APPLE VALLEY, CA

In one of the closest races of the season, Kenny Anderson held off the hard-charging Brad Boucher and Sean Heeney to win the penultimate round of the SCMiniGP Blata Cup Championship Series and clinch the series title. In the Semi-Pro race, Boucher checked out and won the race handily, extending his points lead and virtually ensuring himself a championship title in that class.

In the Blata Cup qualifying heat, Anderson's random grid pick put him behind his closest rival, Boucher, at the very back of the grid. But he made short work of the competition on the start, going from last to first by turn two. Boucher also made up a lot of ground, but he had a hard time getting around Daryn Ongsing, who had slotted into second. Boucher eventually did take over second, and by the end of qualifying he had caught right up to Anderson. This did not bode well for Anderson, who has struggled on this track in the past.

At the start of the Blata Cup main event, Kenny Anderson (leading, above) rocketed away from the pack, followed into turn two by Brad Boucher, Henry Morse, Sean Heeney, Daryn Ongsing and Ruben Casarez. Anderson appeared poised to break away and dominate the race, but that would turn out to not be the case. By the end of the first lap, Boucher, Heeney and Morse had closed the gap to Anderson and made it a four-way battle for the lead (below).

The leaders continued to jockey for position, and eventually Morse began to fall back from the lead group. Anderson (12, below), Boucher and Heeney, however, continued to give no quarter, and it was anyone's race to win. Boucher pulled alongside Anderson on several occasions, but Anderson held his line and stayed on the gas. Making things difficult for Boucher was Heeney, who had been fast all weekend in practice. As Boucher tried to set Anderson up for a pass, he would find Heeney showing him a wheel - something he has rarely seen this season.

Finally, on the last turn of the last lap, Boucher went out a little wide in an apparent attempt to get a strong drive to the finish line. Heeney saw the opening and placed his motorcycle in it to take over second position. As the two powered to the finish, it was Heeney (17, below) over Boucher by less than a bikelength, with Anderson taking the win ahead of them.

Coming into this round, Anderson held a 19-point advantage over Boucher. A win with Boucher in second would have given him a 24-point lead, but Boucher's third-place finish put Anderson up by 28 points. With only 25 points up for grabs in the last round of the season, Anderson has clinched the 2009 SCMiniGP Blata Cup Championship, and secured a Blata factory ride in the Semi-Pro class for 2010. The final round on November 15 will be for bragging rights only between the top two riders. But for Heeney and Morse, who are separated by just four points, it will be a battle to the end for third place in the championship. Both riders are fast and hungry for that trophy, so it will be an interesting race to watch.

Results

BLATA CUP: 1. Kenny Anderson (Bla); 2. Sean Heeney (Bla); 3. Brad Boucher (Bla); 4. Henry Morse (Bla); 5. Daryn Ongsing (Bla).

SEMI-PRO JR: 1. Brad Boucher(Bla); 2. Sean Heeney (Bla); 3. Andrew Zabzdyr (Bla); 4. Kenny Anderson (Bla); 5. Henry Morse (Bla).

SEMI-PRO SR: 1. Daryl Watts (Bla); 2. Kenny Anderson (Bla); 3. Henry Morse (Bla).

NSR CUP: 1. Anthony Alonso (Hon); 2. Rayce Sabo (Hon); 3. Brad Boucher (Hon); 4. Sean Landess (Hon); 5. Milan Jablah (Hon).

MINI GP: 1. Daytona Anderson (Suz); 2. Aaron Villasenor (Hon); 3. Anthony Alonso (Hon); 4. Jason Aguilar (Hon); 5. Andrew Zabzdyr (Hon).

MINI GP YTH: 1. Daytona Anderson (Suz); 2. Aaron Villasenor (Hon); 3. Anthony Alonso (Hon); 4. Jason Aguilar (Hon); 5. Ben Truslow (Hon).

MINI GP VET: 1. Sean Landess (Hon); 2. Dominic Contreras (Hon); 3. Goran Jablah (Hon); 4. Aron Landess (Hon); 5. Scott Huelskamp (Thu).

THUMPSTAR GP: 1. Jason Aguilar (Thu); 2. Scoot Huelskamp (Thu).

F-GP: 1. Tyler Linders (Hon); 2. Anthony Alonso (Hon); 3. Daytona Anderson (Suz); 4. Jason Aguilar (Hon); 5. Rayce Sabo (Hon).

PRO GP: 1. Daytona Anderson (Hon); 2. Aaron Villasenor (Hon); 3. Tyler Linders (Hon); 4. Jason Aguilar (Hon); 5. Anthony Alonso (Hon).

PRO GP VET: 1. Daytona Anderson (Hon); 2. Hunter Coffin (Yam); 3. Aaron Villasenor (Hon); 4. Tyler Linders (Hon); 5. Simon Lampard (Hon).

PRO EXTREME: 1. Daytona Anderson (Hon); 2. Hunter Coffin (Yam); 3. Aaron Villasenor (Hon); 4. Tyler Linders (Hon) ; 5. Simon Lampard (Hon).