Gerloff Wins Inaugural Moriwaki MD250H, McLean and Ferris Victorious
Roadrace Southwest played host for round three of the USGPRU’s West Coast region at Firebird Raceway. The weekend was fantastic as temperatures hovered in the low nineties, and provided great conditions for racing as well as for spectators.
The big news of the weekend was the debut of the new MD250H class. The new bikes are built by Moriwaki and powered by the stout Honda CRF250X engine. The unique sound of the 250cc four-stroke, single-cylinder race bike brought out curious onlookers to see this new class which brings with it a prize purse of $10,000 per event.
The Moriwaki MD250H Powered by Honda race drew a large crowd of spectators as these GP machines thundered off the line for the first time. Garrett Gerloff and Zach Warnock got great launches, but Miles Thornton did even better to secure the lead. This new spec class clearly highlights the talent of the racer, and Gerloff was in that spotlight as he passed Miles for the lead and never looked back. Thornton was able to keep pace and gain on Gerloff at times but had his hands full with Warnock and couldn’t challenge for the win. Warnock stayed on Thornton’s tail but it was ultimately Thornton who finished second and Warnock third. Gerloff walked away with $2000 for the win, Thornton with $1700 for second, and $1500 to Warnock for third place.
Rising Sun Cycles 125GP race saw Warnock grab the holeshot on his Honda RS125 but Royce McLean and the MD250H riders, Gerloff and Thornton, weren’t about to let him get away. A four-way battle for the lead quickly settled down to a three-way battle for second as McLean was on a mission and passed Warnock and started to walk away from the pack. Positions were swapped constantly throughout the race for second between Warnock, Gerloff and Thornton. Warnock fought hard to keep Gerloff and Thornton at bay, and seemed to have second place ‘in the bag’. On the last lap, Gerloff charged, and snuck around the outside of Warnock in turn three. Warnock tried to come back, but grabbed too much throttle and spectacularly highsided out of the race. That moved Thornton up to third and new racer, Lex Hartl to fourth. With all of this drama cleanly behind him, McLean went on to win and take over the regional and national championship 125GP points lead.
In the Moto Liberty 250GP race, Kyle Ferris got to turn one first with Vincent Rolleri hot on his rear wheel. Rolleri and Ferris diced for the lead but Ferris quickly tired of that battle, and put in some fast laps to try and escape Rolleri’s charge. By lap 6, he had opened up a three-second lead and maintained that gap until the end of the race. Michael Rajotte and Dylan Olsen were in a close battle for third until a mechanical problem caused Olsen to retire, handing the final podium spot to Rajotte.
Notably absent from the weekend were West Coast points leaders Benny Solis, Jr., and Austin DeHaven as they were off at the Red Bull Rookies Cup race at Barber.
The USGPRU would like to thank Randy, Heidi, John, and the rest of the CCS / Road Race Southwest team for another great weekend. This weekend wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the 2008 USGPRU National Series sponsors: RoadracingWorld.com, Rising Sun Cycles, Moto Liberty, Motion Pro, Repsol Lubricants, REV’IT, Bridgestone Tires, Dunlop Tires, EBC Brakes, GP Tech, Rich Oliver’s Mystery School, Powerstands, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, Hjelm Motorsports, Michelin Tires, Regina Chains, and Starlane by Yoyodyne.
125GP race results 1. Royce McLean (YAM TZ125) 2. Garrett Gerloff (MD250H) 3. Miles Thornton (MD250H) 4. Alexander Hartl (HON RS125) 5. Andrew Artola (HON RS125) 6. Ryan Ferris (HON RS125) 7. Michael Lainhart (HON RS125) 8. Zach Warnock (HON RS125) 9. Kim Brauneis (HON RS125)
250GP race results 1. Kyle Ferris (YAM TZ250) 2. Vincent Rolleri (YAM TZ250) 3. Michael Rajotte (HON RS250) 4. Royce McLean (YAM TZ125) 5. Miles Thornton (YAM TZ250) 6. Michael Lainhart (HON RS125) 7. Dale Whelan (YAM TZ250) 8. Dylan Olsen (YAM TZ250)
MD250H race results 1. Garrett Gerloff (MD250H) 2. Miles Thornton (MD250H) 3. Zach Warnock (MD250H)