OMRRA 2016 Round 1 Day 1

Would you believe that a fan of MotoGP like myself has been amiss in actually ever going to local club level racing? I know, horrible. You can stop reading if its that bad to you. This year I fortunately had the time to make it to the premiere of the OMRRA series at Portland International Raceway. After struggling through the congested I-5 traffic I arrived at the home of my people, camera in hand.

OMRRA runs a pretty standard club structure where almost any bike that meets safety requirements can race in some class. Like other clubs they also run multiple classes in a given race, based on expected lap times and such. You might see a vintage two stroke bike racing in the same grid as a Ninja 250.
Like this:

The first race, a Novice race, ended in a red flag unfortunately but the rider was able to mostly walk away. The following races were a smattering of different classes while I wandered from grandstand to grandstand practicing my racetrack photography.

I snapped and snapped and snapped and managed to get some good pictures of overtakes and very fast bikes.

The Formula Ultra race was exciting but also reminded me of MotoGP. The Formula Ultra bikes are the fastest, most expensive, and loudest of the bikes on the OMRRA grid. It reminded me of MotoGP because one particular rider took the lead and blew everyone else away.

^This guy mopped the floor.

The Formula 4 grid was possibly the most uneven grid due to its wide variety of bikes. Formula 4 encompasses Cripple Triples (4 cyl 600CC bikes with one cylinder disabled so that its a 450cc), 650 Twins, and the odd air cooled open class super mono.

Following Formula 4 came a 600CC SuperSport race that included some of the bikes I'd seen in earlier grids. OMRRA allows you to race bikes in disadvantaged classes.

Speaking of disadvantaged I must give a respectful shout out to this warrior on an old FZR600 racing in a class of modern 600cc bikes.

Next came a "new" class. Since the manufacturers have started releasing 300ish CC sport bikes the clubs have gotten to add new classes to allow these bikes to compete. The Ultralightweight SuperSport class includes Ninja 300s, RC390s, and R3s. Having test rode an R3, Ninja 300, and an RC390 I really expected the little KTM to do better in racing but they were firmly mid pack with a bunch of little Ninjas. As with other races there were some 250s racing in this grid as well.

All in I had a great time. I'll try to make an appearance at the next round, maybe with a press pass so I can get closer to the track for some better pictures. Its kinda funny, I ended up talking to quite a few people at the track and everyone was really nice, like old friends who I hadn't seen in a while. You meet the nicest people on a Honda.