News Article
Bennie Taylor wins USGPRU 250GP Race
FNB Racing - Bennie Taylor
Published: April 27, 2009
The headline reads... Bennie Taylor wins his inaugural USGPRU 250 GP Race @ Buttonwillow. Wow! I used to think that would be so great to see the reports. Well, this time it came true. We started out heading down to California for four planned track days. Then we got the call that I would be able to enter the AFM/USGPRU races the following weekend at Buttonwillow Raceway. But, first I had to get an interview with the board of directors for AFM. They called on Saturday and asked lots of questions about school, my track experience, my crashes, and other things like that. After the interview they told my dad they would be happy for me to enter the races with them the next weekend. This was about the same timing that I got picked up by Motul USA. We have used their products for the last several years, and now I get the chance to show them how well they work for me.
The track days had a special meaning to me knowing that the very next weekend I would be racing AFM/USGPRU. I turned the track days into little competitions against my own times. We got through the weekend without any problems, and them my dad spent the last track day rebuilding the bikes. I was going to ride, but since we were running the next weekend, he wanted to make sure the bikes were crisp, and fresh. So with my St. Patrick's Day hat on, I hung out with all of the other riders while dad cleaned and prepped the bikes. On Tuesday afternoon we drove down to Leonard and Kathie's house and had diner with them. They were so kind to let us park the motor home in front of their house for the few days in between weekends. On Wednesday my dad surprised me with a day trip to Universal Studios, it was a great time. The weather was good, and it was fun to relax with dad. That night we met up with Leonard and some of his friends for Bike Night. They get together to discuss the industry, and watch videos. They like to talk bikes, for hours. This was right up my alley. It was good to meet some of Leonard's industry colleagues. Thursday came, and we needed to get weights for the bike and a few other things to get ready for the AFM/USGPRU race. They have a rule that in the 125GP race, you have to weigh 300 #'s with your bike and gear at the end of the race. So we figured we would need to add no more than 20#'s so I would come in at weight. Thursday evening we headed up to Buttonwillow to get setup.
Friday morning we put on the weights so I could get some practice time on the bike with weights. The bike felt too soft and didn't handle quite right. So our friend and motor builder, Ben Solis made some adjustments to the suspension, and that took care of everything. I spent the rest of the day just working on lines and having a good time.
Saturday came and we had to run our qualifiers for the USGPRU races. I was racing an AFM race, and it was also the time qualifier for USGPRU. So, I finished 5th in the race, but I had the 2nd fastest lap time so that is where I would be gridded in the 125 race on Sunday. It was tons of fun, there were 27 bikes on the track, and several of my friends were in the same race.
Sunday morning came, and there was an excitement in the air, my first AFM/USGPRU race ever. I was excited because there were racers there that I hadn't ever raced before. It was raining when we got up, and AFM doesn't run in the rain. So I was hopping it would clear up quickly. The sky cleared and the track dried up, so everything was still on. We had a 4 lap practice and then the 250 qualifier. I qualified 2nd for the 250 class as well. The 125 race was up, and I got a bad start. I came out of turn one in ninth position, I worked my way up to 5th. I was working towards 4th, but I just ran out of laps. Then the 250 race came. My start was a little better, I came out of turn one in 5th position. I worked my way up to 1st place, and I opened the gap to finish 1st.
After the races we packed up and headed back to Bloomington to park the motor home until the next race weekend. Which was Wera @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I would like to welcome my new sponsors, Motul USA, and EBA racing and all of my existing sponsors for all their support.
