Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia riders Colin Macdonald and Brian Pecore put their V-Twin Aprilia RXV 4.5 machines on the podium once again during SupermotoUSA Nor-Cal Round 8 at Ukiah Speedway.  SupermotoUSA presented the riders with a challenging, 75% dirt, 25% pavement layout that definitely stretched the definition of Supermoto to the extreme but Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia was up to the task.  Macdonald and Pecore went 2-3 in the Sportsman class, with Pecore adding a second place in the Vet 45 division for the team’s third podium finish of the day.  Michael Hannas also had a good day on his Aprilia SXV 4.5 on the mostly dirt layout with a solid fourth place overall in the Open Pro class, and a fifth in the 450 event.

In the Sportsman class, Macdonald and Pecore went 1-2 in the heat race, earning front row starting positions for the main.  Macdonald took the holeshot in the main, with Pecore not getting a great launch and letting local rider Ray Swaney slot in between the Aprilia Twins.  Swaney immediately began to pressure Macdonald for the lead but Macdonald did not waver.  While Macdonald and his Aprilia RXV seemed to have an advantage on the short pavement section, Swaney looked to have his local motocross track dialed, which made up the majority of the track.  Sure enough, Swaney was able to get a drive on Macdonald and squirt past never to look back.  Perhaps thinking wisely about his commanding points lead, Macdonald played it safe and brought it home in second, with Pecore close behind in third.  Macdonald and Pecore still sit first and second in the Sportsman points chase with one round remaining.

Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia put another RXV on the box in the Vet 45 class, with Brian Pecore taking the second place spot.  Teddy Tamagni took his first ever victory with a dominating flag-to-flag win, proving that having a motocross track at your house does come in handy.  Pecore fought with Vet 45 points leader Rob Campbell and Tamagni the whole race, getting Campbell for good on the final lap but never found a way by Tamagni, who didn’t make a mistake the whole race.  Macdonald crashed in the opening stages of the race, remounted and charged through the field back up to fourth by the finish, salvaging enough points to keep his close second to Campbell in the points chase.  Pecore sits in fourth, within reach of third with one round left for the year.

Like usual, the boys had a tougher time against their younger competition in Vet 35, but still put in a good showing with Macdonald finishing in fourth after a race-long battle for third, and Pecore finishing in sixth.  Macdonald sits in fourth in the Vet 35 points chase, well within striking distance of third.

In the Open Pro division, Hannas shot off his outside row one grid position into the top five at the start of the first moto.  Hannas immediately made a move into fourth position in the dirt, and began to pressure the leaders.  Hannas was able to close on the top three in the short pavement section, but would lose all the ground he made once back in the dirt.  Unable to make a move, Hannas settled for fourth in the first moto, hoping to improve for moto two. 

In the second moto, Hannas spun his rear tire on the start and was back in seventh spot as the pack entered the dirt for the first time.  Hannas quickly made his way up towards the leaders, getting up to fifth by the third lap.  Unfortunately, the gap was already too great to close.  Hannas made some ground on the battle for third during the middle stages of the moto, but with a large gap behind him and not enough laps left to close on the riders in front, Hannas wisely chose to play it safe and bring it home in fifth for fourth overall on the day. Hannas now sits in fourth in the Open Pro points chase and is within seven points of third.

In the 450 division, Hannas finished fourth in his heat for a front row start for the main.  This starting position, on the outside of the front row near the top of the banking, plagued Hannas again, as his rear tire simply spun up on the dirty racing surface while the rest of the grid shot towards turn one.  Hannas was stuck back in eighth spot while the leaders started to check out on the field.  Hannas once again fought through the pack, making some aggressive passes in the dirt, but was only able to get back up to fifth by the finish.  Still, this finish combined with troubles for the competition resulted in Hannas jumping up to second in the 450 points chase, with a one point lead over third and eleven in hand over fourth.  With the final race of the season being a double points round, anything can happen, but with Team Moto Meccanica Aprilia riders in the top four in four different classes, it will definitely be a race you don’t want to miss.