Thunder Moto
Blessing Cashes in on Wildwood Beach
By Scott Lukaitis / Photo by Lukaitisphoto.com
WILDWOOD NJ, MAY 31ST & JUN 1st, 2008
The sounds of the Atlantic Ocean and the thunderous boom of four-stroke engines combine for an event like no other. The Thunder in the Sand promoted by New Jersey Thunder Motorsports took place over the last weekend of May at Wildwood New Jersey.
The unique race is held twice a year once in the spring and once in the fall. Held over a period of two days with one moto in each class held on each day the relaxed events schedule allows for plenty of time to soak up the New Jersey sun. The Mark Hufnagle designed track is built right on the beach in the sand. With no other dirt brought in the shifting sand of the Jersey shore make for a challenging and exciting track for all.
The 250 and 450 “A” classes were the premier classes for the weekend. A large cash payout meant for a profitable weekend for the winner. The first class of the weekend was the 250 class, for up to 250c two and four strokes, Adam Blessing was the class of the field. Riding a borrowed Suzuki RM250 the Fox / Dragon Optical backed rider jumped out to an early lead and never looked back taking the victory. No Fear / Von Zipper backed Dave Ginolfi was second and Yamaha mounted Eric Balawejder was third. The three riders would repeat their moto scores in moto 2 and finish in the same order overall.
The 450 class saw Blessing on his more familiar Honda but the results were much the same. Blessing was again the winner of both motos with Ginolfi second in both motos. In the first moto, LDR / Moose backed Chris Chomko put his Honda in third and Kawasaki rider Evan Forosisky in fourth. Those two riders would swap position in moto 2 thus giving Forosisky the final step on the podium.
Chomko was not left off the podium however as he used 1-1 moto scores to take the 25+ Expert class payday. Second behind Chomko was 30+ Expert class winner Brian Carroll and third overall was Honda rider, Tristian Huey.
With classes for the youngest to the oldest and all bike sizes, a great weekend was had. Even the torrential rain and threat of a tornado on Saturday afternoon didn’t hamper the great weekend. Make your plans now for the fall event held on the weekend of October 10th and 11th. Check out their website at www.thundermoto.com for more information.