APPLE VALLEY, CA

M1GP held its third annual Eight Hours of Grange endurance race, which saw team Poison Dart Frog (above, with, left to right, riders Kenny Anderson, Tracy Schram, Jason Aguilar and Sean Heeney, celebrating with the M1GP umbrella girls) take the top podium position in the 50 class from the dominant Team Japan (with riders Yasuyo Nakamura, Ayumu Takeichi, Yoshiori Sato, Kaz Chiba and Yusaku Yoshimura). Both teams were on Honda NSR50Rs.

The racing was, all around, very tight. The top two 85/150-class teams, Higzaricher (6, above) and Moochers (1), battled back and forth so intensely that it was amazing that neither team ever took the other out - a sign of the level of skill of their respective team members. After eight hours, literally only seconds separated the two teams, which finished with the same lap count. Unfortunately, the entire class had to be disqualified when a technical inspection at the end of the race found parts that were not authorized under the rules. However, being the fair sportsmen they are, and realizing their honest and unintended mistake, they accepted the disqualification without protest.

Team Café Racer, with team members Chris O'Neal and Jason Van Slyke, on the lone Honda XR100 on the track, put up a valiant effort to keep up with the far more powerful Honda CRF150R bikes in the next class up, switching positions on track constantly throughout the day and finishing three laps down from the third-fastest 150.

Fresh from their successful sprint-race debut, Team Dmented, with riders Darren Simms, Randy Hayden, Eric Kirwan, and Henry Clancy on a Honda NSR50R, returned for the Eight Hours, taking their place on the last podium step after finishing 12 laps down from Team Japan.

Nothing more than a minor lowside ever occurred throughout the day, and there were no injuries and no halt in the racing. It is always a good day of racing when the medic never has to even move his truck.

Joshua Tootell made a second attempt to race the Eight Hours solo on a stock Yamaha YSR50 to raise money for the Pitbull dog-rescue organization. It's The Pits, completing 197 laps, bested his prior attempt of 139 laps in 2008 and raised nearly $700. Pitbull motorcycle stands (www.pit-bull.com) stepped forward to offer a race stand as a raffle prize. In addition, www.motodepot.com supplied a brand-new HJC helmet, M1GP donated a couple of M1GP hats, Jim Granger from Grange Motor Circuit provided a free day pass for the track, and Eric Kirwan donated a brand-new motorcycle alarm system as raffle prizes. Expect to see Tootell returning for the same cause in 2011 for the 8H4 with a goal to break 200 laps.

The next event on the calendar is round three of the sprint series at Willow Springs Kart Track in Rosamond, California, on May 22 and 23. Keep an eye on www.M1GP.us for more information on the M1GP 24-hour endurance race to be held in September of 2010!

Results

50 STK: 1. Team Poison Dart Frog (Honda); 2. Team Japan (Honda); 3. Team Dmented (Honda); 4. Team Not Not Good (Honda); 5. Team It's The Pits (Yamaha).

100 STK: 1. Team Café Racer (Honda).

85/150:* 1. Team Higzaricher (Honda); 2. Team Moocher (Honda); 3. Team Shake & Bake (Honda), 4. Team Rolling Road Blocks (Honda).

*CLASS DISQUALIFIED (See M1GP site for details)