Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Robert Jensen rode the Tul-aris 800cc prototype to a hard-fought victory in the CCS GTO race Friday at Mid-America Motorplex, just south of Omaha, Nebraska.

Jensen jumped out to an early lead in the 30-minute event but was pursued by the Arclight Suzuki’s Dave Stanton and Scott Harwell. Riding their Formula USA Superbike-spec GSX-R600s, Stanton and Harwell made steady progress, closing the gap to Jensen and his more powerful machine.

Just before the halfway point, Stanton stuffed his Suzuki up inside Jensen going into turn 8, which leads onto the pit lane straightaway. Harwell remained in third but also looked for an opportunity to pass Jensen as the leaders began to encounter the Amateur back markers.

Harwell managed to get by Jensen in traffic, but Jensen was able to power back past the Arclight rider, “put his head down” and close back up on Stanton. “I got Stanton coming on the front straight,” said Jensen. “A lapper got in there. He (Stanton) went to the outside, and I went to the inside. He got held up and I was able to get past. And the Tul-aris has got a lot right out of the hole and gets up to speed quickly, so I think that’s where I ended that one.”

Jensen said he was slowed by jetting problems on the liquid-cooled, parallel-twin, 800cc, 150-horsepower two-stroke that prevented him from getting on the gas “in the crucial corners.” Dr. Rob Tuluie, creator of the Tul-aris said the problem was a power valve “fluttering” instead of opening and closing cleanly.

Jensen won with Stanton second; Harwell was third with CCS Regional Champion Kevin Gordon fourth, Dave Ebben fifth on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Celtic Racing’s Des Conboy sixth on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Later, Harwell came back to win the GTU 30-minute race on his F-USA Sportbike-spec GSX-R600 over Argo Cycle’s Scott Greenwood, Jeff Wood on his new Honda CBR600RR, Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Mike Ciccotto on his F-USA Superbike Firebolt XB9R, Conboy and Darrin Mitchell.

2002 Formula USA Buell Lightning Series Champion Bryan Bemisderfer rode his Harding Racing Buell X-1 to a win in GT Lights over Ed Key. Bemisderfer collected another win in Middleweight Sportsman in the race debut of his new Buell Firebolt XB9R and later added a hard-fought third in Thunderbike behind winner Ray Bowman, second-place Jesse Janisch and just in front of Firebolt-mounted Paul James.

Friday’s CCS Race Results From Mid-America Motorplex:

Expert GTO: 1. Robert Jensen (Tul 800); 2. David Stanton (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Scott Harwell (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Kevin Gordon; 5. Dave Ebben (Suz GSX-R1000); 6. Des Conboy (Suz GSX-R600).

Amateur GTO: 1. Mark Nelson (Yam YZF-R6); 2. Michael Shallcross (Suz GSX-R750); 3. Kyan Liu (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Michael Pruitt (Suz GSX-R600); 5. Mike Roeser (Suz GSX-R750); 6. Benjamin Thornton (Suz GSX-R600).

Expert GTU: 1. Scott Harwell (Suz GSX-R600); 2. Scott Greenwood (Suz GSX-R600); 3. Jeff Wood (Hon CBR600RR); 4. Mike Ciccotto (Buell XB9R); 5. Des Conboy (Suz GSX-R600); 6. Darrin Mitchell (Suz GSX-R600).

Amateur GTU: 1. Dwayne Lang (Kaw ZX-6); 2. Mark Nelson (Yam YZF-R6); 3. Michael Pruitt (Suz GSX-R600); 4. Ryan Sohn (Yam YZF-R6); 5. Corey Schweich (Suz GSX-R600); 6. Kenny Oyen (Hon CBR600).

Expert GT Lights: 1. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell 1200); 2. Ed Key (Suz SV650); 3. Jesse Janisch (Suz SV650); 4. Mike Riebe (Suz SV650); 5. Jason Jenkins (Suz SV650); 6. Brian Lacy (Suz SV650).

Amateur GT Lights: 1. Scott Harter (Suz SV650); 2. Robert Heege (Hon 650).

Expert Thunderbike: 1. Ray Bowman (Hon CBR600); 2. Jesse Janisch (Suz SV650); 3. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB9R); 4. Paul James (Buell XB9R); 5. Jeff Harding (Buell 1200).

Amateur Thunderbike: 1. Stephen Richardson (Hon CBR600); 2. Craig Schock (Suz SV650); 3. Paul Buxton (Suz SV650); 4. Ike Anderson (Hon CBR600).

SuperSingles: 1. Robert Johnston (Hon 125); 2. Robert Waddell (Hon 650)

GP Singles: 1. Marc Pomerantz (Honda RS125); 2. Marc Whitney (Hon RS125); 3. Travis Huffman (Hon RS125); 4. Meghan Stiles (Yam TZ125).

Expert Middleweight Sportsman: 1. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell XB9R).

Amateur Middleweight Sportsman: 1. Hank Taylor (Apr 250); 2. Robert Heege (Hon 650).

Amateur Lightweight Sportsman: 1. Robert Waddell (Hon 650).

250 km Team Challenge: Overall: 1. Mid-Cities Motorsports, GTO, 70 laps; 2. Hooters Northeast, GTU, 69 laps; 3. Mid-Cities Motorsports 2, GTU, 68 laps; 4. Baker Race Gear, GTO, 67 laps; 5. Lithium Motorsports, GTU, 66 laps; 6. Blue Magic Racing, GTO, 65 laps.

GTO: 1. Mid-Cities Motorsports, 70 laps; 2. Baker Race Gear, 67 laps; 3. Brute Force Racing, 63 laps; 4. Performance Cycle, 61 laps; New England Motorsports, 9 laps

GTU: 1. Hooters Northeast, 69 laps; 2. Mid-Cities Motorsports 2, 68 laps; 3. Lithium Motorsports, 66 laps; 4. Blue Magic Racing, 65 laps; 5. M Shreve, 64 laps; 6. Celtic, 57 laps

GT Lights: 1. Twenny 4 Seven Racing, 63 laps; 2. Team Visionsports.com, 21 laps