Team RidersDiscount.com #20 Sam Gaige returned to his winning ways over the weekend of 17-18 September, 2011 at Summit Point Raceway for the combined Northeast and Mid-Atlantic WERA Sportsman Series. The Rochester, New York native earned four wins on his Markbilt-prepared Yamaha YZF-R6 in cool conditions that were marked with a bit of peril and some unexpected changes in the weather too!

It all started off promising with weather predictions in the mid-60’s and no chance of rain. Evaluating notes from his last weekend at the West Virginia track, Gaige applied a few quick changes to his bike’s setup, installed a new clutch pack and added the Dunlop tires best suited for the anticipated weather. Arriving at the track early Saturday morning to sub-50°F air temps was expected, but then the rain came, and Sam chose to sit out practice. Without having any chance to evaluate his bike in practice, Sam went to his start position on the fifth row of the Heavyweight Expert Solo grid. After the green flag, Sam quickly made his way to the front on the still-drying track for a flag-to-flag victory. With one win in the bag and a bike handling impeccably, Gaige was ready for Sunday.

On Sunday, conditions were much the same, only without any precipitation. Gaige went to the line for his first race on the day, C SuperStock, looking to take another win. After a great start, coming into turn four on the second lap, his Yamaha starting shaking so violently that he immediately pulled off the track only to discover that the chain had wrapped itself around the rear sprocket! WERA officials quickly retrieved the bike and, having returned to the pits, Sam discovered that the countershaft sprocket had come off his bike! Luckily for him, the damage was only a pair of sprockets and a chain. With the issue addressed, Sam went on to convincing wins in B SuperStock, C SuperBike and B Superbike races. Along the way, only Brad Burns hounded Sam for a few laps in the last race before taking out a front-straight gap all the way to the checkered flag yet again.

Sam Gaige – “It was fun, I was riding really well and managed to set the fastest 600 lap of the weekend. I got there Saturday morning where it was a cool 48° and just as I was getting the bike ready it started to rain. Riding in the cold is one thing, but with the rain I decided to sit out practice along with the Middleweight Solo and do the Heavyweight Solo instead. For that race, the track never did dry completely and there were some sketchy patches out there, so I just built up a lead and held it to the end.

Sunday was better without the rain except for the chain coming off on the second lap of the C SuperStock race! I’m really lucky to walk away from that. The chain just wrapped itself around the rear sprocket and wore down some teeth. The crash truck got out there in no time, which allowed me to get everything fixed since nothing else was damaged. After that, the bike was great and it just worked perfectly for me. I’m really happy to come here and get a few wins on my Markbilt-prepared, Dunlop-shod Yamaha YZF-R6.”

Next up for Sam Gaige and Team RidersDiscount.com is the WERA Sportsman three-region event at Nelson Ledges Road Course in Warren, Ohio this coming weekend 24 & 25 September, 2011. Sam has had a great deal of success on the fast, flowing track where stability over the bumps is paramount for competitive lap times.

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Team RidersDiscount.com #20 Sam Gaige returned to Summit Point Raceway for the second time in 2011. Hungry for more wins, the Rochester, NY native was looking forward to another great weekend at the CCS/ASRA Summit Point CycleFest. Unseasonably hot weather added to the already challenging event for Gaige, who had to start from the back of the grid in two of three events since starting order was based on when registration was received. Still, Sam managed rode his Markbilt-prepared, Dunlop-shod Yamaha YZF-R6 to a podium finish in each sprint, taking third in Expert GTU and second in Expert Middleweight SuperSport. The big event for Sam was the Michelin Pro SportBike race, for which, he qualified on pole whilst setting the fastest 600cc lap of the weekend. The race started off with Gaige taking a commanding lead right from the green flag. A problem started shortly after leaving the line when the steering damper mount on his YZF-R6 failed. Still, Gaige led the entire race up the last turn on the last lap while having to deal with limited steering the entire time. He crossed the line second to earn himself a weekend without finishing off the podium.

Sam Gaige – “I can’t believe I didn’t come away with a win in the SportBike race after all that work! I was holding on to the damper itself, riding most of the race one-handed. Twice I lost hold of it where it got caught between the frame and the forks and on the second time it cost me the win. I can’t believe I didn’t run off during the race – I saved that for the cool down lap. The other races were a blast though. I had a lot of fun starting from the back of the grid in the GTU and Middleweight SuperSport classes where I think I had to pass at least two guys a lap to get on the podium. And I was passing people in spots I shouldn’t have been just to get up there! I just ran out of time with the laps ticking down like they did. Overall, I had a great weekend and I’d like to offer my thanks to Mark Rozema and everyone else who helped out in the pits. The heat was staggering and those people made life a lot easier for me.”

Having just missed out on a win in his last race at Summit Point, Sam Gaige and Team RidersDiscount.com look forward to WERA’s Pirelli Sportsman Series at BeaverRun Motorsports Park 18-19 June. Being that it’s a combined North Central and Northeast region event, the undulating circuit will provide a new challenge for the team’s first event there for 2011.

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Team RidersDiscount.com #20 Sam Gaige started off his 2011 racing season with great success during the Pirelli/WERA Sportsman Series event at Summit Point Raceway. Gaige took his Dunlop-shod Markbilt Yamaha YZF-R6 to three wins on Sunday with riding conditions that were constantly worsening as the day went on. The weather made it an especially challenging weekend for every racer and before the end of the day, Gaige too would succumb to the very green track surface and lost the front and crashed while in the lead during his last race of the weekend. Even after that, he was still able to complete the last race as the crash caused only cosmetic damage to his YZF-R6.

Sam Gaige – “I’ve been coming to Summit Point for fifteen years now and those were some interesting riding conditions. I had to break-in a new engine during the morning practices, so I really couldn’t get up to speed until it was time for the green flag. I got out there for each race with the goal of getting the hole shot and maintaining a steady gap for the lead. My Dunlop tires held up really well despite the cold weather and the only bad thing came from going out on cold tires that were new for the last race of the day and maybe pushing it a little too hard, too early. It was my first weekend out, so I can’t complain about the fall, it was a rookie mistake on my part. I’d like to thank RidersDiscount.com for the Alpinestars and Kushitani gear they provided for me because it’s all incredibly comfortable and held up very well in the crash, so I can’t complain about that! And I’m totally happy with my Markbilt-prepared YZF-R6. Mark builds incredibly strong engines and they carried me through to the finish in each race. I’d also like to give a big thanks to Mike Cerone for all of his support for 2011 which makes getting out there to race a lot easier!”

With the first weekend out of the way, Team RidersDiscount.com looks forward to Sam’s next event with WERA at Nelson Ledges at the end of April. Gaige enjoys the track for its fast turn and burn layout that demands an exact riding line to stay off the bumps. He’s had a great deal of success in the past and will be looking for more wins at another track he’s been visiting for many years.

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