Celtic Racing’s Rispoli Claims Second Pole And Race Two Victory To Extend AMA SuperSport West Lead

San Diego, CA – Celtic Racing arrived at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California with James Rispoli leading the AMA SuperSport West Championship and teammate Corey Alexander firmly in the top five of the East Championship despite crashing hard at Road Atlanta in race two. Rispoli guided his #1 Celtic Orient Express Racing Suzuki GSX-R 600 through a dense field of 51 riders to secure pole position; half a second ahead of his closest competitor. Alexander rode the #5 National Guard Fairhills Group Suzuki GSX-R 600 to qualify sixth and proved his mental and physical toughness, overcoming his shoulder injury and a nasty highside as well.

In Saturday’s race one, Rispoli lead early after a great start, but was passed by race winner Dominguez and missed the win by only 0.170 seconds at the flag. James Rispoli and Jake Lewis resumed the close racing seen at Road Atlanta, and extended a gap to the second pack of riders by several seconds. Corey Alexander fought off soreness and pain, and battled in a pack of six riders near the front, taking advantage of small mistakes ahead of him to improve his position through the race. Alexander eventually finished ninth – a great result despite difficult conditions.

Celtic Racing approached Sunday’s race two with the desire to improve on Saturday’s results, and both riders succeeded – James Rispoli rode hard and took his third win of the season ahead of Dominguez, Puerta, and Lewis. This marks back to back double podium’s for Rispoli in addition to the pole position, and cements his SuperSport West lead at 44 points ahead of Meyers. Corey Alexander showed his determination and strength, leading the second pack of riders and finishing seventh, two positions forward of his result on Saturday.

James Rispoli was really happy to report that “Another race win feels great, and we picked up valuable points going to Miller. Qualifying was tough, but the bike felt great and was working good all weekend – great to start from Pole especially at Infineon. I couldn’t get my rhythm going Saturday and had to settle for second place, but we had a race winning machine – hats off to my Celtic Orient Express crew – William, Eric, and Justin. Sunday was awesome, and I had a great battle at the front of the pack with those guys. It was a crazy race with all the red flags, and the tires go off a little each time which made for a slick race. On Sunday I wasn’t going to let anyone lead, especially after the third red flag. We got the bike working great, and I had the bike to win all weekend. I wanted the most laps led and the race win, it was good to give my crew another win. I have to thank Jason Pridmore and Mark Gallardo from the Star Motorcycle School for really working with me and getting me groomed right.”

“During Sunday morning’s warmup my crew got my National Guard Fairhills Group GSX-R 600 feeling better so I decided to give the race a shot. Overall I’m glad we did and I’m happy to come out of this weekend with a decent result under these circumstances. I really have to give a huge thanks to everyone involved for staying behind me and especially my guys Barry, Tim, and Mike. They worked really hard this weekend and I appreciate it tremendously. Many thanks also to Jason Pridmore for his coaching on and off the track, it make a huge difference for me this weekend. We will be back to the front at Miller for sure!” stated Corey Alexander.

Both Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R 600′s showcase the best in road racing technology. Product support for both machines comes from: Michael Jordan Motorsports, American Suzuki, Armor Bodies, Chicken Hawk Racing, DesignStar3, Dynojet, FMF Racing, Full Spectrum Power, Hudson Valley Racing, Galfer Brakes, GB Racing, K-Tech Suspension, Maxima Oils, Motion Pro, Pit Bull, Riviera Country Club, Saddlemen, Star Motorcycle School, Vortex Racing, and Zero Gravity.