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Spectators line sidewalks and rooftops to watch the through-the-streets Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular

Racers travel from as far away as Florida to compete

 

 

 

WEST BRANCH, Mich. (June 19, 2011) – A dream was realized by many motorsports fans on Friday, July 15 when competitors traveled to a northern Michigan town to race on its downtown streets. The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular took place in downtown West Branch, Michigan, marking the only completely through-the-streets motorcycle race ever held in Michigan and the first supermoto race in a downtown area to draw a large crowd in the United States held in several years (estimated at 1,750 spectators). Wisconsin’s Zac Rosine, only 18 years-old, took the top honors by winning the Pro Class on his Honda among a strong field of athletes.

 

Fans lined the streets on the 80-degree sunny northern Michigan day to see racers compete on both asphalt and dirt. They watched athletes sail by store windows on their motorcycles flying over a 50-foot dirt tabletop on main street in downtown West Branch.

 

Preparations began months ago for the Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular by MISuperMoto.com and the Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee. The business community and residents rallied behind this event and were gracious hosts throughout. Actual course preparations began the day before the race on Thursday, July 15. Initial course layout was pre-staging and building the temporary dirt section since the main street would not be closed until 3 p.m. the day of the event. In total, the course was built in an impressive 18 hours. Once the main street was shut down, hay bales, spectator fencing and the dirt tabletop were put into place within one hour thanks both to proper planning and the personnel from the Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee.

 

The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular course began on Houghton Avenue, the main street of downtown West Branch, as part of the annual Ogemaw Hills Bike Week. Competitors on specialized motocross bikes with slick road race-style tires took off the start line and backed-it-in to the first turn where the aged asphalt had loads of traction, making a right down a short elevation side street (Fourth Street) and then a right up into a parking lot through a temporary dirt section. Jumping through the dirt moguls turning left around a bowl turn, clearing a double jump, and then jumping out onto the street making a right turn. Shortly after, racers moved through a 180-degree turn back up Fourth Street flying over a steel ramp. The athletes would back-it-in to the left back onto main street and hit a 50-foot dirt table top then continue on main street past the spectators that were three-to-four deep and fans hanging out the windows and on rooftops. Before they hit the next block, racers backed-it-in to the left and completed their lap.

 

“This event was successful for many reasons,” said Dave Duprey, event promoter and MISuperMoto.com owner. “Nearly the entire West Branch community – both businesses and residents – supported our event and recognized the financial impact it would bring to the downtown and surrounding area. We have a core six man crew at MISuperMoto who have experience running supermoto races for the past four seasons who led this spectacular event. We had an additional experienced event organizing crew in our partnership with Ogemaw Hills Bike Week and Kerry Klug. There were racers who were itching to ride a unique event on downtown streets. And we have racing fans and the general public who want to see an exciting, unique event, and thanks to Taco Bell we were able to let them watch for free.”

 

Duprey, a former pro motorcycle racer himself, added, “The one thing I would never compromise on was safety for the spectators and racers.”

 

Competitors had two practice sessions before the main events. Athletes were pre-gridded prior to the race. The classes were Beginner, Amateur, Vet 35+ and Pro. Each main event, except the Vet 35+ Class, had multiple lead changes.

 

The 18-lap Pro Class was led by KTM’s Jason Hine of Ortonville, Michigan during the first five laps until he made a mistake in the turn before the start/finish line and was overtaken by Wisconsin’s Rosine. Hine would move into second. The battle for the top five was fierce between Great Lakes Powersports’ Adam Beldyga, Bloomington Power Sports’ Chase Guthrie, Kensington Motorsports’ John Lukasik, Jr. and Jeremy Tucker. Beldyga moved through the field after starting on the third row. Tucker started on the fourth row and moved to third within the first three laps until he crashed. At the checkers it was Rosine, Beldyga and Hine on the podium. As a result, Hine still leads the 2011 Michigan Supermoto Championship points, now by nine over Guthrie.

 

There were a few crashes including one that appeared significant, though fortunately the rider is okay. Scott Sangster crashed hard in the Amateur Class main near the urban supermoto jump on Fourth Street. The incident caused the need to red flag the race to get him safely from the course and make sure there was no oil on the track. Fortunately, Sangster suffered no major injuries and cleared the hospital exams.

 

All the class finishers are listed below. The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular was a points-paying round for the 2011 Michigan Supermoto Championship. Points have been updated at www.misupermoto.com.

 

Pro Class

1.     Zac Rosine, Honda, Wisconsin

2.     Adam Beldyga, Honda, Michigan

3.     Jason Hine, KTM, Michigan

4.     Chase Guthrie, Kawasaki, Indiana

5.     John Lukasik, Yamaha, Michigan

6.     Allen Doneth, Honda, Michigan

7.     Andy Cule, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

8.     Kirk Cheney, Honda, Michigan

9.     Ryan Yearwood, Yamaha, Tennessee

10.  Kevin Kiddle, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

11.  Chris Kemp, KTM, Illinois

12.  Tyler Stammer, KTM, Wisconsin

13.  John Kelsey, KTM, Michigan

14.  Jeremy Tucker, Kawasaki, Michigan

 

Beginner Class

1.     Mark McHaffie, Yamaha, Florida

2.     Keith Fowler, Suzuki, Ontario, Canada

3.     John Love, KTM, Michigan

4.     George Borrison, Yamaha, Michigan

5.     Dylan Bailey, Yamaha, Michigan

6.     Dave Cook, Yamaha, Michigan

7.     Steve Alexander, Honda, Wisconsin

8.     Keith Witherspoon, Yamaha, Michigan

9.     Jason Arnott, Honda, Michigan

 

Amateur Class

1.     Shannon Kelsey, Yamaha, Michigan

2.     Joe Sangster, Honda, Michigan

3.     Jarrett Bellamy, KTM, Ontario, Canada

4.     Dan Martinucci, Honda, Michigan

5.     Philip Popour, Honda, Ontario, Canada

6.     Ryan Graves, KTM, Michigan

7.     Mark McHaffie, Yamaha, Florida

8.     Kevin Tymensky, Suzuki, Michigan

9.     Albert Cule, Yamaha, Ontario, Canada

10.  Alex Scott, Honda, Ontario, Canada

11.  Jason Arnott, Honda, Michigan

12.  Scott Sangster, Yamaha

 

Vet 35+ Class

1.     John Lukasik, Jr., Yamaha, Michigan

2.     Ron Meredith, Suzuki, Michigan

3.     Chris Barendret, Husqvarna, Ontario, Canada

4.     Chris Kemp, KTM, Illinois

5.     John Love, KTM, Michigan

6.     Ryan Konitzer, KTM, Wisconsin

7.     Kris Weide, Suzuki, Michigan

 

As soon as the Pro Class main event ended, the crew went to work to clear and reopen main street. Within two hours all the hay bales, straw, and dirt was completely cleared from main street and from the parking lot where the temporary dirt section sat. At midnight Houghton Avenue was re-opened to traffic. Saturday morning, as the crew did final clean up, the only signs that a race ever occurred in downtown West Branch were the paint markings on the street to layout the start/finish grid.

 

Duprey added, “We are extremely thankful to the City of West Branch, West Branch Chamber of Commerce, Ogemaw County Sheriff’s Department, Michigan Department of Transportation, Ogemaw Hills Bike Week Committee and all the businesses and residents for accommodating us and graciously hosting this spectacular event.”

 

The Taco Bell Ogemaw Hills Supermoto Spectacular was promoted by MISuperMoto.com with support from Taco Bell, ActionSportsTV.com, Bridgestone, Magnum Distributing, Midwest Motorcyclist, Violation Goggles and MotoPR. For event photographs and videos, as well as possible 2012 event information, keep posted to www.supermotospectacular.com. 

 

The next round of the 2011 Michigan Supermoto Championship will occur on Sunday, August 28 at Auto City Speedway in Clio, Michigan. It will be a fierce battle for the championships in each class. The Pro Class will have two points-paying main events. Gates open at 10 a.m. and practice begins shortly after 12 p.m. Competitors may pre-register now at www.misupermoto.com.

 

About MISuperMoto

MISuperMoto is the premier regional supermoto racing and track day series east of the Mississippi. Its Test and Tune Days enable current enthusiasts to ride supermoto on a safe course, while new riders can try their hand at this growing motorcycle discipline including renting a demo bike. In 2011, MISuperMoto will promote the four-round Michigan Supermoto Championship and eight Test and Tune Days. These Michigan-based events are held at Auto City Speedway in Clio, Jackson Speedway in Jackson and during Ogemaw Hills Bike Week in West Branch. Support is made possible by Taco Bell, Bridgestone, Magnum Distributing, MotoPR, Midwest Motorcyclist, Violation Goggles and ActionSportsTV.com. Visit www.misupermoto.com for more information.

 

About MotoPR

Detroit, Michigan-based Moto Public Relations, LLC (MotoPR) brings best practice public relations and marketing to action sports to increase public interest and corporate support. Our integrated services include public relations programming, media relations, media training, promotion development, social media, sponsorship acquisition and management, and event production. Visit us online at www.motopr.com.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:         Bryan Peckinpaugh

                                    313.575.1245

                                    bryan@motopr.com