Josh Galster Returns to the MRA Series for 2010: Denver, CO: Roadracer Josh Galster will return to his roots and race the MRA series this year in Colorado aboard his Slednecks and BAZI-backed ’07 Kawasaki ZX-6R. Galster began his racing career in 2004 with the MRA, achieving Rookie of the Year, and is looking forward to competing this season with some new and familiar faces. EDR Performance out of Portland, OR will be freshening up Galster’s machine for another season of racing, while Grandprix Motorsports will also offer support during the local rounds. Saturday May 1st and Sunday May 2nd marked the first race weekend for the MRA series and despite snow in Denver earlier in the week, the weather warmed and the skies cleared above the track on the out-skirts of Byers, CO. During Saturday’s practice Galster was able to test a few Dunlop tire compounds to find the right one for the cold and green track, and after a few practice sessions was able to get his times down into the high 1:51’s. Having no points from last season meant that Josh had to start from the back of the grid, on the 6th row for both of Saturday’s races. This didn’t seem to faze him at all as Galster was able to work his way through the pack to collect a 3rd place in one race and a 1st in the other. On Sunday, Galster worked with Dave Rose on a few suspension changes to make the bike turn easier and track through the corners better. With 4 races, qualifying, and practice sessions, Galster had a busy schedule ahead of him, but it offered him plenty of time to get the bike working well. Despite several mediocre starts from as far back as the 9th row, Galster was again able to pick his way through the pack to finish 3rd in the 600 Superbike race, 2nd in the 750 Superbike Class and 2nd in the Race of the Rockies 600. The final race on Sunday was the Race of the Rockies 1000cc class. Galster’s qualifying time put him on the third row for the start and he was able to make an impressive 8th place finish riding his ’07 Kawasaki ZX-6R among the 1000cc bike field. The racing was competitive over the weekend, which pushed Galster to times that were only a second away from the class lap records, getting as low as 1:49.9. Josh would like to thank Grandprix Motorsports, Dave Rose, Jim Wilson, and his mom Bev for helping out in the pits. He would also like to thank Slednecks, BAZI, EDR Performance, California Superbike School, Bazzaz Performance, Arai, LeoVince, Studio819, Attack Performance, and Lockhart Phillips. More, from a press release issued by Michael Laverty’s publicist: Relentless Suzuki’s Michael Laverty is still on a high following his maiden victory in the BSB Championship at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday. After qualifying ninth at what Michael calls his ‘bogie track’ he finished fifth in race one following a frantic last lap scrap with his team mate Alastair, his brother John and Josh Brookes. A set-up change didn’t pay off but he fought on to grab valuable points. Michael Laverty “I made a chassis change for race one which didn’t allow me to ride at 100%. As the race progressed I figured out how to ride around it, by basically going slower I could go faster over a lap if that makes sense? It allowed me to get involved in the fight for the last podium place which went to my brother John. I got pipped to the post by 0.006 of a second for fourth position. I was happy enough with fifth considering how I was struggling during the race and also I was made up for John to grab his first BSB podium finish.” In race two Michael made amends in very tricky conditions, taking his first BSB victory by a margin of six seconds at the flag. Michael made his way to the front by the end of the opening lap and was never headed, continually setting fastest laps until he had built up an eight second cushion over second placed man Michael Rutter. Michael Laverty “Thats was more like it! I had the perfect bike set-up for the conditions and I knew if I could get to the front I could control the race. I kept and eye on my pitboard, although I was surprised how easily the gap was going up. I wasn’t pushing that hard and consciously trying to save my tyre in-case someone attacked later in the race. The hardest part was the celebration wheelies as they kept dropping sooner than I wanted due to the anti wheelie system on the bike! Seriously though I would like to thank my team for all the effort, especially during all the bad luck in the early races, and also for giving me the perfect bike for the conditions!” Michael now sits fourth overall in the standings and is hoping for more of the same when the championship resumes in just under 3 weeks time at Cadwell park. In the mean time he plans to head back home to Northern Ireland to support his team mates at the North West 200 on May 15th. More, from a press release issued by KTM North America: Bryer, CO HMC/KTM rider Chris Fillmore put in multiple impressive rides at High Plains Raceway for the opening of the MRA series aboard his KTM RC8 R to take home three victories in the Open SuperSport, SuperTwins GTO and Race of the Rockies GTO classes. The Open SuperSport class, on Saturday, was the first class for the twenty-three year old rider. Fillmore started from the outside of the second row. From that position he managed a great start and moved into the lead around the first turn. He held his lead throughout the 7-lap event to finish with a big win. On Sunday, Fillmore suited up for the SuperTwins GTO class. He started from the outside of the third row and came around the first turn in 3rd position. Four turns later, Fillmore had already moved into the lead. Fillmore led the remaining seven laps and crossed the checkered flag with over a 20 second lead. The HMC/KTM rider’s final race of the weekend was the Race of the Rockies event. Fillmore qualified for this premiere race on pole. From the pole position he launched his bike into 1st place around turn one. Never losing the lead, Fillmore stretched out the gap to 20 seconds and easily won the 14 lap main. This is Fillmore’s third return to the HMC/KTM racing team. He originally joined the team in 2003 at the young age of 16. In 2008, he finished 2nd to his teammate, Troy Herfoss, in the AMA Supermoto National Championship and is excited to return for the 2010 season on the KTM 1190 RC8 R. Fillmore’s victories earned him a large portion of the KTM contingency offered for the MRA series. To find out more about KTM Road Race Contingency, please visit: www.ktmawards.com. More, from a press release issued by Tim Reeves’ publicist: Reeves and Cluze extend British Sidecar Championship lead Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze enjoyed another successful weekend of racing at Snetterton over the Bank Holiday with the Anglo-French pairing extending their lead in the race for the Eastern Airways ‘Battle of Britain’ British F1 Sidecar Championship. The duo took a win and a brace of seconds to move into a commanding 41-point lead having now taken 4 wins and 2 seconds from the opening six races. After qualifying on pole position, courtesy of recording the fastest time of 1m10.513s in the only dry session run, the opening race was held over 14-laps on Sunday and Tim got off to a great start to lead the field round at the end of the first lap. On the third lap though, the Birchall brothers found a way through and Tim had to settle for second place at the chequered flag, powerless on this occasion to respond. The first race on Monday was held in two parts due to a rain interruption and although he was briefly pushed back to third, he regrouped to take 2nd place and the aggregate times saw the pairing finish just 1.755s down on the Birchalls. There was one last chance for Tim and Gregory to get back on the top step of the podium and it was without doubt the race of the weekend. Battling it out with the Birchalls for the entire 10 laps, the lead changed hands on numerous occasions and on the final lap, they came into the final chicane side by side and with backmarkers to negotiate. Having previously challenged up the inside on previous laps, Tim dived around the outside of both the backmarker and the Birchalls, stealing the line, and the lead. Contact was made between all three outfits, the end result being that the Birchalls unfortunately crashed out allowing Tim to take the win by over six seconds. Despite a protest being made, officials deemed the collision was fair and a racing incident and allowed the result to stand, thus ensuring Tim extended his lead at the top of the Championship table. Speaking afterwards, a pleased Tim said: “It’s been a tough weekend with three hard, competitive races so I’m delighted to come away with a bigger lead in the title race. Ben’s outfit was quicker than mine along the long straights and he stole a march on me in the first two races but I felt stronger all weekend around the corners so dug that little bit deeper for the final race to stay with him all the way through the race. I’d been going up the inside on a number of laps and he obviously had this covered on the final lap but it was my intention to catch him by surprise and go round the outside instead which worked perfectly. The backmarker compromised things a little and there was a bit of a coming together between all three outfits but I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong so I was pleased when the officials ruled it a fair move and was delighted to end the weekend on a high. We’ve still got a bit of work to do on the bike but we’re feeling strong so we can go to Germany in a confident frame of mind.” Tim now hopes to get his World Championship challenge back on track with two races being held at Schleiz, Germany this weekend, May 8-9.