From High School Honors to the Cathedral of Speed: My Journey to Assen & Beyond

After two long months away for Round 1 of the WorldSBK championship, there was no better feeling than touching down at home. The downtime with family was exactly what I needed to recharge, but I also had a massive milestone to take care of off the track: finishing my senior year of high school.

I took my final exam at a local high school right before we headed to the third round of the South Florida MiniGP sprint series. I’m incredibly proud to share that I finished on the honor roll! Getting my diploma means I am officially done with school for now, leaving me with a totally clean slate to focus 100% on my racing career.

With that huge weight off my shoulders, I headed to the SFL MiniGP paddock ready to celebrate the best way I know how—throwing my supermoto around. It had been a solid three months since I’d ridden it, and backing it into the corners felt amazing. The paddock atmosphere was awesome, catching up with familiar faces, taking pictures, and even having an Easter egg hunt on Saturday evening.

After that brief two-week break at home—filled with intense gym sessions, maintaining my cycling fitness, and spending a final week with my family, girlfriend, and grandma—it was time to pack my bags for Spain, and eventually, the Netherlands.

Preparing for a Dream: The Cathedral of Speed

I’ve been dreaming of racing at TT Circuit Assen since I was a little kid. Watching Rossi and Marquez battle it out there in 2015 is one of my all-time favorite racing memories. Knowing it's a complicated, flowy track, I wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Believe it or not, playing MotoGP video games for years gave me a solid foundation for the layout. But I needed real-world benchmarks, so I studied endless footage of the World Supersport 600 class. Since they ride the same bikes we do, watching their lines gave me a ton of reference points, which I mapped out extensively before the trip.

After a quick training session on the little bikes at Vendrell with Riders Formation, Dani Valle and I headed to the Netherlands. It was my first time there, and the bicycle culture is incredible—everyone rides! We took a train, picked up a pretty funny-looking rental car, and headed to stay with Jess Cromwell, a massive motorcycle racing fan. (Massive thank you to Jess for hosting us—you’re a legend!)

The Assen Weekend: Highs, Lows, and Learning Pains

Rolling into the track with the team and Dani Valle, the atmosphere was electric. The whole town lives and breathes racing. We did our track walk, verified my mapped-out reference points, and went to bed ready for Free Practice 1.

Free Practice & Superpole:

FP1 was a great start. I acclimated quickly, finishing P17 and only 1.6 seconds off the top pace. Because Assen is so flat compared to Portimão and lacks heavy braking zones, we noted a few setup changes needed before Superpole.

Going into qualifying, my data analyst laid out a specific plan: seven laps, then pit. Unfortunately, we stayed out a bit too long in the first session and missed our window to catch the fast group in the second part. I ended up qualifying P23. It wasn't what we wanted, but these are crucial learning pains. I’m glad we are learning these lessons now rather than later in the season.

Race 1: Chaos on Lap 1

We made a setup change for Saturday morning's warm-up that worked beautifully. I finished P3 with a fantastic feeling on the bike. I knew I had the pace to hang with the front group; I just had to survive starting from so far back.

When the lights went out, I was hyper-aggressive. I made up five positions by Sector 1. But exiting Sector 2, a Triumph rider right ahead of me suffered a massive highside. To avoid the massive pileup, I had to take evasive action straight into the gravel trap.

My race was effectively over right there. I expected a red flag, but it never came, so I was stuck turning laps by myself without a draft to pull me along. I finished P26, but I improved my times every lap and kept figuring out the bike. Most importantly, I walked away unhurt and avoided the crash.

The Energy of the WSBK Paddock Show

Beyond the racing itself, one of the absolute highlights of the Assen weekend had to be the WSBK Paddock Show. The energy from the crowd was just unreal! Getting to step out there, meet the fans face-to-face, and share this incredible experience with them is a feeling I’ll never take for granted. Just like I did back at the Portugal round, I brought out a special soccer jersey to hand out to the crowd—a new tradition I’m officially keeping alive for every single round moving forward. Spending time signing autographs, seeing everyone's excitement, and feeling that massive wave of support halfway across the world reminds me exactly why I do this.

Race 2: The Best of the Rest

Sunday morning warm-up was solid again, finishing P12. We noticed we were lacking a bit of top-end speed on the straights compared to the Triumph and other manufacturers, but there wasn't much we could do but put our heads down and fight.

I got another clean start, but without a slipstream to the front pack, I got stuck fighting in the "best of the rest" group. I crossed the line in P16. Just missing out on my first World Championship point...

Looking Ahead: Hungry for Most

All in all, Assen was an incredible learning experience. I proved to myself that I have the race pace to run with the front group—I just need to figure out the qualifying strategy, which is a completely different ball game at this level. No excuses. We take the lessons, and we move forward.

Back in USA: Train, Learn and Repeat

Because of visa requirements, I flew back home for three weeks. I hopped straight back on the bicycle to train and headed to Gainesville for Round 4 of the SFL MiniGP sprint series. It was fantastic to be back on the supermoto and put in some coaching hours. Giving back to the community where I got my start always keeps me grounded.

Then Big Bro SDK finally had time for me...so we decided to head up to MotoAnatomy for some flat track training. Always a great workout when him and I get to battle on any motorcycle. 

While home, I got to meet up with my sponsor MBO for an epic 80mile ride from Miami to Palm Beach. Making it that much better I got to do it with my best friend Avery Dreher. 

Now, all eyes are on Autodrom Most. I fly back to Europe on May 9th to start a four-week stint before the summer break, tackling three rounds of the World Championship. It’s time to put everything we've learned together and start putting results on the board.

Thank you all so much for the endless support. I feel it every single weekend, and I can't wait to make you guys proud out there.

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