement was creating new places for riders to lose traction. And lose traction they did. Turn 9 collected at least 7 bikes on Saturday alone, and Minh Le's RS125 counted in that number twice. As has happened before at Summit Point, as the track began to warm up, water would percolate up through the pavement. Stray off of the line just a bit, and the warm tarmac would suddenly turn cold and traction would quickly disappear. Most riders that went down did so trying to make a pass, or going just a little wide to carry more corner speed. No rider was injured in Turn 9, but it did make for a long day for MARRC's Crash Truck.

Thanks go out to MARRC member Glen Ouye for the race photos. If you want Glen to get your picture and have it appear on these pages, put a MARRC sticker on your bike. That's it! For more information about Glen and see more of his outstanding work, go to his pages at www.seapup.com.

	How do so many bikes fit into just one turn? The start of the Expert Middleweight Superbike events shows just how important these riders think a good start is to winning a race. Matt Powers (#308) tries to pass a group at least 6 riders wide! Art Diaz (#83) and Tim Cochran (#537) have the right idea by just getting into the turn first and taking whatever line suits them.
	MARRC Middleweight Amateur of the Year Tim Cochran (#537) doesn't look like a rookie expert as he leads Laurence Borst (#4) through Turn 1. Still during the Expert MW Superbike race, Cochran's good start hasn't gone to waste, although Borst has done an excellent job of not letting him get away. Cochran stayed ahead of Borst as the pair finished 3rd and 4th in the race.
	RS125 rider Minh Le (#53) leads George Fitz (#447) during the GP Singles event. Fitz rode quite well on his MZ Single to keep up with the Honda 2-stroke, and pressured Le into an uncharacteristic crash. Fitz went on to win the event over Kevin Coles and Brian Roach.
	Gotham Racing's Michael Myers (#57) flies through Turn 6 during the Expert SuperTwins. Myers is seen here on the Scooter Racing TLR 1000 although the results list him on a Ducati 996. Myers' 996 blew an engine at the previous CCS event and Scooter Ball helped out his friend. Myers proved he can go fast on a Suzuki by finishing in 1st place.
	Top rider of the weekend Art Diaz (#83) of Lewisberry, PA, looks clean through Turn 6 during the Expert Unlimited GP event. Needless to say, Diaz won the event by a wide margin.
	Sam Lehrfield(#119) charges hard through Turn 6 to stay ahead of a persistent Mark Johnson (#113) in the Amateur GTO. John Anderson(#16) has the best seat in the house aboard his GSXR watching the battle unfold in front of him. Sometimes third place isn't so bad when you can watch a great race ahead. Fortunately for Anderson he finished 3rd ahead of this battle and left these two fighting for 5th. Lehrfield was credited with 5th and Johnson took 6th.
	With so many riders still fighting for position, it can only be the first lap! During a rather busy start of the Amateur GTU, John Anderson (#16) on a Suzuki GSXR600 tries to hold his lead through the Carousel and break away from the pack behind him. As with so many GTU races, the racing positions don't stay the same for long as Anderson was passed by David Miles (#107) and John Sine (#524). Sine finished 7th, Miles was 8th, and Anderson 9th.
	Later in the Amateur GTU, John Sine (#524) and David Miles (#107) fight for 7th place. Both men fought for most of the race, and Sine took the spot at the finish.
	Racing is still tight during the Amateur GTU as Rider #16 passes an unidentified backmarker on another Suzuki. Turn 6 is one of the few places at Summit Point where outside passes are common, even between two riders fighting for position.

Thanks go to all the cornerworkers who watched over the racers on MARRC Track Day on April 21st....

Bob Alexander Will Astle Jeannie Dalmas Randy Dalmas Steve Harris

Alan Lapp Wendy Leland Roger Lyle Bill Martin

Glen Ouye Phil Sears Howard Weiss Jane Weiss

And to all the MARRC cornerworkers during the CCS weekend on April 22-23.

Will Astle Steven Barber Tom Barrett Dean Beasom Mark Books John Capen Robert Chaney Ryan Chapin Alok Chatterjie Mike Ching Bill Clery Sue Cook Jeannie Dalmas

Randy Dalmas Joan Erdesky Chris Ford Stewart Freedman Kelly Gullett Todd Gullett Brad Haskin Deborah Hollamon Andrea Leal Tom Leal Wendy Leland Roger Lyle Bill Martin

Randy Moran Connie Moscati Michael Moscati Glen Ouye Bill Powers David Rickman Art Sears Phil Sears Adam Spatz Sonia Stoy Howard Weiss Jane Weiss Simon Whalley

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