Race Report from the Seriensport Championship Motorcycle Racing Season 2009, Oschersl

Subject: Seriensport Championship Motorcycle Racing Season 2009, Oschersleben Germany
Event: Seriensport Racing Championship
Where: Oschersleben Motopark, Germany
Weather: Warm and Dry conditions - 25 C/75 F

Oschersleben Motopark hosted the 2009 season kick off with the first individual race of the championship. Two U.S. racers (Sean O'Connor and Maurice 'Reese' Evans) competed in the weekend race in front of a couple thousand fans!

The Dauerprufing (Training) Session: The dauerprufing portion required all riders to complete 100 km within the allotted time.

Reese was aboard the Dunlop shod Yamaha R6, while Sean rode the Michelin mounted Ducati 999R. Reese had a great session battling several riders of the international riders while dropping his lap times consistently. Reese finished the session 20 minutes ahead of the allotted time while running a consistent lap time of a 1'37 (within a half a second from his fastest time at Oschersleben).

Sean mounted his "Bella-styled" Ducati and quickly found a good set up for his machine during the warm and dry track conditions. Sean enjoyed a few quick laps and a aside from dodging a few slower racers, he enjoyed a successful and productive session.

The sprint race opening round is gridded by the 2008 championship results in the class. After the top 15 places are set, the rest of the field is organized by the date the riders sign up for the championship. Weird but true!

The Sprint Race:

Class 2 (V-twin engines): Sean was the sole rider for the U.S team in Class 2. He was in third position on the grid and looking to put up a fight and challenge the defending champion from 2008! Sean got off the line really well and even though he lost a few positions heading into turn one, Sean was still gaming for a good result. As the race continued, Sean wasn't able to better his position and after battling with a few separate groups, Sean couldn't maintain his position, however, he was able to salvage the weekend by finishing the race inside the championship points in 12th place.

Sean's quotes: "I didn't really have my mojo for this weekend. We discovered that the bike was losing oil near the clutch, however, it wasn't severe enough keep me out of the race. Oschersleben is (in a word) 'different' and definitely not one of my favorite circuits. It's always good to come away with valuable points towards the championship and I'm looking forward to the next race at Hockenheim with hopes of challenging for a podium."

Class 4 (600cc engines): Reese had a lot of work ahead of him in his first Seriensport class race. He was 20th on the grid and amongst mixed company consisting of national and international licensed racers. As the red light went out, Reese was off to a great start! At the first turn, Reese had dispatched two riders and immediately took up the fight with a group of three additional foes. Reese diced back and forth and eventually passed the immediate group and once again set off in pursuit of the next couple of riders within striking distance. As the race continued, Reese pushed up to 10th place overall, however, he soon came under fire from his previous competitors that he dispatched a few laps ago. Reese dropped down to 13th place with time and laps running out. As the race continued the amount of time to attack was quickly diminishing. As he crossed the finish line (with only one lap remaining), Reese was still in 13th place, but still determined to attack. Reese was inches from a pass on the outside of turn one, however, he decided to make his pass to 12th on the inside of turn two. He held his inside line and was able to get a great drive to set up for another pass into 11th place on the inside of turn three. Reese had moved up to 11th place with two riders still within a few bike lengths of him. Turn four is a high speed turn consisting of the famous triple left turn. Reese went on the outside of the triple left and snuck underneath another bike for 10th place. The next few corners were ridden defensively and aggressively. The Oschersleben back straightaway can push riders speed in excess of 160mph before braking for a fast left and right hand turn. Reese followed the opponent into the fast left turn and once again executed a great inside pass to move into 9th place. With only two curves remaining, Reese continued his hot lap and finished the race well ahead of the battle behind him. He posted his fastest lap time of the race in the final lap, and was the 2nd highest finisher amongst the national licensed racers!

Reese's quotes: "Great weekend! The bike ran really strong and with the new gears supplied by Bornhausser Co, I felt really confident throughout the race. My only issue was that I didn't 'really' start racing until towards the end of the race! The 4 battles I had in the final lap were great, lots of tough and close passes! The Dunlop's ran really well and the grip was unbelievable! We've only got a few days until we're back on the track at Schleiz. There will be some really good battles ahead! A big thanks to Dunlop, Borni, and Sean for troubleshooting the highly technical clutch problem during the training session!"

Fastest lap times in the races:

Sean: 1:42.7
Reese: 1:36.9

Huge thanks to Nedda "Team Manager", sponsors, friends, and fans!! We all appreciate your support!

Next race is this coming weekend 8 May at Schleiz Drieick Raceway. Hope to see you there!

The race results are attached in German. I'll have more information on the entire season posted on my website: www.reese-racing.net

Photo's will be posted within the next few days at: www.teamfotograf.de

Reese Evans, Yamaha R6
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