A double header had Ricky signed up for six races. The 600 Supersport class was first up on Saturday. A great start had Ricky leading into turn one. He would hold the lead for the next few laps keeping second place at bay. Unfortunately an untimely red flag put a halt to the race. On the restart the Rocky Mountain Kawasaki ZX-6 did not get off the line as well and Ricky had to fight his way towards the front. Once clear of the pack, he still had to try and reel in the leader. Try as he might, he could not make any significant progress. At the flag Ricky would end up in second place.

Sunday brought three more races. Another 600 Supersport start did not turn out as pretty as possible. Ricky had locked into battle with another rider as the leader was pulling away. It took an aggressive pass to get by and with laps winding down, Ricky found himself in second place. Next up was Race of the Rockies. As the light went green, Ricky was trailing his teammate, Pedro, into the first turn. Two laps later, Ricky inherited the lead, as he watched Bravo low side in turn eight. Lap five he was passed down the straight dropping him to second. Lap six another rider powered by, putting Ricky into third, where he would finish.

600 Superbike, last race of the day saw lots of drama. With lots of bumping in the first few turns, Ricky slotted into second place. A rider had gone down leaving debris on the track, causing another rider to go down. A lap later he was relegated to third. The race would be anticlimactic from there with Ricky finishing third.

Monday's schedule had only the 600 Superbike class on the agenda. Another great start saw Ricky leading the pack for the first few laps. But as expected, horsepower played the spoiler, displacing him to third place again by the end of the race. Ironically all the races were run under dry conditions.

With results improving from last race, Ricky made the podium in every race this weekend, but the win has still eluded him.

A long lay off after Daytona had Ricky longing for some track time. The weather was less than ideal, with the riders battling high winds. Ricky's first race was 600 Supersport and with winning the class in 2007, he had pole position on the grid. A great start saw Ricky lead the pack into turn one. Lap three of the race Ricky was feeling the pressure of second place, hitting the long straight he was brutally horse powered by. Once by, Ricky could not even stay in the draft. A second place at the flag had Ricky on the box, but not in the top spot were he would like to be.

Sunday's program contained the 600 Superbike race. With no points, he did not run this class last year; back of the grid would be his starting position. A strong start had Ricky quickly moving toward the front. Slicing through the pack, he was up to fifth by lap three. He would gain one more spot by the checkered for a fourth place.

The last race of the day for Ricky was Race of the Rockies. Pole position was his again for the reigning class champion. A good start had Ricky following his teammate Pedro Bravo into turn one. Three laps into it, he was dropped to third after being passed down the long straightaway. Two laps later he would suffer the same fate, relegating Ricky to fourth place which would be his finishing position.

With new competition in his classes, it looks like Ricky will have to step up his game for this season.

With help from team sponsors like Hindle Exhaust, EBC Brakes, Dunlop Tires, Penski Shocks, Hot Bodies, GPR, 1 Tail.com and Woodcraft, it was a matter of Marvin putting the package together. A short test session before leaving proved that everything was working correctly.

First time on the Daytona banking showed Rosencrans' hard work had paid off. The bike was working great. As Ricky got up to speed, the week was progressing nicely.

Qualifying day saw Ricky best his 2007 lap times by over two seconds. At the end of the session, Ricky ended up on the thirteenth row.

The team's strategy was to forego the warm up lap for the sake of fuel economy, trying to make only two fuel stops.

Race day was cool and very windy, postponing the start by hours. When the light finally went green, Ricky's first lap on cold tires had him losing positions in every turn. Two laps into the race, he was running dead last.

As the laps wore on, Ricky continued to gain back spots. By the first fuel stop, he was into the top twenty. At the second fuel stop, Ricky was in seventeenth and in desperate need of a new rear Dunlop. With new rules in place, the rider has to dismount the bike with a dead engine which did slow the pit stops. Back on track Ricky was running in twenty-third. With a new rear tire his lap times improved and his charge continued.

Almost two hours after the light went green, the checkered flag was shown.

Ricky had climbed all the way into twenty-first position! With this finish Ricky moved into third on the all time mileage leaders list, only three hundred and ninety-eight miles from taking over the lead. Competing in the Daytona 200 is a huge undertaking and would not be possible without the help of the outstanding crew, Marvin Rosencrans, Pete Hokenstad, Mark Hoyt, Pete and Lucy Brandauer, Robin White, Pedro Bravo, Pat Lansu and a special thanks to Paul Frysig.

In the 600 superbike race Bravo was leading points, but with one other rider still in contention, Pedro was looking for a win. With a great start he opened up a five second gap. Unfortunately the race was red flagged. The restart looked the same, with Pedro jumping into the lead gaping the field for the win and the championship.

The 600 supersport race saw Ricky get a poor start. Having to get past five riders to take the lead, consumed five laps. With Ricky leading the field to the checker flag for the win, he also clinched the 600 supersport championship.

With three championships and a second place finish in Race of the Rockies, Team Rocky Mountain Kawasaki was clearly the team to beat in 2007.

With teammates, Ricky Orlando and Pedro Bravo, seeking championships in their respective classes, collecting maximum points was a priority.

In the 600 Superbike class, Bravo took advantage of his front row start and put his Dunlop shod Kawasaki ZX-6 into second place. As he stalked the leader, lap after lap, he made his pass count by taking the lead on the white flag lap, holding on for the win.

The Race of the Rockies saw Ricky and Pedro on the front row. A great start by both riders had them leading the field into turn one. On lap five Bravo got into a huge slide, with Orlando on his tail trying to avoid the pending crash. Somehow Pedro saved it, but Ricky had gotten by for the lead. Trying to put a gap on his teammate, Orlando was surprised when Bravo came back past going into turn one. This battle had the spectators on their feet, as this was easily the most exciting race of the day. As the white flag was waving, Orlando was all over Bravo looking for a way past. As both riders were in site of the checker flag, Bravo spun up his rear Dunlop exiting turn ten and Orlando stayed on the gas, beating Bravo to the line by a wheel for the win. With Ricky now leading points by one, the last race will determine the champion.

In the 600 supersport class, Orlando aboard his Dunlop shod Kawasaki ZX-6 got into turn one in five rider pack. Seeing the lead rider starting to disappear, Ricky put his head down making some aggressive passes to get to the front. Once past the lead rider he started to gap the field for another win.

Day two saw team Rocky Mountain Kawasaki on the podium again. Bravo jumped into the lead in 600 Superbike and took home another win putting him in the points lead.

On day two, The Race of the Rockies was not quite as exciting as day one. Orlando laid down a great start and put a rider between him and Bravo. Ricky held the gap over his teammate to the checker flag for another win with Pedro in the runner up spot.

600 Supersport saw Ricky rocket off the line getting into the first turn in second place. Quickly making a past for the lead, Ricky again gapped the field for a comfortable win.

With point's leads in all their classes, Rocky Mountain Kawasaki has established itself as the team to beat.

In the 600 Superbike class Pedro Bravo got a great start to slot into second place. Looking for a place to make a pass on the leader, he made a miscue running off the track allowing Bravo to take the lead and the win.

In the premier class, Race of the Rockies, Bravo and Orlando were on the second and third row. When the light went green, Pedro jumped into the lead. Ricky had to work his way to the front. With a late braking move into turn one he went by his team mate for the lead. At the checker flag Ricky had five seconds on Pedro who had six seconds on third place to make a mostly Rocky Mountain Kawasaki filled podium. The 600 Supersport class was the last of the day and most important with Kawasaki contingency money on the line. With clutch concerns, Ricky was easy on the start, but making it up going into turn one. Within four laps Orlando was in the lead. At the checker Orlando was happy for the win and the cash.

Just pass the halfway point of the season, Ricky leads the 600 Supersport class, and is second in the Race of the Rockies, While Pedro leads the Race of the Rockies and is fourth in 600 Superbike class.

Race of the Rockies GTU was called to grid. Pedro Bravo was on row one, Orlando was on row three. When the light went off, Pedro jumped into fourth, Ricky‘s start was not as pretty. Pedro moved into third, while Ricky was working his way from seventh to the front. Picking off one rider at a time, Ricky was turning some impressive lap times. Ricky continued to move to the front, getting past his teammate, then tracking down the leader. As he closed in, he realized his rear Dunlop could only take so much and Ricky put it on cruise hoping to salvage a podium finish. As the white flag was flying there was a collision in the last turn allowing Ricky to take the checker flag for the win with Bravo finishing third for a great Team Rocky Mountain Kawasaki podium finish.

In other races, Pedro ran in the 600 Superbike class, with a poor start he worked his way to a sixth place finish. Ricky got a great start in the 600 Supersport race, but could not hold on, eventually ending up with a nice second place.

After a short practice in the morning, it was late in the day before the race went off. On the start both riders realized that they were down on horsepower compared to most of the other teams. Ricky was running in twenty first spot while Pedro was in twenty ninth. As the laps wore down Ricky could not seem to get his head into the race. Running lap times slower than qualifying, he was struggling. Pedro did not seem to be faring any better. Just past the half way point Ricky ran off turn four, luckily with all the run off he was able to rejoin the race. Losing over ten spots, Ricky finally found his rhythm getting back to some respectable lap time. Unfortunately with only a few laps left Ricky finished in the same spot where he reentered, thirty-first. Pedro was just trying to get to the checker flag where he would finish in thirty-third position.

The first race on Sunday was Race of the Rockies GTU. Ricky got a great start putting him into second. As he was hanging onto the leader, ex Honda factory rider Mike Smith came by pushing Ricky back to third. Not wanting to let the leader get away, Ricky tried getting around the rider in front by running a wide line. Unfortunately the track was very dusty off line and he lost the front end into a gentle low side, ending his race. Ricky’s next race, 600 super sport, saw another great start. While running in second, he was staying on the lead rider. Like in the first race, Smith came past putting Ricky in third where he would finish.

Day two saw smaller grids due to the high attrition rate on Sunday. Race of the Rockies was first up. Starting back on the third row due to Sunday’s crash, Ricky was running in fourth place already trying to improve his position. When he got a meatball flag, Ricky could not believe it, knowing that he did not jump the start. With no recourse, he came into pit lane to serve his penalty. Back on track, Ricky put his head down passing ten riders to a seventh place finish. The 600 super sport race was a carbon copy of Sunday’s race with Ricky finishing third again.

Pedro Bravo’s weekend was also drama filled. On Sunday Pedro was not getting the starts he would like and was having to work his way back to the front. His first race, 600 super bike saw him battle through the field for a sixth place. In Race of the Rockies a bad start had him moving through the pack for another sixth place finish. Monday was a mixed bag, while trying to get into a podium position in 600 super bike, he lost the front end hitting the dirt ending his race. ROR was up next and a better start saw him attacking the lead riders. When the checkered flag was shown Bravo had a third place podium finish in hand.

Three podium finishes for the Rocky Mountain Kawasaki Team were the results for a hard weekend.

In the premier class, Race of the Rockies GTU, Ricky Orlando and Pedro Bravo, team mates, aboard Dunlop shod Kawasaki ZX6R’s were disputing second place for most of the race. On lap twelve Orlando got inside Bravo exiting turn one and made it stick. Making it a mostly RMK occupidied podium.

Orlando commented that after working together on preparing for the weekend, it was ironic to be battling with your team mate.

Jon Glaefke aboard a Kawasaki EX650 also spent his time on the box with a second place in Lightweight Gran Prix and Super Twins GTO. A third place in Super Twins GTU rounded out Glaefke weekend.

Orlando also worked his way up from a last row start to finish third in the Middleweight Supersport class.

Needless to say, there was a lot of midnight oil being burned. As the bodywork arrived, Pete of Fitz Graphics got right on painting it. Marvin started prepping the bike. With relatively no parts available, last years ZX10RR was robbed for whatever might fit. With winter weather conditions, Ricky could not even ride the bike for break in.

Once in Daytona, an early practice showed the bike was doing most everything right. Lange Hindle hand-carried an exhaust pipe down from Canada. With the new pipe and some dyno tuning, it picked up eight horsepower. The week continued with bike development.

Through practice Ricky was starting to get used to the new bike. He qualified in the first wave which showed the program was coming together.

When the light went green, a good start from the thirty-ninth position had Ricky up six spots. With fuel stops coming up, the Rocky Mountain Kawasaki crew was ready. In and out in sixteen seconds kept Ricky moving toward the front. As the race was in the closing laps, Ricky had climbed to a top fifteenth place. Unfortunately a third fuel stop had to be made. This dropped him to seventeenth place, where he would finish.

With limited time to set up the bike Ricky was happy to make the race, but frustrated riding the basically stock ZX6R.