From a press release issued by USGPRU:

USGPRU National Championship Round 8 Buttonwillow GP Results

BUTTONWILLOW, CA. — The USGPRU converged at Buttonwillow Raceway in Central California this last weekend for the 8th round of the National Championship Series with the makings of the most heated battles to date.

Searching for championship points Brian Kcraget flew in from Virginia to challenge the USGPRU points leader and rising star Josh Herrin, along with 2002 Regional Champion Will Morton on his 2004 RS125. Jeff Beck set aside his surfboard in Maui to face the USGPRU, and Nobi Iso arrived from Japan to compete with the top GP riders in the United States. The weekend was shaping up to be the most heated battle of the series with riders from around the globe. It was also a show down of young guns with Ryan Ferris, JD Schendel, Tyler Reiswig, Andrew Brown, and Josh Herrin.

Mechanical failures and frightful crashes haunted riders during practice sessions leading up to Qualifying. Riders struggled with everything from seized motors, broken foot pegs, shattered clutch baskets, and rock ingested motors. Robin Clark was forced to McGyver his exhaust pipe together with a Coke can, Will Morton tossed his bike away in the Bus Stop, and JD Schendel was momentarily knocked out in a horrific high side. HRC stock was sure to skyrocket following these events, yet not one of these events stopped any rider from making repairs in time to join the main events on Sunday.

The 125GP Qualifying session placed Kcraget on pole position with the top 4 riders within two tenths of a second, setting the stage for a barn buster main event. The 250GP Qualifying session placed this country’s top 125 riders on the first row with a sole 250 filling the 4th spot on the first row. Jeff Beck was later disqualified for overlooking weigh-in requirements following Qualifying and was pushed to the back of the grid, giving way to Vincent Rolleri on row one.

The 125GP main event had the largest grid on the West Coast this season in spite of coinciding with the WSB/AMA event at Laguna Seca. 22 GP bikes launched like an angry pack of hornets with Kcraget, Herrin, Morton, and Jeff Hanford taking the first 4 positions. Kcraget and Herrin led the race for an intense 1-2 battle, followed closely by Morton and Hanford fighting it out for the 3-4 spot. Carlos Neves still recovering from his crash at Round 6 waged war on Nobi Iso for the 5-6 positions. The battle ensued with each pair having at least 5 exchanges throughout the race. Young Gun Andrew Brown charged from the back of the grid to slip in between Morton and Neves. Nonplussed by Kcraget rubbing elbows while passing lappers, Herrin displayed genuine professional nerves of steel. Running wide on the last turn during the 8th lap, Herrin rode off into the California desert raising a mountainous cloud of dust only to create an unrecoverable lead for Kcraget. Remarkably Herrin returned to the chase. Disaster struck for Kcraget on the final lap as mechanical gremlins derailed his chain on the final lap in Lost Hills forcing him to surrender. Herrin sailed by to capture the podium with Hanford and Morton in tow.

The 250GP race was filled with no less drama. JD Schendel having crashed out during the 125GP race was left without a bike for the event. Neves graciously offered his Honda to Schendel Sr. for the event so Jr. could ride his father’s Yamaha. Scott McNew took the hole shot with a spectacular launch but quickly yielded to Morton and Hanford with a broken shifter. A ferocious battle reminiscent of the previous race had Kcraget and Herrin fighting their way up to the front of the pack for another intense race. Kcraget shook off his gremlins from the previous race to take the top position followed by Herrin. Schendel Sr. dropped into third spot on the loaner bike followed by Morton. Jeff Beck, coming from the last spot on the grid made a Herculean rush to finish in 5th.

The next round of the championship will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on August 13-15.

USGPRU sponsors include Infinity Investing, Acid Cigars, CCS/F-USA, Bridgestone, Dunlop, EBC Brakes, GPC Moto, Hjelm Motorsports, Motion Pro, Redline Cycle Imports, REV’IT! USA, Silkolene, Speed Fiber, 888-Fastlap, and VP Fuel.

About USGPRU
The USGPRU is the officially recognized Motorcycle Grand Prix Road Racing US National Championship series. 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

Results

125GP – 10 laps
1. Joshua Herrin HON RS125
2. Jeff Hanford HON RS125
3. William Morton HON RS125
4. Carlos Neves HON RS125
5. Andrew Brown HON RS125
6. Nobi Iso HON RS125
7. Jon Schendel Sr. YAM TZ125
8. Mike Orien HON RS125
9. Tyler Reiswig HON RS125
10. Mark Goodrich HON RS125
11. Jeff Lim HON RS125
12. Britt Bohannan HON RS125
13. Kirk Snell HON RS125
14. Darrell Baker HON RS125
15. Jonathan Giddens HON TSR125
16. Brian Kcraget HON RS125 – 9 laps
17. JD Schendel YAM TZ125 – 9 laps
18. Frank Pate HON RS125 – 9 laps
19. Brian Heess HON RS125 – 9 laps
20. Jay Pilster HON RS125 – DNF
21. Phil Krenn HON RS125 – DNF
22. Ryan Ferris YAM TZ125 – DNF

250GP – 7 laps
1. Brian Kcraget HON RS125
2. Josh Herrin HON RS125
3. Jon Schendel Sr. HON RS125
4. William Morton HON RS125
5. Jeff Beck YAM TZ250
6. Vincent Rolleri YAM TZ250
7. Jeff Hanford HON RS125
8. Scott McNew HON RS250
9. Andrew Brown HON RS125
10. Robin Clark YAM TZ250
11. JD Schendel (JR) YAM TZ125
12. Jay Pilster HON RS125
13. Clinton Whitehouse Yam TZ250
14. Darrell Baker HON RS125
15. John Lee HON RS250
16. Jonathan Giddens HON TSR125
17. Mike Lytle YAM TZ250
18. Frank Pate HON RS125 – 6 laps
19. Gordon Wood YAM TZ250 – 6 laps
20. Elaine Seasly HON RS125 – 6 laps
21. Britt Bohannan HON RS125 – 5 laps
22. Tyler Reiswig HON RS125 – DNF