Team Morse Racing teams up with The Racer Supply to win at Pueblo Motorsports Park! Team Morse Racing partnered with The Racer Supply Company at the most recent MRA round at Pueblo Motorsports Park to put on a strong show for the race fans of Colorado. WERA National regular Ben Thompson, Racer Supply owner Shane Stoyko, and the Racer Supply satellite team of David Gallant Mike Applehans competed in twenty races over the course of the two day event. When the results were tallied up, the four riders took home two wins, ten podium positions, and eighteen top-five finishes! Saturday afternoon endurance racing gave the MRA a glimpse of the fireworks they would see during the Sunday afternoon sprint races. After a brief downpour on Saturday morning, the sun broke through to dry the track and provide the cool and breezy conditions all racer’s look forward to. Mike Applehans and David Gallant put on their typical show in Lightweight Endurance racing action aboard their SV650s, finishing 1-2 after a race-long drafting dual. With the track warmed up, Ben Thompson took his last-row starting position for the Open Endurance race to gain valuable track time. Although Ben had never raced at Pueblo Motorsports track before, he was immediately turning times very close to the current Colorado #1 plate holder, and after the first lap of the endurance race became locked in a dual with a multi-time #1 MRA plate holder at the front of the pack. Lap after lap, Ben put on a spectacular show with his RacerSupply.com Suzuki GSXR 1000 as it bucked and weaved while he searched for the limit of traction and the few tenths he needed to pull free of the fast MRA locals. “I did my best go get to the front of the group early on, and after a few hard laps I was up with the leaders putting down some good lap times. The bike felt great, and the Pirelli tires were hooking up really well out here in the cool conditions. The local guys that run these tracks are really fast, and I had a few moments out there while searching for the fastest line that allowed the leader to make up a small gap on me. Unfortunately I ran out of laps and had to settle for 2nd place today, but I learned a lot for tomorrow’s races and glad to be right on the pace right away” recapped Ben Thompson of the Saturday endurance events. On Sunday morning, the track was once again treated to a downpour which slowed the start of the race day proceedings. Although slightly behind schedule, the first race of the day was run on a dry track with Dave Gallant and Mike Applehans aboard their RacerSupply.com Suzuki SV650s. Dave and Mike jumped out to an early lead with Dave leading from the drop of the green flag to the drop of the checkered flag. “As usual, the RacerSupply.com Suzuki SV650 was just about perfect out there. Joe and Shane from The Racer Supply have both helped me find a setup I like that seems to work everywhere, so at this point we just put fresh Pirelli’s on the thing and go ride it. Winning these races here when the whole Racer Supply/Morse Racing Products team is together just makes it that much better” commented Dave about the first victory of the day. Next up on the schedule was Ben Thompson and Shane Stoyko for what turned out to be a spectacular Open Supersport race. With Suzuki money on the line, everyone knew the pace would be fast. Shane Turpin, the MRA’s current #1 plate holder, got off to a great start from his front row position while Ben Thompson and Shane Stoyko worked their way through from the back of the grid. By mid-race, Ben had worked his way up to 2nd place and set his sights on the fast guy at the front. Lap after lap, both Racer Supply riders would leave huge black marks up the front straight as they fought for every inch of drive they could muster from their GSXR 1000s. At the checkered flag, Ben came up just short of Shane Turpin and was forced to settle for a 2nd place finish with Shane Stoyko putting in a strong 5th place finish. “I knew Turpin would go hard from the start and I put my head down to try and not let him get away in the first few laps. I pushed really hard during the first half of the race, and by the time I caught up to him I had used up the best part of the tire. I was able to make time in a few places but he rode a great race and today I will have to be happy with 2nd place. I really dished out the abuse to the bike and Pirelli tires today, and honestly I am amazed at how well they held up. I can’t thank Shane Stoyko and The Racer Supply enough for the support they are providing me” commented Ben after a Open Supersport tough race. As the day went on, Racer Supply colors were seen dicing for the lead in just about every race. Mike Applehans had the crowd on their feet with his passes in the Heavyweight Supersport race on his way to a 4th place finish. Dave Gallant fought hard in Middleweight Supersport, dicing it out to the very end, for a strong 3rd place finish. Topping off the day was Ben Thompson who put on yet another spectacular showing in the MRA’s premier class, “The Race of the Rockies”. Although “ROR” is an unlimited-anything-goes class, Ben rode his 17″ DOT-labeled Pirelli tires to a 4th place finish racing against a field of $25K Superbikes. “Every weekend it gets better and better” commented Scott Morse, owner of Morse Racing Products/GP Composites. “Having Shane Stoyko come out with Ben and then having the whole Racer Supply / Team Morse Racing team together under one tent turned everyone’s head this weekend. There wasn’t any point during the day that one of our riders wasn’t out on the track, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Colorado may have some national level riders in its ranks, but Ben Thompson was able to make a believer out of them by proving he could learn these technical tracks right away and run up front with them. Some of the guys Ben was chasing down have been racing at this track for over 10 years! Mike bounced back strong from a shoulder injury and Dave put his GSXR 600 on the podium in Middleweight Supersport. What more could I ask for?” Team Morse Racing will compete next at the SMRI event in La Junta Colorado, August 20th and 21st. Shane Stoyko and Ben Thompson will be competing at Hallett Motor Speedway this same weekend, but the entire team will be reunited on Labor Day weekend for MRA Double-Header racing action at Pikes Peak International Raceway. More, from a press release issued by USGPRU: Odenton, MD. The USGPRU Powered by Always Online Racing Series showed Las Vegas what High Rolling is all about as they battled it out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Running the Speedway track in conjunction with WERA provided a level playing field since most had never even seen the course before. Qualifying was run under the threat of percipitaiton so the 125cc Riders got to work straightaway and Will Gruy threw down a 1:48.274 lap to grab pole. Meanwhile Jon Schendel secured 2nd ahead of charging youngster Tommy Aquino. Aquino sat in 6th place with minutes to go but surged ahead of Tyler Reiswig and Ben Solis in the closing minutes. 250cc qualifying was lit up by Bradley Adams who put in a 1:46.737 time while making it look almost easy. Vince Rolleri bounced back from a disasterous DQ in the previous round to claim second place on the grid, followed by Andy Edwards on his ex-Jez McWilliams Aprilia RSV-250. Mike Lytle and Tyler Reiswig, pulling double duty in both 125 and 250s, rounded out the top 5. Jason DiSalvo, currently second in AMA SuperStock championship and third in the SuperSport championship, was on hand to watch the USGPRU in between practice sessions. “Those 125’s sure do get though the infield good!” he commented. DiSalvo reminisced about the days he and Ben Spies used to race the 125GP class. “It’s nice to see the next wave of up and coming racers out there!” he said. When the green flag dropped on the Acid Cigars 125cc race, the top 5 turned off their self preservation instincts and turned throttles to the stop, producing an incredible battle for spectators. Tommy Aquino used his diminutive size and ruthless clutch hand to good effect by grabbing the holeshot and leading onto the speedway front straight. Tyler Reiswig also got away on a flyer and notched into second ahead of Jon Schendel and Will Gruy. Gruy, Aquino, and Ben Solis traded the lead until Gruy fell in dramatic fashion and Aquino went off course to avoid hitting him. Gruy would remount to claim 6th while Aquino reentered the fray almost 5 seconds down on the leaders. A lap later Ben Solis crashed trying to outbreak everyone in turn one leaving Schendel in the lead. By midrace, Mike Orien took a turn at the front while Aquino worked to reel the leaders back in and Ryan Ferris fought to maintain contact with the lead group. Aquino made an impressive charge to win it from Schendel while Ferris caught and passed Orien who struggled with dehydration caused by the 100F temps. This is the first win for Aquino who is a rookie in the USGPRU, but an 80cc mini-roadracing veteran. The Dial It In Tracktime 250cc race came down to a battle between two riders at the front. The battle for turn 1 was won by Bradley Adams with Vince Rolleri hot on his heels, followed by Mike Lytle, Tyler Reiswig, and Andy Edwards. Rolleri traded the lead with Adams for the opening lap but from there Adams began to pull away. At first the gap opened with a slow trickle of tenths of a second, but past the halfway mark Adams was firmly in control for his first USGPRU win this year. Adams’ family tree stems from Curtis Adams of former WSMC champ and track tester for Motorcyclist/Sport Rider during the 90’s. Rolleri gambled a bit on engine setup and lacked the speed to fight back so he had to be content with holding off Reiswig who was steady in 3rd. Andy Edwards brought home his Aprilia in 4th followed by Mike Lytle. The USGPRU would like to Thank WERA and Fasttrax for their hospitality this weekend. Acid Cigars 125GP Results 1. Tommy Aquino Honda RS125 14 Laps 2. Jon Schendel Yamaha TZ125 3. Ryan Ferris Yamaha TZ125 4. Mike Orien Honda RS125 5. Tyler Reiswig Honda RS125 6. Will Gruy Honda RS125 7. Debra Kuick Honda RS125 8. Jerry Berkey Honda RS125 9. Phil Krenn Honda RS125 12 Laps 10. Ben Solis Honda RS125 DNF Dial It In Track Time 250GP Results 1. Bradley Adams Yamaha TZ250 14 Laps 2. Vincent Rolleri Yamaha TZ250 3. Tyler Reiswig Yamaha TZ250 4. Andrew Edwards Aprillia RSV250R 5. Mike Lytle Yamaha TZ250 13 Laps More, from a press release issued by Buell: ESTOK RIDES BUELL TO THUNDERBIKE WIN AT BARBER Victory Gives Estok Lead in Formula USA Season Points Race BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Millville & Wildwood Harley-Davidson/Buell rider David Estok took his Buell Firebolt to victory and put his team into the series points lead at the Formula USA Thunderbike National at Barber Motorsports Park. Estok was the top qualifier for the event and led from the start of the 14-lap Thunderbike national, but was hounded until the final lap by Hal’s Performance Advantage/Richie Morris Racing rider Dan Bilansky. During the course of the race, Bilansky set a new race lap record of 1:34.004. “Dan challenged me throughout the race, but I held on in the end for the win,” said Estok. “I’m excited to be on top of the points race with two races remaining.” Bilansky finished second aboard a Buell Firebolt. CAD Cycles rider David Yaakov was third on a Suzuki. Sound Waves/Hal’s Performance Advantage rider Sam Rozynski finished fourth on a Buell Firebolt, followed by Blue Springs Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Walt Sipp, also on a Buell Firebolt. Buell riders claimed four of the top five positions in the race. After six of eight Formula USA Thunderbike National events, Estok leads the Thunderbike series with 159 points, as Yaakov dropped to second with 149 points. Sam Rozynski is third with 100 points, followed by teammate Joe Rozynski with 99 points. Hal’s Performance Advantage/Richie Morris Racing rider Clint Brotz sits in fifth with 97 points, and Bilansky and Harding Harley-Davidson/Buell rider Bryan Bemisderfer are tied for sixth with 91 points. Seven of the top 10 riders in the points race are aboard Buell motorcycles. The next event on the Formula USA schedule is Sept. 9-11 at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Ill. The Formula USA National Thunderbike series is a horsepower-to-weight ratio restricted class, open to a variety of production-based motorcycles. Buell-mounted riders compete in the eight-event 2005 Thunderbike series race for a share of the $70,500 contingency fund posted by Buell Motorcycle Company. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. For the Buell dealer nearest you, pull into www.buell.com.