BlackCrown heats up at the NBL Grands!

A-Elite Chris Murphy had several successful attemps at the pro section in practice and was feeling good about the race, but one bad lap was costly as he went down in the first moto and never returned to the track for the weekend due to injuries.

7 Expert Andrew Sperano had taken a fall earlier in the week while practicing for the Grands but went to Louisville with an optimistic outcome. However, it was never meant to be for Andrew this year as he finished 5th in his first two motos and sealed the deal on his 2011 season. He headed home with national #9 after the race on Saturday to recover.

8 Expert Preston Evans was proudly displaying his newly acquired World #5 plate in Kentucky. However, Preston never got things to go his way on his 20” bike, but did get down to business in 8 & Under Cruiser running up front with some moto wins and working his way to the 3rd spot on the podium in the main event. After the points were all added, Preston ended up with a national #13 in the 8 Expert class.

13 Expert Nick Connelly raced both bikes and was in the main in 13 Expert and 13 Cruiser on Sunday. This season has been tough for Nick and the bad luck continued as he unclipped as soon as the gate fell in the 13 Expert main and then a serious downpour of rain hit while he was on the track in the 13 Cruiser main. Nick kept focused and finished the weekend with respectable 6th and 7th place finishes. He will be flying a national #6 and national #4 on his bikes next season.

16 Expert Ryan DeRoche planned on leaving a mark on the talented 16 Expert class with his power and smooth riding style. Although he didn’t win the main, he led some laps and ended up crossing the line 3rd in the final race of the weekend and grabbed national #6 while doing it.

Aging up to 17-18 Expert was no joke for Ty Robinson. Ty found himself racing hard for the 3rd spot in the motos. He was able to work his way through some tough qualifying rounds but missed making the main. Ty still finished with national #11 for his performance this year.

19-25 Expert RJ Livesay went to Louisville to prove to himself and others that he belonged in the top of the super stacked class. This class was one of the largest of the weekend having 1/8 qualifiers. RJ rode great all weekend, looking strong all the way to 3rd in the main and finishing a great season with national #3.

41 & Over Expert Drew Motley was picked as a “wildcard” for the main, but a couple of mishaps in motos kept Drew from making it the final race on his 20” bike. Drew had some good laps in the super talented and huge 40-44 Cruiser class but was unable to work his way into the main. Drew ended the season with national #10 and #14 in classes that are full of some really fast older guys.

Speaking of cruiser classes Rob McAllister’s recent birthday moved him up the 45-49 Cruiser class just 2 weeks before the Grands and Rob took advantage of being the young guy in the class. Rob was out front all weekend and even the wet, slick track couldn’t keep him from winning the main from gate 8. Rob earned every point in the 40-44 Cruiser class this season and ended with a respectable national #4.

50-54 Cruiser Anthony Robinson couldn’t be outdone by his younger teammate so he won all of his motos but decided not to take any unnecessary risk in the main where he finished 4th and #4 for the season.

40-44 Ladies Cruiser Lisa Motley also led every lap she raced and grabbed the WIN and top spot on the podium for the first time in her long NBL career. Lisa ended up taking home the national #5 ranking.

50-54 Ladies Cruiser Shayne Robinson actually finished 2nd in a her first moto and promised it wouldn’t happen again! She did not disappoint and won every other race she raced for the weekend, she also brought home another national #1.

19-25 Girls Aryanna Wilfork was consistent all weekend finishing 4th in the main after some solid moto finishes.

16 Girls Cheyenne Grant also had a good weekend on the track riding her way into the main and finishing with national #5 to finish the NBL season.

After all the points were counted the BlackCrown Factory Team finished the weekend in 4th place amongst the other National Team entries at the last NBL Grands and also had 11 riders finish in the top 10 in points for the year. We’re also proud to say we finished 7th place out of 22 teams in the final National Team point standings for the 2011 season.