It’s been more than three months since James Rispoli has had the chance to add some points to his total for the AMA Supersport championship. Since the opening round at Daytona, the AMA Supersport riders in the east coast division have had to watch as their west coast counterpoints battled it out in the point standings. But now Rispoli, and the rest of the east coast racers, will head to Barber Motorsports Park to begin their battle for the 2011 AMA Supersport championship.
And for Rispoli, his eyes are set on the big prize.
“It’s all about points now,” Rispoli said. “We’re going to Barber looking for wins and podiums.”
Rispoli has shown that he is more than capable of stepping up to the winner’s circle. The young Ant Racing rider took a podium finish in Daytona at the opening round of the season, and currently sits in second place in the standings behind Tomas Puerta.
Rispoli also took a podium finish at Road America. The third place finish didn’t earn the team any points, but it did give James a chance to work on his bike and to fall back into the racing groove.
“Road America was basically a test for us to get back to racing,” Rispoli said. “We weren’t worried about winning, but of course we wanted to win. It was just a chance to try out some new things with the bike and to find out what direction we’re going to go in 2011. It was a very successful weekend. If we didn’t have Road America, we’d probably have some problems heading in to Barber.”
Rispoli finished third in the first race at Road America, and may have achieved similar results in race two, but James was taken out of the race after a fellow racer low-sided, bringing both riders down to the pavement. But Rispoli isn’t worried about a repeat incident.
“It just happens. You just have to take it and move on,” Rispoli said. “We don’t want to enter into these races thinking defense, we just want to ride smart. Hopefully we don’t see anybody at Barber. We want to get out ahead, so we don’t have to worry about anything.”
Rispoli didn’t have the greatest weekend at Road America last year, but that’s only if you look at the end results. Rispoli crashed out of both races in 2010 but not before learning a few things about the Alabama circuit.
“I’m very confident heading into Barber,” Rispoli said. “Last year we made a mistake with the tire in race one, and in race two, it was only my second or third time riding in the rain. But I love the track. I think we’re going to do really well. We have a nice setup, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Rispoli currently trails Puerta in the east cost standings by 21 points, but he’s confident that he can start making up the difference this weekend.
“A good day’s a win, a bad day’s a podium,” Rispoli said. “Puerta is a good rider and he’ll be tough competition. But I think we had enough for him at Road America. We’re going into this race looking for a win. It’s all about points from here on out.”
