Could be Another Brian-Ryan Shoot-out in USGPRU Final at VIR

By Bruce Wilkins
Breeze Editor

#473 Brian Kcraget

The United States Grand Prix Riders Union (USGPRU) national title is on the line this Sunday at VIR and dozens of the top GP125 riders in the country will converge upon the rolling hills of Southside Virginia for a season-ending battle. Riders will arrive from as far away as California and Texas, but ironically, the championship points leader will almost be racing in his own backyard.

Brian Kcraget of nearby Danville has amassed 125 points in the Eastern Region standings, 53 points ahead of second place rider Bill Cole with 72 points. The 125GP National Championship Final scheduled for Sunday will pit all the top riders in a 15-lap shootout. Kcraget races for the GP team of SpeedWerks and is sponsored by NESBA.com and Kneedraggers.com. Cole is also sponsored by Kneedraggers.com.

Also expected to be on hand for this double-point event will be Taylor Knapp who leads the Midwestern Region and Quentin Wilson who is ahead in the Western Region.

Kcraget has had a remarkable season of almost wall-to-wall victories, though he is still nursing a broken hand from a late-summer crash. But despite what appears to be an insurmountable lead, combined with his extensive knowledge of his home track, Kcraget is still downplaying his prospects of winning the national championship.

"Hey, this is racing, and you never know what's going to happen," Kcraget said. "There are some tough racers coming in this weekend from all over and with double points on the line, there's going to be a lot of action. I'm going to race hard as always, but also try to stay out of trouble. Not championship is a given."

Ryan Andrews

Among other GP125 riders expected to turn out is the 15-year-old sensation from Waco, Texas, Ryan Andrews. Though already a seasoned racer, Andrews put on quite a show at VIR earlier this summer when he placed third in a USGPRU event which was won by Kcraget. Most recently Kcraget and Andrews raced together at Texas World Speedway with Kcraget winning the race, but not before having some close racing with the up-and-coming Andrews.

"Ryan is quite a kid and one heck of a rider," Kcraget pointed out. "He's real smooth, he's got a lot of confidence, and he's definitely quick. I always look forward to racing with him."

Meanwhile, Mark Andrews and his son Ryan, are busy preparing two bikes that they will take to VIR for the match up. "We're bringing both the RS125 Aprilia and the Honda RS125R, but we haven't decided yet as to which one Ryan will race," Mark Andrews said. As owner of Euro Shop of Waco, which sells and services Ducatis, Triumphs, and Aprilia, Andrews and his son certainly don't lack expertise in the technical side of road racing.

"We'll see what's what in the practice session and it just all depends on a lot of things," he continued. "But the main thing is Ryan is so excited about coming back to VIR and being able to race against Brian Kcraget."

The tried-and-true veteran Kcraget racing against a probable up-and-coming star like Ryan is the epitome of virtually any cool racing storyline. In their battle at TWS, Ryan led for four laps, before Kcraget reeled the youth in, then diced with him before winning the race at the finish.

"Brian is a really nice guy and we plan to pit next to them (Speedwerks) at VIR," Andrews said. "They are such a great team and have so much talent. Ryan was a bit disappointed after losing the race to Brian here in Texas, but afterwards we talked about it and Ryan knows he's very lucky at this point in his career to be able to learn from such a rider as Brian."