Rispoli Takes Overall SuperSport Championship, Gerloff Earns Victory in Series Debut

MILLVILLE, NJ (September 3, 2011) - The first of this weekend's two AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport races at New Jersey Motorsports Park culminated in two championships and the unexpected appearance of a new contender on the top spot of the podium. In his career-first AMA Pro Road Race, 16-year-old Garrett Gerloff (Graves Monster Energy) took the win by a substantial 11.795 seconds, leading fifteen of the race's nineteen laps en route to victory.

"I have to thank the Graves Monster Energy team," said Gerloff. "They've given me an incredible bike to ride, they've done a great job helping me with the bike and making sure it's set up right. I've raced with a lot of these guys, but I was able to concentrate on staying in front and it feels pretty good to have won ... I didn't expect to run this well. I know some of the riders here, but it's really great to win."

Finishing second in today's race was new AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport East Division Champion James Rispoli (ANT-Racing.com/STAR School) -- a feat that also enabled him to clinch the overall SuperSport championship. With these two titles wrapped up, Rispoli will collect the lion's share of the $25,000 points fund from Motorcycle-Superstore.com at the AMA Pro Road Racing Awards Banquet in Atlantic City. 

"It's been a long year, but we've worked so hard," said Rispoli. "It's thanks to our team and the many companies that support us -- ANT-Racing.com, Star School, the National Guard, Suzuki, and so many others -- that it's possible to go racing. Now we can get after it tomorrow and give [Gerloff] a better run!"

Rounding out the podium was LTD Racing Y.E.S. Yamaha's David Gaviria, the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com West Division Champion. Gaviria battled four-time race winner Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com Honda) in today's contest, as well as Miller Motorsport Park winner Corey Alexander (Vesrah Suzuki) as he made his way from fifth to third at the finish. Solis crossed the line fourth while Alexander suffered a get-off that relegated him to 34th. 

"Last year I raced on my own," said Gaviria. "To have a team like LTD Racing and Y.E.S. and the crew helping me, it's fantastic. We won races this year, and I am thankful to be up on the podium today and all season." 

While the end of the race was fraught with drama, the start nearly had more than its fair share as well, as front-row starter Hayden Gillim stalled his bike at the green and had to wave his arms frantically to warn riders accelerating from behind. Though there was one close call when a rider clipped Gillim's knee pad, everyone made it through safely, and Gillim eventually charged through the field to take home a well-deserved seventh. 

Elsewhere, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Race 1 winner Dustin Dominguez finished fifth on his Team Latus Motors Triumph ahead of Gaviria's teammate, Tomas Puerta, while Miles Thornton finished eighth. The latter's result moved him up to fifth overall as the class heads into tomorrow's season-ending race. 

Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race 2 goes green at 1:15 p.m. ET tomorrow, while coverage of today's AMA Pro Road Racing action airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET on SPEED.

For New Jersey Motorsports Park tickets and information, visit www.njmp.com. To learn more and to be a part of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship, visit www.amaproracing.com and join us onfacebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.