Armando Ferrer and Rodolfo Ramirez lead No. 69 Team HurtByAccident.com to first place followed by the No. 41 Buel of Liberty Waves Racing's Eric Pinson and Eric Hugo when the No.4 Scooter Superstore team began running out of gas on the last lap.
Rodolfo Ramirez and Armando Ferrer and the No. 69 HurtByAccident.com Suzuki GSX-R600 slipped by the fuel stricken No. 4 Scooter Superstore Aprilia RSV of Hawk Mazzotta and Ryan Elleby on the last lap to take the overall win in the 2-Hour SunTrust Moto-GT race that closed Saturday's schedule for the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta.
"We just kind of got lucky on the last lap," said Ramirez, who joined Ferrer in leading 43 of the race's 60 laps. "By luck, with one lap to go, I saw the Scooter team on the side of the road, so it was more like a lucky pass. I wouldn't say it was a pass."
The No. 41 Liberty Waves Racing Buell 1125R of Eric Pinson and Eric Haugo also slipped by the No. 4 Aprilia to take second and now leads the GT1 championship standings after placing third in the season opener in Daytona. The No. 41 riders led 10 laps while the No. 4 Aprilia team, which was classified third, led seven laps.
Frank Shockley and Elleby pulled off a fourth place finish on their No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati PS1000LE.
The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati PS1000LE of Frank Shockley and Elleby - who pulled double duty in the SunTrust Moto-GT race in addition to racing in American Superbike this weekend - finished fourth overall and won the GT2 class. Shockley wasn't worried about his young teammate doubling up.
"I didn't think there would be any issues," Shockley said. "Ryan is a tough kid and I knew he was in great shape and it wouldn't be a problem for him. The only thing I was worried about was giving him a good position to start with. We got off in the race in third and, I guess, in about three laps, I was able to get it into the lead. Then, on about Lap 5, I ran off in Turn 10 and instantly went to fourth place. I had to work really hard to get back to second. During the caution period, the Cycle Dynamics team pitted, which put us back in the lead. We were able to hold onto it until we got Ryan on the bike. He went out, and of course, it was a real exciting match between them. I tell you, it had my heart pounding. It was a great run, and I really appreciate it."
The No. 34 Cycle Dynamics Kawasaki EX650 of Ted Cobb and Dustin Dominguez finished second and motorcycle racing legend Jay Springsteen and his young co-rider Nick Cummings took the final podium spot on the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650.
