Larry Lawrence | May 4, 2016
Despite the cold and rainy conditions, JC Camacho pushed hard on his Altus Motorsports Tuned By RaceworX Yamaha R6 on Sunday afternoon to earn a second successive event third place finish and a trip to the Superstock 600 podium during the Moto America Superbike Championship of New Jersey. On Saturday, JC had fought set-up issues to finish in sixth, but the combination of finishes helped put Camacho in a tie for third place in the championship heading into the next round in two weeks.
Race One – Saturday
Both of the free practice sessions on Friday had been run in mixed wet/dry conditions, and caused JC and his team to struggle on the bike set-up. Saturday dawned dry but cold, and in the morning qualifying session JC could only manage to qualify 17th overall, skewed by the fact that the Superstock 600 times are combined with the faster Supersport class. But Camacho rode around the machine issues in Race One and ran a close race with Andy DiBrino. “I got an okay start and got around a few guys,” said JC. “I ran with Andy early on, then Gage (McAllister) in the middle of the race until he got around Andy. I got in behind Andy again, then (Michael) Gilbert passed me towards the end, but I got around him on the last lap.”
Race Two – Sunday
Just as forecasted, the weather on Sunday was miserable, with rain and temperatures in the 40s. The morning warm-up session went well, with JC sixth-fastest in the Superstock 600 group on full rain tires. Camacho got a good start and was settling into a good pace when a rider crashed in the Turn Two area. Unbeknownst to the cornerworkers, the machine was leaking oil onto the track, and several riders fell in the mixed water and oil slick. “I saw a couple of riders go down, then I lost the rear and front about the same time, but I didn’t go down,” Camacho said. It took over an hour to get the track cleaned, and MotoAmerica officials elected to run the Superbike/Superstock 1000 race next. It was after 6:30pm when the Supersport/Superstock 600 class had their restarted race, and it was shortened to a six-lap sprint. JC got away well and made it to third place in the short race. “It was like a short club race, so I got away with Benny (Solis) and then ran with Dakota (Mamola),” JC said. “I felt like I could have passed Andy, but I just ran out of time.” JC recorded the fastest lap of the race in the Superstock 600 class.
JC Camacho’s next event of the 2016 Moto America Superstock 600 championship series is at VIRginia International Raceway in Danville, Virginia on May 13-15, 2016.
For the 2016 season, JC Camacho is proud to be sponsored by Altus Motorsports, RaceworX USA, GP Suspension, Dunlop Tires, House of Paint Designs, Scorpion EXO, PSR USA, Vesrah, Core Moto, HT Moto, Vortex, Motion Pro, K&N Filters, BD Racing, RS Taichi, Moto Liberty, Moto-D, M4 Exhaust, Speedfreak Decals, Spy Optics and MotoMummy.
For more information, visit JC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jc.camacho.91