PRESS RELEASE
Central Roadracing Association
August 10, 2011
For Immediate Release:
TEAM BOOOM! WINS THE CRA’S 3-HOUR ENDURANCE RACE
The fourth round of the Central Roadracing Association’s season, taking place August 5-7 on Brainerd International Raceway’s Competition Course, was filled with drama, close racing and some new faces on the top of the podium.
The big story going into the weekend was the 3-hour Team Challenge race, which was serving as an unofficial warmup for the Worldwide Machining and Welding 5-hour Endurance Race happening September 23-25. Teams were definitely working out the kinks as they prepare to race for their share of the increased $11,000 purse on the line by trying out rider lineups and pit strategy. Reigning 5-hour endurance race champions, Team BOOOM!!, was a pre-race favorite but didn’t take the threat of their main competition, The Bomb Squad, lightly as lead rider Shane Keaveny stormed off to an early lead on his Honda CBR1000RR. The Bomb Squad’s Christian Schmidt gave chase on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, however Schmidt was the first of the leaders to pit as he handed over the reins to teammate Zach Hughes on his Yamaha R1. Hughes was expected to be able to make up some of the ground Schmidt lost to Keaveny while battling Team BOOOM!!’s second rider, Aaron Anderson, who would be circulating on his Yamaha R6 with slightly higher lap times. That never came to fruition as Hughes tucked the front going into the very slow speed turn 12 and lost a lap while assessing the damage to his bike. Hughes was able to get restarted and returned to the pits for Schmidt to take over again, but that didn’t last long as his GSX-R1000 quickly developed engine problems. Schmidt was soon out on a backup Yamaha R6 but pulled in shortly thereafter and withdrew from the race, essentially handing the overall win to Team BOOOM!! as Anderson, Keaveny and third rider Nick Campbell pounded out consistent laps for the remainder of the race.
Elsewhere in the 3-hour, fierce battles waged throughout the field. Ayden Lee Racing, with riders Drew See, Brett Folkerts and Jonny Shore, ran without issue and earned a solid second place overall ahead of Faster Than a Cheetah on Cocaine, with riders Scott Stall, Eric Purves and Adam Purves. Stall started the race for Faster Than a Cheetah on Cocaine but had clutch issues and made a pit stop on the first lap, dropping the team to dead last. They never gave up and clawed their way back to a podium finish, only two laps behind Ayden Lee Racing. Faster Than a Cheetah on Cocaine took home a close battle for the final podium spot ahead of Team Hoff, The Three Musketeers and Team Worldwide, with all four teams finishing on the same lap.
The stars of the race were the members of Team BOOOM!!, who are more than just teammates at the track, as proven by rider Nick Campbell: “There is nothing better in regards to club racing than combining top endurance team finishes with friendships that go far beyond the limits of the track. To say the members of Team BOOOM!! are the best of friends is no exaggeration. We attribute the successes we share as a team not only to our mutual respect of one another, but the love and support we receive from our families. As for any race strategies, we simply use more gas and less brake.”
The sprint races throughout the weekend produced a few first time winners. Young gun, Cole Speer, took his first 600cc expert win in a battle with class frontrunner Christian Schmidt. Speer was able to take the lead early in the race and the pair swapped the lead spot multiple times until they made contact which sent Schmidt to the ground and out of the race. Speer was eager to show that his win wasn’t solely because of Schmidt’s DNF and added another 600cc expert victory to his resume later that same afternoon.
The Lightweight Novice racers saw a new face on top of the podium in Jake Hawthorne. Hawthorne has made steady improvement throughout his first season and found himself in a perfect position to take advantage when class frontrunners Jon Champ and Jake Northrup took the phrase “close racing” to a new level and ended up in the dirt together.
Also joining Speer and Hawthorne as first time winners was Canada’s Jordan Imrie. GSX-R mounted Imrie, also a first year rider, has consistently picked up the pace throughout the season with the help of mentor Kris Skellenger and was closing in on Colin Cowles when Cowles highsided out of the race in turn 12. After that it was smooth sailing for the man from the Great White North as he came home with a sizeable gap over second place, Pat Stewart.
Aaron Anderson guiding Team BOOOM! to the 3-hour endurance win. Courtesy of Momentumphoto.net
Race Results
3 Hour GP4
1 Team BOOOM! (CBR1000RR/ Yam YZF-R6)
2 Faster Than a Cheetah on Cocaine (Kaw ZX-6R/Yam YZF-R1/Suz GSX-R750)
3 Team Panda (Hon RC51)
4 Bomb Squad (Yam YZF-R1/Suz GSX-R1000)
3 Hour GP3
1 Ayden Lee Racing (Kaw ZX-6/Yam YZF-R6)
2 Team Hoff (Yam YZF-R6/Daytona Tri 675)
3 Team Worldwide (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Cheng’s Dynasty (Yam YZF-R6/Hon F3)
5 Prestige Worldwide (Yam YZF-R6)
6 Team BOSS Racing (Yam YZF-R6/SV 650)
3 Hour GP2
1 Three Musketeers (Suz SV650/Kaw 650)
2 Team Ramrod (Suz SV650)
3 Team Magic Dragon (Suz SV650/Duc 900SS)
4 AKQP Slow (Suz SV650/KTM 450 SMR)
3 Hour GP1
1 3D-Racing (Duc 620)
Unlimited GP Expert
1 Tony Kasper (BMW S1000RR)
2 Shane Keaveny (Hon CBR1000RR)
3 Zach Hughes (Yam YZF-R1)
4 Scott Stall (Yam YZF-R1)
5 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
6 Sean Edgett (Yam YZF-R1)
Unlimited SB Expert
1 Tony Kasper (BMW S1000RR)
2 Shane Keaveny (Hon CBR1000RR)
3 Scott Stall (Yam YZF-R1)
4 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Zach Hughes (Yam YZF-R1)
6 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
Unlimited SS Expert
1 Shane Keaveny (Hon CBR1000RR)
2 Zach Hughes (Yam YZF-R1)
3 Christian Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Scott Stall (Yam YZF-R1)
6 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight GP Expert
1 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Benji Thornton (Tri 675)
Heavyweight GP Novice
1 Adam Purves (Suz GSX-R750)
2 Pat Stewart (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Marlin Johnson (Hon CBR600F3)
4 Brandon Punt (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Ryan Kaulbars (Kaw ZX-6R)
6 Scott Laudon (Hon RC51)
Heavyweight SB Expert
1 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Robert Pretts (Kaw ZX-6R)
5 Benji Thornton (Tri 675)
6 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight SB Novice
1 Adam Purves (Suz GSX-R750)
2 Pat Stewart (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Colin Cowles (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Brandon Soine (Suz GSX-R600)
5 Marlin Johnson (Hon CBR600F3)
6 Mike Gates (Suz GSX-R600)
Heavyweight SS Expert
1 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Christian Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Robert Pretts (Kaw ZX-6R)
6 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
Heavyweight SS Novice
1 Drew See (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
3 Jake Northrup (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Adam Purves (Suz GSX-R750)
5 Jordan Imrie (Suz GSX-R600)
6 Cory Clark (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight GP Expert
1 Christian Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Benji Thornton (Tri 675)
6 Eric Purves (Kaw ZX-6R)
Middleweight GP Novice
1 Jordan Imrie (Suz GSX-R600)
2 Pat Stewart (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Brandon Soine (Suz GSX-R600)
4 Marlin Johnson (Hon CBR600F3)
5 John Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
6 Mike Gates (Suz GSX-R600)
Middleweight SB Expert
1 Shane Fletcher (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Christian Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Matt Losen (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Robert Pretts (Kaw ZX-6R)
6 Aaron Anderson (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight SB Novice
1 Jake Northrup (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
3 Pat Stewart (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Cory Clark (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Brandon Soine (Suz GSX-R600)
6 Jordan Imrie (Suz GSX-R600)
Middleweight SS Expert
1 Christian Schmidt (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Eric Purves (Kaw ZX-6R)
3 Cole Speer (Yam YZF-R6)
4 Brian Hebeisen (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Chris Forster (Tri 675)
6 Chase Sellers (Yam YZF-R6)
Middleweight SS Novice
1 Drew See (Yam YZF-R6)
2 Jake Northrup (Yam YZF-R6)
3 Justin Ebnet (Hon CBR600RR)
4 Jordan Imrie (Suz GSX-R600)
5 Cory Clark (Yam YZF-R6)
6 Marlin Johnson (Hon CBR600F3)
Formula 40 – F2
1 Shane Keaveny (Hon CBR1000RR)
2 Kurt Schuschke (Tri 675)
3 Gabriel Blevins (Hon CBR600RR)
4 David Ostwald (Yam YZF-R6)
5 Scott Luckiesh (Hon RC51)
6 Jim Wiles (Suz GSX-R750)
Formula 40 – F1
1 Derek Gallion (Suz SV650)
2 Jason Lanigan (XB9R)
3 Troy Pierson (Duc 620)
4 Alex Freeman (Kaw EX250RR)
Lightweight GP Expert
1 Brad Zajic (Kaw EX650R)
2 Derek Gallion (Suz SV650)
3 Kaleb DeKeyrel (Mor MD250H)
4 Eric Fox (Duc 900SS)
5 Geoffrey Egerman (Duc 620)
Lightweight GP Novice
1 Jake Hawthorne (Suz SV650)
2 John Buren (Suz SV650)
3 James Roberts (Suz SV650)
4 Jason Anderson (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SB Expert
1 Brad Zajic (Kaw EX650R)
2 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650)
3 Derek Gallion (Suz SV650)
4 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650)
5 Gary Carter (Yam YZ450F)
6 Dan Nygaard (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SB Novice
1 Jake Northrup (Suz SV650)
2 Jonathan Champ (Suz SV650)
3 Alex Zelenski (Suz SV650)
4 John Buren (Suz SV650)
5 Jake Hawthorne (Suz SV650)
6 James Roberts (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SS Expert
1 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650)
2 Dan Nygaard (Suz SV650)
3 Ashish Shakya (Suz SV650)
4 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650)
5 Jason Hoffman (Suz SV650)
6 Derek Gallion (Suz SV650)
Lightweight SS Novice
1 Alex Zelenski (Suz SV650)
2 Jake Hawthorne (Suz SV650)
3 Jonathan Champ (Suz SV650)
4 Myles Rickbeil (Suz SV650)
5 John Buren (Suz SV650)
6 James Roberts (Suz SV650)
Supertwins Expert
1 Brent Bixby (Suz SV650)
2 Bryant Soberg (Suz SV650)
3 Brad Zajic (Suz SV650)
4 Kyle Knutson (Suz SV650)
5 Dan Nygaard (Suz SV650)
6 Eric Fox (Duc 900SS)
Supertwins Novice
1 Jonathan Champ (Suz SV650)
2 Scott Laudon (Hon RC51)
3 Jake Northrup (Suz SV650)
4 Alex Zelenski (Suz SV650)
5 Kurt Fiedler (Hon RC51)
6 John Buren (Suz SV650)
Ultralight GP Expert
1 Kaleb DeKeyrel (Mor MD250H)
2 Zach Hughes (Yam YZ450F)
3 Anthony Myhre (Yam YZ450F)
4 Roger Hendricks (Hon 450)
5 Geoffrey Egerman (Duc 620)
6 Gus Aramayo (Yam YZ450F)
Ultralight GP Novice
1 Sam Miller (KTM 450)
2 Mohamed Jetha (Duc 620)
3 Kyle Ohnstad (Kaw KX450F)
Ultralight SB Expert
1 Gary Carter (Yam YZ450F)
2 Kaleb DeKeyrel (Mor MD250H)
3 Anthony Myhre (Yam YZ450F)
4 Zach Hughes (Yam YZ450F)
5 Geoffrey Egerman (Duc 620)
6 Jonathan Shore (Hon 450)
Ultralight SB Novice
1 Sam Miller (KTM 450)
2 Mohamed Jetha (Duc 620)
3 Kyle Ohnstad (Kaw KX450F)
4 John Roswick (Kaw EX500)
Ultralight SS Expert
1 Geoffrey Egerman (Duc 620)
2 James Berg (Suz GS500)
Ninja 250 Expert
1 Christian Schmidt (Kaw EX250R)
2 Chris Harrison (Kaw EX250R)
3 Alex Freeman (Kaw EX250R)
4 Kaleb DeKeyrel (Kaw EX250R)
5 Jason Cheng (Kaw EX250R)
6 Derek Gallion (Kaw EX250R)
Ninja 250 Novice
1 Neal Krisher (Kaw EX250R)
2 Eric Barbot (Kaw EX250R)
3 Robin Stremikis (Kaw EX250R)
4 J.T. Noehre (Kaw EX250R)
5 Justin Gustofson (Kaw EX250R)
6 Chris Knauf (Kaw EX250R)
Ninja 250 Expert
1 Christian Schmidt (Kaw EX250R)
2 Alex Freeman (Kaw EX250R)
3 Chris Harrison (Kaw EX250R)
4 Karl Repohl (Kaw EX250R)
5 Derek Gallion (Kaw EX250R)
Ninja 250 Novice
1 Neal Krisher (Kaw EX250R)
2 Chris Knauf (Kaw EX250R)
3 Jack Barton (Kaw EX250R)
4 J.T. Noehre (Kaw EX250R)
5 John Anderson (Kaw EX250R)
6 Justin Gustofson (Kaw EX250R)
Ninja 250 Expert
1 Christian Schmidt (Kaw EX250R)
2 Alex Freeman (Kaw EX250R)
3 Jason Cheng (Kaw EX250R)
4 Karl Repohl (Kaw EX250R)
5 Chris Harrison (Kaw EX250R)
6 Derek Gallion (Kaw EX250R)
Ninja 250 Novice
1 Neal Krisher (Kaw EX250R)
2 Chris Knauf (Kaw EX250R)
3 John Anderson (Kaw EX250R)
4 Robin Stremikis (Kaw EX250R)
5 J.T. Noehre (Kaw EX250R)
6 Jack Barton (Kaw EX250R)
125GP Expert
1 Janelle LeBlanc (Hon RS125)
