Artola, Matthews and Mcfadden Storm on to Win in Portland Portland, OR: OMRRA hosted the final west coast round of USGPRU racing at Portland International Raceway this past weekend. In typical northwestern fashion, the weather fluctuated not only minute-by-minute, but corner-to-corner as well. Andrew Artola won his first Pilot 125GP race this weekend. He battled for a few laps with Michael Caravatta, who snagged the holeshot. But Caravatta crashed a few laps into the race, handing the lead to Artola. Jerry Signorelli recovered from a bad start and worked his way up to second place on his Racing for a Wish Moriwaki sponsored by Bob Fier Racing. Shellie Matthews and Kevin Murray finished fourth and fifth respectively. Dave Matthews was in third place when his Honda suffered a mechanical entering the front straight with three laps to go. In the Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race, Dave Matthews won the battle of attrition despite the element’s and gravity’s best efforts to throw all of the riders to the ground. Vince Rolleri took off to a strong lead early on, leading the first two laps, until he crashed out unceremoniously. Canadian, Ben Young, took his turn in the lead with Mike Aboyoun right behind. Young was given a stop-and-go penalty for weaving, but rejoined and charged his way back into second place a few laps later. Halfway through the race, the skies opened up, and the rain started falling in some but not all of the corners. Aboyoun crashed in turn 9 on lap 10, elevating Young back into the lead and Matthews into second place. With half a lap to go, Young crashed on the long curved back straight while in the lead, which caused a red flag to be thrown, and handing Matthews his first win. Andy Moore battled with Adrian Jasso for much of the race with Moore prevailing to take second place. Kevin Winter caught and passed Jasso for the final podium spot. The REV’IT! Moriwaki MD250H powered by HONDA race started with Nick McFadden on the pole. He would win flag to flag over second place finisher Peter Lenz. Most of the normal grid was noticeably absent as they head to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP next weekend. The Rising Sun Cycle / GPTech Moto3 race saw a great battle with Peter Lenz, Nick McFadden and Michael Caravatta. The trio swapped positions several times per lap. McFadden rode his ‘Hot rod’ Moriwaki and beat out Caravatta on his Honda RS125 for the win while Lenz settled for third on his stock Moriwaki. Gerry Signorelli fought with 14-year-old Mackenzie Ancien for fourth until Signorelli crashed with one lap to go in the infamous turn 9. Shellie Matthews came home in fifth. The USGPRU would like to thank the whole crew at OMRRA for hosting another fine event. Pilot 125GP 1. Andrew Artola (Hon) 2. Gerry Signorelli (Mor) 3. Shellie Matthews (Hon) 4. Kevin Murray (Yam) 5. David Matthews (Hon) (dnf -2 laps) 6. Michael Caravatta (Hon) (dnf -10 laps) Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP 1. David Matthews (Yam) 2. Andy Moore (Yam) 3. Kevin Winter (Yam) 4. Adrian Jasso (Yam) 5. Mike Aboyoun (Hon) (dnf -1 lap) 6. Ben Young (Yam) (DQ cause of red flag) Rising Sun Cycle / GPTech Moto3 1. Nick McFadden (Mor) 2. Michael Caravatta (Hon) 3. Peter Lenz (Mor) 4. Mackenzie Ancien (Hon) 5. Shellie Matthews (Hon) 6. Gerry Signorelli (Mor) (dnf 1 lap) REV’IT! Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA 1. Nick McFadden (Mor) 2. Peter Lenz (Mor) 3. Ben Young (Mor)(dns) 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. For more information, please visit www.usgpru.net