GT PARTICIPANTS:


Randy Stumpfhauser:

AA Pro - R.O.C.: 7th
AA Pro - Grands: DNQ

Even though Randy wrapped up the NBL National Title a couple of months ago, and wasn’t in the hunt for the ABA Title, he came to Tulsa ready to show the rest of the AA class that he’s still “the man” in BMX.  He was one of the fastest riders in practice and seemed to have the track down pat.  He killed it in the motos, the quarter final and the semi final.  Next up was the main event where he and teammates Mike Day and Joey Bradford were all there representing GT.  Unfortunately for Stumpy, he got a late start and had to fight just to stay on the track and finish in the seventh spot.  At the Grands event, he had THE WORST THREE MOTOS in a row of his 2008 season.  When all was said and done, he didn’t qualify for the quarter final and was left to cheer on his teammates from the side lines, hand out GT stickers and sign tons of autographs for the fans all around the arena.  It’s been our pleasure and our honor to have Randy on the GT BMX Race Team for the last five seasons.  We wish him all the best in 2009.  



Mike Day:

AA Pro - R.O.C.: 5th
AA Pro - Grands: 2nd

The 2008 Olympic silver medalist had a really good weekend here at the ABA Grands.  As is always the case, he was the best rider in practice and had the track completely wired.  He was getting good gate starts and had good pull down the first straight.  The most impressive thing was when he got behind any other riders, it was only a matter of time before he would pass them.  It brought the crowd to their feet nearly every lap.  He was hot at the Grands race and looked like a solid bet to take it all in AA.  Going into the third round of the mains, Mike was only two points out of first.  After the huge pro section, he was in third and needed to get to first in order to take the overall for the day.  He got by David Herman (Intense) down the third straight and had his sights set on Kalin Young (Haro).  As they raced down the last straight, the entire crown was on it’s feet as Mike nearly made the pass at the line.  It was a good run and an impressive performance for Day, as he finished the weekend with second overall.  Nice Job Mike!



Joey Bradford:

AA Pro - R.O.C.: 2nd
AA Pro - Grands: DNQ

Joey is really riding well lately and surely looks to be on top of the heap in AA Pro very soon.  He was no doubt THE FASTEST guy through the huge pro section this weekend and was looking to get the first AA pro win of his career.  At the Race of Champions on Friday, JB was straight up on fire and was seriously looking for the win.  In the final, he grabbed the early lead out of the gate, but bobbled at the first jump and dropped back to second.  Through the third straight rhythm section, Joey had the smooth move put on him by current ABA < pro, Danny Caluag (Intense) and found himself in third.  Not to worry, as it didn’t last long.  Even quicker than he got passed, Joey put the move back on Danny and passed him before the finish to end the race in the number two spot.  Way to go Joey!



Eric Rupe:

Vet Pro – R.O.C.: 8th
Pro Cruiser – R.O.C.: 6th    
          
Vet Pro - Grands:  5th (semi)
Pro Cruiser - Grands  DNQ


Big Daddy was looking the best he has in almost a full year since his face breaking crash last January.  He did pretty well on Friday at the Race of Champions event as he made the Vet Pro main.  That main didn’t go so well, but just being IN the main these days is a pretty good accomplishment.  During the Grand Nationals, he won one of the motos and got cheer from the crowd as he crossed the finish line for doing so.  It’s nice to see that the spectators appreciate and respect what it takes to win at the Vet Pro level, especially at age 45. Eric finished fifth in his semi final, but actually turned in his best lap time of the weekend in the process.  Back in January the doctors told Eric that it could be up to a year for him to feel 100% normal again after the crash he had and it looks as if that time is right about here.  Look for Big Daddy to be back to full speed real soon.  



Jill Kintner:

Olympic Bronze Medalist ABA Bonus Recipient:


Jill was on hand this weekend at the ABA Grands in Tulsa to receive a bonus check from the ABA for winning the Bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in August.  She recently had knee surgery, so she wasn’t able to race, but it was good to see her out at the races anyway.  The ABA honored Jill with a nice size bonus check and even had her do a few autograph sessions for the fans.  All in all, she was well received by the crown, as they honored her and celebrated her accomplishment in China.  Way to go Jill !!

 
The GT team sponsors include: Kenda, Shimano, Sun Rims, Fly Racing, OGIO, SDG, RSP Products and Champion System.