Thornton and Yee Triumphant in MRA Season-Opener at High Plains Raceway
Byers, CO – the Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) began its 50th anniversary season with Round 1 at High Plains Raceway on the weekend of May 6-7 with a good turnout of both local and visiting racers. Racing was competitive and exciting, and the weather was cooperative, if not almost ideal for the most of the event.
Saturday morning started with Novice GTU, and welcomed many new Novice racers that licensed-up after taking the MRA New Racer School in April. A full grid of 29 racers, split into two-waves, and started separately for safety, saw rookie Tijan Thompson take the win quite handily, with an eleven second gap between him and second place Geovanni Cruz. Dylan Unger took the last step of the podium.
Novice GTO had almost as many racers, and found another rookie, Geovanni Cruz, standing at the top step of the podium. Dylan Unger wasn’t far behind, but had to settle for second place. Addison Lecy‐Siewert started in last place on the 10th row (and had to deal with the delay of a two-wave start), but he put his head down, passing most of the racers in front of him, and beat Tijan Thompson to the checkered flag for third place.
Sunday morning’s racing started with Amateur GTU, which is usually one of the fullest grids of the weekend, as it allows Expert and Novice racers to compete against each other. This weekend, 36 racers registered for Amateur GTU, making for 12 rows of competitors, and a two-wave start for safety. Nathan Entz started on the 5th row, and took the win from pole-sitter Jesse Kurk by a few seconds. Steven Racz, who also started on the front row, finished third.
Amateur GTO didn’t offer much competition for Gage Mollman, who took the checkered flag with over 20 seconds from his nearest competitor. The fight for second place was a little more exciting, with Nathan Entz beating Jesse Kurk to the line by just one-tenth of a second. Addison Lecy‐Siewert and Justin Bohling had impressive races, both starting on the eleventh row, in last and second-to-last place (respectively), and in the second wave of a two-wave start. Lecy‐Siewert managed to pass 20 riders, finishing 5th; Bohling was not far behind, finishing 7th.
The MRA’s premier class, Race of the Rockies (ROR), did not disappoint, as fierce battles for the top podium spot were waged in both GTO and GTU classes. Ray Thornton beat current #1 plate holder, Mike Applegate, to the checkered flag by seven-hundredths of a second, taking the win in the GTO class. Dave Lambert, no stranger to the ROR podium, took third.
Race of the Rockies GTU had an even closer finish, with Ken Yee beating Justen Behmer to the line by less than five-hundredths of a second. Jeremiah Downing took the third step of the ROR GTU podium.
The MRA will be at Pike’s Peak International Raceway in Fountain, CO, for Round 2 on June 3-4, for a full weekend of racing, including the SuperStreet class on Saturday afternoon. SuperStreet gives street riders the opportunity to experience motorcycle road racing with minimal cost and preparation. See https://www.mra-racing.org/superstreet/superstreet-information/ for details.
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 http://www.mra-racing.org/.
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