2021 Amateur Season with PanAmerican Superbike

The PanAmerican Superbike (a.k.a FMRRA) kicks off their season in December and runs through June. I turned 12 on October of 2020 so I was able to finally race in their championship for the 2021 season. My SFLMINIGP buddy Avery Dreher had already spent a season or two racing with them so we had help with the logistics thanks to Aaron Dreher and John Ludwig. 

My team and I showed up for round 1 not knowing what to expect. We knew Yandel Medina and BellaDonna had been racing their GP Chassis bikes already for a couple of years as well so we knew we had work to do in order to start pushing them and taking wins. At the end of the day our mindset was never to go out there and set the world on fire. We had much bigger plans of racing abroad but could use this for seat time and progression to get ready for it. Ultimately we knew we needed to be so much faster in order to be able to compete abroad and that was the mindset. Find pace and continue to find pace and push to new levels. 

We started the season racing the Moriwaki MD250H in the Moto3 class and the Production Twins Class. Yandel, Belladonna and I would battle in the Moto3 class and then I would spin laps chasing the twins as well and most of the season went that way. About 3 or 4 races in I started to win Moto3 races and challenging for podiums in the twins class as well. The hard work from not just my training but my teams understanding of the machine was starting to show. 

We had no data and no one to show us what we were doing right or wrong. We studied and through trial and error started to figure out the machine. The more comfortable I got on the machine, the faster and faster I went. Eventually breaking lap records in the Amateur Moto3 class at Palm Beach International Raceway, Homestead Speedway and Roebling Road (https://panamsbk.com/racers/julian-correa/)

As we were getting closer to leaving for the wild card rounds of the British Talent Cup, we knew we needed to get on a NSF250r cause that is what I would be riding. Although the Mori is very equal in many ways....in other ways it is truly lacking. Mainly in the motor and suspension department. The chassis and frame are about the same. During one of the races we met a gentleman by the name of Charles "Chaz" Flanigan and he had a beautiful specimen of an NSF. Tim and my dad thought we could possibly convince Chaz to loan or rent us the bike to get some seat time on it prior to our departure. Well, Chaz had a different idea!

Chaz was struggling with the bike as he is a bit tall and the bike is truly not very big. So he decided to sell us the motorcycle instead of trying to loan it out. My dad sold a bunch of items along with my 400 in order to get the cash together to make sure we added this bike to our team. Fortunate enough for me, they did just that and now I was going to get on a proper Moto3 motorcycle.

I got to ride the NSF in the last round of the series at homestead and the transition was completely effortless. I literally had a rocket ship under my legs and I already knew how to race it. I gave Chaz my 1st place trophy for that weekend as truly without him allowing us to purchase the bike, I wouldn't of had any seat time prior to leaving for England for my wild card rides. 

Overall my first full amateur racing season went extremely well. We progressed a ton from the first race to the last one. We hit all of our milestones as a rider and as a team. Tim and Buch never let me down as the machines were always running at their best. The PanAmSBK staff was amazing and I made sure to say thank you to them as well for keeping us safe and providing a place for us to race. 

I do have to do one particular shoutout to a racer in this paddock. I had an absolute blast racing and being pushed by Paul Vance on his Ducati in the Twins Class. He was a true professional and I never felt in danger swapping positions with him. By the end of the season he was pushing me to new limits and I the same in return to him. Thanks for being a LEGEND Paul Vance!

Coming from racing SFLMINIGP for so many years, we never really noticed how much of an effort goes into racing. My parents are always working the events so however my bikes arrived to a race, that is how I rode them. After this initial year of racing, I am so thankful to have an amazing team behind me and believe in me to fulfill my dream. Starting with Tim and Buch, they spend so many hours of their own personal time working on the bike and being present at the events. Mike Torres working with me on my mental and physical conditioning to be able to handle this sport. Sponsors like Dunlop for giving me the best tires in the paddock to feel confident and put the bike where I want it to go. HJC and DRC Race Leathers for keeping me safe and looking great as well. In the background but always there no matter what is TST Industries and Stump Racing kids. It truly is a herculean family effort and none of it would be possible without the sacrifices of my parents. 

I finished the 2021 season as the Amateur Moto3 Champion and the runner up in the Production Twins class. I learned so much and this season was instrumental in my success with my wild card rides in the BTC (that is for another blog)