MAY 20, 2012 - KELSEY FASTEST IN CMRA ACTION AT HALLETT 

RPSRaceTeam.com sponsored Danny Kelsey took full advantage of his DP Brakes, GP Suspension, Dynojet, Penske Racing Shocks, Michelin Cup equipped, and RPS tuned GSXR-750 to post the fastest lap of the day (1:16.7) en route to a big win in the B Superstock race during the CMRA sprint race championship series race at the 11 turn Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. He backed up the win with three 2^nd place finishes during round #4 of CMRA competition.

Kelsey who is fighting to retain the CMRA #1 plate has been working hard to regain his championship form after suffering a broken leg in November 2011 and a second corrective surgery in January 2012 to have a screw holding the rod in his leg removed to stop an aggravation to his ligaments. Despite this the Georgetown, Texas rider has been consistently winning in 2012, but with the competition in the CMRA Kelsey found himself 32 points out of the points lead entering the weekend.

Danny would have to beat Ty Howard, Dustin Dominguez, and Derek Wagnon head to head to start the climb back up to the top of the championship standings. With Hallett being Dominguez’s home track, the weekend definitely presented challenges for Kelsey and the team.

As Friday practice took place, the team and Kelsey tested some prototype components. With setup numbers from last year available in which Kelsey was comfortably in the 1:16 range from last year. As the team completed testing in the early rounds of practice, the RPSRaceTeam.com GSXR-750 was refitted with its standard components. The team was a bit disappointed though as Kelsey was still about a second and half off the expected pace running a practice pace of low 1:18’s. The team realized that the addition of some new ripple bumps and the lower track temperature were the reason. Observing the other competitors, Kelsey and his team still felt confident entering Sunday’s sprint races.

Kelsey’s first opportunity to start his points’ pursuit was in the B Superstock class. Danny dropped the hammer on the Michelin shod GSXR-750 and lead off the line initially, but missed a shift and found himself in 4^th place as he entered turn one. By lap three, Kelsey moved back up to 2^nd place. Dustin Dominguez took advantage of the situation and had put himself over 2 seconds in front. Kelsey then began to close the gap on lap 4 and 5. Although it would be a tall order, Kelsey felt he could make a run for the win. On lap 6 red flags were shown and the race was called complete. It was a disappointing start to the race day, but Kelsey and the team still had 3 races to show their mettle.

Danny was really frustrated after the race as several of his competitors 600’s were faster on the straights than his 750. The purchase of 5 gallons of MR-12 was hoped to remedy the poor throttle response of the pump gas that the team normally uses. (NOTE: Normally the team runs 93 octane “pump gas”, but was only able to find 91 in Oklahoma).

The next race for Kelsey and the team was A Superstock and at the drop of the green flag, he lead through turn one. Ty Howard quickly motored by Kelsey as they entered turn 2. Danny worked hard, but Howard worked just as hard, and posted a 1:16.9 lap to set the pace. In the end, Howard took the win by over 2 seconds.

Although the MR-12 definitely “woke up” the teams’ Suzuki, it also added some handling issues with the crisp acceleration. RPSRaceTeam.com team manager Marcus McBain observed the suspension on the GSXR-750 and felt some critical changes to the GP Suspension Cartridges and Penske shock would allow Kelsey to up his performance. With Danny facing Dustin Dominguez again in the next race (B Superbike), Kelsey would need everything to be right to defeat the accomplished Oklahoma rider and AMA competitor.

As the flag dropped on the B Superbike race, Dominquez showed his talent and quickly took the point and a 1+ second lead. Kelsey was not deterred and posted a 1:16.7 on the second lap to start closing the gap. By lap three Kelsey and Dominguez were shadowing each other as they began to swap the lead each lap. On lap 5, Dominquez moved inside Kelsey in the turn affectionately known as “the bitch”. Kelsey immediately countered and made an impossible pass in the final turn to start lap six and the two veteran CMRA riders continued a high speed chess game while splitting lappers. On the final lap of this “steel cage death match” race, Kelsey held the tight line in the turns to hold off Dominquez and was able to take the win by .5 seconds and post the fastest lap of the day.

The final race of the day was another rematch of Kelsey and Howard. The differentiating factor was the rain that had come down and provided for a quickly drying track for two Texas riders to battle on. Howard however snookered the field as 60 seconds before the field left for the warm up lap, he had a DOT rear mounted to take advantage of the drying conditions. Kelsey realized that at the drop of the green flag, his Michelin rain tires would probably be a detriment as track dried. Despite this, the DP Brakes sponsored rider put the RPSRaceTeam.com GSXR-750 into the lead and lead the first two laps. On lap three, Howard who had been shadowing Kelsey the first two laps pulled by to take the lead and then run away from Kelsey who was doing everything possible to hold on to 2^nd place on a track that was for the most part completely dry by lap 4. At the checkers, Kelsey finished 2^nd and relieved to have the race completed as the tires were disintegrated by the end of the race.

Danny Kelsey reflected on the weekend, “I had hoped to post more wins, but I realize that the competition level of the CMRA and the classes I race…every win is a dogfight. I am thankful that we had DP Brakes and the Michelin Tires for the B Superbike race. The only way I was going to win that race was on the brakes and through the turns. The Michelin Cup tires, GP Suspension Cartridges, Penske Shock, RPS suspension tuning and DP Brakes were flawless”

The weekend for the CMRA did provide several red flags and the RPSRaceTeam.com team want to extend their wishes for a speedy recovery for Brandon Cleland who has emerged as both a top CMRA rider as well as one of the classiest competitors.

RPSRaceTeam.com and Danny Kelsey are sponsored by KMC Controls, Komodo, Lone Star Track Days, GP Suspension, Dynojet, DP Brakes, LP Racing, Hotbodies, Arata, Penske, Vortex, Michelin, and Island Racing Services.    

Associated Media from the weekend: