Three Championships in the MRA Series

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The FOOTHILLS TRIUMPH Daytona 675 piloted by Brad Hendry (#616) had an excellent race weekend in the ultra fast Motorcycles Racing Association (MRA) during their closing weekend on October 12, 2008 at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain Colorado. With this weekend’s three podium finishes the Daytona 675 clinched an awesome three series Championshipsfor 2008.

For the overall 2008 MRA season, the Triumph America sponsored Daytona 675 competed in the Middleweight Superbike, Heavyweight Superbike and the feature Race of the Rockies GTU series in all 9 race meetings. In these 27 appearances the Daytona 675 took 21 first positions, 2 seconds and 1 third securing all three overall championships for this excellent machine. The Daytona 675 also broke a total of 7 track records with 3 at the Pueblo Colorado track, 2 at the Hastings Nebraska track and 2 at the PPIR at Fountain Colorado.

With the 3 Championship #1 plates now secure, the Triumph Daytona 675 clearly established that it can compete with the fastest 600cc machines in the country. “This Foothills Triumph race prepared Daytona 675 showed its capabilities this season. The top contenders were pretty equal on horsepower but the real difference was in the corners where the superior torque delivery of the Daytona 675 coupled with the excellent tire grip of the Dunlop NTec tires gave me the advantage to beat some really fast riders and gain those championships.” said pilot Brad Hendry. “I was very comfortable on this amazing race bike which is a very easy machine to ride. Sort of like I just had to twist the throttle and point the machine and there we were leading the race. A special thanks to my mechanic, Kevin McGuire who prepared a great machine and especially to all my sponsors too. When you are beating long standing lap record times, your parts are really tested, and I was comfortable on every lap with my great equipment and support. ”

In the feature Race of the Rockies GTU where 34 riders competed, the Triumph 675 competed against all the Japanese machines and took first place in 8 of the 9 races as well as achieving 3 track records at all the participating tracks which included breaking Shane Turpin’s long standing Pueblo record.

In the Middleweight Superbike series the Daytona 675 competed in a field of 41 competitors on 600cc Japanese and European machines. The Triumph America Daytona 675 took 5 first positions, 2 seconds and 1 third in the 9 race series and achieved 2 track records for this event. “We really did nothing special in the preparation of this great machine” said Chief Mechanic Kevin McGuire. “We simply used the standard race part kits provided by Triumph America and the engine came together tremendously and, with good maintenance, performed very reliably. The suspension was all Ohlins prepared and performed very well.”

In the Heavyweight Superbike series the Daytona 675 competed in a field of 33 competitors on 750cc and 600cc Japanese machines. The Daytona 675 took the #1 podium in 8 of the 9 race series, did not compete in 1 event and achieved 2 track records for this event.

Achieving 3 championships in all 3 classes competed in, the Triumph Daytona 675 clearly established that it is one of the best 600cc class machines in the country. “This Foothills Triumph race prepared Daytona 675 certainly showed it is very, very competitive” said team Manager Michael Hendry. “We definitely intend to be on the tracks next year and expect to be way more competitive now that we have one season of experience under our belt. Congratulations to Brad and Kevin who made this great achievement happen” 

Brad HENDRY (#616) is sponsored on his Triumph Daytona 675 by Triumph Motorcycles America, Foothills Triumph Motorcycles, Dunlop Tires, Wheelworks, Bel-Ray Oils, Alpinestars, Suomy, Woodcraft, Ferodo, and SharkSkinz.

For more information, results, and photos, visit www.bradhendry.com