Triumphrat

Jonah · 03-14-2006

The weekend started at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC. It was a fantastic track some slight elevation changes compared to the Florida tracks I'm used to and some nice smooth sweeping turns. It flows really nicely. So my first pro race and the field was 12 similarly prepared Triumph Thruxtons in my class and maybe 10 other bikes that ran at the same time as us from another class. There was no qualifying and no lap times. The grid is set by when you registered for the race if you did not compete last season. That put me 11th of 12 in class. I finished 7th in class. I was psyched! Especially since two of the series regulars are former national champions.

Monday and Tuesday I raced at Daytona. It was f***ing amazing! It took a while but by the last race Tuesday I got up the nerve to run flat out on the banking. By the time I passed start/finish I was at redline in 5th. With no wind protection it felt like 180MPH. Sick! In the 2 races I placed 9th of 11 and 10th of 11 after starting 10th in class in both races. In the last race I was catching up to the 8th and 9th place guys in my class when I got caught up in lapped traffic from the other class and lost some time. Oh well, for my first real race I was very happy.

It was pretty amazing racing in front of a nice sized crowd and hearing your name over the PA system as you wait on the grid for the green to drop at Daytona. It was a feeling I can't put into words but suffice it to say it was a lifelong dream come true. It still gets my adrenaline going just thinking about it.

I have to thank AHRMA#120 for all the pointers he gave me over the course of the events. He really helped me out. Thanks Jeff.

Check the video my dad shot from the stands. I am #826. The beginning is the Tuesday race and then the end shows some shots of me on the banking during practice. It took a while until I had the nerve to run up towards the top but once I did it I actually felt more comfortable up there than down low.

It was an amazing experience that I highly recommend.

Daytona Video

Jonah

Ridge · 03-14-2006

Wow, Jonah! That is awesome! Must be a amazing feeling to be on the same track with Springsteen and Nixon. Congrats!

We're proud of ya! :upthumb:

joeswamp · 03-14-2006

Holy cow is that cool, what an experience that must have been...

Congratulations on doing as well as you did, these guys are supposed to be pretty competitive.

Tarmac · 03-15-2006

Nice ride!

cameracsc · 03-15-2006

What fun you must have had!
Congratulations!
JohnB

CYNCRZR · 03-15-2006

Jonah -

"Livin the dream" - congrats.

m_t_yeo · 03-15-2006

Thanks for the video, Jonah. I'm jealous as hell, but I'm glad you got to do it.

WANG · 03-15-2006

That's just too cool! Trackdays are fun and all, but actual combat has to be the ultimate. Major kudos to you for stepping into the fray! This is a very inspiring story, and thanks so much for sharing that video with everyone!

lenswerks · 03-15-2006

Nice job Jonah!
I looked for you on Monday, found your bike before the race, but you were no where to be found.
You looked real good out there.

cafetbird · 03-16-2006

Got some pics from Kershaw while doing corner work in turn 6. They are in our RAT pack album.