Fairfax, VA. The 2011 USGPRU National Championship season kicked off on the east coast this year. The CCS Florida crew hosted another outstanding event at the Jennings GP facility in Jennings, FL. The weather couldn’t have been better suited for great racing as the temperatures hovered around the 80-degree mark with sunny skies and a light breeze. The racers were primed after a long winter’s wait, and the on-track action highlighted seasoned veterans as well as an exciting new batch of talented young racers. The action kicked off early in the Pilot Moto3 class as ‘Mad’ Max Flinders put his hot-rod Moriwaki (upgraded to a CRF250R motor) out front as he led the field of 125GP 2-strokes and Moriwaki 4-stroke GP bikes into the first turn. Series president, Stewart Aitken-Cade got a solid launch on his RS125 and was hot on Max’s heals followed closely by Scott Coccoli and Steve Wenner. On lap 3, Wenner passed Aitken-Cade for second place, which in turn allowed Max to stretch out a small gap on the pack. That didn’t last long as Aitken-Cade dove past Wenner on the next lap and started to reel in Max. Scott Coccoli started to fade back a bit, and the remaining three stuck together out front. Just before the white flag flew, Aitken-Cade made a last turn pass on Max. But Max had worked too hard and wasn’t about to give up as he out-braked Aitken-Cade at the end of the back straight. The two racers swapped the lead 4-5 times on the last lap, with 14-year-old Mad Max narrowly holding off Aitken-Cade by .056 seconds at the line to clinch his first USGPRU victory. Wenner crossed the line in third place. The Moto-Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race was up next. With little time to rest, Steve Wenner took to the track again and this time he put on a clinic on how to race as he led from flag to flag to claim his first win of the season aboard his Honda RS250. While he made it look easy up front, Adrian Jasso had his hands full with Brian Surtees. Despite having a bad start and getting a bit held up in traffic, by lap 3 Surtees had finally broken through and proceeded to stalk Jasso. He sat in Jasso’s shadow for the majority of the race, only passing him on the final lap to claim 2nd spot. The battle for 4th was between Max Flinders on his ‘hot-rod’ Moriwaki MD250H and Pat Bartlett on his almost vintage Yamaha TZ250. Despite his best efforts, Max eventually fell victim to the top-end power of the fire-breathing 2-stroke Yamaha. The final race of the USGPRU classes this weekend was the REV’IT!-sponsored Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA class. The small field of youngsters rocketed off the line with a very clear distinction between the seasoned veterans and the fresh batch of newbies. Mad Max Flinders was again battling for the lead, but this time it was with Xavier Zayat. The two swapped the lead every lap for the entire race, right up until the final lap when Flinders crashed out in turn 10. Max was unhurt in the crash, and actually able to restart the bike. Before the crash, he had such a large lead over third place that when he re-entered the race, he still was able to take 2nd place. Alex Wisdom was dicing with Gavin Herrin, when he crashed in the very fast turn 1. Fortunately, besides his ego, he was uninjured and the damage to the bike was minimal. Herrin went on to win a very lonely third place. In the post-race awards, Nick Kosan, Michael Henao, and JP Bartlett each won a Motion Pro Mini Pro T-handle tool set as well as a Motion Pro T-handle spinner and beanie cap. Max Flinders, Xavier Zayat, and Lee Hollimon all won gift certificates for discounts on Pilot Leathers. And the big prize of the weekend went to Mad Max Flinders as he won a brand new set of Tarmac Leathers from REV’IT! Leathers. The USGPRU thanks all of its sponsors that help to make it possible for us to keep coming out and doing what we all love to do. Without your help, many more racers wouldn’t be able to afford to come out and live the GP dream. Thank you RS Cycles, Motion Pro, Moto Liberty, Pilot, REV’IT!, HONDA, Impact Armor, and RS-Taichi. We also have great contingency support from EBC, Silkolene, Dunlop, Bridgestone, and Michelin. Thank you all! Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP 1. Steve Wenner 2. Brian Surtees 3. Adrian Jasso 4. Pat Bartlett 5. Max Flinders 6. Eric Moore REV’IT! Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA 1. Xavier Zayat 2. Max Flinders 3. Gavin Herrin 4. Chris Kosan 5. Nick Kosan 6. Alex Wisdom Pilot Moto3 1. Max Flinders 2. Stewart Aitken-Cade 3. Steve Wenner 4. Scott Coccoli 5. Xavier Zayat 6. Michael Henao 7. Crystal Campagna 8. Alex Wisdom 9. Gavin Herrin 10. Lee Hollimon 11. Chris Kosan 12. Nick Kosan 13. Adrian Jasso About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized 125 Grand Prix National Championship® and 250 Grand Prix National Championship® series. The popular Moriwaki MD250H spec-bike youth class and the exciting new Moto3 classes round out a real GP experience. The USGPRU provides a unique opportunity for riders by providing extended length grand prix racing with timed qualifying and superb contingency and sponsor support. Race and practice format is designed to prepare riders for the experience of 2-wheel racing at the highest levels.