N2/WERA Endurance Series Lightweight class mid-season review
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We’re halfway through the 6 round series and the points race is pretty tight in the Lightweight class. The 4th round of the N2/WERA Endurance series will take place at PittRace on August 12th for the only 6-hour endurance race on the 2023 calender. Endurance racing, in general, is not very interesting, perhaps boring is the better description, unless you’re either involved or have a little knowledge of what’s going on. Some heavy-hitters, aka MotoAmerica fast-kids, should make things a little more exciting at Pitt, since MotoAmerica will be racing there the following weekend and some of the kids will be getting extra seat time.
Round 1 was at Road Atlanta, round 2 was at Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP), and round 3 was at Roebling Road.
Let’s take a look at the current teams listed in the points chase, in order of current standings, plus a few that may show up at Pitt:
RBoM Racing: points 262.60, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Giacomo Manera, Ryan Wolfe
RBoM won the inaugural 3-round N2 Endurance Series in 2017, tried to defend the title in 2018, lost to the Chiefs Racing Team in a season-long battle, and packed it in while wiping away the tears. After studying the generous payouts up for grabs, RBoM decided to dust off an old SV endurance bike, put a couple of young up-and-comers on it, and see if the team can cash in. So far, RBoM has had 3 podium finishes in 3 races (two 3rd’s and a 2nd) and lead the points via good, consistent riding and a little luck from some of the other team’s unfortunate adversity. That’s endurance racing in a nutshell: circulate until the checkered flag flies and see where you end up. An old-style 2-rider effort, let’s see how that works out in the 6-hour.
BrownTown Racing: points 256.60, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Chase Brown, Reese Brown, and their dad, Dave “DooDoo” Brown
This family effort won the 2022 Lightweight endurance championship and have the bullseye on their back this year. Chase and Reese have been the primary riders so far this year, but Dad can rip too. DooDoo Brown has elected to sit on the sidelines so far, but they will probably put him into the rider rotation at Pitt. BrownTown has had good consistency in 2023; they won round 1, suffered a little mechanical problem at round 2 but still finished 6th, and finished a very close 3rd at round 3. BrownTown is positioned well to defend their 2022 championship.
Chiefs Racing Team: points 224.95, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Chris Parrish, Brian “Tuna” Mullins, Darren Crooks, and maybe others.
A veteran team with veteran endurance riders. The 2018 and 2021 Champions. A lot of endurance experience on the Chiefs team, including team owner Greg Reisinger. Chiefs has had more than their fair share of adversity so far in 2023. A late crash in round 1, a proper 2nd place finish in round 2, and another late race crash in round 3 while running in a fairly comfortable 2nd place. Chiefs is a perennial front-running endurance team and are expected to right the ship for the last 3 rounds.
Wrecking Crew Racing: points 215.15, a very, very nice 3rd gen SV650. Riders: Greg Callahan, Ben Wargo, Dennis King, Dylan Davis.
One of the few 3rd gen SV’s running the series but it is well put together with a lot of very nice quickchange stuff on it. Wrecking Crew has had decent consistency, even with a tipover or two, and should be on the podium anytime now. They will have home-track advantage at Pitt and are expected to do well.
Realty One Group Affinity: points 212.90, Yamaha FZ/MT/R7. Riders: Rodney Vest, Corey Hart, Dr. Jeffrey Purk, Levi Badie?, Hayden Schultz?
One of the few (maybe the only) Yamaha FZ07/R7 to grid up so far this year, Realty One has been fast all year, also with good consistency. Perhaps limited by the Yamaha’s fuel capacity, but that’s just a guess. I think Realty One is committed to run the whole series and are certainly in the championship hunt.
Robem Engineering: points 210.20, Aprilia RS660. Riders: Gus Rodio, Alessandro DiMario, Toby Khamsouk, Anthony Mazziotto
If you’ve made it this far in this drivel, then this is where things get sort of interesting. The class of the lightweight field this year is the Aprilia 660 of the Robem Engineering team. A well-built bike, with lots of proper endurance racing goodies on it, plus some of the fastest kids in the country doing the riding. Gus Rodio, Alessandro DiMario, Toby Khamsouk, Anthony Mazziotto, and even emergency fill-in rider Keith Buras, a veteran ultralight endurance specialist. Robem has mopped the field so far, but had to skip the first race of the season. They are making quick work to get in contention for a come-from-behind bid to win the championship.
Fairly Average Race Team: points 162.70, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Will Schneider, Aric Yount, Matt Hall, and Craig Fajardin, Brian Fairchild.
FART, as this team likes to be called, is new to the endurance game but is sitting surprisingly well in the points standings. They got their bike running much better for round 3 and put in a good performance. I think Pitt may be a new track for this Alabama-based team, so they’ll have some more work to do.
Elbow Deep Endurance: points 151.00, Aprilia RS660. Riders: Dan Garver, Evan Garver
Elbow Deep ran an SV650 last year, but made the switch to the Aprilia for 2023. The Garver brothers primary mission was to test the waters in MotoAmerica Twins Cup on Aprilia’s, but added an endurance effort to cash in on the free money up for grabs. With it’s plastic fuel tank, the RS660 takes a little more ingenuity to expand it’s fuel range. The Garver’s are doing things their way, have had some teething problems, but will get things sorted for some better results. They also weren’t ready for round 1 and thus gave the rest of the field a headstart. No telling if Elbow Deep will show up for Pitt, but I hope they do.
Chasing Shade: points 124.65, Aprilia RS660. Riders: Lance Molnar and others
Chasing Shade also switched from an SV650 to the Aprilia over the off-season. They have invested in some nice endurance racing goodies for their RS660 but have had some mishaps, one which prevented them from gridding up for round 2. Their Aprilia is fast, like all the Aprilia’s, and Chasing Shade’s results should improve soon.
Dairy Boyz Racing: points 122.35, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Nick Uselmann, Bryan Bishop, Pittsburgh-ringer Ryan Carson
Dairy Boys skipped round 2 at CMP and the points loss has hurt them in the standings. The logistics to run the whole series does not favor this Wisconsin-based team, so I think they are picking and choosing their rounds. Pitt will be the closest track for them, which should mimimize the travel expenses a tiny bit, although close is all relative when traveling from Wisconsin. The rumor is that they are adding local ace Ryan Carson to the Pitt roster, so that should be fun to watch. Nick Uselmann has posted quite a few interesting YouTube videos documenting the trials and tribulations of the Dairy Boys endurance adventures over the last couple of seasons and the videos are worth a watch for anyone wanting get in the game.
Some Expensive Spares: points 116.45, Aprilia RS660. Riders: Chris Bays, Steve Tsotsoros, Ray Hofman, Trevor Standish, Kevin Boda
A slight twist on the team name changed from Some Expense Spared (while running an old beater SV650) to Some Expensive Spares (after making a last-round-of-2022 switch to an Aprilia RS660) has some confused in the 2023 data entry, but nonetheless, this is a formidable lightweight endurance team. The SES Aprilia is pretty much a clone of the 2022 Robem Engineering endurance bike minus some engine work and some other minor stuff. Plenty of fuel capacity and some very good riders gives the SES team lots of strategy options. A pair of crashes in round 1 left the team beaten and battered without enough time to get things sorted for round 2. Unfortunate, and bazaar, problems at the start of round 2 gave the field a 1-hour head start, and that time was impossible for the SES team to make up. Pitt could be the breakout round for SES in 2023.
Wheelie Bad Racing: points 50.80, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Mark Morrrow, Jeremy Sharer, Loyd Mason, Patrick McGraw
Wheelie Bad didn’t have their bike ready for round 1, but came prepared for round 2 at CMP. Unfortunately, 2 crashes during the race ended their day, but they got a few points. Budget constraints may put this effort on hold until 2024.
Buckeye Racing: points 45.00, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Tristan Konnecker, Joe Ball
Buckeye has been on the N2 Endurance grid since the series inception but have only partipated in round 1 at Road Atlanta. Based in Ohio, the traveling may have taken it’s toll over the years and these veteran riders may have decided to do only a few select rounds. Hopefully Buckeye shows up at Pitt.
Four Dudes on a Twin: points 0, 2nd gen SV650. Riders: unknown for 2023
Four Dudes on a Twin won the championship in 2019 but I think plans must’ve changed or they had problems before they could grid up. Four Dudes was listed as an entry at round 2 at Carolina Motorsports Park, and they’re listed on the points list, but they didn’t turn any laps. Hopefully Four Dudes can make it back out for another round, perhaps at their home track, round 5 at Summit Point Raceway.
Dino Nuggies: points 0, Bike: unknown. Riders: unknown
Dino Nuggies is listed as an entry for round 1 at Road Atlanta but didn’t turn any laps. So let’s move on…
Now onto some additional teams that are expected to grid up for Pitt:
419 Racing: Bike: 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Jerry Reeves, Jon Crawford
419 has been running the N2 Endurance Series since it’s inception in 2017. Lot’s of experience and they won the championship in 2020. Jerry Reeves has been dabbling in the MotoAmerica series, getting faster and faster every time he throws a leg over a bike, and did a couple of bucket-list west coast rounds that took away budget and time from the 419 endurance effort this year. 419 has skipped the first 3 rounds but will be gridding up at Pitt on their revamped 2nd gen SV650. They may be bringing in a 3rd hotshot rider for the 6-hour but details are unclear at the moment.
TCB Racing: Bike: 2nd gen SV650. Riders: Brogan Richards, Travis Richards, Eric Reed, Keith Buras
This team is a bit of a sleeper. Travis Richards and Keith Buras have many years of SV650 endurance racing experience and young-gun Brogan, Travis’ son, should be the ripper on the team. Eric Reed owes me some beer, so I hope they finish in the money.
Barnes Brothers Racing: Bike: The new for 2023 Kawasaki Ninja ZX4-RR. Riders: Liam Barnes and Blake Barnes
This one is a bit of a rumor, but would be super cool to see the new ZX4-RR on the track in race trim, much less in endurance trim. Not a twin, but who cares, this new high-revving inline-4 cylinder 400 is badass and I hope they show up.
Team Meat: on an old, old 1st gen SV650 tricked-out superbike. Riders: Dave Belsterling and Simon Buric
Another rumor, and a bit of a callout, that this local duo may show up. A lot of money sunk into the Belsterling 1st gen SV that just keeps on running. No telling if this rumor has any merit, but it would be good for the series, so I hope it’s true.
So, in summary, the old Suzuki SV650 is still holding it’s own in the championship hunt and currently occupies 6 of the top 10 positions in the points, but the writing may be on the wall…
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