Competitors at this past weekend’s debut invitation-only Michelin U.S. Motorcycle Championship at Alabama’s Barber Motorsports Park faced challenging weather conditions as the tire maker crowned champions in eight different classes, awarding $87,500 in cash and prizes during two days of racing.
Among the stars of the event was 28-year-old Ryan Jones, a second-year racer from Winchester, Va., who swept all four of the weekend’s races in the Supersport Amateur and Superstock Amateur classes, winning the title of Grand Champion in both categories and netting a $6000 payday.
“I had a thought on the way here that I might win, but I never dreamed I’d win all four races,” says Jones, who rode his first road race in June 2008. “I wish I’d started this 12 years ago!”
Suzuki rider Robert Jensen, who won both the Supersport Pro and Superstock Pro races on Saturday, maintained his momentum to win the Grand Championships in both classes on Sunday, but not without difficulty. Jensen withstood an early challenge from Kawasaki-mounted Matt Lynn to take the win in the second Supersport Pro race while the track was still dry in the early afternoon.
The later Superstock Pro race, however, ran in heavy rain. Jensen, who admitted he’s no fan of racing in the wet, slid off the track on lap two, and leaking oil from his bike brought out a red flag. Fortunately for Jensen, the race stoppage was long enough to finish repairs on his crashed machine, allowing him to take the restart. Needing only to finish second to earn the championship, Jensen then ran at a conservative pace to finish second, well behind eventual winner Brian Stokes on a Suzuki. Though tied on points with Stokes for the overall title, Jensen won the tiebreaker by virtue of his win on Saturday.
“I don’t like to wash my bike, and I don’t like to fall down,” says Jensen, explaining his aversion to rain races. “But there was a lot of money on the line.” He took home $13,500 for his efforts in the two pro classes.
Possibly the most inspiring rides of the weekend were put in by Melissa Appel of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, who not only won both days’ Women Supersport races while riding with a broken right hand, but borrowed a misfiring bike from her boyfriend to finish second in Sunday’s rain-hampered Superstock Amateur race, won by Jones.
“It was only doing about 95 down the straights,” says Appel, who chose Michelin rain tires for a race that started on a damp track and finished in a downpour. She finished a scant half-second ahead of third-placed James Gillespie, who was riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to chase down Appel’s 600cc Honda.
Byron Barbour of Lithia Springs, Ga., completed a sweep of both Superstock Expert races on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, to take the Grand Championship in the class. Meanwhile, J.B. Layman of East Ellijay, Ga., equaled that feat in Supersport Expert aboard a Yamaha R6, and Canadian Steve Walker did the same in Thunderbike Amateur on a BMW R1200S.
The Thunderbike Expert crown went to Saturday winner Danny Bilansky on a Buell, who rode to a safe second place on Sunday behind winner Joel Spalding, also on a Buell.
For more information, visit www.michelinmotorcycle.com.
