Soaring Temperatures Can’t Stop Pure Attitude Racing At The Ridge

The Pure Attitude Racing team were back in action in the latest round of the MotoAmerica Championship at The Ridge Motorsports Park near Shelton, Washington this past weekend, with once again their riders Austin Miller, Nate Minster (Supersport) and Liam MacDonald (Twins Cup), adding multiple championship points to each of their respective tallies this season.

With double races for each category and with temperatures soaring to 117 degrees on Sunday, the on-track action was intense.

Liam MacDonald, the team’s sole representative in Twins Cup following Trevor Standish’s spill last time out at Road America, once again found himself inside the Top Ten in Race 2, after running close to the Top Six throughout Free Practice earlier in the weekend. Race 1 sadly saw Liam record his first DNF of the season, the Kiwi, struggling to overcome an intermittent gear change issue that the team resolved for Sunday’s second encounter. Despite the obvious frustration, Liam remains ninth overall in the overall standings, well in contention for the Top Six with numerous races remaining.

In Supersport, Saturday’s race saw another double point scoring ride from Nate Minster and Austin Miller. Minster raced hard to record his third Top Ten finish of the season, whilst Austin Miller rode the race of his short MotoAmerica Supersport career to finish an impressive eleventh at the flag – his best result in the category to date. Sunday saw both riders running inside the points once again until the #61 slid out of contention. He would remount to finish twentieth, with Minster adding an additional two points to his 2021 scorecard in fourteenth.

The team move next to the WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in California in a fortnight for Round 5 eager to build on their continued successes.

Liam Macdonald:
“We made a good step in the right direction on Sunday, and I was able to run a consistent pace and finish in the Top Ten, which after Saturday’s disappointment was important for my confidence as we move towards the halfway point in the season. I am really looking forward to racing at Laguna in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting and be another new circuit for me. I am looking forward to riding such an iconic track but more importantly am looking forward to continuing to improve the way I ride and to continue to improve my feeling with the bike. I gave it everything today and tried many things during the race which I know will make us stronger next time out. A big thanks to the whole team for working so hard, see you all in California.”

Nate Minster:
“It was a solid start to the weekend, but I had a small crash at the end of the test on Thursday. We struggled a bit in Q1 and Q2 after we made some changes that destroyed the rear tyre, but I was confident for the race. Race 1 actually went ok considering the extreme heat a few things not quite right with the bike. I was pretty exhausted after the race, but we managed to bag another top ten which is important for the championship. Sunday’s race was ok, but I still wasn’t feeling great, the heat was insane, and I made a mistake at Turn 1 on the opening lap which kind of compromised my race. We fought hard and finished fourteenth and we can move on to Laguna confident of two strong races there.”

Austin Miller:
“I am so pleased with how Race 1 went. I think it is the best I have ever rode and even though we had some front-end chatter as the race went on, I was able to start strong, pass a ton of people and run the pace of the top ten consistently throughout. I had a lot of rear slides towards the end but honestly Race 1 went amazing. I achieved a season and career best and I am so happy! Race 2 also started good, and I was running P13. I had changed tyre compound for Sunday’s race, but it wasn’t really any better and unfortunately, I crashed. I was able to remount and was able to pass a few people and I brought it home. It’s frustrating because it would have been more points, but this is racing, and these things happen. The main thing is I am ok and so is the bike and we go to Laguna ready to fight hard for my first MotoAmerica Top Ten in Supersport.”