Brian Hebeisen Wins Thrilling CRA Championship
Brainerd, MN – Brainerd International Raceway’s famed Donnybrooke course provided the stage for the final round of the 2017 season from September 22-24 and the tight overall Expert and Novice championship battles provided the entertainment. Going into the final round, Expert points leader Brian Hebeisen held a 54-point lead over reigning champion Kyle Ohnsorg and Novice points leader Eric Hjelter was clinging to a 63-point lead. With at least 20 points going to the winner of each race, none of the four contenders were in a comfortable position and each of them needed to battle for every point they could.
The tight championship battles affected those not even involved in those races as a significant amount of preparation was done by the commentary team which bolstered its numbers for “Points Watch 2017”. Joining announcer Kris Skellenger (who was taking a break from beating other Expert racers and making them feel bad about themselves) in the commentary booth was Cheap Thrills Moto rider Ewa Kalinsky keeping the current points standings updated and TPL Racing’s Jordan Imrie, who pretty much sat behind Skellenger the whole day. Word has it that since he is used to being behind Skellenger on track, he is more comfortable behind him off track as well.
Fisk Brothers Racing pulled out all the stops in their pursuit of the overall championship for rider Brian Hebeisen and Kyle Ohnsorg matched them every step of the way with both riders competing in every race on Saturday aside from Formula 40. Battle would commence all day with both riders on Yamaha R3’s, Suzuki SV650s, Yamaha R6’s and Kyle Ohnsorg bringing a gun to the knife fight in Unlimited by swinging a leg over his BMW S1000RR. Ohnsorg had one thing in mind in every race – victory. His results what you’d hope to see on a golf score card with a series of 1’s in his race position column. Were it not for an unfortunate chain failure on his R6 or using his immense talent to highside one of the slowest bikes in the series while going straight (note, BIR’s front straight can be a bit slippery at times, can’t it Kyle?), Ohnsorg could have cleaned house by winning every race he was eligible for. Unfortunately, unlike golf, racing doesn’t offer mulligans and the rain that came in the late afternoon put a stop to “Peanut Brittle’s” attempt at winning every race he finished.
Realistically, Ohnsorg’s biggest hurdle was the tenacity of Brian Hebeisen who took time out of his busy schedule of flexing and not wearing a shirt to pick up as many points as possible throughout the day. Lacking the absolute speed of the dainty Ohnsorg, Hebeisen clearly understood that he could win the championship through consistency and smart riding. In some races, he pushed Ohnsorg and challenged for the win but in races where that wasn’t possible, he brought it home and earned solid points. Ohnsorg’s chain failure proved to be a giant momentum swing back toward Hebeisen and Ohnsorg’s crash in Featherweight GP was the turning point in the championship. After taking maximum points in those races, Hebeisen just needed to complete 50 laps in Sunday’s annual 5-Hour endurance race to be classified as a points scorer and take home his first championship. Hebeisen did just that and now holds the record as the oldest #1 plate holder in CRA history, which seems fitting as the championship bonus from the CRA is one of those $3 pairs of reading glasses from the closest gas station. In all seriousness, massive congratulations go out to the Fisk Brothers Racing/Dryject, Inc. team of Brian Hebeisen, Mark Fisk, Phil Fisk, Mike Smith, Anna Hanson, Brad Zajic and everyone else that made Hebeisen’s middle-aged dream come true.
The Novice side of the party was equally as intense with Sam Burke, who happens to be Kyle Ohnsorg’s teammate, in a similar scenario to the 2016 CRA champion. In order to take the championship, he needed to win every race he could. All season long, Burke has shown himself to be the quickest Novice rider in the dry conditions but Eric Hjelter showed the world he meant business in the wet throughout the August weekend. With rain in the forecast for the afternoon, Hjelter needed to be like Hebeisen and grab every point possible. Unfortunately, a crash early in the day put one of his bikes out of commission and made the possibility of bringing home the championship very small. Burke was able to capitalize on Hjelter’s mistake and even though Hjelter was able to borrow a bike to try to gain some points, it wasn’t enough to stop Burke as the championship lead changed hands during the final sprint race of the season. With a 12-point lead going into the 5-hour, Burke took home a solid result in the team race to claim top honors and show teammate Kyle Ohnsorg how it should be done. The Novice championship was a great way to repay the faith shown in him by his team of Mike Husman, Cheryl Husman, the entire Ohnsorg family, Zack Johnson, Stephen Peterson and many more who helped him through the year.
The 5-Hour usually takes top billing during the September CRA weekend as championships are usually wrapped up well before the last day of the season but that was not the case this year. With so much riding on who finished where, there was massive changes to rider lineups all the way up until registration closed for the race 30 minutes before practice started. Going into the race, the favorites for the overall win seemed to be 3-Hour Team Challenge winners Full Nelson (Jesse Nelson, Kris Skellenger, Scott Stall), 3 Men and a Baby (Aaron Anderson, Sam Burke, Shane Keaveny, Stephen Peterson), Ohnsorg’s Cheap Goats (Erik DeVaan, Kyle Ohnsorg, Jake Schmotter), and Power Bottoms (Clark Davis, Josh Harein, Drew See). Other teams to keep an eye on due to their role in the overall championships were Team Kramer (Jack Barton, Brian Hebeisen, Chase Sellers) and The MAD MEN (Adam Bastien, Eric Hjelter, Barry Schmidt, Luke Trombley).
Off the start, Full Nelson held the lead with Zach Hughes shocking the world by donning his gold-plated leathers and putting in a solid performance on Despacito teammate Pat Gill’s Yamaha R1M. Close behind them, 3 Men and a Baby held onto the final overall podium spot with Ohnsorg’s Cheap Goats right behind. The Power Bottoms tried an unusual alternative strategy early in the race when a dipstick malfunction (we won’t specify if the dipstick was human or not) caused a red flag due to oil on the track. The team used the red flag to clean the excess lube off of their bike and continue on. Just past halfway into the race, Full Nelson developed a transmission problem putting them out of the race and the forecasted rain arrived, causing havoc up and down the field – at one point two riders crashed on the front straight within five minutes! Multiple red flags through the rest of the race to deal with many incidents caused by rain that at times made it difficult to even see created a perfect “never give up” scenario with multiple teams crashing, repairing their bikes, crashing again, repairing their bikes again, etc. This scenario is usually where Billy Vossberg shines. Billy, riding for the aptly named team We Put the CRA in CRASH, has a history of throwing bikes down the road multiple times during races and somehow bringing home very solid finishes. The most recent CRA fast guy, Josh Harein, threw his hat into the Crash & Dash talent pool by having multiple ground meetings with the Power Bottoms bike and getting it back to the pits for repairs. At one point, outgoing Tech Inspector Clint Lee stationed himself at the Power Bottom’s pit area on the assumption Harein would be back shortly for another post-crash inspection.
When the clouds cleared and the checkered flag flew, Ohnsorg’s Cheap Goats took a one lap victory over the Power Bottoms (both of which were GP3 teams) while We Put the CRA in CRASH took top honors in GP4 over 3 Men and a Baby. Alive @45, a team consisting of three 45-year old men riding an 18-year old bike (even if the bike is the age of legal consent, it’s still creepy) to a very popular win in the GP2 class and GP1 top honors went to What Happened to Sam Miller? – a question many of us will never know the answer to.
The 2017 season was yet another in a long line of exciting seasons in the club’s history and while the end of the season is always a bit disappointing, the good times will continue at the season-ending banquet on Saturday, October 21. Thanks for the entertainment in 2017, 2018 promises to have just as much action!
Race Results:
Unlimited SS Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (BMW S1000RR)
2. Shane Keaveny (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Lucas Wygant (Yam YZF-R1)
4. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Jake Schmotter (Yam YZF-R1)
6. Jesse Nelson (Suz GSX-R1000)
Unlimited SS Novice:
1. David Stone (Hon CBR1000RR)
2. Eric Hjelter (MV F3800)
Unlimited SB Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (BMW S1000RR)
2. Shane Keaveny (Kaw ZX-10R)
3. Lucas Wygant (Yam YZF-R1)
4. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Jesse Nelson (Suz GSX-R1000)
6. Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R750)
Unlimited SB Novice:
1. Sam Burke (BMW S1000RR)
2. David Stone (Hon CBR1000RR)
3. Eric Hjelter (MV F3 800)
Unlimited GP Expert:
1. Lucas Wygant (Yam YZF-R1)
2. Jesse Nelson (Suz GSX-R1000)
3. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Ryan Fors (Kaw ZX-6R)
5. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
Unlimited GP Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight SS Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Josh Harein (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R750)
6. Jesse Nelson (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight SS Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Dillon Baumeister (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Jeff Somers (Yam YZF-R6)
4. David Stone (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Stephen Peterson (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Jared Thompson (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight SB Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Brett Donahue (Suz GSX-R750)
4. Aaron Anderson (Suz GSX-R750)
5. Clark Davis (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
Heavyweight SB Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Dillon Baumeister (Yam YZF-R6)
3. David Stone (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Kyle Franz (Duc 899)
5. Jeff Franz (Duc 899)
6. Stephen Peterson (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight GP Expert:
1. Jesse Nelson (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Bill Plucky (Suz SV650)
5. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Mark Dargis (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight GP Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Jeff Franz (Duc 899)
Middleweight SS Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Josh Harein (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Clark Davis (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Kurt Schuschke (Tri 675)
Middleweight SS Novice:
1. Austin Isfeld (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Dillon Baumeister (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Jeff Somers (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Andrew Tolzmann (Kaw ZX-6R)
6. David Stone (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight SB Expert:
1. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
3. Jesse Nelson (Yam YZF-R6)
4. Clark Davis (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Scott Masterton (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Mark Dargis (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight SB Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Dillon Baumeister (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Austin Isfeld (Yam YZF-R6)
4. David Stone (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Andrew Tolzmann (Kaw ZX-6R)
6. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
Middleweight GP Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
4. Jesse Nelson (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Mark Dargis (Yam YZF-R6)
6. Ken Nielsen (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight GP Novice:
1. Sam Burke (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Dillon Baumeister (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Austin Isfeld (Yam YZF-R6)
4. David Stone (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Andrew Tolzmann (Kaw ZX-6R)
6. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SS Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Suz SV650)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Suz SV650)
3. Chris Mattson (Suz SV650)
4. Jon Champ (Suz SV650)
5. Anthony Marcinek (Suz SV650)
6. Katie Champ (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SS Novice:
1. Jesse Vanderweide (Suz SV650)
2. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
3. Nathan Jessup (Suz SV650)
4. Sonia Pond (Suz SV650)
5. Leif Nadeau (Suz SV650)
Lightweight GP Expert:
1. Adam Harrison (Hon CBR600F2))
2. Matt Cina (Yam FZ-07R)
3. Kyle Ohnsorg (Suz SV650)
4. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
5. Bill Plucky (Suz SV650)
6. Jon Champ (Suz SV650)
Lightweight GP Novice:
1. Jesse Vanderweide (Suz SV650)
2. Leif Nadeau (Suz SV650)
3. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
4. Nathan Jessup (Suz SV650)
5. Kyle Franz (Yam FZ-07R)
6. Sonia Pond (Suz SV650)
Formula 40 – F2:
1. Shane Keaveny (Kaw ZX-10R)
2. Brett Donahue (Suz GSX-R750)
3. Mark Dargis (Kaw ZX-10R)
4. Kurt Schuschke (Tri 675)
5. Karl Rehpohl (Kaw ZX-6R)
6. Pat Gill (Yam YZF-R1)
Formula 40 – F1:
1. Matt Cina (Yam FZ-07R)
2. David Burke (Suz SV650)
3. Denyse Brooks (Yam FZ-07R)
4. Wess Buren (Suz SV650)
5. Tom Conroy (Suz SV650)
6. David Juntunen (KTM RC390)
Ultralight #2 Expert:
1. Mark Praska (Krä HKR-Evo2)
2. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
3. Timothy Ring (Duc 620)
4. Kurt Mosher (Kaw EX500)
Featherweight SB Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Bradley Kreller (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Bryan Lachmiller (Kaw 250)
5. William Miller (Yam YZF-R3)
Featherweight SB Novice:
1. Sean Stettnichs (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Tom Conroy (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Lawrence Lin (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Justin Miest (Yam YZF-R3)
5. David Juntunen (KTM RC390)
6. William Nystrom (KTM RC390)
Ultralight #3 Expert:
1. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
2. Mark Praska (Krä HKR-Evo2)
Featherweight GP Expert:
1. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Bryan Lachmiller (Kaw EX250)
3. William Miller (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Bradley Kreller (Yam YZF-R3)
Featherweight GP Novice:
1. Lawrence Lin (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Sean Stettnichs (Yam YZF-R3)
3. David Juntunen (KTM RC390)
4. Justin Miest (Yam YZF-R3)
5. William Nystrom (KTM RC390)
6. Tom Conroy (Yam YZF-R3)
Lightweight SB Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Suz SV650)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Suz SV650)
3. Jon Champ (Suz SV650)
4. Chris Mattson (Suz SV650)
5. Matt Cina (Yam FZ-07R)
6. Anthony Marcinek (Suz SV650)
250GP Expert:
1. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
Lightweight SB Novice:
1. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
2. Jesse Vanderweide (Suz SV650)
3. Kyle Franz (Yam FZ-07R)
4. Leif Nadeau (Suz SV650)
5. David Burke (Suz SV650)
6. Denyse Brooks (Yam FZ-07R)
Supertwins Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Suz SV650)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Suz SV650)
3. Chris Mattson (Suz SV650)
4. Matt Cina (Yam FZ-07R)
5. Anthony Marcinek (Suz SV650)
6. Stephen Johnson (Suz SV650)
Sportsman Middleweight Expert:
1. Ken Nielsen (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Martin Holte (Hon CBR600RR)
Sportsman Lightweight Expert:
1. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
2. Adam Harrison (Hon CBR600F2)
Supertwins Novice:
1. Jeff Franz (Duc 899)
2. Jesse Vanderweide (Suz SV650)
3. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
4. Eric Hjelter (Duc 899)
5. Kyle Franz (Duc 899)
6. Nathan Jessup (Suz SV650)
Sportsman Lightweight Novice:
1. Jeffrey Quam (Suz SV650)
New Rider Championship GP4:
1. Stephen Peterson (BMW S1000RR)
2. Kyle Franz (Duc 899)
3. Jeff Franz (Duc 899)
New Rider Championship GP3:
1. Jon Durant (Yam YZF-R6)
2. Jared Thompson (Yam YZF-R6)
3. Scott Tyykila (Kaw ZX-6R)
4. Si Klien (Yam YZF-R6)
5. Sam Burke (BMW S1000RR)
New Rider Championship GP2:
1. Brian Rogers (Suz SV650)
2. Denyse Brooks (Yam FZ-07R)
3. Mitchell Donahue (Suz SV650)
New Rider Championship GP1:
1. Mike Grund (Hon CBR600RR)
2. Justin Miest (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Sarah Boughten (Yam YZF-R3)
Ultralight #1 Expert:
1. Jack Barton (Krä HKR-Evo2)
2. Kurt Mosher (Kaw EX500)
Featherweight SS Expert:
1. Kyle Ohnsorg (Yam YZF-R3)
2. Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Bradley Kreller (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Bryan Lachmiller (Kaw 250)
5. William Miller (Yam YZF-R3)
Featherweight SS Novice:
1. Dave Juntunen (KTM RC390)
2. Sean Stettnichs (Yam YZF-R3)
3. Justin Miest (Yam YZF-R3)
4. Lawrence Lin (Yam YZF-R3)
5. Tom Conroy (Yam YZF-R3)
6. William Nystrom (KTM RC390)
Ultralight #1 Novice:
1. Roy Konicek (Yam YZF-R3)
Endurance GP3:
1. Ohnsorg’s Cheap Goats (Erik DeVaan, Kyle Ohnsorg, Jake Schmotter)
2. Power Bottoms (Clark Davis, Josh Harein, Drew See)
3. Gorillas and the Chimp (Martin Holte, Justin Miest, Ken Nielsen)
4. The MAD MEN (Adam Bastien, Erik Hjelter, Barry Schmidt, Luke Trombley)
Endurance GP4:
1. We Put the CRA in CRASH (Justin Ebnet, Ryan Fors, Billy Vossberg)
2. 3 Men and a Baby (Aaron Anderson, Sam Burke, Shane Keaveny, Stephen Peterson)
3. #TRACKLIVESMATTER (Mark Dargis, Nathan Dotson, Scott Masterton)
4. Despacito (Pat Gill, Zach Hughes)
5. Full Nelson (Jesse Nelson, Kris Skellenger, Scott Stall)
Endurance GP2:
1. Alive @ 45 (Wess Buren, Dave Burke, Karl Rehpohl)
2. E-Reptile Dysfuction (Chris Mattson, Cole Naymark, Brian Rogers)
3. Shredder (Jon Champ, Steve Johnson, Cole Speer)
4. PUB SCOUTS (Roger Hendricks, David Johnson, Leif Nadeau, Kurt Schuschke)
5. What are Franz for? (Denyse Brooks, Jeff Franz, Kyle Franz, Joe Mastain)
6. Leathers & Lace (Katie Champ, Dave Hanson, Sonia Pond)
Endurance GP1:
1. What Happened to Sam Miller? (Brilly Lachmiller, Sam Miller)
2. How’s the Bike? (Tom Conroy, Dave Juntunen, Lawrence Lin, Sean Stettnichs)
3. Team Kramer (Jack Barton, Brian Hebeisen, Chase Sellers)