Round 8 WERA Nelson Ledges

I just finished up the final round of the WERA North Central region. Saturday was the 20 lap Light Weight solo race. I had a great race setting my new personal best lap time and breaking into the 1:14's. I knew i had a good pace and was able to put my head down and chase down the leaders early on to take the win. Sunday i knew i already had enough points to win the championship,but i wanted to try and go out with a win. I pulled the holeshot rode hard and never looked back to take the win. The next race was the Formula 2 class. I was sitting second in points. I needed to win and have the points leader to finish fifth or back to win the championship.I knew with only eight laps it would be hard to catch up to the 650's off the start. My dad told me the only thing i could control is what i do and ride hard,have fun and see how it all works out. I passed the points leader and worked my way up to second place only to get passed back on the straight away. I went back and forth with the second place rider,but had to settle for third place. I ended up second overall in points for the Formula 2 class for the season. I some exciting things working for next season.Check back soon for the details.

Round 7 WERA Beaver Run PA

I had another great weekend at Beaver Run PA. Saturday was cold and windy with rain showers on and off. I went out for the the first practice and felt good. My lap times were the same as the last time i was there. On Saturday in the 20 lap race i finished 5th on my 125 behind four SV650's. I felt if i had the pace if i could of made some passes a little sooner i could of better my position. Sunday my main focus was the 125 class. I took 1st place and took over a full second off my personal best lap time.In the formula 2 class I had some good battles with the Sv 650's and finished 4th.

WERA ROUND 6 VIR CYCLE JAM RACE REPORT

We headed out Wednesday night and my dad drove straight through all night to get us there by practice Thursday morning. This trip we went with some friends Harrison and Paul. Harrison races in the E superstock class. This was my first time to Virgina Raceway. I knew as soon as i come in from the first practice that i was going to like this track. It has a real fast down hill section that you have to go right to left to right that is fun. I started passing others there right away and knew that was going to be my strong point of the track. Turn 3 was the hardest turn for me to get through. I talked to Mike Smith and he gave me some great pointers through the sections i was having the most trouble with. Mike is a great guy and always takes the time to talk to me and show me the fast lines. Saturday i ran the F2 class for track time and unfortunately there was a bad three bike crash that i had to go through the grass to miss. I want to take this time to wish Ian a speedy recovery and send my prayers to the Gette family. GODSPEED Mr. Rob Gette. This was a sad day for everyone at the track. I had to try and put that out of my mind for now and get ready for the 125 class. I had a great battle with my friend Grayson Gerloff we went back and forth the whole race,but in the end Grayson won and I took a very close second. Sunday i felt good in practice and felt i had a good shot winning this time. I was the first 125 off the line but Grayson and Jasper were ridding 250 four strokes and pulled a big holeshot. I ran down Jasper and closed up the gap to Grayson by lap 2. Going into the down hill section i made the pass on Grayson and with 2 laps to go built up a 6 bike lead. All the sudden my exhaust starts to get very loud, the baffle,end cap and packing all come out. Grayson got bye me and i did everything i could to try and catch him but had to take second at the line by 0.014 of a second. Again i would like to thank JESUS for watching over me. Mike Smith for his help,GMD COMPUTRACK, and DUNLOP TIRES.

WERA round 5 with AMA National Championship at Mid Ohio

We showed up Monday and it was raining. We waited for the rain to stop and i went out to start practice. I was really slow in the first day of practice. The track still felt slick to me.We went over and talked to G.M.D. on Tuesday and they started making some changes to the suspension on my bike to help get it set up for me. I started getting faster each time I went out and it started to feel good after qualifying. I set the fastest lap in qualifying earning pole position for both races. In the Formula GP HW class I felt like I had the speed in the corners but i was not able to keep up on the straights with the 250 rider. I pushed hard but had to settle for second. In the Formula GP LW class i was ready to go. I pulled a pretty good lead over the second place rider with only a few laps to go. My pit board said i had a big gap and i knew that i had the race won if i didn't fall down but i still wanted to break my personal best lap time,so i keep my head down and pushed hard. I turned my fastest time on lap seven of the eight lap race. I got the race win but i was not able to break my personal lap record. All in all it was a great race week. I would like to thank Chad Taylor for bringing us Subway to eat. My family and friends for coming out to watch. Dave Cook for letting us use the dyno to tune my bike,G.M.D. for working with my suspension,Jeff Wolfe for running the pit board. Also a big thanks to Bill and Glen for lending me the parts to fix my bike.

WERA July 4th Round 4 at Grattan Raceway

I had another tuff weekend at Grattan. This was my second time to race this track. I was able to get my lap times down to a 1:32 that's three seconds faster from the last time i was here. I finished 4th in the 125 class and 7th in the Formula 2 class. I am not happy with these results but i did improve on my lap times.I just need more time on this track to get faster. I am still in 1st place in points in the 125 class and 3rd in points in the Formula 2 class. Now on to Mid Ohio next week to race at my home track.

WERA Round 3 at Beaver Run,PA June 19th and 20th

Saturday was a 20 lap endurance race. We made a few gear changes in practice and found a good base line set up. There was 17 riders in this class ranging from 125cc to 650cc. My 125 will not get off the line like a 650 will ,so i tried to get up to speed and run down the leaders.With four laps to go it started to pour down rain. I was running slick tires ,so i just tried to keep the bike up right and finish the race. I ended up 7th. I was just happy to finish. Sunday we changed gearing trying to lower the lap times,but didn't seem to help so we ended up going back to where we started. The 125 race was a battle the whole race. I got the hole shot but the #9 bike was all over me the whole race. On the last lap going into turn 1 he passed me on the brakes.I got him back going into the last corner i ran it in harder and got a good drive up the inside to beat him to the flag for the win.Formula 2 race was another good battle with the #9 bike. We were fighting for a top ten finish with the 650's. This time he passed me going into the last corner with a rider in front of us.I got the better drive out of the corner and got by them both to take 8th in the race.I would like to thank Jen for hanging out in guy world all weekend with us.

Grattan MI WERA Round 2 Race Report

This was a very hard track to try and learn in one weekend. This track has lots of blind corners with elevation changes and different camber corners. I went off the track a few times over the weekend ,but managed to keep the bike upright. We had to change gearing a few times to try and keep the R.P.M's where i could get off the corner better. Saturday in the Light Weight solo race my bike was cutting out, so i pulled in and we found the quick disconnect in the fuel line was bad. My dad bypassed it and sent me back out being down a few laps but i used that race for track time to try and get faster. Sunday in the Formula 2 race i was able to bring my lap times down some more and ended up 6th place. In the 125 race i got a good start but was not able to hold that position for long. I continued to get faster every lap but had to settle for 4th place. I improved a lot over the two days,but still have a long way to go to be up front at that track. I look forward to going back in July to continue to improve on my lap times.

WERA Round 2 at Grattan Raceway this weekend

We are heading to Grattan MI this weekend for round 2 of the North Central road race series. I have not been to this track before,so I will have to learn the track quickly. I will be racing a 20 lap race on Saturday in the light weight class. On Sunday i will be racing the 8 lap sprint races in the 125 and the Formula 2 races. It looks like a dry weekend so that will help to learn the track. I will have a full race report after this weekend.

WERA May 2nd Nelson Ledges race report

Sunday morning its raining and its time for practice. Thanks to Chad Taylor for hooking me up with a new set of rain tires. So i felt pretty good with my new tires in the first practice,so it was time to try and step it up in the second practice. Well i found my limits when i sent my bike air born up and over the tire wall coming out of the carousel. I was fine but my bike took a beating. Jeff Wolfe and my dad worked hard to get it back together (Duck tape and zip ties) so it was ready for me to race. So the rain stopped and the track dried out. I had a good battle in the 125 class and when it was all said and done i come out on top with the win. Next up was the Formula 2 race with the 650's. I got a bad start but was able to work my way up to the 3rd spot and battled back and forth with the power of the Sv 650. On the last lap we were coming up on lapped traffic and come together in the carousel. I was able to keep the bike up, but had to settle for 4th in this race. All in all it was a good weekend. I would like to give a big thanks to Chad Taylor for my rain tires, Jeff Wolfe and my Dad for all your hard work in the pits, and Chuck Shorie for a new helmet.

WERA May 1st Nelson Ledges race report

Saturday turned out to be a mostly dry race for me in the Light weight 20 lap race. Well my start was not good enough to hang with the SV650 twins,so i had my work cut out for me. I worked my way up to 3rd from dead last off the line. So with three laps to go a squirrel ran across the track and sure enough i drilled it. If that was not enough i am racing on slicks and here come the rain drops with just a few laps to go. I also learned a hard lesson with the flags this weekend. When the rain started falling the corner workers put out the red/yellow flag so i pulled in with only one lap to go thinking it meant the race was over. Well i was wrong red/yellow together just means there is something on the track like rain, oil or dead squirrel. So i took a DNF with less then a lap to go running in third place.Lesson learned.

Round one this weekend at Nelson Ledges May 1st &2nd

Well it looks like rain this weekend. Big thanks goes out to Chad Taylor for getting me a set of Dunlop rain tires.I need to learn to get up to speed in the rain and i think these tires are going to help me do that. This will be the first time out this season. We didn't end up going to the last race when the weather was calling for 30 degrees with rain and snow.I will give a full race report after this weekend.

Looking forward to the first race this weekend

I will be racing the Twin Superbike class as a expert this Sunday April 18 at Nelson Ledges in Garretsville,OH. I will also enter the Lightweight Endurance race as well. This will be the first race of the season. The Endurance race will be a great way to get up to speed and shake off the winter cobwebs for the season.