Team Morse Racing Brings Home 6 Podium Finishes at PPIR! The Team Morse Racing riders Dave Gallant and Mike Applehans were able to bring home to 3 race wins, 6 podium finishes, and 14 top 10 finishes during round 2 of the MRA series at Pikes Peak International Raceway May 14th-15th. The weekend opened with terrific racing between the Team Morse Racing riders in the MRA Lightweight Endurance Class aboard their RacerSupply.com Suzuki SV650s. A grid of 11 riders took the green flag, but by the end of the first lap it was clear that Dave & Mike were in a league of their own. Over the course of the 29 lap race, the lead switched no less than 10 times between the two riders at the front, and lap after lap saw impressive drafting and braking duals all over the 1.4 mile Pikes Peak International race course. At the waving checkered flag, Mike Applehans was in the lead and took home the Lightweight Endurance win with Dave Gallant inches off his rear tire at the line. Spectators and MRA Corner Crew alike showed their appreciation for the close racing with a strong ovation during the cool down lap as well as later celebration in the Team Morse Racing pits. “That race was so much fun I didn’t want it to end!” stated an excited Mike Applehans. “We both have our strong points on the track, and we went back and forth each and every lap. It is great to feel comfortable racing that tight for 29 laps, and it is even better to take the checkered flag in the lead!” add Mike. The Sunday racing was as close and exciting as the Saturday endurance action. The day started with Lightweight Grand Prix with Dave and Mike once again aboard their RacerSupply.com SV650s. Dave took the lead at the start, and with the help of a new set of the super-sticky Pirelli SuperCorsa Pro DOT race tires, was able to hang onto win leading every lap of the race. Mike fought hard after getting pinched off in turn one to come back from a 9th place start to a 3rd place finish. The next race of the day was the first running of a new premier class within the MRA – “Race of the Rockies GTU”. Race of the Rockies is an “anything-goes” type of class, however this new version of the class limits the bikes to 640cc much like the AMA Formula Extreme class. Both Dave and Mike got excellent starts on their RacerSupply.com GSXR 600s at the drop of the green flag, and ran with the leaders in the early part of the race. By mid-race, Dave was lapping in 6th place overall out of 29 entries and Mike was in 8th – then disaster struck. The entrance to turn one is well over 100 miles-per-hour, and is considered by most a terrible place to crash. Mike did just that when entering turn 1 and tucked the front while descending the PPIR banking. This however was not your “standard” crash, and after Mike was sliding on the ground next to the bike, the centrifugal forces of the wheels lifted the bike upright once again and sent it ghost riding down the track into turn 1! The bike veered up the banking, did 3 perfect circles against oncoming traffic, glanced a concrete wall then came to rest on its frame slider off the racing line. Unfortunately, this incident brought out the red flag, and Dave was forced to settle for 6th place with Mike having to lick his wounds to do battle another day. Mike’s RacerSupply.com custom leathers and gloves did their job however, and even after a very fast crash Mike has almost no bruises to show off for sympathy. In the next race of the day, Dave repeated his Lightweight Grand Prix performance in the 14 entry field of Supertwins GTU by taking the lead and leading every lap until the checkered flag. In Open Supersport action, Mike showed what a 750 can do against brand new 2005 GSXR1000s if ridden well enough. For the first 6 of 8 laps, Mike was in a strong 3rd place battling against five 1000cc monster race bikes. By lap 7 however, the horsepower advantage on PPIR’s high banking proved too much forcing Mike to settle for a top 10 finish. Scott Morse, owner of GP Composites and Morse Racing Products, had this to say about the weekends events: “I am so excited about the way things are going I am at a loss for words. Everything from the pits to the bikes look fantastic, and the guys are really giving it 100% out there. Its hard to not get fantastic exposure when you have two teammates on identical looking bikes putting on such a spectacular show lap after lap like they did yesterday. With some more seat time on these relatively new bikes, I am sure we can expect to see even more great finishes from the team in all of our classes!” Team Morse Racing will compete in the CRA event this upcoming weekend at Mid America Motorsports Park, May 21st – 22nd.