VOL. 50 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
P83
ERIES
Alexander was a
happy young man
after wrapping up
the Supersport
East title.
the most laps earning the bonus
point that proved to be his margin
of victory in the championship.
In a frenetic final lap, West SuperSport champ Tomas Puerta
took the lead from Gillim and
Stefano Mesa moved up to push
Alexander back to fourth place.
Had the race ended in that order,
Gillim would have escaped with
the title. But Alexander was not to
be denied. He gathered every bit
of bravery and racecraft to nail a
better drive than Mesa out of the
final turn and drafted past by the
slimmest of margins just before
the checkered flag.
It marked the first AMA Pro
Championship for Alexander, the
nephew of former
AMA 750cc Superpsort champ
Richie Alexander.
"I think that's
probably
the
hardest
race
I've ever ridden.
Right off the bat,
I knew I was going to have to
work for it," Alexander said. "I put
my head down,
but couldn't get
down to the times
I was able to
do yesterday to
try to gap these
guys. I could feel
the pace slowing down at the end, so I knew I
could be a little faster if I needed
to be, but my bike was spinning
a lot and it was hot out there. I
didn't know where I would end up
and who was where, or anything
for that matter. These guys rode a
great race, and that last lap was a
little nerve-wracking. I led a little
bit of it before Tomas [Puerta]
took the lead and I found myself
in fourth place going into that last
section. I was a little scared for a
second - I wasn't sure if Hayden
[Gillim] was going to be able to
draft by into first. Fortunately, he
didn't. I really wanted that lapleader point so, every lap, I made
sure I crossed the line first."
Gillim mounted a superb
championship challenge, especially considering his team is a
low-budget privateer affair - up
against some of the biggest
teams in the AMA Pro Racing
paddock.
"Hats off to Corey and Tomas,"
said a gracious Gillim. "We all
rode a really good race. It was a
hard-fought one. I look forward
to next season to try to see what
I can do and hopefully get on a
bigger team. I wish these guys
the best in the future, and I really
think all three of us can go a long
way in the sport."
CN
Race 1
1. Hayden Gillim (Yamaha)
2. Corey Alexander (Suzuki)
3. Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
4. Stefano Mesa (Yamaha)
5. Mark Miller Jr. (Yamaha)
6. Erick Sanchez Mexico (Yamaha)
7. Sebastiao Ferreira (Yamaha)
8. Charles Weaver (Yamaha)
9. Devon McDonough (Yamaha)
10. Alex Shaw (Yamaha)
Race 2
1. Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
2. Hayden Gillim (Yamaha)
3. Corey Alexander (Suzuki)
4. Stefano Mesa (Yamaha)
5. Miles Thornton (Yamaha)
6. Wyatt Farris (Yamaha)
7. Sebastiao Ferreira (Yamaha)
8. Mark Miller Jr. (Yamaha)
9. Erick Sanchez (Yamaha)
10. Alex Shaw (Yamaha)
