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[1]600.jpg) | Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia On The Box at Infineon Raceway
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| Sonoma, CA- Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia rider Michael Hannas put his Aprilia SXV 450 on the podium with a superb third place finish in the Open Expert main event at SupermotoUSA Round Two, held at the Jim Russell International Karting Facility at Infineon Raceway. Hannas backed up his podium finish in the Open Expert division with an arguably even better ride in the 450 class to a fourth place finish after getting tangled with another rider and falling on the first lap, and then storming his way back through the field on the tight and technical track from last place all the way up to fourth, coming within mere inches of reaching the podium again. However, the team’s rough start to the day and ability to come back is what made the success so much sweeter when the day was done.
The riders were greeted with a new track layout for this single day race event with only two short five-minute practices to figure it all out before the heats. With a much tighter and more technical layout than the normal “National” configuration and a tricky 180-degree hairpin exiting the dirt onto the pavement, it was plain to see in practice that the day would see some crashes and some close passes for sure. Hannas was quick in the short practices and seemed to have the Aprilia working good both on pavement and through the dirt, but felt he was losing time coming from the dirt back onto the pavement, and in fact dropped his bike twice in practice in the tight dust-covered hairpin after the dirt section in an attempt to make up some of the time he was losing getting back onto the pavement. After a quick straightening out of the handguards, the team was ready for the first race of the day, the 450 heat race.
Hannas and his Aprilia SXV 450 were gridded on the outside of the front row for the start and got an excellent launch off the line to enter the first corner in second place. However, as Hannas tipped the bike into the corner, another rider from the second row who had got into the turn a little too hot slammed into the side of him and took both of them off the track and Hannas to the ground. Hannas somehow kept his hand on the clutch and picked his SXV back up and chased back after the pack. Although by the time he got going he was far behind the pack in last place, Hannas charged back up and started knifing through the other riders, setting times as fast as the leaders even while passing a couple riders per lap. Perhaps fueled by his desire to catch back up to the rider who had put him on the ground, the impressive charge through the field by Hannas made some people’s argument that the track was too tight to pass on seem rather silly. By the time the six lap heat was up and the checkered flag flew, Hannas had made his way all the way up to fourth position and was right on the back tire of the third placed rider at the flag who caused the first-turn pile-up. Hannas was fired up after the race, stating, “I didn’t even know where I was at, I just kept passing guys and it seemed like I passed fifty riders or something, I didn’t think I’d be able to make it back up to a front-row spot in only six laps on this track. The Aprilia was working awesome, I was able to make some passes in some pretty tricky areas with no trouble, the thing just handles so sweet I can put it in places on the track that the other guys can’t seem to. “
The Open Expert heat was next on the agenda, and with grids based on points, Hannas was gridded back on the third row after only managing a fifteenth place finish with bike trouble in the first race of the year. Hannas got a good launch on the SXV but got squeezed out in the first corner and entered the second turn in around twentieth position. He put his head down again and started picking guys off one by one, putting on another display of how to get through the pack now. After six laps Hannas was sitting on the back tire of the fourth placed rider at the finish, making it up to fifth for an inside second row starting position for the main. Afterwards, Hannas said, “At least I’m getting some practice using some other lines! I haven’t been making it easy, that’s for sure, but I think I’ve picked up some speed and some good passing spots having to come through the pack. Now if I can just start up front in the mains I think we’ll be able to fight for the win.”
After a short lunch break to get the corner workers some refreshment, the main events began with the 450 main the first one up. Having secured a front-row grid spot with his charge through the field in the heat, Hannas was looking forward to latching onto the lead pack at the start and going for the win. When the green flag flew, Hannas dropped the hammer and got another quick start to enter the first turn in third spot. He positioned his SXV on the outside of the second-placed bike exiting the tight left first turn and drove up alongside around the sweeping left second turn, which led into a tight right corner. Since he already was next to the second-placed machine and had the inside line into the tight right, Hannas had no choice but to throw it in and try to make the pass. As he turned the bike in to the right and hit the brakes, the other rider’s right handguard slammed into the Aprilia’s left handguard, causing the handlebars to turn quickly to the right and the front Bridgestone tire to slide across the track. Hannas held onto the bike while sliding alongside it and somehow forced it back upright, but it spit him off the other side onto the ground. Hannas quickly remounted the SXV at the back of the field and began another charge through the pack. With eight laps in the race, Hannas methodically picked off one bike at a time and with two laps to go was up to fifth place and closing on the battle for third when the two riders in front of him tangled in the dirt and stalled their motors. Hannas shot by as they were restarting their bikes and was actually up to third when they took the white flag signifying the final lap, but Tyler O’Hara, fresh off barely missing the final by one spot at the ESPN Navy Moto X Championships in San Diego the previous day, was able to get back around Hannas with a brave move over the jump in the dirt and Hannas was forced to settle for fourth. Still, he was happy considering the start to the race, saying afterwards, “Man, that was a tough one, I thought I could squeak by there at the start but we clipped bars and all of a sudden I was sliding on my side next to the bike still holding onto the grips, I almost pulled it off but it threw me off the other side. I knew I could charge back but when those two guys stalled it and I was up to third, I just couldn’t believe it. I thought I could hold Tyler off through the dirt the last time but he pinned it over the jump and launched over and past me, it was like a fifty-foot flat-lander but he pulled it off and shut the door on me. I tried to bump him off line coming back onto the pavement but he held his line and I couldn’t get by.”
The Open Expert main was up at the end of the day, and Hannas was ready to make up for the 450 race and finish on the podium. From his inside second row, fifth-place grid position, Hannas ripped his SXV off the line and into fourth place at the start. As the lead duo began to open a little bit of a gap over third, Hannas worked on trying to figure out a way past. After two laps around, Hannas made his move on the pavement and set off after the leaders. Immediately putting a gap on fourth place, Hannas looked to be catching the lead duo a little bit each lap, but with only seven laps left in the race, it would be tough for him to make it all up and make a move. With four laps left, Casey Yarrow, one of the riders in front of Hannas, stalled in the dirt section. Hannas seized the opportunity and rode around the outside of Yarrow as he refired his bike, and it was a drag race to see who could make it back onto the pavement first. Hannas was able to get his SXV onto the pavement first and now had three laps to try and hold off Yarrow. Hannas held second until they hit the dirt on the next lap, when he tried to block any attempt at a pass by moving over to the inside over the jump, so that Yarrow would have to jump over the Aprilia and make the move from the outside into the following corner. That is exactly what Yarrow did, launching over Hannas and shutting the door on the Aprilia before the next corner. Hannas tried to keep pace and fight back, keeping touch for a lap before making a mistake and losing a few bike lengths exiting the dirt section. Yarrow was able to maintain his gap to the finish with Hannas and the Aprilia following across the finish line to take the final spot on the podium. Hannas was happy to finally finish a race without hitting the ground and satisfied with the result, stating, “It’s a lot easier when you aren’t picking your bike up off the ground on the first lap! I’m glad to put the Aprilia up here on the box where it belongs, the bike definitely had the speed to fight for the win, but I took a little too long getting up to third and couldn’t quite close the gap. I thought I could hold off Casey for second when he stalled it, but he made an excellent move on me in the dirt to get by. I made a little mistake the next lap and from then out I couldn’t reel him back in, but it was good to see we have the pace to fight for victory. The Aprilia was working awesome, it just keeps getting better and better each race, and with the work the boys did over the winter and the new Bridgestone tires it is really coming together. It was nice to get on the podium here with all the friends I had come out to watch. I’d really like to thank all of them for the support, especially Doug and Jane from Parkhurst Racing for making it out to cheer me on.”
Next race for Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia is SupermotoUSA Round Three at Infineon Raceway again on May 16-18 in conjunction with the AMA Superbike Championship. For details on the next round as well as full results and point standings, visit www.supermotousa.com.
Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia is supported by Aprilia USA, www.motomeccanica.com, Ace Robey Construction, Parkhurst Racing, Bridgestone, Yoyodyne, Supermoto Engineering, Bell Helmets, Tucker Rocky, Forcefield Body Armour, and D&W Images.
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