Odenton, MD. The USGPRU converged this weekend at the rustic Oak Hill Raceway in Henderson TX, to decide the Southeast Region Championship. The winding 1.8-mile Oak Hill track demands supreme concentration and nerves of steel as its narrow and weathered surface twists through the Texas hills. Local racers hold a substantial advantage over the many out-of-town racers that traveled from across the country. But with the Championship Final at Miller only a month away, every point was a critical one to each and every National contender. Canadian Alex Welsh has used Oak Hill Raceway as his test track on several occasions, and showed that local knowledge by setting the fast Rising Sun Cycles 125GP qualifying time on Saturday of 1:27.644, besting local racer, Derek Wagnon, by a mere .05-second. Other local racers, Kent Moffitt and Bill Syfan rounded out the top four positions. 13-year-old, New Yorker, PJ Jacobsen had a flyer of a last lap that would have been enough to put him on the front row of the grid, but time expired and he had to settle for a 5th place starting spot. In the Motion Pro 250GP qualifying session, Alex Welsh dominated again as he set a fast time of 1:26.638. His Infinity Racing teammate, Ryan Ferris, was just behind Alex, and closely followed by Bill Syfan and Jon Schendel. Sunday’s Rising Sun Cycle 125GP event saw a small 16-bike grid take to the track. The drop of the flag had Alex Welsh driving to the front, followed closely by Jon Schendel and Stewart Aitken-Cade. The rest of the ravenous pack quickly devoured Aitken-Cade and made short work of Schendel. PJ Jacobson got a terrible start and was left in 8th place in turn one. But once he got into a rhythm, he started to plow through the field on his Celtic Racing RS125. The front pack of riders, Welsh, Jacobsen, Wagnon, Schendel, and Ryan O’Donnell started to gap the rest of the field. On lap 8, Ryan O’Donnell tucked the front in turn 4 and would have to watch the rest of the race from the side of the track. On lap 10, Alex Welsh crashed on the second to last turn, but was able to pick the bike back up and ride out the race with a smashed finger and bent bike. The fans were on their feet as PJ made a last lap dash for the win and bested local, Derek Wagnon, to take the win. Derek was followed by Jon Schendel and Bill Syfan. Mike Orien and Stewart Aitken-Cade had a smashing duel that was decided on the last lap as Mike rode a supremely smart race, holding off Aitken-Cade’s last lap charge. . In the Motion Pro 250GP race, the odds were in favor of points leader, Welsh, but apparently Ryan Ferris doesn’t look at odds as he led every lap from flag to flag to take his first ever National GP win. Schendel held a steady second place until about lap 8 when he started to slow up and was eventually passed by local, Bill Syfan. Lurking just behind them was Ryan O’Donnell, who charged late in the race to pass Schendel and Syfan, Ryan O’Donnell set his sights on Ferris, and actually started making steady progress catching him, closing at almost .5-seconds per lap. But eventually he ran out of time and luck. Alex Welsh struggled all race with his damaged hand, and was able to battle back from 6th place to make a last lap pass for second over Ryan O’Donnell. The Southeast Regional Championship was dominated by Alex Welsh. His consistency combined with several race wins was enough in both classes to put him clearly ahead of the pack. He finished the 125 class with a solid 30 point lead over his next closest competitors. Second place was a tie as Scott Smallwood and Mike Orien both ended up with 124 points. Smallwood was awarded second place based on higher finishing orders in the races he scored points in. In the 250 class, Alex Welsh simply crushed the competition as he walked away with 230 of a possible 250 points for the year! Matt Cooper held on to second place with 140 points and in a last minute leap-frog move, Jerry Berkey was able to jump from 7th place to 3rd, relegating Daniele Lenarduzzi to fourth place. Full race results as follows: Rising Sun Cycles 125GP 1. PJ Jacobsen Hon RS125 2. Derek Wagnon Hon RS125 3. Jon Schendel Hon RS125 4. Bill Syfan Hon RS125 5. Mike Orien Hon RS125 6. Stewart Aitken-Cade Hon RS125 7. Alex Welsh Hon RS125 8. Kent Moffitt Hon RS125 9. Brandon Warren Hon RS125 10. Michael Santelia Hon RS125 11. Ryan O’Donnell Hon RS125 12. Tony Wang Hon RS125 13. Garrett Tomlinson Hon RS125 14. Pierson Callahan Apr RS125 15. Tomas Bohm Hon RS125 DNS 16. Ryan Ferris Hon RS125 DNS Motion Pro 250GP 1. Ryan Ferris Hon RS250 2. Alex Welsh Hon RS250 3. Ryan O’Donnell Hon RS125 4. Bill Syfan Hon RS125 5. Jon Schendel Hon RS125 6. Jerry Berkey Hon RS250 7. Christopher Corder Apr RS250 8. Kent Moffitt Hon RS125 About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ® and 250 Grand Prix National Championship TM 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