Turpin Takes MRA #1 Plate, 4 Championships at PPIR Finale
The final round of the MRA 2011 season was held at Pikes Peak International Raceway on September 17-18. Cool fall weather hung over the weekend and the paddock was finally treated to a break from the extreme heat of the summer. Many season championships came down to the final round, and fierce battles were waged in every class.
Notably Peter Tabor completed his yearlong winning streak in both Novice GTU and Novice GTO, clinching both novice championships on Saturday. Shannon Moham also went undefeated for the year in both Lightweight Grand Prix and Lightweight Endurance, taking his first two championships on Saturday. Other riders who rode to undefeated seasons were Patrick Lansu in SuperTwins GTO and Tracy Schram in Colorado Class.
Kicking the weekend off was another thrilling race in Formula 40. In the six F40 races to date there had been six different race winners. The finale looked like it could have a seventh, but alas it was not to be. Aaron Fisk and John Fifield went into the final weekend just 2 points apart in the championship, and it was Fisk with the holeshot on his ZX-6R. Right behind him were Fifield and Aaron Petrie, on an R1 and a 1000RR respectively, and they seemed poised to horsepower past at any moment. But instead Fisk was able to out drive the big bikes around the banking, and held them at bay for 6 straight laps. By that time fast guy Ed Duenez had caught the back of the group on his GSX-R1000, and the three big bikes were collectively breathing down the neck of the 600. Riding in second, Fifield could see his championship hopes slipping away, so he decided to muscle by in the last corner before the front banking. As Fifield passed for the lead, Fisk ran in second, with Duenez pressuring Petrie for the third podium position. They had just a couple laps to go, and Fisk was trying everything he could to get back around Fifield, while Petrie and Duenez were on top of the leaders and looking for their own way through. On the last lap, as they came down the banking of T1 and around ultra fast T2, the foursome encountered lapped traffic. Fifield narrowly got by but Fisk was balked, and Petrie suddenly saw his opportunity, blasting by both of them into the lead. Fifield tried desperately to outbreak Petrie into T3 but couldn’t make it stick. Fisk fought off Duenez in T4 and the foursome powered through the last few corners still glued together. As Petrie led out of T7 towards the finish, Fisk snuck back under Fifield, but the big R1 outran him to the line. The final order was Petrie for the win, with Fifield in second by a hair over Fisk in third. Duenez brought home a very close forth. Fifield claimed the Formula 40 championship with his finish.
The heavily-attended endurance classes see thick traffic and constant passing on the tight PPIR circuit, and therefore offer especially good racing action for the crowds. In Middleweight Endurance, front runners Mike Applehans and Aaron Fisk had their hands full with hard charging Rick Grosse and Tim Young, both of whom were gunning for the win. Grosse and Young were moving through the crowded field aggressively, making decisive passes amongst trains of riders in the infield. Grosse closed on leader Applehans and moved smoothly past, then put his head down to work on a breakaway. Meanwhile Fisk was starting to see a gap develp between himself and the leaders–as soon as Young realized Fisk was losing touch, he kicked it up a gear and passed for third. Running third in the season points standings was Mike Lakritz, who unfortunately put it in reverse on the start. Lakritz was locked in a points battle with his two pit mates, and latter recounted his desperate effort to catch up to them over the course of the 30 minute race. The final finishing order was Grosse for the win, Applehans 2nd on the race but 1st in the championship, and Young claimed the final podium spot. Fisk finished 4th in the race but kept his 2nd in the season standings. Lakritz made a valiant last corner last lap pass on both of his pit mates to finish 6th in the race, and narrowly retain his 3rd overall for the year.
In Race of the Rockies Dalton Dimick’s big BMW got the holeshot over Shane Turpin on the BMS 1198R. But Turpin was hot on his heels and quickly made the pass for the lead on lap two. The pair began to pull a small gap on Doug Kahl followed closely by Dan Turner, both on GSX-R1000s, with Josh Galster and Colter Dimick battling over fifth on their R6’s. Turpin and Dimick were locked together fighting for the lead when the sun suddenly came out and began to heat the track up. As surface conditions changed the rear tire on Turpin’s big 1198R started to move around, thrilling the crowds as the bike wagged halfway down the straight between T3 and T4. Dimick seemed poised to take advantage of Turpin’s sliding rear, when abruptly he turned away from T1 and continued around the outer banking at a reduced pace. Dimick pitted at the end of the lap, retiring from the race with an unfortunate mechanical. While Turpin thanked his lucky stars, Dan Turner broke away from his battle with Kahl and headed towards an uncontested second place. That left Kahl to the R6 wolves, as Galster and Colter Dimick caught him and immediately sandwiched him between them. With Galster leading the threesome, Kahl not only couldn’t get enough steam to repass Galster, but he now had the younger Dimick showing him a wheel every other corner. MRA veteran Ben Fox brought out the Fox Performance 1098 to play, and spent the race giving Pat Lansu and Ricky Orlando fits. At the checkers it was a relieved Turpin bringing home the win, the championship and the new #1 plate, followed by last year’s #1 plate Dan Turner in 2nd, and Josh Galster on the Slednecks R6 rounding out the podium in 3rd. As is tradition for the new #1 plate holder, Turpin rode the track post-race flying a Ducati flag to celebrate his championship.
By the end of the weekend Shane Turpin had wrapped up 4 championships including the MRA #1 plate. Other multi-class champions include Shannon Moham with 4 championships, novice Peter Tabor with 3 championships, plus Aaron Hersh, Colter Dimick, Patrick Lansu, Mike Applehans, and Tracy Schram each winning a pair of championships on the season.
Round 8, previously scheduled for October 8-9 at HPR, has been cancelled.
The 2012 season schedule and the date of the 2011 MRA Awards Banquet will be announced in the near future. Please join us in 2012!
Race of the Rockies Championship Series Race 1 Shane Turpin (Duc 1198R) 2 Dan Turner (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Colter Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Ben Fox (Duc 1098) 7 Patrick Lansu (Duc 1098R) 8 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R) 9 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR) 10 Erik Peat (Suz GSX-R1000)
Fay Myers Motorcycle World Race of the Rockies GTO 1 Shane Turpin (Duc 1198R) 2 Dan Turner (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 Ben Fox (Duc 1098) 5 Patrick Lansu (Duc 1098R) 6 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR)
Vickery Motorsports Race of the Rockies GTU 1 Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Colter Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Aaron Hersh (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6)
MotoGear Outlet Solo Lightweight Endurance 1 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 2 Geoff Snyder (Suz SV650) 3 Ray Gaimara (Suz SV650) 4 Matthew Davis (Suz SV650) 5 Rodney Mattison (Suz SV650) 6 David Kern (Kaw EX250)
WyethHomes Solo Middleweight Endurance 1 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Mike Applehans (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Tim Young (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Aaron Fisk (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Jessie Martinez (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Mike Lakritz (Hon CBR600F4i)
Kahl & Partners Solo Heavyweight Endurance 1 Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Mike Applehans (Suz GSX-R600) 3 Casey Smith (Apr RSV-R) 4 Jeff Healy (Duc 999) 5 Mike Lakritz (Hon CBR600F4i) 6 Joseph Turek (Suz GSX-R600)
ABATE of Colorado Solo Open Endurance 1 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 2 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR1000RR) 3 John Fifield (Yam YZF-R1) 4 Chris Fuller (Yam YZF-R1) 5 Ed Duenez (Suz GSX-R1000) 6 Jeremy Widmann (Suz GSX-R1000)
MotoAdventure Kawasaki Production 250 Cup (Saturday) 1 Tracy Schram (Kaw EX250) 2 Jason Madama (Kaw EX250) 3 Tony Baker (Kaw EX250) 4 Jonathan Kuo (Kaw EX250) 5 Matt Diehl (Kaw EX250) 6 Shannon Moham (Kaw EX250)
MotoAdventure Kawasaki Production 250 Cup (Sunday) 1 Tracy Schram (Kaw EX250) 2 Jason Madama (Kaw EX250) 3 Tony Baker (Kaw EX250) 4 Matt Diehl (Kaw EX250) 5 Josh Fogle (Kaw EX250) 6 Jessie Martinez (Kaw EX250)
Vickery Motorsports Amateur GTU 1 Peter Tabor (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Aaron Fisk (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Anthony Ross (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Zach Shearon (Yam YZF-R6) 5 Jessie Martinez (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Dennis Stowers (Tri Daytona 675)
BMW of Denver Amateur GTO 1 Anthony Ross (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Peter Tabor (Kaw ZX-6R) 3 Jason Patton (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 Aaron Fisk (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Dennis Stowers (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Nyles Gourlie (Yam YZF-R6)
Brighton Radiator & Muffler Middleweight SuperSport 1 Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Colter Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 5 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR600RR) 6 Richard McDaniel (Yam YZF-R6)
Grand Prix Motorsports Middleweight SuperBike 1 Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Colter Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Shane Turpin (Duc 749R) 4 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R) 5 Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R)
Apex Sports, Inc. Heavyweight SuperSport 1 Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Colter Dimick (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Keith Eastin (Hon CBR600RR) 4 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 5 Eric Cooper (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R)
Factory Trained Auto Repair Heavyweight SuperBike 1 Patrick Lansu (Duc 749R) 2 Shane Turpin (Duc 749R) 3 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 5 Shannon Moham (Yam YZF-R6)
Coyote Motorsports Open SuperSport 1 Dalton Dimick (BMW S10000RR) 2 Jason Patton (Suz GSX-R1000) 3 Chris Fuller (Yam YZF-R1)
Colorado Powersports Open SuperBike 1 Shane Turpin (Duc 1198R) 2 Dalton Dimick (BMW S1000RR) 3 Doug Kahl (Suz GSX-R1000) 4 Dan Turner (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Ben Fox (Duc 1098) 6 Erik Peat (Suz GSX-R1000)
Colpar Hobbies Formula 40 1 Aaron Petrie (Hon CBR1000RR) 2 John Fifield (Yam YZF-R1) 3 Aaron Fisk (Kaw ZX-6R) 4 Ed Duenez (Suz GSX-R1000) 5 Tim Young (Yam YZF-R6) 6 Rick Grosse (Kaw ZX-6R)
HPR Ladies of the Rockies 1 Wyeth Jackson (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Donna Turner (Yam YZF-R6) 3 Samantha Coleman (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Trina Dawson (Yam YZF-R6)
Boulder Motor Sports Thunderbike 1 Patrick Lansu (Duc 749R) 2 Carlton Sorensen (Tri Daytona 675) 3 Scott Rybarik (Duc 748) 4 Dennis Stowers (Tri Daytona 675) 5 Dominic Medina (Tri Daytona 675)
Foothills BMW Triumph Colorado Class 1 Tracy Schram (Hon RS125) 2 Christopher Weed (Hon CRF450F) 3 Anthony Ross (Hon CRF450F) 4 Jeff Winter (Hon RS450F) 5 Crash Lowe (KTM 525) 6 Aston Reynolds (Hon RS125)
Scooter News Lightweight GrandPrix 1 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 2 Geoff Snyder (Suz SV650) 3 Ray Gaimara (Suz SV650) 4 Tracy Schram (Hon RS125) 5 Keith Lincoln (Suz SV650) 6 Mike Hellerstedt (Suz SV650)
The Walnut Room Modern Vintage GTU 1 Aaron Hersh (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Scott Rybarik (Duc 748) 3 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 4 Tracy Schram (Hon RS125) 5 Chris Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) 6 David Hayward (Yam YZF-R6)
Un!nk Printworks Modern Vintage GTO 1 Aaron Hersh (Yam YZF-R6) 2 Aaron Petrie (Hon RC-51) 3 Scott Rybarik (Duc 748) 4 Chris Anderson (Suz GSX-R600) 5 Fernando Arroyos (Suz GSX-R600) 6 Mark Weidner (Hon RC51)
Woody’s Wheel Novice GTU 1 Peter Tabor (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Nyles Gourlie (Yam YZF-R6) 3 David Purcell (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Dennis Stowers (Tri Daytona 675) 5 James Perrin (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Jimmy Garcia (Kaw ZX-6RR)
Rocky Mountain Kawasaki Novice GTO 1 Peter Tabor (Kaw ZX-6R) 2 Nyles Gourlie (Yam YZF-R6) 3 David Purcell (Yam YZF-R6) 4 Jeff Healy (Duc 999) 6 Dennis Stowers (Tri Daytona 675) 6 Jeremy Widmann (Suz GSX-R1000)
Scooter News SuperTwins GTU 1 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 2 Ray Gaimara (Suz SV650) 3 Jeff Winter (Hon RS450F) 4 Christopher Weed (Hon CRF450F) 5 Anthony Ross (Hon CRF450F) 6 Crash Lowe (KTM 525)
Alliance Motorsports SuperTwins GTO 1 Patrick Lansu (Duc 1098R) 2 Ben Fox (Duc 1098) 3 Jim Brewer (Duc 1098R) 4 Shannon Moham (Suz SV650) 5 Jeff Healy (Duc 999) 6 Scott Rybarik (Duc 748)
Chicane Track Days Clubman Points Championship 1 Shannon Moham 2 Tracy Schram 3 Aaron Fisk 4 Peter Tabor 5 Shane Turpin 6 Patrick Lansu
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