My first professional contract and Team
The year is 2020 and my team and I are preparing for the MotoAmerica Ohvale Mini Cup. This would be the championship where my team (David Buchman and Tim Cassese) were either going to decide to go the long haul or say nope we can't do this sorry guys. The series was designed to have everyone on the same platforms (Ohvale GP-0) and the motors were sealed. No worries on needing to build a motor or spend tons of money....just work on yourself and have a good team behind you. I already had the Ohvale 190cc which I was racing that year thanks to Rise Moto and I was starting to get really comfortable on it as well.
The first round was in June and one day in March I get a call from Brandon Cretu followed by a call from Sean Dylan Kelly. They both said, stay close to the phone cause something really big is coming your way and yes it is for real. Then my dad gets a call from the team owner of American Racing (Eitan Butbul). They spoke for what felt like hours over all kinds of things. Next thing we knew, there was a contract in our emails regarding being offered a spot on the American Racing Academy Mini Cup Team.
We reached out to Mike Torres to help us review and understand what we were getting into as this was our first time seeing one of these. After his review, he said it was a solid contract and he also jumped on board to say he wanted in on the training aspects of it to make sure we took full advantage of the opportunity. WE SIGNED THE CONTRACT AND I WAS AN OFFICIAL PRO RIDER AT THE AGE OF 11!
I started to train at a different level now. Everything was a bit more serious and the training sessions became more impactful. Mike Torres spent more time reviewing what we did, how we did it and helping understand the impact of what we were doing. SDK started to train with me as well and help push me to higher limits. Everything changes; how I ate, slept, my attitude towards goals and milestones. It wasn't anymore just ride the motorcycle but now...DIRECT and PUSH the motorcycle to do what I wanted it to do. It was really hard transition but man once I started to get the hang of it I enjoyed every second of it.
All of that hard work was going to come into play when round 1 came in June at Road America. I felt really confident like I was the one to beat. Everyone had to come for me and that was my mindset. I was having fun seeing all the kids I would see on social media and finally got the chance to see how I stacked up. I was so ready. Tim and Buch were studying the info and making tweaks to make sure the bike was 100% for the main event. Race time came and although I didn't take 1st place, I had put my stamp on all the unbelievers. I came in second place to Rossi Moor. Who was a much larger and more advanced rider than me at the time. Being able to get on the podium for my first professional national race was a huge confidence booster for me and I soaked it all in.
All of that attention was massive for me. Never had I ever been approached by so many people and I have to admit it went to my head. My confidence and ego were through the roof. That wasn't very good when it started to get closer to Round 2. I felt like no one could help me any further. I felt like I knew it all and really almost torched a relationship with Roger Hayden who was working with the team and prepping us for the next round. I was messing around and just goofing off instead of focusing on the task at hand. Boy was that going to be a problem.
I had an absolute melt down at the second round in PA. I couldn't figure out the track, I was performing horribly and the weight of the entire success from round 1 was on top of me and I could not breathe. Mike T, SDK, my parents, My mechanics all tried to get me out of my shell and nothing worked. Qualifying came and I choked as well...it was just all bad. Eventually Eitan noticed what was happening and just had a one on one with me. Basically told me to calm down, that nothing was going to happen to my spot for having a bad event. I just needed to relax and go out and have some fun. I finally relaxed enough to enjoy the event and finished just outside the podium. I vouched to never let myself or my team go through that experience again. Mike Torres has been instrumental in that since that day!
Round 3 was all the way across the country in Washington State. I worked really hard in between the events and was entering it with a much better mindset for sure. I was running strong within the top 5 and just working to keep up with the leaders. Race time came and bad luck struck again. I got a bad start and was stuck in 5th...pushing harder than I should have I made a mistake and high sided the bike. Talk about losing absolute control of all my emotions. I was a total mess and thankfully by myself sitting on the tire wall waiting to be rescued.
BUT.....God had other plans. Red Flag came out and I found this new energy and drive I had never felt before. I grabbed my bike and ran it over to my dad. Clips ons were bent but I just wanted him to make it run again. My dad grabbed me and I was like...just turn it on please. So he bent the clip on back and got the bike running. I just made the pit road before the flag and was able to rejoin in the back of the back. Now I had to battle through 18 riders. All I saw was cones in my way. I had a great launch and started gaining places one at a time. By the time the race was over I managed to finish in 5th place and end the season with a 4th overall behind my team mates Travis and Kayla.
This first professional season was a huge stepping stone for my mental capacity and how to control that aspect of racing. I had never been in those high pressure situations and going from extreme highs to extreme lows in just 3 races. But I am so glad I did it with the support of my family, my team (Tim Cassese & David Buchman), Mike T and SDK. Without them who knows how I would of handled it and if I would of wanted to race any further.
After this season...our contract with American Racing had expired. During that time of resigning we had received some amazing news about racing abroad and unfortunately we couldn't come to terms so no resigning for 2021. But I can not thank Eitan enough for the amazing experience and opportunity. Truly and education worth a million dollars and I am also glad I got all of that out of the way early in a not so critical time of my career.
