Elliot and Behmer Secure Final Premier Class Race Wins of the 2024 Season
The eighth round of the 2024 MRA Championship Series took place at High Plains Raceway over the weekend of September 28-29th on the 2.55-mile Full Course configuration.
Race of the Rockies Qualifying on Sunday saw Kreece Elliot secure pole position with a best time of 1:46.750, followed closely by Brad Hendry at 1:47.617 and Gage Mollman at 1:49.617.
Coming into the final premier class race of the season, Hendry only needed to finish 13th or better to lock up the championship. The Start of Race of the Rockies GTO saw Elliot get the holeshot going into turn one, followed closely by Hendry and Mollman. Exiting turn three, Hendry had a big moment which caused him to run off the track. He was able to keep the bike up and rejoined the race in sixth place and down five seconds from Elliot in the lead. After lap one, Elliot had opened a two second gap back to Mollman in second. Hendry was steadily making his way back through the pack, and by lap three, he was already back in third place. By this point, Elliot had opened a four and a half second lead and was laying down lap times in the low 1:47s. By lap six, Hendry was closing in on Mollman and was within one second, but a small mistake from Hendry going into turn one cost him a bit of time and allowed Mollman to open the gap back up. Elliot continued to extend the gap to second place on every lap and ultimately finished the race 19 seconds ahead of Mollman in second. This was Elliot’s first ever RoR premier class win. Hendry finished out the race in third place and secured the 2024 RoR premier class championship and earned the #1 plate for the 2025 season.
In Race of the Rockies GTU, Justen Behmer was looking to secure his first ever RoR GTU class championship, needing to finish 10th or better. The start of the race saw Behmer get an excellent launch, and take the hole shot going into turn one followed by Dennis Stowers and Jesse Kurk. Behmer had been riding excellent all weekend, and today was no different. Once out in front he got his head down and put down some excellent lap times in the 1:53’s, something no other GTU rider could match. By the end of the third lap, he had already opened a six second lead to Stowers in second. By lap four, Kevin Caputo took over third place from Kurk. On lap seven, Stowers was sitting comfortably in second place until he hit a false neutral going into turn six which caused him to run off the track and bottom out on the rough surface. Fearing a mechanical issue from the off roading experience, Stower pulled into the pit for a quick check of the bike, and returned to the race a short time later in last place. This allowed for Caputo ultimately to take second place, with Kurk finishing in third. With the dominating performance from Behmer, he earned his first ever RoR GTU class championship.
That concludes our 2024 season. The MRA would like to thank all the safety crew members, racers, friends, and family that made this season a remarkable success.
The MRA welcomes racers from other clubs across the nation. If you’re a currently licensed racer, we have several reciprocity agreements in place and would love to race with you in 2025. Click here for MRA membership & entry information.
The Motorcycle Roadracing Association is dedicated to promoting safe and competitive motorcycle road racing events for enthusiasts in Colorado and the surrounding area. For more information go to mra-racing.org.
2024 MRA Round 8 Results for RRW