Two WERA National Challenge Championships Decided By Injuries

Oct 30, 2011, By David Swarts, ©Copyright 2011, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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The broken frame of Tim Hunt's Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Photo by David Swarts/Roadracingworld.com.

The 2011 WERA National Challenge Championships in the Open Superstock and WERA/Open Superbike Expert classes were decided prior to Sunday’s final races at the WERA Grand National Finals at Road Atlanta due to crashes and injuries suffered by the two leading contenders, Tim Bemisderfer and Tim Hunt.

Hunt led the Open Superstock Championship coming into the final day of the season and Bemisderfer was the only rider who had a chance to beat him for the title. And in the WERA/Open Superbike Championship the roles are reversed. Bemisderfer had a strong point lead and only Hunt was mathematically able to challenge his pursuit of the crown.

Both riders, however, suffered crashes and injuries prior to the final day of the four-day race weekend that forced them to re-evaluate their plans.

Bemisderfer sustained a suspected broken right hand and heavy damage to his Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R1000 when he crashed at the start of Saturday’s A Superstock Expert Sportsman race.

Then later Saturday, Hunt suffered severe bruising to his back and right foot when he crashed his Apex Racing Services Suzuki GSX-R1000 spectacularly at the start of the Senior Superbike Heavyweight Expert Sportsman race. Hunt’s motorcycle flipped end over end, high up into the air and was essentially destroyed.

Hunt and Bemisderfer met up later in the pits and came to an injured gentleman’s agreement that they would both sit out Sunday’s races, locking up their respective Championships.