From Cycle News Online:

Carsten Tops at Raceway Park

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ – With much of the East Coast in the middle of another heatwave, many riders expected the Raceway Park track to be dry and dusty. Track designer Mickey Kessler had other ideas and wanted to see who has been training this summer. Kessler wanted a rough, old-school-style track, and he got it. By bringing in tons of woodchips and mulch the week leading up to the event and with a good soaking the night before, the track was sure to shape up rough. And rough it was. The mulch held much of the water from the night before, and with an excellent job by the rest of the staff the day of the race, the track was dust-free and very difficult. The deep mulch formed multiple lines with huge braking bumps, which definitely rewarded those riders who have been training this summer.

In the first 125cc Expert moto, RRP Honda rider Ronnie Stewart jumped out to an early lead, followed closely by Suzuki rider Michael Gesso and Honda rider Jim McIlvaine. Class favorites Barry Carsten and Jason Harper were forced to come through the pack after poor starts.

By the end of the first lap, Carsten had worked his way into fourth, while Harper was still mired midpack. A couple of laps in, Stewart tried to run and hide and stretch his lead, but that lead turned out to be short-lived.

With Gesso and Carsten closing, Stewart’s front end washed out in a tricky off-camber section and allowed Carsten to get by. Stewart got going quickly enough to stay in third, but the moto victory appeared to be out of his grasp.

By now, Harper was using the rough track to his advantage, and he worked his way up to fifth, hot on the heels of Dragon Optical/Brunswick Powersports-sponsored Kawasaki rider Bobby Jimenez. Carsten let his KPS-suspended MSR/Arai Suzuki work the track and began to stretch out his lead, while behind him a battle raged on. Harper got around Jimenez and hooked up with Stewart and Gesso for a tight battle. All three riders rode the race of the day, constantly battling, sometimes three-wide going into corners, but in the end, it was the Mount Holly Suzuki of Harper, followed by Stewart and Gesso.

Second-moto action again saw Stewart put his Honda out front, followed closely by Carsten and McIlvaine. Early in the moto, Suzuki jockeys Gesso and Harper got by McIlvaine and set out after Stewart and Carsten.

With the track being watered to keep the dust down, Stewart again threw the lead away, as Carsten and Harper both got by and fought for the point position. Carsten used his years of experience on the rough Raceway Park track to keep Harper behind him, despite the constant pressure. Stewart followed the Suzuki duo across the line for third in the moto as well as third overall. Carsten was the overall winner, with Harper taking second overall with 2-2 scores.

Are you prepared? Have you been training? If so, why not give Raceway Park a try? Go to www.racewaypark.com for a complete schedule.

Results

65 (7-9): 1. Jacob Hartranft (Yam); 2. Tyler Betsch (Kaw); 3. Brandon Hartranft (Kaw); 4. Ty Ladich (Suz); 5. Tom Journet (KTM).

65 (10-11): 1. Nick Desiderio (KTM); 2. Jason Chavez (KTM); 3. Matthew Gahrmann (Suz); 4. Richie Trevelise (Suz).

85 (7-11): 1. Nick Desiderio (KTM); 2. Larry McVay (Suz); 3. Damian Krause (Yam); 4. Bobby Lipyanck (KTM); 5. Richard Kastle (Kaw).

85 (12-13): 1. Sal Calamita (Yam); 2. Frank Lettieri (Suz); 3. Michael Sowa (Suz); 4. Charles Sherby Jr. (Hon); 5. Talon Distefano (Suz).

85 (14-15): 1. Dakota Kessler (Hon); 2. Thomas Campanell (Suz); 3. Billy Allen Jr. (Suz); 4. Chris Greco (Hon); 5. Dennis Leonard (Suz).

JR MINI: 1. Nick Desiderio (KTM); 2. Larry McVay (Suz); 3. Richard Kastle (Kaw); 4. Damian Krause (Yam); 5. Bobby Lipyanck (KTM).

S/MINI: 1. Dakota Kessler (Hon); 2. Frank Lettieri (Suz); 3. Sal Calamita (Yam); 4. Thomas Campanell (Suz); 5. Michael Sowa (Suz).

125 NOV: 1. William Francisco (Yam); 2. Daniel Callahan (Suz); 3. Michael O’Brien (Suz); 4. Tyler Golding (Hon); 5. Evan Forosisky (Yam).

125 AM: 1. Peter Devlin (Suz); 2. Anthony Roth (Hon); 3. Ryan Gainey (Hon); 4. Mike Tippin Jr. (Suz); 5. Will Heckstede (Yam).

125 EX: 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Jason Harper (Suz); 3. Ronnie Stewart (Hon); 4. James McIlvaine (Hon); 5. Robert Jimenez Jr. (Kaw).

250 NOV: 1. Daniel Callahan (Suz); 2. Joey Peditto (Suz); 3. Ash Gaskill (Hon); 4. Gregory Jaromczyk (Yam); 5. Christopher Tierney (Hon).

250 AM: 1. Mike Tippin Jr. (Suz); 2. Robert Malkiewicz (Suz); 3. Vincent Veneziale (Hon); 4. Jeffrey Yeomans Jr. (Yam); 5. Richard Jacobs (Hon).

250 EX: 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. Jason Harper (Suz); 3. Lee Rostien Jr. (Yam); 4. Darren Edsall (Hon); 5. Onorino Fascelci (Hon).

WMN: 1. Kate Stewart (Kaw); 2. Michelle Kastle; 3. Nikki Stewart (Kaw); 4. Meaghan Metz (Yam); 5. Rene Kotopoulis (Hon).

SCHBY: 1. Adam Blessing (Suz); 2. Tyler Wozney (Yam); 3. Tyler Golding (Hon); 4. William Francisco (Yam); 5. Daniel Callahan (Suz).

CLGBY: 1. Greg Lurch (Yam); 2. Andrew Kratz (Kaw); 3. Peter Devlin (Suz); 4. Michael O’Brien (Suz); 5. Robert Malkiewicz (Suz).

25+ AM: 1. Patrick Doyle (Yam); 2. Brian Cirello (Suz); 3. Sergio Steel (Yam); 4. Victor Palmieri (Hon); 5. Alfred Batelli (Hon).

25+ EX: 1. Jason Harper (Suz); 2. James McIlvaine (Hon); 3. Onorino Fascelci (Hon); 4. Darren Edsall (Hon); 5. Jeff Roma (Hon).

30+ NOV: 1. Sean Gillies (Hon); 2. Alfred Batelli (Hon); 3. Matthew George (Hon); 4. Jeffrey Yeomans Sr. (Yam); 5. Mike Biondo (Hon).

30+ AM: 1. Joe Pateman (Hon); 2. Victor Palmieri (Hon); 3. Alex Listash (Hon); 4. Alfred Portilla (Hon); 5. James Kusmider (Hon).

30+ EX: 1. Barry Carsten (Suz); 2. James McIlvaine (Hon); 3. Darren Edsall (Hon); 4. Lee Rostien (Yam); 5. Marc Tiesler (Hon).

40+ AM: 1. John Stewart (Hon); 2. Stanley Poulsen (Yam); 3. George Trapani (Hon); 4. Mark Loniewski (Kaw); 5. Jeffrey Yeomans Sr. (Yam).

40+ EX: 1. Larry Harper (Suz); 2. Marc Tiesler (Hon); 3. Rick Rosseter (Hon); 4. Henry Knabe Jr. (Hon); 5. Lee Rostien (Yam).