It was a roller coaster weekend for last year’s top ranked Pro Riders AJ Lester and Matt Turner at the CSRA’s Season Opener held January 21st & 22nd in Owen Sound, Ontario.
Turner struggled all weekend with set-ups but through the tenacious and skilled efforts of Team Wrench Sean Tiley, Turners all-new 600cc Open Mod catapulted him to a strong second place finish in Pro Open for the Georgian Cup.
Disappointment came in the form of injury when last year’s third ranked National Pro AJ Lester injured his knee in Saturday’s qualifying, sidelining him for an indeterminate time. CSRA Semi-Pro Justin Parnell from Parnell Motorsports has taken over AJ’s ride and will campaign the former 777’s sleds with #186 on the sides.
Parnell is among the very fastest CSRA Semi-Pro’s and will be a strong competitor in CSRA Pro racing. Parnell spent this week riding the new equipment and dialing in set-ups with Tiley twirling the wrenches. Sport Rider and team mate Pete Marcelli, last year’s Trail Sport Champ rode impressively, showing he’s got the right stuff for the competition this season.
Matt Turner launched hard out of the gate in the Pro-Open Final and rocketed down the front straight taking his 440 Rev from fourth in the first turn to a solid second.
Initially Turner was hounded from behind but gave no gate and consistently cranked up the wick, pulling away from the pack. His style was increasingly consistent and in control as he piloted strong laps throughout the final.
Turner’s conditioning this past summer has paid off and he’s more than able to dial up more boost late in the race as a result of his training.
Pete Marcelli, last year’s Trail Sport Champ scored impressive results in all three sport classes. Running his 440 Rev in Sport Open, Marcelli ran an impressive 3rd against 600cc Mod Sleds.
In Sport 600 Marcelli was strong from the gate to the checkers, winning handily over a packed field. In Sport 500 Pete ran to the checkers scoring fifth. It was a great start for the 30 year old racer.
