4
USCRA
Ran both the EX250 and RS125, didn't win any championships this year. Did get to race against (and get lapped by) Ken Condon! Had some great battles with Jeff Vader on the 125.
LRRS
Started the season off strong with a bunch of podiums at the wet April event. Kept the lead in Amateur 125GP and LW Sportsman all season.
Jonathan Leung, #250 on a Moriwaki 250 chased me all season and gradually ate away at my lead so by last round, I was only ahead by 5 points. That means the championship was up for grabs on Saturday. During wet practice, we turned comparable laps on our rain tires, so still unclear who was going to win this. Green flag for the 125 race and Jonathan gets the hole shot as he usually does on that 4 stroke of his and I fall into 3rd behind Joe Ufnal, #512. We complete a lap nose to tail without changing position then Joe misses a beat going up 4, I almost eat his exhaust but manage to slip by him and set my sights on Jonathan. I quickly get up to Jonathan and wait for an opportunity. Many opportunities show up in the form of slower guys riding in survival mode on a wet track while Jonathan and I are in "screw the rain I gotta win this" mode. I use Jonathan's slight hesitation to pass to slip by him in places I usually don't pass, such as inside of 7 or inside of 10.
Last lap and I find myself in the lead after swapping positions multiple time. We catch up to Chris Priori who's taking it easy in the corners. I follow him down into 10, but can't get enough speed to safely get by in 11, should I try to stuff him into 12? 3 possible outcomes: it works, we crash, or I try, back off and loose my lead. I err on the side of safety and decide not to stuff him and hope for a great drive out of 12 after following him through there. I do get a decent drive and head for the finish line. I can see it approaching and I'm still in the lead! As I cross, Jonathan's wheel pops into view on my left and it looks like he got me by about 6 inches. Timing confirms it, he beat me by 0.023 seconds and took the win and championship away from me. What an awesome way to end the 125 season. If I'm going to loose a championship, that's how I want it to happen, as a fierce fight to the finish! Congrats Jonathan on the win and championship. I expect a rematch next year!
Before the 125 race, I did go out in GTL and finished 4th and ending up 3rd in the Amateur GTL championship.
I'm usually a back of the pack guy in LWGP, but still managed to finish 4th in the Amateur LWGP championship.
In Amateur ULSB, Josh "Kurlon" Coombs took the lead early in the season, but ended his season early with a little oops, giving me the championship. I'll take it, but it's not how I want to earn it. Chris Dove showed up a bit late to the party and try to take it away but fell a bit short.
Speaking of Dové, he also tried to chase me down in LW Sportsman and beat me in every race he ran. I think the fable of the tortoise and the hare applies here. My consistency, despite being a bit slow, allowed me to hang on to the lead and take home a second championship!
Finally, I became eligible for Formula 40 Lights in June so ran it the rest of the season. The one difference in this race is that it's at the same time as big bikes, so I got to experience being passed by even faster bikes! I kept telling myself that they are all 40 and over so they are wise enough to avoid me! Had some good battles especially with Alan Perry and finished the season 2nd in the Amateur Formula 40 Lights championship.
Summary
Amateur Championships:
GTL: 3rd
125GP 2nd (missing 1st by 0.023 seconds!)
LWGP: 4th
ULSB: 1st
LW Sportsman: 1st
Formula 40 Lights: 2nd
Thanks
A big thank you to everyone who helped along the way. I'm not going to try to list them as I'll forget some.
I do want to especially thank Jeff Vader. He helped a lot with wrenching on my bike making sure I made it out for all my races, and when there wasn't enough time to get my bike going, he let me use his bike without hesitation more than once this season. He made me feel like I was Jake's brother in the garage.
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Originally Posted by mzdagrl
99 + 02 SV650 ex-race - 91 FJ1200 street - 03 KDX220R woods - 12 WR450F motard/ice
