July 5th and 6th marks the return of MWGP to the Big Track at Willow Springs International Raceway for round 5! As we have reached the midpoint in the 9 round 2014 season, MWGP officials announced round 5 as the first of two double points rounds! The championship picture was barely coming into focus with Lightweight Twins Rider Lance Lewman narrowly on top of Tuned Industries racer Bryce Prince. Nipping at Prince’s heels is JC Gibbs of Scorpion Helmets. Even after missing round 1, Bryce has been dominant this year, winning seven of his nine entered races. With 110 points up for grabs for our Advanced licensed racers, Jason Aguilar, in 4th cannot be counted out of the championship hunt for MWGP’s coveted number 1 plate! John Edmonson is dominating the Novice Heavyweight championship but Austin Parker bested him in Round 3 Novice Heavyweight by Trackxperience for the first time this season. With 90 points at stake for the novices, Austin could bridge the gap this round. The Novice Middleweight championship is wide open with Keir Leonhardt leading Shawn Byham and Randy Smith by a very narrow margin.
Round 4 saw MWGP racers take on Buttonwillow Raceway Park, with the most exciting Formula 1 race of the season. CM Motorsports rider Chad Lewin took an early lead, but by the end of lap 2 Bryce Prince dispatched of Lewin and maintained a lead the rest of the 12 lap main event. Jason Aguilar of Tuned Industries had a difficult first lap, but the tenacious teenager put his head down and fought to catch Lewin. On the final corner of the last lap Jason dove underneath Chad. However, Aguilar ran wide and Lewin got a better drive to take his CM Motorsports R6 to the line .003 seconds ahead of Aguilar.
Novice middleweight heat A was equally as exciting! Shawn Byham got out to an early lead, with Lindsay Ross and Randy Smith in hot pursuit. These three traded positions for 5 laps, dicing in and out of traffic from the novice heavyweight wave in front of them. A brake master cylinder failure forced Lindsay Ross out of the battle on lap 5. Going into the sweeper Randy Smith was in striking distance of Byham, when he lost the rear. Smith was able to recover, however, he had given up too much ground and Byham crossed the line in first. MWGP would like to give a big congrats to Shawn Byham for his recent wedding!
As we look to Formula 1 for round 5, Bryce Prince has yet to take the top spot at the big track; we know he will be hungry for a victory! His teammate Jason Aguilar will be looking for redemption after narrowly missing position 2 in round 4. Will round 5 see the return of lap record holder Steve Rapp who’s mechanical snatched a sure victory from his grasp in round 3? Krystyna Kubran will make MWGP history as the first female to grid for Formula 1, she’s got an eye on the podium aboard her Lee’s Cycle ZX-10 rocket ship!
MWGP would like to remind all racers that there are no gate hours on Friday July 4th which means no Friday night camping. The track will be closed until 6:30am on Saturday the 5th. Also registration will be held in the classroom behind the announce tower above the diner.
Would you like to join in on the fun, and see how you stack up against the best in the west? Go to www.motowestgp.com to get signed up!
See you at the track!