Ryan Tekavec has a novice road racing license – but his performance at the WERA Motorcycle Roadracing Grand National Finals may mean he’s not a novice for much longer. The Garfield Heights, Ohio, resident won five of the six races he contested at the Oct. 20-23 event – as well as cliched two AMA National No. 1 plates – and was one of six northeast Ohioans who took part in the 50th edition of WERA’s annual invitational race weekend.

Racing took place on Barber Motorsports Park’s 2.38-mile road course, which is located in Birmingham, Ala. The event also served as host of the American Motorcyclist Association’s Road Race Grand Championship – the nation’s official amateur national road racing championship.

The other northeast Ohioas who competed at the WERA GNFs include Scott C. Nelson of Medina, Roy Monk of Canton, Kyle Witherspoon of Litchfield, Greg Reisinger of Thompson and Randy Marder of Mantua.

Tekavec – who raced at WERA rounds in 2018 and 2019 before returning to racing this year – won the AMA C Superbike Novice and C Superstock Novice races, as well as the Sportsman/Vintage C Superbike Novice and National Challenge 600 Superbike Novice and 600 Superstock Novice classes. He also finished third in the Sportsman/Vintage C Superstock Novice race after starting from pole.

Tekavec rode a Yamaha in all six of his races, and his invitation to the GNFs was well-earned. He took part in six other WERA rounds earlier in 2022 and amassed 11 wins and five additional podium finishes in 20 races.

Nelson raced in the Sportsman/Vintage E Superstock Expert and Sportsman/Vintage F Superstock Expert classes, scoring eighth- and fifth-place finishes respectively. Among his sponsors is the Peninsula, Ohio, motorcycle shop, MPH Ohio. 

Monk finished 12th in the Sportsman/Vintage F Superstock Novice race after starting 10th. Witherspoon placed seventh in Sportsman/Vintage C Superbike Novice, 19th in Sportsman/Vintage C Superstock Novice and 13th in National Challenge 600 Superbike Novice

Reisinger competed in MotoAmerica Twins Cup at Virginia International Raceway at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in 2022. At the GNFs, he finished runner-up in the Sportsman/Vintage V7 Heavyweight race aboard a Yamaha, 12th in AMA Lightweight Twins Superbike Expert and fifth in National Challenge Heavyweight Twins Superbike Expert.

Marder finished second in the Sportsman/Vintage Formula 1 Novice and Senior Superbike Heavyweight Novice races, as well as fifth in National Challenge Open Superstock Novice on a Yamaha YZF-R1.