Celtic Racing’s Rispoli Wins First SuperSport Race At Road Atlanta After Dominating Practice And Qualifying, Starting From Pole!

San Diego, CA – James Rispoli rode his #1 plate Celtic Orient Express Racing Suzuki GSX-R 600 to victory in the first SuperSport race of the AMA Pro Big Kahuna Atlanta event on Saturday. Rispoli battled the entire length of the race with Jake Lewis, and was able to use skill and tactics to take advantage of late race traffic to secure the lead and race win. James dominated practice and qualifying approaching Saturday’s race, and was on Pole position for the start of the race with teammate Corey Alexander next to him on the grid in fifth position aboard the #5 National Guard Fairhills Group Suzuki GSX-R 600. Rispoli maintains his lead in the AMA SuperSport West championship and overall standings, while Alexander see his lead in the AMA SuperSport East standings narrowed down, he remains on top as we head into Sunday’s race.

“I’m really happy with this second win, and excited to do it again on Sunday. It was a tough race, and we were lucky to be able to work around the lapper – I stuck it in and was able to make a bit of a gap to Jake. My Celtic Orient Express Racing GSX-R 600 is working amazing.”

Alexander is preparing for Sunday’s race saying “I didn’t get a great start, and then struggled to move through traffic on Saturday, Road Atlanta doesn’t make passing easy, and I tried to ride a smart race and get as many points as possible. I’m happy to hold onto the SuperSport East lead, and I’m working with my crew to get a better start on Sunday.

James Rispoli rode his Celtic – Orient Express Racing #1 Suzuki GSX-R 600 to finish in second place in Sunday’s AMA Pro SuperSport race two. Road Atlanta marks two podium finishes and a pole position for Rispoli, in what must be described as a strong weekend despite a red flag that cut short Sunday’s SuperSport race. In a repeat of Saturday’s race one, Rispoli led the large SuperSport field and exchanged the lead repeatedly around the Road Atlanta circuit with the eventual race winner Jake Lewis. The 2012 season now moves west where Rispoli will be able to earn points towards the 2012 AMA Pro SuperSport West championship, and a defense of his 2011 title.

National Guard Fairhills Group #5 Suzuki GSX-R 600 rider Corey Alexander’s race ended early on Sunday, when he went down on lap two in the race after getting tangled up with another rider. Alexander suffered some injuries to his left shoulder and has some pain, but has good motion at this stage. With time before the next race in two weeks, everyone remains confident that Alexander will heal quickly and settle back into the front of the SuperSport field where he was at the season opening event at Daytona a month ago.

Enthusiasm cannot be tempered by a red flag for Rispoli, he stated “I really had a fun race two battling with Jake. The team did a great job getting me back out there on a new motorcycle after a warm up incident. The #1 Celtic – Orient Express Racing bike was really good, I had just a couple moments during the race but was able to ride a comfortable fast pace. I had just passed for the lead and set my personal fast lap before the red flag came out! Many thanks to my team and crew for doing such a great job all weekend so I could be on the podium twice!”

Corey Alexander is already looking ahead to round three at Infineon and said that “Overall this weekend was not what I hoped for. My crew Barry, Mike, and Tim all worked hard to give me a great bike. I felt like we finally got the National Guard Fairhills Group Celtic Racing GSX-R 600 dialed in for Sunday, but got the short end of the stick after a bad start. Hopefully everything checks out and we will be at Infineon.”

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