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CHAMPIONS CROWNED IN FINAL MOTORCYCLE RACING WEEKEND
OF THE SEASON AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK
TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (October 6, 2008) - The motorcycle racing season at Miller Motorsports Park wrapped up over this past weekend, October 4-5, with
champions crowned in three different series: the National Championship for
the
United States Grand Prix Riders Union (USGPRU), the Honda Presents the Plaza
Cycle Masters of the Mountains road racing series and the Plaza Cycle Utah
Supermoto Championship.
The USGPRU races were held in very wet conditions on Saturday, putting a
premium on handling and concentration and placing even more pressure on the
championship contenders. In the 250GP class, Melissa Paris edged Allen Campbell
by 0.139 second to claim the victory, with Miles Thornton third. Royce McLean
had
an easier time of it in the 125GP class, posting a 9.294-second margin of victory
over veteran Nobi Iso, while Thornton took third again. In the Moriwaki 250H
Powered by Honda spec class, Jake Lewis cruised to a 29.917-second victory
over
newly-crowned Red Bull U.S. Rookie Cup champion Benny Solis Jr., with Thornton
making it a clean sweep of thirds. Class championships went to Iso in 125GP,
Adam Roberts in 250GP and Lewis in Moriwaki 250H.
In the Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains Series,
championships were up for grabs in all but two of the 19 classes. The headline
attraction was the battle among Shane Turpin, defending champ Aaron Clark and
Josh Graham for the coveted No. 1 plate in the King of the Mountain GTO class.
In
the final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon, Clark took the victory by
3.565
seconds over Turpin to claim his third consecutive class championship.
"Wow, what a race! What a year!" the victorious Clark said. "Of
the three KoM-O
No. 1 plates I have won, this one was definitely the most satisfying, as it
came
down to a winner-takes-all race. Turpin and I rode our hearts out. The first
few
laps were pretty crazy and he definitely had me more than a little worried,
but
thanks to my awesome Pirelli tires and the unbelievable stopping power of my
EBC
Extreme Pro brakes, I knew I could run a pace fast enough to get the job done.
Thanks to all the USBA crew, and to Jill Giles and her amazing team at Miller
Motorsports Park, for another great year!"
Clark added another victory to his weekend total with a win in the Open Superbike
class. Turpin was victorious in the Formula 40 GTO and Twins GTU/Amateur GTO
races. Spencer Steed took the Amateur GTO class win, as well as the overall
in the
Amateur GTU race. Graham picked up wins in the KOM U and Open Superstock
races. Other race/class winners were Paul Avery (Super Twins), Shawn Atkinson
(Novice GTU), Michael Bunds (Twins GTO), Ricky Corey (Middleweight Superbike),
Christopher Coyne (Novice GTO), Oleg Pianykh (Heavyweight Superstock), Jimmy
Wood (Middleweight Superstock) and David Meyer (Endurance).
The competitors in the Plaza Cycle Utah Supermoto Championship also had to
deal
with rainy conditions on Saturday, making the track particularly treacherous
and
keeping the entry low. Joe Brady was the beneficiary, taking wins in five classes:
Novice, Sportsman, Asphalt, Vet and Open Expert. Other class winners were Kristi
Hooker (Mini Moto); Gauge Rees (Mitey 65/125); Luke Mitchell (250 Intermediate);
and Tom Hooker (Open Intermediate). Only three of the 10 class championships
were still up for grabs - Mitey 65/125, Asphalt and Open Intermediate - and
those
were decided in favor of Rees, Chris Curnen and Tom Hooker, respectively.
The final racing weekend of the year will take place October 17-18, with the
final
rounds of the Miller Park Racing Association and the Rodizio Grill Utah Karting
Championship presented by Valvoline.
For tickets or information regarding Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE
(7223) or visit the track's website at
www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com.
List of Champions:
USGPRU:
125 GP Class: Nobi Iso
250GP Class: Adam Roberts
Moriwaki 250H Class: Jake Lewis
Honda Presents the Plaza Cycle Masters of the Mountains:
Plaza Cycle King of the Mountain O: Aaron Clark
Plaza Cycle King of the Mountain U: Josh Graham
Wasatch Race Tire/Dunlop Open Superbike: Aaron Clark
Middleweight Superbike: Josh Graham
Open Superstock: Aaron Clark
Fastline Racetire/Michelin Middleweight Superstock: David Lewis
Honda-Suzuki of Salt Lake Heavyweight Superstock: Shannon Moham
Salt Lake Motorsports Super Twins: Brian Whipple
Salt Lake Motorsports Twins GTO: Michael Bunds
Salt Lake Motorsports Twins GTU: Shane Turpin
Endurance GTU: Michael Bunds
Endurance GTO: Travis Child
Endurance Overall: Michael Bunds
Formula 40: Shane Turpin
Amateur GTO: Spencer Steed
Corporate Suspension Amateur GTU: Spencer Steed
Novice GTO: Eric Jones
Novice GTU: Mac Millner
Plaza Cycle Utah Supermoto Championship:
Mini Moto: Kristi Hooker
Mitey 65/125: Gauge Rees
Novice: Richard Hopper
Sportsman: Joe Brady
Asphalt: Chris Curnen
250 Intermediate: Jerrad Hanson
Open Intermediate: Tom Hooker
Vet: Matt Spencer
Open Expert: Matt Spencer
250 Expert: Noah Talley
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