April 2023...the Progress Continues
There is a decent gap between Round 1 and Round 2 for the British Talent Cup. The one aspect of this sport I truly enjoy is that there is always something to work on and get better. Each time you are on track its different and what made you go fast the previous time is not necessarily going to keep you fast the next time. We can elaborate more on that later on.
After round 1 I got to come home and head out to the MotoAmerica Round 1 being held at the track nearest to my home in Atlanta, GA. Let's be honest though....being in a paddock full of motorcycles, race fuel and fans without actually getting to race was tough. But I really enjoyed hanging out with my MiniGP friend and racers. I have grown up racing with all these guys and it was super cool to watch them ride in person and see how they go about their career. My buddy Avery Dreher went and pulled a double win along with Gus Rodio getting a double podium as well.
Last time I was in the MA paddock I was racing the Ohvale Mini Cup so it has been a really long time. It was super cool to be approached by some of the fans who follow me on social media. Getting to chat with Chris Ulrich, Roger Hayden, hanging out with Chris from HJC and being with my friends in that environment was really awesome. I had a great time and something we will continue to do as I am in town for their races.
I did some competitive riding in this month as well. Got to race a few different bikes and classes with SFLMiniGP. The one that I tend to favor a bit is the motard class. Its a bit of a gladiator class with some good battles and lots of passing. This one wasn't any different. Had a blast working through traffic and building that confidence on advancing through the grid. Each time I am the bike, any bike for that matter, I am trying to focus on one or two things at the most to get better at. All of it adds up to my performance in the BTC races which is my current main focus. Between the prep from Mike Torres, the data feedback from the team at the races and visual things I notice from pictures or videos; all helps provide areas to work on and continue to get better.
I also got to head out to JenningsGP this past weekend to get some more work done on the NSF. My crew chief Alan from Microlise along with my crew chief and head mechanic here Tim & Buch all teamed up to make sure I am as prepared as possible for the Donington round coming up shortly. We spent the weekend testing and tuning various items along with working on myself with different aspects as well. Mostly being more aggressive and assertive on the machine. By the end of the weekend we all got tons of clean laps in and lots of great data. I fixed a few items myself on my end I was struggling with too. It was a very positive weekend and we all came out exhausted but encouraged for the next round. Massive thank you to them for spending their time with me and helping me push forward.
I will end this blog with a first for me....I did my first podcast interview with Brits to Motogp. I was super nervous going into it, but as the conversation started to flow it was really easy to talk with him about the sport and our views on the races from the weekend too. We got into my career path and where it started as well. Super cool thing to do and glad I got to do it. Just click on the play button below and enjoy.
I am off to Donington Park next for Round 2. Stay tuned for that blog and hope to see you all at the track soon!