Hendry extends lead in Premier Class at round two
Hendry and Behmer extend Premier Class leads at MRA’s 2024 season
Pueblo, CO – The second round of the 2024 Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) Championship Series took place the weekend of May 26-27 on the 2.2-mile road course at Pueblo Motorsports Park (PMP). With temperatures hovering around 80° F and above on both days, the conditions were near perfect, if not for some high winds adding an extra challenge to the racers participating.
On Saturday, the Rocky View Family Dental-sponsored Amateur GTO payout class gridded up for race two of the series. Tim May-Ellis took pole for the second time this season with a time of (1:39.451), followed closely by Paul Frysig with a (1:39.893). Steven Racz completed the front row with a (1:40.526). Off the start it was Racz, Seth McClaine and May-Ellis through Turn One. May-Ellis made a mistake on the first lap, running off in Turn Seven and re-entering in last place, which left Racz and McClaine in a closely fought battle for the remainder of the race. May-Ellis, who won the first race of the series, fought back through the pack to finish fourth, retaining the points lead in the class. Racz held off the charging McClaine until the checkered flag, finishing less than half a second ahead of McClaine. Mark Weidner was 4.9 seconds back, rounding out the podium.
On Sunday, with the weather an almost carbon copy of the day before, Brad Hendry placed his BMW S 1000 RR on pole for the second time this season with a qualifying time of (1:32.101) for the Fay Myers Motorcycle World-sponsored Race of the Rockies (ROR) GTO class. Gage Mollman qualified in second with a (1:34.461) and Jeremy Ross rounded out the front row with a (1:34.499).
Kreece Elliot qualified fastest in the Apex Auto Glass-sponsored ROR GTU class on his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R with a time of (1:34.681). Ken Yee’s time of (1:35.268) was fast enough for second, and Tyrel Diekmann was close behind in third with a (1:35.501). Elliot started from the back of the grid due to borrowing another Ninja ZX-6R for the race after his engine failed during qualifying.
Off the start, Hendry leapt ahead of the pack down PMP’s long front straight and went into Turn One with a small gap, as the following pack battled for positions through the long sweeping first turn. With Hendry slowly extending his lead, Mollman and Ross settled into a tight battle for second. Yee managed to put a sizable gap on his GTU class competition early on, holding fourth overall behind Ross.
Four laps into the race, Hendry skillfully saved a brief scare on the exit of Turn Seven, which enabled Mollman to take a small chunk out of Hendry’s lead.
By the halfway point of the 14 lap race, Yee had extended his lead to a comfortable nine seconds over his GTU class competitors. Justen Behmer (GTU) passed Dan Spurlock (GTO) to take over fifth overall and second in the GTU class. Diekmann and Salvatore Rizzo (GTU) joined Spurlock and Behmer in the tight battle for fifth overall, until Rizzo made a pass on Spurlock and set about chasing down Behmer and Yee. With five laps remaining, Elliot retired from the race on his borrowed Ninja ZX-6R.
With the remaining laps dwindling, Hendry settled into consistent 1:33 lap times and stretched his lead to 15 seconds over Mollman with Ross in third another eight seconds back. Yee had been protecting fourth place, and the GTU class lead, with a seven-second advantage over the chasing pack until he suffered a broken shift rod on the penultimate lap and fell out of contention. Spurlock passed Rizzo to reclaim fifth, then started chasing down Behmer. Diekmann also got past Rizzo, putting himself in second place of the GTU battle.
At the checkered flag it was Hendry with a 17 second lead over Mollman, and Ross took his first ever premier class podium, coming in third for the GTO class. Spurlock caught up to Behmer and beat him to the line by less than 0.05 second for fourth place in GTO and overall. Rizzo made a move on Diekmann in the closing moments of the race, stealing second place in the GTU class shortly before the finish line. Behmer took first in the GTU class by a slim 1.2 second margin over Rizzo, with Diekmann in third just 3 tenths of a second behind.
The MRA will return to PMP for the third round of its Championship Series and a full weekend of racing on June 8-9, including the SuperStreet event on Saturday afternoon. SuperStreet gives street riders the opportunity to experience motorcycle road racing with minimal cost and preparation. See mra-racing.org/superstreet/superstreet-information for details.
The MRA welcomes racers from other clubs across the nation. If you’re a currently licensed racer, we have several reciprocity agreements in place along with very competitive pricing on license & entries to our 28 classes. 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.
