Prince Takes Dominant Win In California Roadrace Association Gold Cup At Buttonwillow
[Buttonwillow, CA] California Roadrace Association (CRA) kicked off Round 2 of the 2024 season at Buttonwillow Raceway Park March 23-24. In spite of a daunting weather forecast, racers came from all over Northern and Southern California and various other states, which made for healthy grids.
Bryce Prince continued his impressive form at the beginning of the California Roadrace Association’s 2024 season, backing up his Pacific Utility Gold Cup win at the season-opening Willow Springs round with another clear win at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.
On his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, Prince turned a best lap of 1:45.567 enroute to an 11-second win over Deion Campbell, also mounted on a Yamaha YZF-R1. Ben Hodges was six seconds back on his YZF-R1 in third, but was just ahead of Jason Rodriguez, who was the only rider other than Prince in the 1:45 range.
On a blustery, rainy weekend with an occasional hailstorm, Prince also won the Ryder Gear 1000 Supersport race on Saturday, again ahead of Campbell, with Rodriguez just edging Hodges this time for the final podium spot. Despite the chaotic weather, organizers were able to complete the full schedule of races.
Anibal Arias won the Classic Cabinets 1000 Superbike race on Sunday over Joel Ohman, and Arias took the Ryder Gear 1000 Supersport win as well, this time over Armando Castillo. Arias had started the weekend with a win in the 61 DTC/Pirelli 1000 GT race on Saturday, ahead of Nayden Balladares and Ohman.
“It was great to see all those smiling faces for round two,” said CRA Co-Founder Lyle Geoff Brown. “It is very rewarding to witness the growth of CRA through the progression and success of our racers.”
CRA’s mentorship program “Racer 411” continues to welcome new racers to the paddock with pit and race prep assistance. Because CRA missed two rounds in 2023 due to the new track at Buttonwillow not being completed, the first two rounds held in 2024 counted toward both the 2023 season and the 2024 season. This round wrapped up the 2023 season and 2023 Class Champions can be found here: 2023 CRA Championship
CRA now heads to The Podium Club at Attesa for Round 3 of the 2024 race season. Visit www.race-cra.com for more information.
The California Roadrace Association would like to thank all its sponsors for their support. Pacific Utility Installation is the title sponsor of the CRA, with Better Call Sy and Classic Cabinets presenting sponsors of the 2024 season. CRA would like to thank VnM Sport, Lieto Factory, Ryder Gear, Compact Octane, Eyes Up Motorsports/Dunlop, 61 DTC/Pirelli, Roadrace City/Bridgestone, Fun Track Dayz, Let’s Ride Track Days, New Century Motorcycles, Moto4Life, Alpinestars, Capit Performance, Racer’s Edge, Tip In Racing, Remix Racing, The Heights Restaurant Bar & Grill, Cinepixel Productions, Kern County Motorsports, and Racer 411.
