AMA Pro Road Racing Champion Steve Rapp led comfortably until his Ducati 1199 Panigale broke, allowing defending Moto West Grand Prix (MWGP) Champion Chris Duran to battle his way to the Formula One win at Willow Springs on Sunday.
Rapp, aboard a Ducati Westlake-prepared, Dunlop-shod Panigale, took the lead of the Formula One race from the drop of the flag and headed fellow AMA Pro David “Aussie Dave” Anthony into the first turn.
But Anthony suffered a mechanical issue and fell back before retiring on the first lap of the 12-lap race at the fast, flowing 2.5-mile circuit. That left Rapp free and clear at the front, while behind him, Duran and Bryce Prince–aboard a Dunlop-shod, Tuned Racing-prepared Yamaha YZF-R6–slugged it out for second.
That turned into the battle for first on the 10th lap, when Rapp pulled off the track going into the first turn and coasted into the pits, his right boot covered in oil, the engine silent. Rapp said the bike simply started gushing fluid and shut off–but until that moment, Rapp said, it was a joy to ride on the track. It was the first visit to Willow Springs since 2007 for Rapp, the 2013 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Series Champion.
The battle between Duran and Prince went down to the final lap, with Prince, winner of the last MWGP Formula One race in April at the Streets of Willow, getting a better drive out of the long, fast Turn Two and closing down on Duran in Turn Three.
Duran said he could feel Prince behind him in Turn Three and could see Prince in Turn Four, as the Tuned Racing rider stuck the front wheel of his YZF-R6 up the inside of Duran at the crest of the turn. But Duran closed the door on Prince coming down the hill and led comfortably to the line, taking his first Formula One win of the season.
Afterward, Duran described racing in the strong–even by Willow Springs standards–winds as “sketchy,” saying, “I was riding hard, but the lap times didn’t show it.” The podium finishers described racing in the howling winds as “scary” and just “bad.” Still, Duran’s best lap was a 1:23.796, compared to Rapp’s quickest lap of the race at 1:23.008.
Jason Aguilar was third, the youngster coming to grips with new suspension components over the weekend. Jeff Stern, J.C. Gibbs, Joshua Uebersetzig and Ron Cole rounded out the field.
Aboard his Tuned Racing-prepared, Dunlop-shod YZF-R6, Aguilar also won the 600cc Superstock and Open Superstock races. Prince won the 600cc Superbike race and took second in the Open Superbike race, while Duran also took third in Open Superbike.
RESULTS
SATURDAY:
NOVICE HEAVYWEIGHT BY TRACKXPERIENCE:
1. Austin Parker (Suz GSX-R750)
2. John Edmondson (BMW S1000RR)
3. Henrik von Buttlar (Apr RSV4)
4. Josh Merrill (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. Sean Matic (Suz GSX-R750)
6. Alex Chavez (Kaw ZX-10R)
RUN WHAT YA BRUNG:
1. Alfred Castanenda (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Parker Brooks (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Mario Milian (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Terrence Bisch (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Jonathan Reed (Hon CBR600RR)
6. Terry Stephenson (Kaw ZX-10R)
NOVICE LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. Noah Weisel (Suz SV650)
2. Stacy Lowery (Suz SV650)
NOVICE MIDDLEWEIGHT BY MOTOYARD:
1. Randy Smith (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Shawn Byham (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Lindsay Ross (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Keir Leonhardt (Suz GSX-R600)
5. Vincent Meraz (Hon CBR600RR)
6. Robert Bedley (Yam YZF-R6)
FX ENDURANCE LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. Michael Gougis (Suz SV650)
2. Rex Ainslie (Suz SV650)
3. Brian Lensch (Suz SV650)
4. Niccole Cox (Kaw 650R)
FX ENDURANCE HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Ron Cole (Yam YZF-R1)
FX ENDURANCE MIDDLEWEIGHT:
1. Mark Ainslie (Yam YZF-R6)
FORMULA 50 MIDLEWEIGHT BY UVA SUN:
1. David McLarty (Suz GSX-R750)
2. Douglas McLarty (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Mark Ainslie (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Michael Gougis (Suz SV650)
5. Steve Slaughter (Bue XB12R)
FORMULA 40 HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Jeff Stern (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Jaime Mantel (Hon CBR1000RR)
3. Ceasar Meza Sr. (BMW S1000RR)
4. David Price (Suz GSX-R1000)
5. Doran Boctor (Hon CBR1000RR)
6. Timothy Chin (Kaw ZX-10R)
FORMULA TWINS LIGHTWEIGHT BY CYCLEMALL:
1. Andy Edwards (Apr RS250)
2. Lance Lewman (Suz SV650)
3. David Garner (Suz SV650)
4. Noah Weisel (Suz SV650)
5. Rex Ainslie (Suz SV650)
6. Andrew Yzabal (Suz SV650)
FORMULA OPEN TWINS:
1. John Sullivan (Duc 1199 Panigale)
2. Dan McCormack (Duc 1199 Panigale)
3. Casey Holloway (Duc 1199 Panigale)
4. Rob Weaver (Bue 1125R)
250 GP:
1. Andy Edwards (Apr RS250)
2. John Ulrich (Yam TZ250)
FORMULA TWINS HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Rick Carmody (Duc 848)
2. Steve Slaughter (Bue XB12R)
OPEN SUPERBIKE:
1. Steve Rapp (Duc 1199 Panigale)
2. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Chris Duran (BMW S1000RR)
4. Jeff Stern (Hon CBR1000RR)
5. Jaime Mantel (Hon CBR1000RR)
6. James Morse (Hon CBR1000RR)
750cc SUPERBIKE:
1. Fabrice Vilder (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Jason Gardner (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Mike Pond (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Ryan Harper (Yam YZF-R6)
5. J.C. Gibbs (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Julian Wust (Yam YZF-R6)
DUCATI CUP HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Rick Carmody (Duc 848)
2. Casey Holloway (Duc 749R)
BOTT MIDDLEWEIGHT:
1. Ryan Gagliano (Duc 749R)
2. Rex Ainslie (Suz SV650)
3. Steve Slaughter (Bue XB12R)
4. Niccole Cox (Kaw 650R)
SUPERSPORT LIGHTWEIGHT TWINS:
1. Lance Lewman (Suz SV650)
2. Joey Calanni (Suz SV650)
3. David Garner (Suz SV650)
4. Andrew Yzabal (Suz SV650)
5. Raul Serrano (Suz SV650)
6. Brian Lensch (Suz SV 650)
BRACKET A:
1. Doran Boctor (Hon CBR1000RR)
BRACKET B:
1. Frank Marquez (Duc 1098)
2. Michael Gougis (Suz SV650)
NOVICE MIDDLEWEIGHT HEAT A BY MOTOYARD:
1. Randy Smith (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Shawn Byham (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Lindsay Ross (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Keir Leonhardt (Suz GSX-R600)
5. Vincent Meraz (Hon CBR600RR)
6. Joshua Booth (Suz GSX-R600)
NOVICE HEAVYWEIGHT HEAT A:
1. John Edmondson (BMW S1000RR)
2. Austin Parker (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Scott Hebert (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Henrik von Buttlar (Apr RSV4)
5. Sean Matic (Suz GSX-R750)
6. Armana Claus (Kaw ZX-10R)
FORMULA 60:
1. Travis Westermeyer (Suz GSX-R1000)
2. Cody Burton (MZ Scorpion 660)
DUCATI CUP FORMULA:
1. John Sullivan (Duc 1199 Panigale)
2. Dan McCormack (Duc 1199 Panigale)
3. Casey Holloway (Duc 1199 Panigale)
4. Alan Brown (Duc 996)
500cc SUPERSTOCK:
1. J.C. Gibbs (Yam FZR400)
2. Mike Ripley (Kaw 300R)
3. Wesley Lakis (Kaw 250R)
FORMULA ONE:
1. Chris Duran (BMW S1000RR)
2. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Jason Aguilar (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jeff Stern (Hon CBR1000RR)
5. J.C. Gibbs (Suz GSX-R1000)
6. Joshua Uebersetzig (Suz GSX-R1000)
DUCATI CUP MW BY WEST COAST GP CYCLES:
1. Ryan Gagliano (Duc 749)
BOTT LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. Lance Lewman (Suz SV650)
2. David Garner (Suz SV650)
3. Noah Weisel (Suz SV650)
4. Rex Ainslie (Suz SV650)
5. Andrew Yzabal (Suz SV650)
6. Niccole Cox (Kaw 650R)
FORMULA SINGLES:
1. Marc Rittner (Yam YZ450F)
2. David Garner (KTM 690 SMC)
3. Alan Brown (Hus SMR)
4. Cody Burton (MZ Scorpion 660)
ULTRA LW CUP:
1. Rickey Herd (Kaw 300R)
2. Mike Ripley (Kaw 300R)
3. Wesley Lakis (Kaw 250R)
4. Ed Sorbo (Kaw 250R)
5. Jamie Lenore (Kaw 250R)
6. Tony Serra (Kaw 250R)
FORMULA 50 HEAVYWEIGHT:
1. Jeff Stern (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Jaime Mantel (Hon CBR1000RR)
3. Doran Boctor (Hon CBR1000RR)
4. Rocky Caceres (Suz GSX-R1000)
5. Frank Marquez (Duc 1098)
FORMULA 40 MIDDLEWEIGHT:
1. J.C. Gibbs (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Fabrice Vilder (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Alexander White (Tri 675R)
4. Tori Miller (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Julian Wust (Suz GSX-R750)
6. Rich Hua (Kaw ZX-6R)
600cc SUPERBIKE:
1. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Fabrice Vilder (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Mike Pond (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Ryan Harper (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Alexander White (Tri 675R)
NOVICE HEAVYWEIGHT HEAT B:
1. John Edmondson (BMW S1000RR)
2. Austin Parker (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Scott Hebert (Suz GSX-R1000)
4. Sean Matic (Suz GSX-R750)
5. Henrik von Buttlar (Apr RSV4)
6. Thomas MacNiece (Suz GSX-R750)
NOVICE MIDDLEWEIGHT HEAT B BY MOTOYARD:
1. Randy Smith (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Shawn Byham (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Keir Leonhardt (Suz GSX-R600)
4. Vincent Meraz (Hon CBR600RR)
5. Robert Bedley (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Joshua Booth (Suz GSX-R600)
BRACKET C:
1. Mark Ainslie (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Alexander White (Yam TZ250)
3. Ed Guzman (Suz GSX-R1000)
BRACKET D:
1. Marc Rittner (Yam YZ450F)
2. Cody Burton (MZ Scorpion 660)
750cc SUPERSTOCK:
1. Mike Pond (Yam YZF-R6)
2. J.C. Gibbs (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Julian Wust (Suz GSX-R750)
4. Douglas McLarty (Suz GSX-R750)
5. David McLarty (Suz GSX-R750)
6. Casey Holloway (Duc 749R)
OPEN SUPERSTOCK:
1. Jason Aguilar (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Ceasar Meza Sr. (BMW S1000RR)
3. Ron Cole (Yam YZF-R1)
4. Ken Pfister (Kaw ZX-10R)
5. David Bozarelli (Kaw ZX-10R)
VINTAGE LIGHTWEIGHT:
1. J.C. Gibbs (Yam FZR400)
2. Cody Burton (MZ Scorpion 660)