2011 Daytona 200 race results
This year the 200 was to run during the day, and with the temperatures in the high seventies and the sun shining, everyone seemed to be enjoying the change.
Marvin Rosencrans had gone through last year’s Rocky Mountain Kawasaki ZX-6R, and there was actually time to get in a test day. The bike was working well and loaded in the truck for Daytona.
Ricky had one other task at hand for this year. The current record for the most miles completed by one rider in the history of the 200 was held by Rick Shaw at 3728 miles, and Ricky was nine miles short of breaking it…
Qualifying went well with Ricky 21st in the first session. Electing to use the second qualifying session to work on his race set did drop him to 27th on the grid.
Starting on the seventh row, Ricky got a great launch when the lights went green. Quickly moving past riders, Ricky got into a battle with five other riders. He continued to pick them off one by one. After twenty laps and his first pit stop, Ricky had moved into the top fifteen. Three laps after his stop the red flag was shown to the riders, bringing everyone into the pits. After a mandatory front tire change, even though his front Dunlop looked great, the restart did not go well. A rider charging into turn one way too fast ended up taking out two other riders, and Ricky had to take evasive action to avoid being taking out also. The red flag was displayed again. The next restart was smoother and Ricky got another great start. Running in the ninth spot Ricky got into another scrap for position. Once again he moved through the group and when the white flag was shown, Ricky had one more rider to pass for the sixteenth spot. Just as he exited the chicane the red flag was brought out due to a high speed crash on the front tri oval. Unfortunately scoring reverts to the lap before the red flag and had Ricky officially in twentieth position.
The good news is that Ricky did leave Daytona with the all time mileage record in hand and some great press coverage on Speed TV, The Daytona Beach News-Journal and Roadracing World.
The team, Marvin Rosencrans, Chris Koster, Jim Clark, Pete and Lucy Brandaur, Ed Mores, Jon Glaefke and Seth Miller worked like a well-oiled machine and was invaluable to this year’s success.
High Plains Raceway- May 7/8 2011
The first round of the Motorcycle Roadracing Association 2011 season was held at the popular HPR raceway. The racers were greeted by an unusually warm day for the beginning of May.
Ricky’s first race of the day was the middleweight supersport class. With a runner-up position in last year’s championship, he was gridded on the front row. When the lights went off, he was first off the line. Heading into turn one another rider got under Ricky, relegating him into second place. At the half- way point of the race Ricky was still hounding first place. As he was exiting turn six, the front end started to slide. Try as he might, Ricky could not keep the Rocky Mountain Kawasaki ZX-6 up, and low sided, ending his race. Unhurt and with minor damage to the bike, Ricky quickly got back to the pits for repairs. As the crew attacked the bike, the next race was called and Ricky barely made it to the grid in time for the heavyweight supersport race. Another good start had Ricky slotted into third spot after the first lap. As he started to make a run on second place, he felt the front start to go away and wisely back off the pace for a third place podium position.
Sunday was nice day weather wise and the crowd was definitely enjoying it. The middleweight superbike race was up, and Ricky had another front row start. A great start had him leading the pack into turn one. Hitting the long back straightaway, Ricky was losing ground. Coming up the front straight to get the halfway flags, Ricky was passed, relegating him to fourth where he would finish. Last race of the day was the hotly contested Race of the Rockies. Earlier in the day Ricky had qualified third fastest. This year the race had both classes of GTO and GTU bikes combined making the start a crowd pleaser. As Ricky battled the gaggle of bikes, he was chasing down one of the 1000cc machines. As the race wore on Ricky could not make any forward progress and maintained position for another third place podium spot.
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Pikes Peak International Raceway- May 21/22 2011
The second round of the 2011 MRA series was held at PPIR. Despite a very wet spring in Colorado the weather for the weekend was beautiful. First race of the day was 600 Supersport. With a good start Ricky was in the top five. After settling in he made a move to take over fourth place. One lap later he moved into third. Seeing the second place rider had Ricky charging hard but at the checkered flag he held onto third place. Later in the day 750 Supersport was called to the grid. With a poor start Ricky had positions to make up. By the fourth lap he had made his way into third but could not make any headway from there finishing with another podium spot for the day. Sunday brought up 600 Superbike. With a great start, Ricky was locked into a battle for position. As the laps wore on Ricky was tied in a battle for second spot. At the flag Ricky came up short by a few feet to claim third spot. Race of the Rockies was the final race of the day. As the light went green and the pack charged into turn one, Ricky was holding onto fourth spot. Coming into the infield he made a pass for position. Moving into third he could only stalk the second place rider to the end for another podium position.
High Plains Raceway- July 30/31 2011
Round five of the MRA season returned to HPR with a 4-hour endurance race scheduled for Saturday. The weather was great if you enjoyed temperatures into the triple digits.
One of Ricky’s students asked him to join their endurance team for the race, so he agreed to start the race and also qualify for them. Ricky had the team on the second row for the start. As the race began, Ricky was running in the fifth spot, chasing fourth place. As laps wore on Ricky saw the low fuel light come on, sending him in for a pit stop. As the rest of the team members put in their stints the team lost a few spots, now running in sixth. When the last rider went out for his last stint the team was in the eighth spot which was where they would finish.
Earlier in the day, Ricky ran the two sprint races as usual. First race of the day was the 600 Supersport class. With a great start he was running second. As he continued to attack the first place rider, he got his opportunity and made a pass stick just as third place came by. Now with a new rider to chase Ricky was giving it his all. At the checkered flag Ricky came up short of the win by a bike length. Race two of the day, 750 Supersport, Ricky got another great start and put it into second place. As the laps wore down Ricky made a move, taking over the lead. On lap six, Ricky was displaced back into second. On the white flag lap he tried to retake the lead but to no avail, for another podium finish.
Sunday saw the temperatures even higher, 103 to be exact. The bike was running extremely hot and losing power, and tires were getting a workout. The first race of the day was 600 Superbike. The start went well, but Ricky did get hung up by another rider. As he struggled to get by the one rider, the leaders were running away. Once Ricky got past, he could not make any time on the lead pack, finishing in fifth place. Last race of the day was Race of the Rockies. At the start, turn one was a cluster with the 1000cc bikes getting into the mix and the 600cc bikes trying to make up time. By lap two things had settled down and Ricky was chasing a big bore, playing cat and mouse, making time into the turns and losing it on the straights. As the white flag was being shown, Ricky made it past the rider in front for a third place finish.
Pueblo Motorsports Park- July 9/10/2011
Round four of the MRA race series took the riders south to Pueblo. While this is not every rider’s favorite track, with many miles at this venue, Ricky does enjoy coming here. Weather conditions are typically hot and this weekend did not disappoint.
Saturday’s race schedule saw 600 Supersport up first. Knowing some of his competition was not familiar, or comfortable, with this track, Ricky applied some veteran strategy. On the start he allowed the pack to get the jump on him. Not wanting to show his challengers the way around, Ricky slowly picked off rider by rider. On the white flag his most serious threat was holding the lead, and with a calculating move, Ricky took the lead and the win. 750 Supersport was called to the grid and Ricky was thinking that game plan worked so well he would run with it again. Like clockwork Ricky carried out the same exact plan and it work perfect for his second win of the day. Sunday started off a little cooler but quickly warmed up for the first race, 600 Superbike. With a good launch, Ricky was into second place, holding onto that position until the halfway point, when he was passed, relegating him to third. Last race of the day was ROR. With a good start, Ricky moved into second place. Hounding the leader the whole race, he could not find a way past, finishing the day with another second place podium spot.
At the halfway point in the series, Ricky is currently second in points in all but the 600 Supersport class, where he is third.
High Plains Raceway- August 27/28 2011
As the race season starts to wind down, race grids become smaller but the true competitors are still on the front rows. Another very hot day at the track with temperatures closing in on the three digit mark makes for long days at the track.
Working with three students on Friday and getting in that track time, Ricky was feeling good about the weekend. Saturday’s schedule had middleweight supersport up first. A great start had Ricky in second by turn one. With a great drive out of turn three and a good draft down the long half-mile straight, Ricky was looking to make a move heading into turn four. The rider following had the same idea, and as all three riders went into turn four, side by side, it was quite the shoving match. Unfortunately Ricky got the short end of the stick and was relegated to third. As the laps wore on Ricky could not make any progress and took home a third place finish. Second race of the day was heavyweight supersport. Ricky got another great start and was into turn one in second. On the long straight he was passed, pushing him to third. The Rocky Mountain Kawasaki ZX-6 was getting tired, as the lack of speed was quite evident. As the race continued, a miscue by the leader allowed Ricky to move up one spot and hold it to the flag for a second place podium spot.
Sunday brought even hotter temperatures. The Dunlops were working well, and a good start for the middleweight superbike class had Ricky running in fifth. By lap one he had made a pass to move up one spot. As one of the front runners ran into trouble, Ricky was there to capitalize and ended the race in third place for another podium spot.
Last race of the day was Race of the Rockies, and Ricky made the best of a chaotic start. Past the halfway point Ricky was trying to make time on one of the liter-class bikes and simply pushed too hard coming up through the high-speed turn seven. Losing the front end had him low side off into the dirt. His Arai helmet and Dainese leathers kept him injury free, but he could not remount and put an end to an otherwise great weekend.
Pikes Peak International Raceway- September 17/18 2011
This was to be the penultimate round of the 2011 MRA series, but with the October round canceled PPIR would be the last race of the year.
Ricky was fairly locked in points-wise for all of the classes except heavyweight supersport where he was just two points shy of the championship.
Saturday morning practice went well. First race called to grid was the middleweight supersport class. Holding onto third in points put him on the front row. With a great start, Ricky was second into turn one. Holding that position was tough, as the leader was starting to pull away and he was getting pressured from behind. Four laps later Ricky was pushed back a spot. Running in third he could not find his rhythm but did hold onto third for his first podium finish of the day.
Next on the schedule was the heavyweight supersport race. With another good start, Ricky was third into turn one. As the leaders were fighting over the top spot Ricky was trying to close the gap. Concentrating on a good drive out of the infield, Ricky did not realize his ZX-6 had stepped out and he was heading for a big highside. As he was struggling to stay on it, gravity finally won out and he was down. Once again his Arai helmet and Dianese leathers kept him from injury but he could not rejoin the race. He did maintain second place in the class championship.
Sunday saw Ricky qualify third for ROR. Heavyweight superbike was up and from a second row start he was third into the infield. By lap three he was passed, putting him into fourth. Not being able to make any time on the third place rider, fourth would be his finishing position. Last race of the day was Race of the Rockies. With a good launch, Ricky was mixed into a battle with four other riders. At the halfway flags, he was holding onto the third spot. At the checkered Ricky was rewarded with another podium spot and third in the class championship.