AFM 2013 Round 3, Thunderhill

Jun 022013
 

This was a rough weekend for so many reasons. First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to Dave Stanton and his family. We’re also hoping for quick recoveries for all our friends who sustained lesser injuries this weekend.

On Saturday, Miles spent most of the day working on his rear tire setup with the help of Jason at Dunlop. They got everything worked out by the end of the day, and tire wear looked perfect. Thanks, Jason! The first two races on Sunday were unremarkable, but the last race of the day was awesome. Miles was dicing with good friends Bill (#736) and Michael (#215) before a red flag interrupted their race. Miles finished with a 6th in 650 Production, 10th in 650 Twins and 14th in Formula IV. He even set a new personal best lap time of 2:04.361 this weekend!

Minimoto USA 2013 Round 2, Willow Springs

May 262013
 

This was the first weekend for Texas Devil Racing in the new toy hauler, and it sure helped weather the high winds during Evan’s first weekend at Willow Springs. Coming off of a rough Round 1 weekend, Evan began to get comfortable on the new bike, and with the new track. In Minimoto Junior Race 1, Evan got the holeshot from his 5th place qualifying position, but wasn’t able to hold on to the lead. Even with a lowside on the 3rd lap, he got right back on the bike and was able to finish in 6th position. Thanks to the lowside in the first race, Evan’s muffler was dangling off his bike all throughout Minimoto Junior Race 2, and it got in his head a bit. No crash, but he was a off his previous pace and finished in 6th. All in all, a good weekend, and lots of improvement on the new bike was made.

AFM 2013 Round 2, Sonoma

May 052013
 

After his crash at Buttonwillow last round, it took Miles a little while to get the bike set back up and himself back up to speed. After a lackluster day of practice, Miles found himself a second or two off his personal best times on race day. Getting thrown in with the experts was proving to be eye-opening, and Miles finished 17th in Formula IV, 13th in 650 Twins, and 8th in 650 Production. The good news is, he finished all his races, so that was an improvement over last round! Big thanks go out to to Grandma & Grandpa Parry for coming out to cheer Miles on—as nerve racking as it was!

Minimoto USA 2013 Round 1, Atwater

Apr 072013
 

This was another big weekend for Texas Devil Racing. It was Evan’s first Minimoto Jr race and his first race on his new GRC minimoto. The new bike also meant new mechanical challenges for Miles. He was dealing with engine flooding issues all morning, and it kept Evan off his new bike for the first two practice sessions. He went out on his Blata in the morning, and then switched over to the GRC once it was ready. Unfortunately, Miles forgot to remind Evan that the hydraulic brakes on his GRC are much more sensitive than the cable brakes on his Blata before he went out. His second lap into his first practice session on the GRC, he grabbed a handful of brake going into turn 1 and locked up the rear wheel. The back end slithered back and forth for about 10 feet before pitching him over the handlebars. It was a pretty hard crash, definitely his hardest so far, and Evan was pretty shaken up. Evan got back out on the track that afternoon, but it was obvious that his confidence had been shaken.

On Saturday, Evan gained a little more confidence during each practice session, but still wasn’t back to his old self. However, once the pressure of his qualifying session was on his shoulders, he made the greatest improvement he had made since the crash. He ended up qualifying on the second row all the way to the inside, which wasn’t a bad starting position for him.

Evan was excited for race day and his first Minimoto Jr race. His first race was underway before he knew it. Evan got a decent start and settled into fifth, keeping his qualifying position. He stayed in fifth place for the entire race, but dropped his lap times substantially. Minimoto Jr race 2 was much of the same with Evan starting and finishing in fifth place, and again slightly improving his lap times. It was a challenging weekend, but Evan is excited to rise to the occasion and loves his new Minimoto Jr bike. The whole team is looking forward to a great season!

AFM 2013 Round 1, Buttonwillow

Mar 032013
 

The first AFM race of the 2013 AFM season was a big event for Texas Devil Racing. Miles had his first race as an expert and raced for the first time at Buttonwillow (hooray for no rain this year!) Evan’s new Minimoto Jr. bike was also delivered to the Buttonwillow Kart Track by Midsouth Minimoto. That gave Evan the chance to feel out his new bike at his favorite track—and he liked it!

Miles practiced both Friday and Saturday to get up to speed on a new track and to get back into the swing of things after the off season. By Sunday he was ready to get his first expert race underway. Formula IV was his first race of the day, and it turned out to be an interesting one. He got a decent start and found himself in a group of 4 riders duking it out for position. A few laps in he saw a little puff of smoke from the exhaust of the bike in front of him. That puff turned into a steady mist of oil when the bike hit the front straight. Miles did his best to stay off line and avoid the oil as much as possible until the turn workers were able to get the rider’s attention and pull them off track almost a lap later. Then Miles found himself right behind his pit-mate, Bill. Bill was trying to find a way around the leader of the now three rider pack. On the final turn, he took a tight line trying to get around them. Miles was able to get a good drive out of the final corner and had just enough room to pass him on the outside just before the finish line.

The next race of the day was 650 Production—Miles was amped up and ready to go. He was gridded dead last, but got a pretty good start and pushed hard for position. He had gained two positions through turn 1 and was pushing it hard up the hill on the exit of turn 2 when the back end slipped out from under him. Before he knew it he was rolling on the ground and felt the comforting pressure of his inflated Safermoto vest. Once he got up and ran off track, he saw his bike sitting in the middle of the track, which necessitated a red flag so the turn workers could clear it. That was the end of the day for Miles—he was out of the 650 Production race and 650 Twins was only two races away, and he didn’t have time to get the bike back and through tech for it. Miles walked away from his crash unscathed, but not everyone was as lucky that day. Our hearts go out to the Anderson family—we will always remember Kenny “Iceman” Anderson, Forever #12.

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