The final day of racing in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul National Final on Sunday saw racers from across the nation face the challenge of a new course layout at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex at Road America. When the final checkered flag was thrown, five riders claimed national titles in the first running of Mini Cup National Final.
As they did on Saturday, the riders raced two legs on Sunday, but on a different circuit at the Motorplex. The total points accumulated from the four rounds determined the overall class champions.
On Sunday, riders and spectators were greeted by picture-perfect weather with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s.
TopPro Racing’s Gabriel Datis was the first rider to complete a clean sweep when he clinched the Stock 110 Championship with a perfect score racing his Kawasaki. Team Sorrentino’s Blake Sorrentino finished second in the class, and Beastmode Racing’s Christian Berlowitz took third.
“It feels really great to be a champion,” Datis said. “I felt a little pressure in that last race, but I just kept working and putting in good laps.”
Riders Club’s Mahdi Salem faced a much stiffer challenge on Sunday in the GP 190 class. Ohvale USA’s Kensei Matsudaira led the early laps of race three on Sunday, before Salem took control late. The two saved the best for last in Sunday’s race two, with several passes for the lead and Salem not securing his fourth consecutive win until a pass for the lead in the last set of turns. It was easily the most exciting race of the weekend, and Matsudaira ended up turning the fastest race lap of the day in any class with a 52.391-second lap in race two during their epic battle.
“I wasn’t going to pass him [Matsudaira] on the last lap where I did, but I got a good drive down that straight and had a lot of speed,” said Salem, who is set to begin his first year of high school this fall. “I almost hit his rear tire when I came up on him, but I was able to sweep by at the last second to take the win.”
Matsudaira finished as runner-up in GP 190 with all second-place finishes, and Williams Dalu took third.
Apex Racing’s Chase Jazikoff won the Stock 50 Championship with a perfect sweep of four races. Jazikoff endured a challenge from CTR/Roof Systems’ Cruise Texter in both of Sunday’s races, with Texter leading portions of both. Texter’s strong Sunday earned him second in the Stock 50 class championship just ahead of Lucky 13’s Bron Macanga.
Ohvale USA’s Jase Dill was another rider with a perfect score at the end of the weekend in the GP 160 class. Historic GP’s Connor Raymond kept Dill honest by staying close in the final race on Sunday. Raymond, with four-straight runner-up results, was second in the overall, and Datis was third. That made Datis the only rider in the championship to finish on the podium in two different classes.
CJR Performance’s Cameron Jones went unchallenged in the Street GP class on his very quick Honda Grom. Jones took convincing wins in all four rounds over the weekend in an unrestricted age class where adults can race.
For results visit: MiniCup Results | MotoAmerica Registration
