The racing action was incredible this past weekend up at Road America as the USGPRU joined the CCS/ASRA series for our second round of the east coast championship. The rain held off all weekend and the sun even popped out Sunday to create nearly perfect racing conditions. The kids were up first on their Moriwaki MD250H race bikes. The spec CRF250X Honda motors kept the racing very tight on the huge Road America circuit. There were battles throughout the pack, but the best race was up front as Garrett Gerloff, Jake Lewis, and west coaster Ryan Matter all jockeyed for position. They swapped the lead numerous times per lap and sometimes several times just on the front straight! The battle came down to the last lap and the last turn, but Garrett Gerloff narrowly nipped Lewis and Matter at the line to claim the $2000 prize for the win. The Pilot 125GP race was up next and the combination of Garrett Gerloff on a Moriwaki was the story of the race again. Due to a crash on Saturday, he was not able to qualify and had to start on the back row of the grid. But the superior torque of the four-stroke Honda motor allowed him to jump up into 3rd position into turn one behind Nobi Iso and Jake Lewis. Pole position winner, Jake Lewis, seized his motor going into turn 8 on the first lap, and had to watch the rest of the race from the side. And what a great race it turned out to be! Defending Champion, Nobi Iso had his hands full with young Gerloff. Iso’s normally dominating Aprilia was jetted too rich and he had trouble pulling full RPM in his top 2 gears. This was just enough to allow the Moriwaki of Gerloff to hang with Iso on the straights. Gerloff was clearly hungry for a win as he constantly dove under Iso on the brakes. Iso found himself watching the tailpipe of the thundering Moriwaki more than once, but finally pulled out a few old tricks and snuck by for the win. Third place went to Ryan Matter, who rode an aggressive, but lonely race just a few seconds back from the leaders. A 5-rider battle for fourth was won by another rising star, Mikey Lainhart. Unfortunately he failed to meet the minimum weight at post race tech inspection and was disqualified. The final USGPRU race of the weekend was the Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP event. Melissa Paris qualified first at almost 1.5 seconds faster than her closest competitor, Adam Roberts. Off the line, she shot into the lead, but Adam sat on her rear wheel and refused to let go. Melissa opened a small gap on him, but Adam learned quickly where those extra seconds were being made up. From there, the battle was on. Melissa was hungry for a win and you could see it in her riding style. She was extremely aggressive on the brakes and would pass Adam at any opportunity. Adam’s RAT racing Yamaha TZ250 seemed to have a little more horsepower, but not so much that he could get lazy. Adam seemed to lose ground on the penultimate lap and Melissa looked to be checking out. But Adam turned up the aggression level on the final lap, reeled in Melissa, and passed her into Canada corner, a mere 3 turns from the finish. Melissa made one last dive under Adam into the final corner, momentarily capturing the lead again, only to spin up her rear wheel and ruining her drive. Adam squared up the corner, and drove past Melissa going up the final hill and crossed the line a mere half-bike ahead of her. Third place goes to Al Campbell as he rode his Yamaha TZ250 despite having crashed in practice the day before. Pilot 125GP: 1. Nobi Iso (Apr) 2. Garrett Gerloff (Mor) 3. Ryan Matter (Hon) 4. Ben Young (Hon) 5. Stefano Mesa (Hon) 6. Conor Matthews (Hon) 7. Grayson Gerloff (Hon) 8. Austin Medrano (Hon) 9. Nick Hansen (Hon) 10. Jacob Cunningham (Hon) 11. Joey Schmidt (Hon) 12. Paul Hoyt Nelson (Hon) 13. Duane Hixon (Hon) 14. Michael Lainhart (Hon) Moto Liberty / RS-Taichi 250GP: 1. Adam Roberts (Yam) 2. Melissa Paris (Hon) 3. Al Campbell (Yam) 4. Miles Thornton (Yam) 5. Kory Gill (Yam) 6. Mike Aboyoun (Hon) 7. Jim Bergey (Hon) 8. Bruce Lind (Yam) 9. Michael Lainhart (Hon) 10. Jeff Pratt (Yam) 11. Tom Swager (Yam) 12. Angus Borland (Yam) 13. Paul Hoyt Nelson (Hon) Moriwaki MD250H Powered by HONDA 1. Garrett Gerloff (Mor) 2. Jake Lewis (Mor) 3. Ryan Matter (Mor) 4. Conor Matthews (Mor) 5. Stefano Mesa (Mor) 6. Grayson Gerloff (Mor) 7. Nick Hansen (Mor) 8. Max Flinders (Mor) 9. Miles Thornton (Mor) 10. Michael Lainhart (Mor) About USGPRU The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle 125 Grand Prix National Championship ®, 250 Grand Prix National Championship TM series, and Moriwaki MD250H youth racing series. The most recent addition is the exciting new F450 class where racers convert 450cc dirt bikes into roadracing weapons. The USGPRU emulates true World MotoGP racing experience and serves to attract young riders to gain experience in a professional environment and provide a path to world-class motorcycle racing. The USGPRU structures events with extended length grand prix racing exclusive to the GP machines, timed qualifying and strong contingency and sponsor support. For additional details, visit www.USGPRU.net More, from a press release issued by Miles Thornton Racing: Perseverance and Patients at Road America Miles Thornton Racing had to hit the ground running for round two of the USGPRU east series. With multiple mechanical set backs it was an uphill battle to reach qualifying on Saturday. During qualifying another hurdle was encountered on the first lap with a seized rod bearing. Starting from the last row, Thornton knew it would be a challenge reaching the podium with Paris, Roberts, and Campbell being in the front. Miles had an excellent start on his Rotator.com sponsored Yamaha and by the third lap had achieved fourth position where he and Al Campbell battled for the last podium position. After a missed shift on the last lap he was religated to fourth position. ‘I’m happy the 4th place considering the weekend we have had. Again, we made progress on the bike and the team is looking forward to the next race at High Plains.’ said Richard Thornton. Miles Thornton racing would like to thank all those that make his racing happen, The Rotater.com, Arai, Syed, Held, Sidi, EBC, Impact Armor, Hjelm Motorsports, Composite 1, Paulees, and Porzio Performance. More, from a press release issued by Penny Nicolai, on behalf of Melissa Paris: MELISSA PARIS TAKES TWO PODIUM FINSHES AT THE ASRA/CCS SPRING FLING Elkhart Lake, Wis – The ASRA/CCS Spring Fling at Road America, May 1-3, proved to be an excellent weekend for Melissa Paris as she skillfully piloted her way to a second place in the USGPRU 250GP, a first in Femmoto and a sixth place in the ASRA Factory Pro Sportbike. “We really had a good weekend,” says Paris. “In the USGPRU 250GP, we took the pole and pretty much led the entire race. I got passed a few times, but it didn’t take me long to regain the lead. However, on the very last lap, Adam Roberts managed to draft by me to take the checkered and we had to settle for second. This was the second round of the series and we are currently sitting in second in the points. There are three more rounds to go; Heartland Park Topeka, New Jersey Motorsports Park and Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course and we hoping to be able to move into first next time out.” “I really like racing at Road America,” smiles Paris. It is an incredible course. It is a thinking track and very challenging. I’m definitely excited about competing in the AMA round next month and being able to compete in the USGPRU 250GO this past weekend was invaluable in helping me learn the track.” In her first year of professional two-wheeled racing, Paris has already made history this season by earning the distinction of scoring the best finish by a woman in Daytona 200 history, beating over 50 competitors in the first Daytona 200 by held under the lights. “We are racing on a limited budget this season,” explains Paris, who pilots a Markbilt Racing Yamaha R6 with sponsorship from GYTR, Phiten, Pirelli, Pilot Leathers Yamalube, and LeoVince, Our current plan is to contest selected AMA events, the USGPRU 250GP and as many other races as possible. Our goal is to be able to run full time next year in the AMA Pro Road Racing Series.”