CMRA RIDERS DOMINATE 2006 AMA GRAND CHAMPIONSHIPS AT MID-OHIO Riders from the CMRA (Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association) dominated both days of competition at the 2006 AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, September 23-24. A total of 16 CMRA members raced in a variety of classes against riders from across the country. The designated CMRA three-rider team of Cory Burleson, Dustin Dominguez and Chase Vivion won the 2006 AMA Sports Road Race Club Challenge Championship, with strong rides from all three riders. Their best results were combined, giving them the win over strong regional teams from CCS and WERA. Burleson had raced at Mid-Ohio in 2005, but Dominguez and Vivion were first-timers that overcame ever-changing weather conditions to post great results. On top of the Team Challenge Championship, Cory Burleson, 28, from Harrison, Arkansas, was presented the prestigious AMA Road Racing Horizon Award for 2006. The Horizon Award is presented to riders in different AMA Sports disciplines, and is determined on a rider’s on-track performance, sportsmanship and personality. Cory won the Horizon Award among a tight field of Expert-level competitors, only a year after winning the 2005 Top Novice Award with nine wins. In addition to the riders listed above, the CMRA was also represented by Bill Drake, Bryan Edmonson, Danny Kelsey, Chris Kutalek, B.J. LeMaire, Tyler McDonald, Kent Moffitt, Tony Moore, Larry Myers, Ryan O’Donnell, Joe Raley, Scott Thompson and Derek Wagnon. Thanks to the CMRA Board of Directors, staff and membership for their encouragement and support. More, from a press release issued by Racing Performance Services: BURLESON, DRAKE, AND KELSEY LEAD RPS AT MID-OHIO Cory Burleson, Bill Drake, and Danny Kelsey lead the list of RPS sponsored riders and customers that participated in the AMA Sports Road Race Grand National Championships held at Mid Ohio. This year marked the fourth consecutive year that Racing Performance Services has attended the event in support of its riders. Not only were Burleson, Drake, and Kelsey ready to race, but several other sponsored riders and customers made the long haul form the South Central region. This event also marked the unveiling of Racing Performance Services “Supersport v3.0″ suspension product that features Penske 20mm valve technology which Burleson and Kelsey used for impressive runs at Mid-Ohio. Burleson and RPS have been working together for 2 years and the working relationship netted over 100 wins (Including the AMA Sports “Top Novice” award) in 2005. For 2006, Burleson started the year off working in New Orleans working to rebuild the devastated city. The critical and necessary work forced the Arkansas rider to miss a bit of racing, but the small layoff didn’t seem to affect the talented rider. Burleson got up to speed very quickly during intense CMRA Superstock sprint action and was ready to assault Mid-Ohio in the same fashion he did last year. Burleson got up to speed quickly on, but experienced an almost catastrophic problem on Thursday when the reservoir hose for his shock was almost cut in two by the drive chain. Cory came in to adjust the shifter when Marcus McBain noticed suspension fluid on the rear of the swing arm. A quick repair was made Thursday night and Burleson began the domination on Friday by qualifying 2nd in 600 Superbike, 1st in 750 Superbike, 5th in 600 Superstock, and 4th in the 750 Superstock expert classes. The results were big wins in 750 Superstock & 750 Superbike classes as well as a several other top finishes. At the end of the weekend, Cory Burleson was crowned Horizon Award Winner! Bill Drake and Danny Kelsey arrived at Mid-Ohio as part of the RPS-Komodo team. Drake is a top performer in CMRA sprint action while Kelsey started the year off as a yellow-shirted provisional novice and enrolled in the RPS Pro-Rider Development program. From the onset, Drake continued to experience some front-end stability issues that have plagued him all year. A quick trip to Doug Duane at MPH for frame measurement showed that a February crash had pushed the front end in 4mm. After the geometry was corrected, Drake immediately dropped 3 seconds off of his lap times and was ready to make an assault for the winner’s position in his races. For the weekend, Bill finished 1st 1000 Superbike, 5th 1000 Superstock, and 2nd Formula One. It was a rewarding weekend for the Houston, Texas native. Danny Kelsey entered the Mid-Ohio AMA Sports event as his first ever expert event he would participate in. The former AMA Eastern Region Arenacross competitor made the move to roadracing this year after earning over a dozen top-5 finishes and being featured on Chevy Trucks commercials during his motocross career. Kelsey has quickly achieved success and speed in road racing and RPS has consequently signed him to a 2-year contract. Kelsey who hails from Georgetown, Texas started the weekend quickly learning the track and focused on the 600 superstock race which provided a chance for the top-20 finishes to compete in the 600 superstock shootout race hosted during the following AMA ProRacing weekend. Kelsey was impressive in his expert races with finishes of 5th 600 superstock, 2nd 1000 Superstock, 4th 1000 Suberbike, , 7th 750 Superstock, and 4th Formula 1000. Kelsey will compete in the AMA Sports 600 Superstock shootout October 1st during the AMA ProRacing weekend. RPS sponsored riders and customers Chris Kutalek, Joe Raley, Tony Moore, Bryan Edmonson, and Brian LeMaire put in impressive efforts in the Novice ranks.