160 laps, 4 wins and 2 rostrums…Peter Lenz kicks the seasons off, on the gas
Mar 21, 2008, From a Press Release
10-year old motorcycle road racer Peter Lenz of team FNB Racing kicked off his 2008 season this past weekend in Stockton, CA. Peter raced in six classes on three different motorcycles, taking four wins, a second and a third.
Leaving their home in Vancouver, Washington late Friday evening Peter and his dad drove all night to travel the 700 miles arriving in Stockton for early Saturday afternoon practice. Not having ridden the track in a year, Peter set about re-familiarizing himself with the track, its new surface, new Dunlop tires, and his new ride, a Honda CRF150R powered RS125 (aka RSF150R). After 6 hours of hard practice time, Peter was able to play a bit on track with Red Bull MotoGP Academy rider, Cameron Beaubier before calling it a night.
“It was really nice to have Cameron spend time with Peter both on and off the track. He is a rider that Peter looks up to and it really meant a lot to him to be out there with Cameron,” commented Peter's father, Michael Lenz.
Sunday morning Peter jumped out of his sleeping bag put on his gear and headed out to practice. Final tire pressure changes where made and the heat races started. Peter had not ridden his Honda NSR50 since the last NMRRA race the previous fall, but he didn't appear to slow down much as he took pole in three of the four classes he rode the bike in. He put his 65 motard on pole in Formula Extreme and took a respectable 4th in the first heat aboard his Honda RSF150R. By this time Peter had already turned a hundred laps and it wasn't even lunchtime.
After a short lunch break the main events started. Peter had a nice exchange in the early going of the Formula 50 race with Craig Harper before taking the win. On his 65 Peter ran unchallenged in the Formula Extreme class as he led flag to flag. In the Expert Trophy Dash Peter came from the last row to catch and challenge ex-AMA Pro Racer Bryan Edginton before running out of laps.
In the Honda NSR Cup, Team 65's Josh Serne got out front early and held Peter off for the lead until midway in the race where Peter made his way around Josh and pulled out a gap to take the win. In Super 50, again it was Peter out front with Josh finishing in the number two spot. The last race of the day was the 80GP race, at which point Peter had turned 150 laps, and over 250 in the last 24 hours.
“The RS was fun to ride and going three wide into the tight right hander was fun. I didn't think three bikes would even fit, but when you lay on top of each other they do. I did what I could in the 80 race but the RS is a big bike, and the track is so tight it just wore me out,” explained Peter.
Peter ran out of steam on lap six of the main as reflected by his drop in laptimes. Bryan Edginton and 2008 AMA Red Bull Rookies Cup rider, Cameron Gish pulled out a five second lead leaving Peter in a respectable third.
This was also the first race with new sponsors: Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Motion Pro, RK Racing Chains, and Spider Grips. A big thank you to them for their belief in and support of Peter.
Peter is next scheduled to be on the track with the California Superbike School the last weekend of March. You can learn more about Peter and his supporters by visiting http://www.PeterLenz.com
Peter is sponsored by the following: California Superbike School, Arai Helmets, EDR Performance, Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals, Vortex, Performance Under Gear (PUG), Pro Caliber Motorsports, RK Racing Chains, Spiegler Brake Lines, MiniGPX.com, PMP, Miller Paint and Graphics, Motion Pro, Barnett Clutches, SBS Brake Pads, Spider Grips, Chicken Hawk Racing, All Things Drywall, and his mom and dad.
On-track photos courtesy and copyright Mike Doran / D+W Images http://www.dandwimages.com
