Galster Dominates During 2 Days of MRA Rain Racing at High Plains Raceway

Unseasonably wet and cold weather arrived for the June 12-13 round of the MRA series at High Plains Raceway. Despite a crash in the rain during Saturday morning practice, Josh Galster proved his proficiency in the wet by winning 5 of his middle and heavyweight classes. Galster capped his weekend by racing his Slednecks ZX-6R to a podium finish against the big bikes in the premier Race of the Rockies GTO.

There was lots of excitement in the pits as the track cycled through brief drying spells, only to have the skies open back up and deluge the course again. The start of Open Superbike came with a heavy downpour as Dave Hetzler got the holeshot on the field. Pat Lansu was close behind Hetzler and took over the lead on the first lap only to have Doug Kahl, recovering from a poor start, overtake him on lap 2. Kahl immediately stretched out his lead while Hetzler and Lansu battled. Rob Christman was driving through the pack, eventually working his way past the Hetzler/Lansu fight into second place, with Mike Applegate following. In the final laps Applegate put on a hard charge for Christman’s second place, but crashed out handing the final podium position to Hetzler. Afterwards, race winner Kahl was quoted as saying, “There was so much water on the course it became about getting the bike stood up enough to make it through, the front was pushing everywhere.”

One of the best battles of the weekend came in Solo Lightweight Endurance, which saw spotty conditions as the track deteriorated during the race. Returning LW Endurance Champion Shannon Moham has completely dominated the class in an unbroken 3 year winning streak. This weekend the crowd witnessed a Moto2 worthy fight between Moham and Mike Hellerstedt, with the two SV650 riders exchanging the lead dozens of times non-stop for the entire 30 minute race. Each could only gain tenths of an advantage over the other before being repassed, and the race was decided in the last corner of the last lap as the pair encountered traffic, with Hellerstedt narrowly defeating Moham for the win. It should be noted that Lightweight Endurance starts behind Middleweight Endurance, and the effort of the SV riders’ battle carried them through the field to fourth overall against the 600’s.

Fay Myers Motorcycle World Race of the Rockies GTO 1 Dan Turner (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 Mike Applegate (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R) 6 Danny Anderson (Yam YZF-R1)

Vickery Motorsports Race of the Rockies GTU 1 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Dale Eaton (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Casey Dragos (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Brian Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Danny Anderson (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Scott Stall (Suz GSX-R600)

Team Nay Solo Lightweight Endurance 1 Mike Hellerstedt (Suz SV650) 2 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 3 David Labarr (Suz SV650) 4 Martin Hester (Yam TZ250) 5 Geoffrey Snyder (Suz SV650) 6 Rodney Mattison (Suz SV650)

WyethHomes Solo Middleweight Endurance 1 Dale Eaton (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Aaron Hersh (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Mike Applehans (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Nicholas Lenski (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Tim Young (Yam YZF-R6)

Barely Legal Racing Solo Heavyweight Endurance 1 Crash Lowe (Suz GSX-R750) 2 Scott Stall (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Alan Filar (Suz GSX-R750) 4 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 5 Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Geoffrey Snyder (Suz GSX-R750)

ABATE of Colorado Solo Open Endurance 1 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 John Fifield (Yam YZF-R1) 3 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR) 4 Rob Christman (Yam YZF-R6) 5 David Eid (Kaw ZX-10R) 6 Dave Hetzler (Kaw ZX-10R)

Vickery Motorsports Amateur GTU 1 Anthony Ross (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Steven Grubbs (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Jarret Scarberry (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Aaron Hersh (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Bruce Browning (Yam YZF-R6)

Northern Colorado Euro Motorcycles Amateur GTO 1 Steven Grubbs (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Jarret Scarberry (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Aaron Hersh (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR) 5 Wyeth Jackson (Kaw ZX-6R) 6 Jason Patton (Suz GSX-R1000)

Grand Prix Motorsports Middleweight SuperBike 1 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Scott Stall (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Dalton Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Erik Cromer (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Brian Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Dale Eaton (Yam YZF-R6)

MotoAdventure Kawasaki Middleweight SuperSport 1 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Casey Dragos (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Brian Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Dalton Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Steven Grubbs (Kaw ZX-6R)

Faster! Motosports Heavyweight SuperBike 1 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Brian Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Shane Turpin (Pierobon/Duc F042) 4 Erik Cromer (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Patrick Lansu (Duc 999R) 6 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R)

Apex Sports, Inc. Heavyweight SuperSport 1 Josh Galster (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Brian Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Dalton Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Casey Dragos (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Zach Shearon (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Crash Lowe (Suz GSX-R750)

Colorado Powersports Open SuperBike 1 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 Rob Christman (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Dave Hetzler (Kaw ZX-10R) 4 Patrick Lansu (Duc 1098R) 5 Dan Turner (Suz GSX-R1000) 6 Danny Anderson (Yam YZF-R1) 

 Coyote Motorsports Open SuperSport 1 Crash Lowe (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 Casey Dragos (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Curtis Knox Jr. (Yam YZF-R1) 4 Jason Curdy (Yam YZF-R1) 

Foothills Motorcycles Colorado Class 1 Jeff Winter (Hon RS450F) 2 Martin Hester (Hon RS125) 3 Dominic Medina (Hon Ascot) 

XBAM Ladies of the Rockies 1 Wyeth Jackson (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Sheila Paul (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Kimberly Prichard (Tri Daytona 675) 4 Trina Dawson (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Siobhan Bennett (Apr RSV1000) 

Toyota Trucks Lightweight GrandPrix 1 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 2 David Labarr (Suz SV650) 3 Jeff Winter (Hon RS450F) 4 Geoffrey Snyder (Suz SV650) 5 Rich Wu (Suz SV650) 6 Rodney Mattison (Suz SV650) 

Un!nk Printworks Modern Vintage GTU 1 Aaron Hersh (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 3 Ian Oconnor (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Tony Baker (Yam TZ250) 5 Bread Puddin (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Ray Ray Gaimara (Yam TZ250)

Ducati Motor Club Denver Modern Vintage GTO 1 Aaron Hersh (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Alan Filar (Suz GSX-R750) 3 James Turner (Suz GSX-R750) 

Woody’s Wheel Works Novice GTU 1 Adam McCarty (Tri Daytona 675) 2 Bradley Hampton (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Luke Wuckert (Suz GSX-R600) 4 Kia Aftahi (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Sam Roberts (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Justin Lamkin (Yam YZF-R6)

Rocky Mountain Kawasaki Novice GTO 1 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR) 2 Jason Patton (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Louis Ortiz Jr. (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 Kia Aftahi (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Adam McCarty (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Bradley Hampton (Suz GSX-R600)

Boulder Motor Sports SuperTwins GTU 1 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 2 Mike Hellerstedt (Suz SV650) 3 Tony Baker (Yam TZ250) 4 Jeff Winter (Hon RS450F) 5 Rich Wu (Suz SV650) 6 Ray Ray Gaimara (Yam TZ250)

Alliance Motorsports SuperTwins GTO 1 Patrick Lansu (Duc 1098R) 2 Jim Brewer (Duc 1098R) 3 Lloyd Meador (Duc 749RS) 4 Anthony Viera (Duc 1198S) 

Sportsman 1 Scott Shaper (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Richard Bickhard III (Suz SV650) 3 James Turner (Suz GSX-R750)

The MRA is dedicated to promoting safe and competitive motorcycle roadracing events for enthusiasts in Colorado and the surrounding area. For more information go to www.mra-racing.org or call the MRA hotline at 303-530-5678.

More, from a press release issued by Josh Galster’s publicist:

Galster wins 5 out of his 6 races in the rain at High Plains Raceway

The weather was less than ideal this past weekend at High Plains Raceway which is located on the eastern plains of Colorado, an hour east of downtown Denver. After heaps of track prep to get the mud and standing water off the racing surface, the race weekend was underway with open practice sessions due to the lack of eager racers to get out on a cold, wet track. In a very quick manner Galster was able to put up some fast times in the open practice and topped the charts with the second fastest time, a 2:06.4, just behind one of the 1000cc riders that posted up a 2:05.9.

The first race of the weekend for Galster was the Middleweight Supersport class. The first start was red flagged due to a wet surface crash, with the rider going down right in front of Josh off the start. Once that was cleaned up, Galster was able to slot himself into 2nd and paced the leader. At half race he made the pass for the lead and stretched out a gap to finish 1st.

During Heavyweight Supersport he was positioned 3rd on the grid and hung back check the track conditions since more rain had fallen. After two laps he had a good feel for what traction was like and made the pass under brakes to go from 3rd to 1st, where he stayed until crossing the finish line.

Sunday’s weather was more of the same, with rain and cool temps throughout the day. In the back-to-back qualifying sessions for Race of the Rockies GTO and GTU, he qualified 2nd in Race of the Rockies GTO against the 1000cc riders. He was unable to get in a qualifying lap in the GTU before a red flag was brought out, caused by two riders going off at different parts of the track. Once back underway, Galster only had 7 minutes to put in a time to qualify for GTU. As more rain had dumped onto the track during the red flag, qualifying was 6 seconds off his GTO time, causing him to start the Race of the Rockies GTU race in 4th.

In the Middleweight Superbike and Heavyweight Superbike races, Galster was able to jump into the lead and finish 1st, with a healthy lead crossing the line in both races and a fastest time of a 2:04.4.

The Race of the Rockies GTU race was wet to start, but by the end of the race there was a definite dry line. His Dunlop rain tires held up well, and Josh secured another win. In the last race of the weekend for Galster, the Race of the Rockies GTO had a dry line, so he swapped to DOT tires and was part of a three-way battle for the lead, battling with a fellow Grandprix Motorsports rider before the race was cut short. Josh finished 3rd in that race which capped a successful weekend.

Galster would like to thank Slednecks, Grandprix Motorsports, Dunlop, Arai, California Superbike School, LeoVince, Bazzaz Performance, and his family and friends for their help despite splashing around in the rain all weekend.