From a press release issued by USGPRU:

Will Morton Takes Well Fought Win in USGPRU Final at Thunderhill in 105+ F Heat

Nobi Iso Airlifted After Horrifying Crash in Turn 8 on Final Lap

Sean McNew Treated for Two Broken Ankles Sustained in Saturday Practice Highside

Tuesday, August 13, 2002 – Willows, CA – Round Three of the USGPRU (United States Grand Prix Riders’ Union) Western Region – 125GP National Championship was contested August 9-11 at Thunderhill Park Raceway in tremendous heat exceeding 110F at times during the three day event.

Riders battled heat, dehydration and track tempuratures that exceeded 150F all weekend and consumed enough water and Gatorade to fill a swimming pool.

On race day 18 riders took to the grid as temperatures rose above 105F. “I think the bulk of us were running the Medium Compound (Dunlop “C”) rear. You pretty much had to. It was hot… I stopped paying attention because it was depressing me, but it was 100+ easy. All I know is I ended up with a 155 main!” said Quentin Wilson. Will Morton rode a flawless race in unbelievable heat to take the win after a 48 km battle with Veloce Racing’s Nobi Iso from Japan when Iso crashed in Turn 8 on the final lap forcing a red flag.

“In the race Nobi and Will (Morton) pulled ahead of Nick (Moore) and Carlos (Neves), then Stewart (Aitken-Cade) and I. By the time I got by Stewart I was half a straight-away behind Carlos and Nick. That’s pretty much how it played out,” recalled Quentin Wilson.

The heat was getting to everyone and as the 54km long race wore on the riders began to drop. “By the halfway-mark, I felt like an ice-cream cone left out in the sun to melt,” said Tiffanie Ragasa.

Morton was nose to tail with Iso as Nobi led the last lap on the #35 Veloce Racing Aprilia. As the two riders entered the fastest corner on the track (turn 8) Nobi put his wheel into the dirt and unable to recover his line took him off the track at triple digit speeds where he was thrown from the bike tumbling dozens of meters from the track and layed unconscious for 20 minutes while emergency medical personnel awaited the helicopter to transport him to Enlow Trauma Center in Chico, CA. “You really have to cook that corner to get the drive up the hill,” noted fellow front runner Quentin Wilson. Will Morton who was just a few bikelengths behind Nobi when he went down recalls, “Nobi was pushing real hard and I was having to push the rear tire all over in the corners, I had a tough time keeping up with him. He was real consistent and smooth but I could see Nobi was having a tough time in that corner so I was going to set him up there and try to make the pass in the last lap but I was too far behind him to make the move as I had not seen the white flag the previous lap; it was flown from so high above the track we couldn’t see it.”

As the Helicopter lifted off from the infield outside turn 11 the entire 125GP Paddock (nearly every rider and crew member) watched on from the adjoining fence a few feet away from the tight right hander that served as the makeshift helipad while their friend and competitor was flown from the track.

“He (Nobi) was conscious when leaving [the track], Jonathan [& Saiko were] heading to the hospital… Initial reports were that he was fine, we’re all waiting to hear from Jonathan,” said John Rabasa.

“We went to the hospital right away to check on Nobi but he was asleep when we got there and I didn’t have the heart to wake him. The doctors said he was doing well and that he was lucky he had such good protective equipment on or it would have been much worse,” said Series Director Jonathan Flack. “I talked to Spiros Gabrilis (Nobi’s Team Owner at Veloce Racing) on Monday night and Nobi had just gotten home. He was discharged from the hospital with a broken tibia at 11:00 am Monday morning and although he’s a bit fuzzy on the whole incident he’s doing very well. Among his first questions apparently was whether he had DNF’d or not… classic Nobi. He slept all the way home and went right to bed after he got in but otherwise he’s alright. Portland is out of the question but we all hope he decides to come down to the track and hang out with us that weekend – I don’t think he can golf with his cast!”

Earlier in the weekend Sean McNew had also been seriously hurt when his bike highsided him in the ultra high speed turn 6. Sean would return to the track the next morning with both legs casted and two broken ankles. Sean was in good spirits and disappointed not to be able to race. Riders all came by in the morning as they prepared for qualifying to wish him their best as he prepared to depart for home. “He is a tough guy, and he had a good attitude which is half the battle,” said Wilson.

Newcomer Douglas Moore half joked, “There comes a time in ones life where you ask the question why? For me I that question came as I was sitting in the 105+ heat of Friday mid afternoon… Feeling very dehydrated and on the brink of hurling into the Garbage can I wondered why I was there and then I realized . . . I’m racing a 125!”

Peter Hofmann, the noted 125GP rider, also returned to the track on Saturday for the first time after a year recovering from a serious crash in Italy during the European Championships last season to ride the Gray Matter Racing – Ian E. Race Engineering Honda. “It was great to finally ride a few laps after so much time away from the track. The GMR – Ian E., BPS Honda was very fast and I’d like to thank Jonathan Flack for inviting me to ride. I hope to spend more time in the saddle and getting back up to speed.”

The USGPRU would like to thank CCS and their staff for another fantastic event. The whole CCS crew did a fabulous job all weekend. From Tiffiney to Kevin and all the others in between. Another thanks to all the medical staff at Thunderhill Park for their quick and professional response to events involving Nobi and Sean.


Rider Notes and Comments:
From Quentin Wilson –
“We are all SO psyched for Portland. Thanks again to everyone that was helping me at the track. Stuart for dragging my mungy Honda around, Rabasa and the Jacksons for letting me use the shade and tools, Will and Carlos and Jonathan and Peter for advice. Oh yeah, Peter Hofmann managed to drag his lazy ass out to the track on Saturday and do a few laps aboard Jonathan Flack’s 125! It was really good to see him, I hope it gets his juices flowing to get a bike and come play next year.”



FINAL RACE RESULTS – 10 laps of 11 Completed
1.) William “Will” Morton, Honda; 2.) Carlos Neves, Honda; 3.) Nick Moore, Honda; 4.) Quentin Wilson, Honda; 5.) Stewart Aitken-Cade, Honda; 6.) John Rabasa, Honda; 7.) Mike Orien, Honda; 8.) Marcus Henderson, Honda; 9.) Phillip Krenn, Honda; 10.) Jerry Berkey, Honda; 11.) Nobi, Iso, Aprilia; 12.) Tiffanie Ragasa, Honda; 13.) Jeff Lim, Honda; 14.) Melissa Shimmin, Honda; 15.) Jonathan Flack, Honda; 16.) Herb Wagner, Honda; 17.) Douglas Moore, Honda; 18.) Scott Jackson, Honda