New talent and racing veterans dominate Round 1 of the Miller Motorsports Park Masters of the Mountains motorcycle roadrace series.
(Tooele, UT) Contingency payouts and the beautiful facility of Miller Motorsports Park gathered racing veterans from around the country to Round 1 of the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains race series in sunny Tooele, Utah.
Shane Turpin’s hard work over the winter paid off, building a bike for each class showcasing a GSX-R1000 superbike, a Triumph 675, a Ducati 1098R and a Bimota DB5. Turpin had convincing wins in King of Clubs, SuperTwins, Open Superbike, Twins GTU, KoM GTU and Formula 40.
With the absence of injured racer and #1 plateholder Aaron Clark, Turpin dominated the competition in every race but the premier KoM GTO class where AMA pro racer Scott Jensen passed Turpin on the inside of turn 1 in the last lap of the race to take victory. Jensen, riding a superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 chased Turpin throughout the 15 lap race.
A highlight of the weekend was 14-year-old Noah Talley, who competed in his first road races on a Yamaha TZ125 after winning an expert Supermoto title last season. Last fall Tally was selected as a 2009 Redbull Rookie even though he had only ridden a 125cc road racer twice, demonstrating his talent on two wheels. Talley quickly got up to pace during his first weekend of road racing, dropping into the 1:44s on Miller’s East Course and winning the Sportsman class and placing third in Twins GTU.
The seven-race Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains series, developed by Miller Motorsports Park, organized by the Utah Sportbike Association (USBA) and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), was created to encourage and develop fun and competitive road racing at the club and regional levels. In its third year, the series has quickly turned into a premier event drawing top-level talent from around the nation. To learn more about the Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains series, visit the USBA’s website at www.UtahSBA.com.
To learn more about the Larry H. Miller Superbike Challenge May 29-31, visit www.UtahSBA.com.
View photos of the weekend’s racing at www.UtahSBA.com.
Race Results
King of Clubs 1. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. David Lewis (Yam R6) 3. Kory Cowan (Yam R6) 4. Gary Poole (Yam R1) 5. Eric Jones (Hon CBR1000RR) 6. Nathan Titus (Suz GSX-R600)
Endurance GTO 1. Travis Child (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Kel Davidsen (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Shane White (Suz GSX-R600)
Endurance GTU 1. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 2. Warren Rose (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Dana Wilson (Yam R6)
SuperTwins 1. Shane Turpin (Duc 1098R) 2. Patrick Lansu (Duc 999R) 3. Brian Whipple (Duc 848) 4. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 5. Casey Smith (Suz SV650) 6. Brandal Glenn (Duc 848)
Formula 5 1. Troy Buchanan (Yam R6) 2. Tim Koehler (Hon CBR600RR) 3. Scott Ferguson (Bue XB) 4. Trevor Fortner (Hon CBR600RR) 5. Anthony Loucks (Suz SV650) 6. Michael Carr
Middleweight Superbike 1. Brant Wiwi (Yam R6) 2. Kane Lasky (Yam R6) 3. David Lewis (Yam R6) 4. Kory Cowan (Yam R6) 5. Jesse Sherstan (Yam R6) 6. Spencer Steed (Hon CBR600RR)
Novice GTU 1. Shawn Atkinson (Yam R6) 2. Tim Koehler (Yam R6) 3. Dana Wilson (Yam R6) 4. Trevor Fortner (Yam R6) 5. Josh Jolliffe (Kaw EX650) 6. Levi Herron (Kaw ZX6)
Open Superbike 1. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Kane Lasky (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Brant Wiwi (Suz GSX-R1000) 4. Mike Sullivan (Kaw ZX10) 5. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000)
Amateur GTU 1. Nathan Titus (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Shawn Atkinson (Yam R6) 3. Shannon Pitre (Yam R6) 4. Tyler Cenarrusa (Hon CBR600RR) 5. Garth Callaghan (Tri 675) 6. Brian Childree (Suz GSX-R1000)
Twins GTU 1. Shane Turpin (Bim DB5) 2. Todd Seaver (Suz SV650) 3. Noah Talley (Yam TZ) 4. Scott Ferguson (Bue XB) 5. Joel Wolfgang (Suz SV650) 6. Don Roberts (Yam TZ250)
King of the Mountain GTU 1. Shane Turpin (Tri 675) 2. Oleg Pianykh (Yam R6) 3. Mike Sullivan (Kaw ZX6) 4. Kory Cowan (Yam R6) 5. Spencer Steed (Hon CBR600RR) 6. Matthew Berry (Yam R6)
Amateur GTO 1. Shannon Pitre (Yam R6) 2. Christopher Coyne (Suz GSX-R600) 3. Brian Childree (Suz GSX-R600) 4. Mark Snethen (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Chris Petersen (Yam R1) 6. Warren Rose (Hon CBR600RR)
Open Superstock 1. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Kane Lasky (Kaw ZX10) 3. Mike Sullivan (Kaw ZX10) 4. Brant Wiwi (Yam R6) 5. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Steve Davidsen (Suz GSX-R1000)
Heavyweight Superstock 1. Jason Disalvo (Suz GSX-R600) 2. Oleg Pianykh (Yam R6) 3. Kory Cowan (Yam R6) 4. Sam Verderico (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Nathan Titus (Suz GSX-R600) 6. Matt Guiver (Yam R6)
Sportsman 1. Noah Talley (Yam TZ) 2. Scott Ferguson (Bue XB) 3. Dana Wilson (Yam R6) 4. Joel Wolfgang (Suz SV650) 5. Michelle Webb (Tri 675) 6. Jared Jaynes (Suz GSX-R600)
Novice GTO 1. Christopher Coyne (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Shawn Atkinson (Yam R1) 3. Tim Koehler (Hon CBR600RR) 4. Trevor Fortner (Hon CBR600RR) 5. Levi Herron (Kaw ZX6) 6. David Luke
Middleweight Superstock 1. Jason Disalvo (Suz GSX-R600) 2. David Lewis (Yam R6) 3. Kane Lasky (Kaw ZX6) 4. Mike Sullivan (Kaw ZX6) 5. Brant Wiwi (Yam R6) 6. Kory Cowan (Yam R6)
Twins GTO 1. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 2. Brandal Glenn (Duc 848) 3. Scott Ferguson (Bue XB) 4. Todd Seaver (Suz SV650) 5. Joseph Brady (Hon RC51)
King of the Mountain GTO 1. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 3. Mike Sullivan (Kaw ZX10) 4. Ryan Brand (Suz GSX-R1000) 5. Clint Warner (Suz GSX-R1000) 6. Steve Davidsen (Suz GSX-R1000)
Formula 40 1. Shane Turpin (Suz GSX-R1000) 2. Gary Poole (Yam R1) 3. John Hopperstad (Duc 996) 4. Tommy Richardson (Suz GSX-R600) 5. Michael Bunds (Duc 848) 6. Mark Snethen (Suz GSX-R600)
More, from a press release issued by Tooele Beverage Company:
Dave Lewis put his Bud Light Lime Dunlop shod Traction Zone R6 on the podium 3 times over the weekend while participating in the Utah Sportbike Association’s, Masters of the Mountains Series at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.
Round one brought out the talent having Kawasaki and Suzuki contingency up for grabs. Such riders as Shane Turpin, Jason DiSalvo, Kane Lasky, Brant Wiwi, and Mike Sullivan showed up to compete on MMP’s east course, but that did not slow down Dave Lewis.
Saturday held the first race, King of Clubs. This race is for each Club from different regions to have their best riders compete. Lewis starting on pole position grabbed the hole shot and led the pack through turn one, only to fall back to 2nd place as Shane Turpin took the lead; it was a great race for Lewis.
On Sunday, Dave finished 3rd in Middleweight Superbike, but the exciting race of the day was the Middleweight Superstock race after lunch. Lewis being the 2008 Middleweight Superstock Champion was gridded on pole position. The race went green, and Lewis grabbed the hole shot once again. This time he was able to pull a large gap and lead 6 of 7 laps, knowing the entire time he had many fast guys behind him, so he just put his head down and rode his race. In lap 3, Lewis had company with AMA racer Jason DiSalvo, after looking over his shoulder he decided if he wanted any chance at victory he needed to stay focused and ride a tight race. By doing so, he was able to hold off DiSalvo until the last lap. This gave DiSalvo no choice but to make a bold move and pass Lewis on the outside of turn one leaving him to take home the 2nd place finish.
Dave Lewis said, “That was some of the best racing I have ever had, I am very pleased with my Yamaha YZF R6, and none of this would have been possible without all the support from my sponsors.”
Dave would like to thank, “Traction Zone for help with bike setup, Dunlop Tires for all of their support, Josh at Pilot leathers for rushing the suit for round one and making sure it fit and looked good, and Rick DeSimon at Tooele Beverage Company for giving him the opportunity to race the Bud Light Lime R6. We would also like to Thank Noah Brown from Anheuser-Busch for coming out and showing his support. We look forward to Round 2 May 2nd and 3rd where we hope to give our sponsors another great show.”