Lewis, Mesa and Long clean house at Jennings GP

The USGPRU headed south to sunny Florida this Easter weekend to join CCS Florida for another great racing event. Racers drove in from across the country to race the Jennings GP race track. The sometimes fickle Florida weather was fully cooperating, and provided near perfect conditions with temperatures in the mid 80s and not a rain cloud in sight. 

The Pilot 125GP racers took to the track first thing Saturday morning. Nobi Iso started on pole position with his teammate, Jake Lewis by his side. Barrett Long and Peter Lenz filled out the rest of the front row. Lewis led the 22-bike field into Turn 1. Iso and Lenz tucked in behind Lewis and the three started to check out from the rest of the field. The Aprilia’s of Lewis and Iso proved too powerful for Lenz’s Honda, and they started to pull away from the youngster. Iso caught and passed Lewis on lap 3, and built up a small lead. It appeared like it was going to be the Nobi Iso show, but with 2 laps to go, Lewis pulled Iso back in, passed him back, and held on for the win. Peter Lenz brought it home for a solid third place finish. 

All the while, there was an amazing battle raging for fourth place as Barrett Long, Stefano Mesa, and Erik Dadej battled back and forth. On the final lap, Dadej sat in 4th place, but Mesa was clearly in strike mode. He passed Erik on the back straight, and then Long passed Dadej in Turn 8. Dadej attempted to re-pass Long 2 turns later, but lost the rear end and crashed out. Mesa held on to clinch 4th, leaving Long in 5th. 

The Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race was up next. Barrett Long owned this race from beginning to end. Despite Mike Aboyoun’s rocket start, Barrett made short work of Mike’s lead. By the end of the first lap, Barrett had a sizable lead over the rest of the field and went on for the win. Mike led the 2nd place battle with Al Campbell and Ben Young. Al and Mike were eventually passed by Canadian Ben Young. And Mike was able to hold off Al for the final spot. 

The new Moto3 class, sponsored by GPTech, looked to be a carbon copy of the earlier 125GP race as Iso, Lewis, and Lenz lined up to race. But Nick McFadden, on a Moriwaki MD250H, threw a wrench in the works as he nailed the start and led the field into the first turn. Lewis was in hot pursuit though, and quickly caught McFadden and passed for the lead. Iso and Lenz were not as lucky though and couldn’t get by McFadden for another lap. This gave Lewis time to build up a sizable lead and ultimately, the win. Iso and Lenz were locked in battle for most of the race, but Iso came out on top in the end. 

The last USGPRU race of the day was the Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA and Rev’it! The race started out great as Nick McFadden got another hole-shot into turn one. Local favorite, Stefano Mesa, drafted by Nick on the back straight. Peter Lenz was also charging hard in third, and saw Stefano trying to check out up front. He made an aggressive attempt at a pass on Nick in Turn 9, but the two collided and both crashed, bringing out the red flag. McFadden was able to restart the race, but Lenz was done for the day. 

Mesa led the restart, and ran away with the win in a perfect flag-to-flag race. But he couldn’t take it easy as he was shadowed the entire time by first-time USGPRU racer, Kaleb De Keyrel. Third place went to Nick McFadden, who valiantly rode despite a sore hand and a damaged bike. 

The USGPRU heads back west in a few weeks as we join Roadrace Southwest at Firebird raceway. Check out the USGPRU website for full details. 

Thanks go out to all of the CCS Florida staff and corner workers for putting on such an amazing event! 

Pilot 125GP race results 1. Jake Lewis (Apr) 2. Nobi Iso (Apr) 3. Peter Lenz (Hon) 4. Stefano Mesa (Hon) 5. Barrett Long (Yam) 6. Nick Hansen (Hon) 7. Xavier Zayat (Hon) 8. Kaleb De Keyrel (Hon) 9. Conner Blevins (Hon) 10. Leon Cortes (Hon) 11. Nick McFadden (Mor) 12. Morten Frederiksen (Hon) 13. Scott Coccoli (Hon) 14. Federico Cortes (Hon) 15. Erik Orozco (Hon) 16. Max Flinders (Mor) 17. Justin Long (Yam) 18. John Long (Yam) 19. Erik Dadej (Hon) 20. Alex Caldwell (Hon) 21. Jordan Levitt (Hon) 22. Alvaro Solis (Yam) 

Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race results 1. Barrett Long (Yam) 2. Ben Young (Yam) 3. Mike Aboyoun (Yam) 4. Al Campbell (Yam) 5. Leon Cortes (Yam) 6. Justin Long (Yam) 7. Michael Chambers (Yam) 

Rev’it! presents the Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA race results 1. Stefano Mesa (Mor) 2. Kaleb De Keyrel (Mor) 3. Nick McFadden (Mor) 4. Max Flinders (Mor) 5. Alex Caldwell (Mor) 6. Peter Lenz (Mor) 

GP Tech Moto3 race results 1. Jake Lewis (Apr 125) 2. Nobi Iso (Apr 125) 3. Peter Lenz (Hon 125) 4. Nick Hansen (Hon 125) 5. Conner Blevins (Hon 125) 6. Kaleb De Keyrel (Mor 250) 7. Jordan Levitt (Hon 125) 8. Brian Driver (Hig 450) 9. Nick McFadden (Mor 250)

We would all like to take a moment to acknowledge that without our series sponsors; this would not have been possible. We ask that everyone who supports GP racing, please consider the following companies that have helped us when you next need something for your own bikes. Thank you to Rising Sun Cycles, Pilot, Moto Liberty, RS-Taichi, RoadracingWorld.com, Rev’it!, Motion Pro, Hjelm Motorsports, GPTech, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli, Powerstands, EBC, Silkolene, and Yoyodyne.

About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ®, 250 Grand Prix National Championship TM series, and Moriwaki MD250H youth racing series. For 2010, we’ve added the new Moto3 class which combines the best of 125GP, Moriwaki, and the new F450 bikes for an exciting mix reminiscent of the original GP races. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. Additionally, it provides a great place for older racers to enjoy the pure, non-compromising thrill of GP racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net