2024 Preseason - Part 1
Since my last blog, I've been super busy getting my 2024 preseason into action. I must admit it has gotten to a remarkable start. I will get to the events I have attended further down. The most impactful has been the program the Coach Michael Torres has implemented this year for me. Understanding that I have gotten taller, we have incorporated more strength and power cardio training along with nutritional changes to make sure I am the best prepared for my Championship run this season. I know I have mentioned it before, but if you want to step your game up, The Protocol program from Coach Torres is a must have.
Sean came home from Spain and we wasted no time getting together and training. Spent a handful of days riding and pushing each other in the dirt. Although I have gotten better, training with him always shows me new areas to work on and improve. Especially in a technique I don't know to well as of yet. Riding in the dirt is something I enjoy, is a great workout and when you are banging bars with your coach it is really fun.
No better way to start 2024 off then at an Sflminigp race on the supermoto. A ton of fast guys came out including big bro SDK and it’s always a blast sharing the track with him and learning from him. Definitely the closest I've ever been to him so I feel really good about the weekend, even sharing the podium with him and Ashton. I hadn’t been to an event since October so it was really nice seeing all the familiar faces in the paddock and just overall enjoying the weekend. Got to watch little bro in the adult classes for the first time and I don’t really like to give him props but he rode brilliantly and I’m very excited to see how his season shapes up.
Mr. Bob Spitz ran an event over at JenningsGP and invited me out to help with some coaching and I got some quality time on the 600. It was a bit wet in the afternoon and I didn’t have any wets so pops and I decided to go out on slicks. I thoroughly enjoyed the sliding the 600 around in the wet and gained some pretty good experience. Thank you again to Mr. Spitz for having me out, can’t wait for the next one!
From Jennings we headed down to Bushnell for the weekend to ride some supermoto. Big Bro came out to have some fun as well, we worked on some key things and had some sideways action as well. Again, riding with Sean just opens my training to another level. Being able to have someone with his talent and precision is such a blessing for my program. Beyond the fact of our relationship off the track, on the track it is a battle, learning session and new limit session all at once.
The next weekend we headed down to homestead for N2 Track days. N2 has been supporting my program for a while now and they are THE best trackway organization out there. Always controlled and organized and I always feel safe and comfortable when I'm on track. CJR Performance came out to test and tune with us and we made some massive steps throughout the weekend. Cameron and his father are awesome and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. We ended up dropping 1.8 seconds off my time from the ASRA races and I just continued to get more and more comfortable on the 600.
Then we were back to Jennings for the Ceperano Classic, an endurance race for the smaller displacement bikes. Avery, Ella, and I teamed up on the 400 for the races under Bad Boys Racing. We went 2 for 3 in the races after unfortunately the motor blew on lap 5 of the first 3 hr. We didn’t exactly get the overall but I think we put on a good show. Each time we were going out, we would tell each other the lap times we were aiming for. We all came back from each of our sessions meeting or beating our expectations. Pushing each other was a blast. Really enjoyed riding a 400 and teaming up with them. Watching John Ludwig swap tires each time we came in was super impressive. We ran take offs the entire weekend and event went over to the Dunlop vendor and took some of his used rubber from the trash pile and raced on those as well. Big thanks to the Aaron and John for having me out, had an absolute blast! You can read the Road Racing World Article here: https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/rising-stars-shine-in-ceparano-endurance-classic-at-jennings-gp/
This past weekend we were down at Homestead for start of the PanamSBK season. It’s been a year since I've been to a race so it was super cool to see everyone there. I got the race my CBR 600 and I got the opportunity to test/race the Top Pro Motorsports RS660. On the 600 we had a full wet race, a mixed condition race, and 2 full dry races so we got quite of bit new experiences this weekend. Massive thank you to CJR Performance and DBP Squad for all the amazing work this weekend! We dropped another half second on my time! On the 660 I had 2 races on it and won both, breaking the lap record by almost 2 seconds and I've never even touched a 660 in my life. Huge thank you to Alex Wonka & Agustin Sierra for the opportunity, I enjoyed every second of being on the bike. Good luck this year to you guys in MotoAmerica!
I know some of you have been wondering and asking why so much time is being spent on the 600 vs getting seat time on my NSF. The bike needed to be rebuilt after 2 years of putting time in on it. She was getting tired and we didn't want to risk any major damage to her. Having a purposely built bike from HRC requires certain maintenance and you can imagine how expensive it is to do it. Fortunately we have the 600 so we can keep training and pushing while we add all that extra 300hp and massive 1000cc to my NSF. She will be track ready in the next couple of months and we can get back to racing with her as well.
This month we also launched my 40 FAN CLUB. I am super excited for this program as it will help cover my flight costs for the year. We still have room for more participants. Once we get to 40 fans though...you will need to wait til next year. I appreciate all of you that have signed up for it, and if you haven't done so yet you can sign up here: https://jujuracing.com/collections/fundraisers/products/40-fan-club
I feel everything falling into place and I can’t wait for the start of the season. I feel so prepared and I so grateful for everybody behind the scenes for all the hard work & commitments. I've got a couple more exciting things coming up before the season starts, but I'm coming for that title!