Jupiter, FL. – The hottest championship chases of the season were decided under the equally hot Florida sun this past weekend as the USGPRU joined CCS Florida for our finale weekend. The closest battle of the year was clearly in the Pilot 125GP race between defending champion, Nobi Iso, and the two youngsters, Garrett Gerloff and Jake Lewis. Heading into the round, Gerloff had a mere 1-point lead over Iso and 6 points over Lewis. The championship would go to whoever won this race. Gerloff qualified on pole, with Lewis and Iso close behind. The unexpected wildcard in this battle was Michael Barnes, who filled the last spot on the front row aboard the Celtic Racing entry. The four-stroke hot rod Moriwakis of Gerloff and Lewis thundered off the line and the 2-strokes spooled up in pursuit. Gerloff led the first lap, with Lewis glued to his rear wheel. Iso couldn’t let the youngsters get away, and pushed his Aprilia to its limits. Unfortunately, he also pushed the limits of traction and high-sided himself out of the chase and off of the track on lap 2. And then there were two. Gerloff and Lewis swapped the lead a few times, and then Lewis slotted in behind Gerloff and strategized on where and when to make his move. This veteran-like patience and planning did pay off as he saw Gerloff go a little wide into the final turn on the final lap, and he pounced on the opportunity. Lewis clinched the win, and with that, the championship was his over Gerloff by 1 point! You just can’t ask for closer racing battles than that. Michael Barnes tried to keep up with the leaders, but instead was caught by 12-year-old Joe Roberts and Ryan Matter. Both passed Barnes and then started their own battle for the final podium spot. Matter kept showing Roberts his front wheel down the front straight, but ultimately had to settle for 4th behind Roberts. The fire-breathing 250 2-strokes took to the track next for the Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race. Melissa Paris was trailing Canadian Adam Roberts by a seemingly huge 18 points. But with so many wildcard racers present, anything was possible. Local favorite, Barrett Long, was one of those wildcard riders having just competed at the MotoGP event at Indy. Nobi Iso joined him aboard his Aprilia RSW250. Additionally, the west coast champion, Vincent Rolleri made the trip across country in an attempt to further rock the boat. Long qualified fastest ahead of Roberts and Rolleri, with Paris filling the last spot on the front row. At the drop of the green flag, Long seemed to stall the bike and go backwards as the rest of the 20-bike grid swarmed past him. Rolleri took advantage and started gapping the field on the first lap. Rolleri was pulling a disappearing act out front, but there was a seven-way battle for second place that kept the crowd gasping as they drafted 2 and 3 wide down the long back straight and into the heavy braking zone. Barrett Long had joined the back of the pack by then and started to slice through the crowd on his Longevity Racing Yamaha TZ250. He passed Paris for second place on lap 4. Soon after, Melissa Paris lost control of her bike in turn 4 and crashed out of the race and the championship chase. Roberts had been on her rear wheel and saw the entire crash unfold before him. The championship was all his and he just needed to finish the race cleanly. Long had a 4-second gap to close if he was to catch Rolleri who seemed clearly in control of the race. Long was up to the challenge though and passed Rolleri with 2 laps to spare. Meanwhile, Nobi Iso got by Roberts to claim third place for the day. Unfortunately, he failed post race weigh-in and handed third place back to Roberts. The last big battle of the year was in the incredibly competitive Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA class. The spec bikes have provided some of the closest racing we’ve seen all year and that was reflected in the championship chase as well. Garrett Gerloff again lead the defending champion, Jake Lewis by a slim 6 points. Like in the 125GP class, it all came down to this one race to determine the champion. Garrett Gerloff was a kid on a mission though. Having lost the 125GP by 1 point, there was no way he was going down without a fight. He showed the true grit and determination of a champion as he led the field into turn one, and never looked back. He clicked off laps with amazing consistency, and rode a perfect race to claim the win and the championship. The battle for second was fierce between Ryan Matter, Nick McFadden, and Stefano Mesa. Both Lex Hartl and Andre Ochs started from the back row after being DQ’d in the qualifying session. They quickly charged through the field to join the battle raging on for second place. On lap 3, Stefano Mesa broke up the pack as he crashed into the braking area at the end of the back straight. Fortunately, he was the only bike that went down and he was able to restart the bike and join the race in last place. This break benefited Lex Hartl as he found himself in second place with clear track in front. He started to gap the rest of the field and even started to make some time on Gerloff near the end, but it wasn’t enough. He seemed pleased to finish a solid second place. The battle for third came down to the wire as Ochs and Matter caught Lewis in third and the three started a high-speed game of musical chairs for the final podium spot. The music stopped, and Andre Ochs was in the lead with Lewis and Matter in tow. The Championship win for Gerloff was also enough to crown him as the 2010 number one plate holder for the year. The 2009 season has been an amazing year for all of the USGPRU racers and officials. 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, Motion Pro, Hjelm Motorsports, GPTech, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli, Powerstands, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, EBC, Yoyodyne, and Vanson Leathers. We would also like to thank all of the host organizations that allowed us to join their programs. Thank you to ASRA, CCS, CCS Florida, Roadrace Southwest, MRA, AFM, AMA Sports, and the USBA. Your flexibility in working with us and generosity in allowing us on your schedules has been amazing. We hope that we’ve helped add a little something to ‘the show’ in return. Thank you all very much. Full race results as follows: Pilot 125GP race: 1. Jake Lewis (Mor) 2. Garrett Gerloff (Mor) 3. Joe Roberts (Hon) 4. Ryan Matter (Hon) 5. Michael Barnes (Hon) 6. Andre Ochs (Hon) 7. Lex Hartl (Hon) 8. Nick McFadden (Mor) 9. Michael Lainhart (Hon) 10. Grayson Gerloff (Hon) 11. Jason Mortimer (unk) 12. Steve Wenner (Hon) 13. Morten Frederiksen (Hon) 14. Scott Coccoli (Hon) 15. E Orozco (unk) 16. Barrett Long (Yam) 17. Adam Loeffler (Hon) 18. Leon Cortes (Hon) 19. Charles Boyd (Hon) 20. Max Flinders (Mor) 21. Justin Long (Yam) 22. John Long (Yam) 23. Jordan Levitt (Hon) 24. Jamie Worthington (Apr) 25. Stefano Mesa (Hon) 26. Nobi Iso (Apr) 27. Andrew Artola (Hon) Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP race: 1. Barrett Long (Yam) 2. Vincent Rolleri (Yam) 3. Adam Roberts (Yam) 4. Mike Aboyoun (Hon) 5. Miles Thornton (Yam) 6. Steve Wenner (Hon) 7. Angus Borland (Yam) 8. Al Campbell (Yam) 9. Adam Loeffler (Yam) 10. Jake Lewis (Apr) 11. Adrian Jasso (Yam) 12. Federico Cortes (Yam) 13. Justin Long (Yam) 14. Michael Lainhart (Hon) 15. Karl Loeffler (Yam) 16. Kevin Winter (Yam) 17. Jamie Worthington (Apr) 18. Melissa Paris (Hon) Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA race: 1. Garrett Gerloff (Mor) 2. Lex Hartl (Mor) 3. Andre Ochs (Mor) 4. Jake Lewis (Mor) 5. Ryan Matter (Mor) 6. Grayson Gerloff (Mor) 7. Max Flinders (Mor) 8. Stefano Mesa (Mor) 9. Nick McFadden (Mor) 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. 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. 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