The inaugural 2008 North American Can-Am Mini Roadracing Championship gets underway on April 20th in Stockton, California. Get all the details on the website: ~http://www.canamroadracing.com/~

10-year old motorcycle road racer Peter Lenz of team FNB Racing kicked off his 2008 season this past weekend in Stockton, CA. Peter raced in six classes on three different motorcycles, taking four wins, a second and a third.

Leaving their home in Vancouver, Washington late Friday evening Peter and his dad drove all night to travel the 700 miles arriving in Stockton for early Saturday afternoon practice. Not having ridden the track in a year, Peter set about re-familiarizing himself with the track, its new surface, new Dunlop tires, and his new ride, a Honda CRF150R powered RS125 (aka RSF150R). After 6 hours of hard practice time, Peter was able to play a bit on track with Red Bull MotoGP Academy rider, Cameron Beaubier before calling it a night.

“It was really nice to have Cameron spend time with Peter both on and off the track. He is a rider that Peter looks up to and it really meant a lot to him to be out there with Cameron,” commented Peter’s father, Michael Lenz.

Sunday morning Peter jumped out of his sleeping bag put on his gear and headed out to practice. Final tire pressure changes where made and the heat races started. Peter had not ridden his Honda NSR50 since the last NMRRA race the previous fall, but he didn’t appear to slow down much as he took pole in three of the four classes he rode the bike in. He put his 65 motard on pole in Formula Extreme and took a respectable 4th in the first heat aboard his Honda RSF150R. By this time Peter had already turned a hundred laps and it wasn’t even lunchtime.

After a short lunch break the main events started. Peter had a nice exchange in the early going of the Formula 50 race with Craig Harper before taking the win. On his 65 Peter ran unchallenged in the Formula Extreme class as he led flag to flag. In the Expert Trophy Dash Peter came from the last row to catch and challenge ex-AMA Pro Racer Bryan Edginton before running out of laps.

In the Honda NSR Cup, Team 65’s Josh Serne got out front early and held Peter off for the lead until midway in the race where Peter made his way around Josh and pulled out a gap to take the win. In Super 50, again it was Peter out front with Josh finishing in the number two spot. The last race of the day was the 80GP race, at which point Peter had turned 150 laps, and over 250 in the last 24 hours.

“The RS was fun to ride and going three wide into the tight right hander was fun. I didn’t think three bikes would even fit, but when you lay on top of each other they do. I did what I could in the 80 race but the RS is a big bike, and the track is so tight it just wore me out,” explained Peter.

Peter ran out of steam on lap six of the main as reflected by his drop in laptimes. Bryan Edginton and 2008 AMA Red Bull Rookies Cup rider, Cameron Gish pulled out a five second lead leaving Peter in a respectable third.

This was also the first race with new sponsors: Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Motion Pro, RK Racing Chains, and Spider Grips. A big thank you to them for their belief in and support of Peter.

Peter is next scheduled to be on the track with the California Superbike School the last weekend of March. You can learn more about Peter and his supporters by visiting ~http://www.PeterLenz.com~

Peter is sponsored by the following: California Superbike School, Arai Helmets, EDR Performance, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Vortex, Performance Under Gear (PUG), Pro Caliber Motorsports, RK Racing Chains, Spiegler Brake Lines, MiniGPX.com, PMP, Miller Paint and Graphics, Motion Pro, Barnett Clutches, SBS Brake Pads, Spider Grips, Chicken Hawk Racing, All Things Drywall, and his mom and dad.

On-track photos courtesy and copyright Mike Doran / D+W Images ~http://www.dandwimages.com~

GAMRA Round 1, March 15-16, 2008

Gulf Area Mini Roadracing Association kicked off the 2008 season in style at Gulf Oaks Raceway in Saucier, Mississippi this weekend with a great turnout, great weather and some excellent racing. Saturday went pretty much according to GAMRA tradition, with many hot, exhausted racers sitting around the campfire consuming refreshing cool beverages, recounting the day’s activities and reflecting on the roadracing world in general. Sunday began with 2 practice sessions, then right down to business.

The GP class started off the festivities, with a strong grid of Keith Montgomery, Courtney Gray and Leland Tiezsen on CRF150R’s, joined by kid hopeful John Gessner on his YZ85, all tearing into turn 1 side by side, with the rest of the pack close behind. At the halfway mark, it was Courtney leading John, who was showing him a wheel twice a lap to keep the pressure up, but unable to make the pass. In a dramatic finish, John squeaked up the inside on the final turn on the last lap, and Courtney ran just a bit wide on the exit, putting his rear wheel in the dirt, which was all John needed to bring home his maiden GP class victory.

Formula 1 was next, with new guy Eric Baneulos starting on pole, Troy Gessner returning from a year-long hiatus in second, and Jack Worrell from A&B Cycle rounding out the front row. Baneulos got the holeshot, leading into turn one, then proceeded to run a blocking line to keep the hordes at bay. Worrell and Gessner diced for a few laps, then Worrell dropped back a few inches to see if the other two would take each other out. No such luck, and despite Gessner’s pressure on the leader, Baneulos kept a cool head, held his line and took home a first place in his first appearance with GAMRA.

Next up was Supermoto Lites, which seemed at times like a roadracing clinic put on by perennial series champ Chris Burchfield, with Courtney Gray and Keith Montgomery rounding out the top 3. The novice class was a real treat, featuring Ashton Worrell on his CRF70, Caleb Smith on his CRF50, and Adam Shepherd on his classic XL125. All 3 of these kids gave it everything they had, and when they came off the track you could tell they’d been bitten hard by the roadracing bug. Look for them to move up quickly.

Next was the Thumper class, with Dennis Shepherd seeming to win the race without opening the throttle much at all, making it look entirely too easy for the rest of the hanging-off, tire-slidin’, motor-screamin’ field. Mark Leopold came in second on his TTR, followed very closely by Eric Baneulos, in another fine new-guy riding performance. Formula 2 saw the continuation of the 2007 rivalry between wily vet Keith “Mookie” Montgomery and 9-year-old upstart John Gessner, whose KX65 was down for repairs, so he had to resort to dad’s old YXR100. They were joined on the front row by Mark Leopold, still warm from his performance in Thumper. After a 3-way battle for the lead on the opening lap, Mookie cleared off, John made his way by Mark and settled into a rhythm for a safe 2nd place finish, realizing that you can’t win a championship from the gravel trap. Wrapping things up was the Supermoto class, which was another Chris Burchfield tour de force, with Keith Hinson on his KTM and Orey Frierson on the Honda rounding out the top 3.

All in all, an excellent weekend of racing with many new riders joining this growing sport. Check out the action at ~http://www.gamra.org~ and see what all the fuss is about.

Race #1 will no longer be on March 30th due to a request from the track. Instead we will go ahead with the previously schedule practice on March 30th. The March 30th practice schedule has been posted on ~http://www.scminigp.com~

Honda Canada will run a spec series using its CBR125R starting in 2008 with the support of Parts Canada Superbike Championship organizer Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP).

The Honda CBR125R Challenge will run at select rounds of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship and will likely also visit other appropriate Canadian series events. The program is envisioned as a starter class for young road racers aiming to move further up the competition ladder.

In keeping with this, the CBR125R Challenge is restricted to younger racers looking to make their start in the sport. Riders planning to compete in the national series next season must be between the ages of 14 and 22 years as of January 1, 2008.

Honda Canada and PMP expect to see the new national series branch out to run with other club classes in road race series across Canada. “Honda Canada’s goal is to provide a safe environment that will give new and existing enthusiasts who have thought about racing, both the means and opportunity to do so,” said Honda Canada’s Kim Moore.

The Honda CBR125R will run near-stock (all bikes will be equipped with a catalytic converter) with engine performance restricted and horsepower checked on the official Parts Canada Superbike Championship Dynojet Dyno. Pirelli spec tires will be used in the series.

A specified race conversion kit will be available through participating Honda dealers. The conversion kit includes an Elka shock, Mimic bodywork, Arrow bolt-on exhaust canister, Z-1 frame sliders, Parts Canada work stand and a certificate for Pirelli Supercorsa approved race rubber.

“We agree that this series will act as a stepping stone into other racing classes,” said Colin Fraser, president of PMP. “It provides racers with an inexpensive way to learn road racing. These are easy bikes to ride and learn on, and this sort of development class is very successful in Europe.”

Mini Road Racing has been growing in popularity in recent years, particularly in western Canada. Sixteen-year-old Brett McCormick of Saskatoon, winner of this year’s HJC Pro Rookie of the Year Award in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship is a product of the Mini Road Racing boom.

Honda launched the CBR125R in 2007 in conjunction with a program aimed to bring new riders into the sport of motorcycling. This program continues in 2008. The bike is powered by a 125cc liquid-cooled, four-stroke single-cylinder engine and takes its styling cues from Honda’s full size sport bikes.

Claimed dry weight for the stock CBR125R is 118.9kg and horsepower is quoted as 13.4hp at 10,000 rpm. The bike features electronic fuel injection and a six-speed transmission. Suggested retail price for the CBR125R is retails for $3,499 (CDN).

A full schedule as well as the rules and regulations for the Honda CBR125R Challenge will soon be posted on both honda.ca and cdnsuperbike.com.

For full series information, visit ~http://www.cdnsuperbike.com~

Registration for the AMRA and the AMRA Minimoto Lites hosted first ever, GRC Moto Canadian Cup is now open.

We are going to start the 2008 Minimoto season off with a Bang; with an event set up to put our sport on the map.

This event will run next to the Parts Canada Super Bike National and in conjunction with but separate to the AMRA National Round #2 on the weekend of June 27-29, 2008 at the Varsity Speed Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

We hope with all of your support we can show people just how great this sport really is.

How do we do that you just might ask? Easily, make it a huge event with everyone in attendance!

How do we do that? We do that by making it an event you just won’t want to miss!

Every registered rider will not only enjoy some fierce Minimoto competition but they will also get the chance to leave this event with a brand new GRC Moto RR 15hp Race bike or a Gimoto custom built pocket bike suit and tons of other giveaways.

Yes you read that right! A brand new GRC RR 15hp Race bike or a Gimoto custom built pocket bike suit and tones of other giveaways. Told you that you weren’t going to want to miss this one!

We will be running the following classes:

Youth Class (7-10 years old)

2.5 Air Cooled Open – This class is strictly for 2.5 rated bikes, otherwise known as cags. But includes European 2.5

Air Cooled Open – This class allows the use of 2.5 / 4.2 / 6.2 / up to 50cc, and of pocket bike origin.

14/40 Open – For those wearing a 14mm carb on a 40cc to push the racer to the limit.

40cc Open – This is where the racers are going to have to push their bikes to their limits.

50cc Open – This is where it’s going to be up to the tires to keep the push of the racer in check.

There will be free on-site camping all weekend, CMA Membership is required and is available at the event. The track layout can be viewed at ~http://amra.ca~.

Scroll down to the March 7/8 news item for registration forms: ~http://amra.ca/AMRANEWS.htm~

It is now confirmed that Sturgess Cycle Ltd., Canada’s oldest Honda dealer, will be sponsoring Ontario, Canada resident Lee Kuhn Jr. for the 2008 Honda CBR125R National Challenge. We are super excited and would like to welcome them onboard.

Kuhn is the 2007 OMMRA 40cc Open Champion. More info can be found at ~http://www.leekuhnjr.com~

The Stockton Mini Road Racing Club will be holding it’s opening round this weekend. Below is some basic info regarding the club and what it all about.

SMRRC Club Membership Fee

Annual Membership: $55.00

Race Fees: Members / Non-Members

Saturday Practice: $20.00 / $25.00

First Race: $40.00 / $50.00

Second Race: $30.00 / $40.00

Third Race: $15.00 / $15.00

Race Weekend Hours:

Saturday Practice û Hours: 2:00pm to 10:00pm.

Sunday Race – Gates open at: 7:00am.

Sunday Registration û Hours: 7:30am to 9:00am.

Race Practice – 8:30am to 10:30

Racing Starts at 11:00am

Don’t miss out on all the affordable road racing action this year. For more info please go to or home site ~http://www.smrrc.com~

Thanks and hope to see some of our local AFM and SupermotoUSA friends out there.

The PCMRC and CIMRA have launched a new joint website called “Mini Racing British Columbia” that is located here: ~http://www.miniracingbc.com~

SEMRA submitted a nice write up to CycleNews which is posted on their site here:

~http://cyclenews.com/events/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=3064~