After a rocky start in practice, Racer X's Jason Weigandt was the big winner in the Sportsman class.
gang of bikers recently invaded the Quaker Steak and Lube Restaurant in Sharon, Pennsylvania. These guys weren't what you might expect when you think of "bikers" though. It was Bike Night at The Lube and there were plenty of Harleys on hand, but the center of attention were the group of sixty plus grown men and women racing small pit-bikes in the rear parking lot. While pit-bike racing is nothing new, this Supermoto form of it is. The track is split into two sections, one pavement like a road course and the other dirt with a few jumps thrown in.      This whole Mini Supermoto idea is the brainchild of Parts Unlimited brand manager "Rocket" Rob Buydos and has been very well received. So far four races have been held at The Lube with upward of 1,000 spectators at each event. It's a perfect match as the races are held on regular "Bike Nights" so the crowd consists of nearly all bikers of some form or another. The August 31st race was a special one as Buydos was able to arrange to have several of the factory motocross big-rig transporters stop by on their way to the Steel City National held on the following weekend. There was the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit rig on hand as well as Team Red Bull/KTM, Team WBR Suzuki, the Asterisk Mobile Medical Center and a Thor/Parts Unlimited bus and transporter. It was quite an impressive site.      With the remnants of Hurricane Katrina passing through the area earlier in the day the track was a little wet and slippery as Racer X Illustrated's Jason Weigandt would find out. He unfortunately went down twice in practice aboard a bike borrowed from freestyle motocross legend Trevor Vines. With practice over the track started developing some good lines in the dirt section, but was still pretty slick on the pavement. It was now time to race. Supermoto closely follows motocross in format. There are two motos run in each class and the winners are decided by their combined race results.      The first group up was the 50cc Open Class. Most of these bikes started out as Honda CRF50s, but show little resemblance to that now. Nick Wylie was the overall winner in this class beating twelve other racers.      Up next was what some call the Premiere Class, Mid-Size Production. You will find a mix of Kawasaki KLX110s, Suzuki DRZ110s and a few Yamaha TTR90s in the field. Trevor Vines was the overall winner here on his Yamaha. Parts Unlimited's "Sweet" Lou Lopez, also on a Yamaha TTR90 signed up for this class as well. Lopez finished ninth in moto one and came back to finish fifth in the second moto for seventh overall. Not bad, considering that he was down on engine size compared to the rest of his 110 based machine competitors.      The 50cc Production Class is always fun to watch. These racers often push their underpowered bikes off the start to help get them going. Shawn Brink took the win over nine other racers in the class.      New Zealander James Lavender was the man in the Clutch Class. Recently crowned champ in the Pit-Bike Nationals in the Clutch Class, Lavender carried his momentum over into Supermoto. Aboard a Honda CRF150, he swept both motos in his class dominating the competition.      The Sportsman, Womens and TTR/XR classes were all run together. Jason Weigandt took the top honor in Sportsman. Lisa Desantis won the Womens class and Lou Lopez was the big winner in the TTR/XR Class.      Last but not least was the Mid-Size Open Class. The sky is the limit in this group; clutches, works suspension, aluminum frames and anything else imaginable are on these bikes. There were some very impressive machines in this class. AMA motocross privateer Willy Browning won both motos, but not without a little competition from Great Lakes Powersport's Tom "ZMAN" Zielinski. ZMAN did his best to keep Browning in check but in the end the young privateer was too much for the cagey veteran Zielinski.      With four very successful rounds in the books, plans are in place for more. Hints of a triple-crown type event for the final round have been surfacing. The race would consist of three different types of races, a drag race, a Supermoto race and an oval track race. Competitors would be scored by their combined finishes in the three events. The future looks bright for these types of eventsÐall that is needed is a parking lot with a little grassy area adjacent to it and you are all set. Look for a race at a local Bike Night near you soon.
Freestyle legend Trevor Vines took the checkers in the Premiere Class aboard his Yamaha TTR90.		The idea for these Mini Supermoto races came from Parts Unlimited's resident minibike guru, Rob Buydos. Here "Rocket" Rob (center) and others check out the track, laid out by Woodford Excavating.
Parts Unlimited's Lou Lopez took top honors in the TTR/XR Class.

Parts Magazine
Volume 12 #10

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