AFM 2014 Round 7, Thunderhill

Oct 052014
 

The final AFM round for 2014 was at Thunderhill raceway on a beautiful early-October weekend. Miles felt good on Saturday—this was the only Thunderhill round this year he wasn’t struggling with his suspension now that the steering stem was fixed. Miles had a great day and had fun hanging out with his friends that he wouldn’t be seeing for a few months.

Sunday morning racing was underway before he knew it and his first race, 650 Twins, was a great one. Miles had another great back-and-forth battle with Leon, and was able to just eek out ahead of him for 8th place. Formula 4 was up next, and a previous pile-up in 600 Production made it interesting. There was a stripe of oil sweep all the way across the track in turn 14, leaving only a few feet of clean pavement near the apex. Miles was diligent to hit that spot every lap and finished the race without event in 9th place. The big race of the day for Miles and his final of the year was 650 Production. Leon would be in this racing vying for the podium, as well. Miles got a great start and settled into third place by turn 3. He put his head down and was able to pull a small gap on Leon, so he was never able to try for a pass. Miles finished his season off with a 3rd place finish in his final race AND in the 650 Production championship! Thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters for a great season!

Minimoto USA 2014 Round 8, Atwater

Sep 282014
 

Evan cut his teeth roadracing at Atwater, but hadn’t been there in over a year and a half. He was able to get into the groove and was rippin’ it by the afternoon, but had a nasty off coming down the hill through the esses. He was a little tentative to get back on track, but with the help of his buddy Troy, he was pushing it again in no time.

Evan needed to finish in 9th place in Minimoto Junior Race 1 to clench the championship, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to go for the win! Evan got the holeshot and led the first half of the race, but Errol (#39) got around Evan when he got balked in traffic. Evan stayed on Errol’s back wheel, but was never able to set up the pass. Nonetheless, Evan’s second place finish clenched the championship. Congratulations Evan!

Evan got another great start in Minimoto Junior Race 2 and jumped out front, but had to do it all over again after the race was stopped after another rider crashed. Evan quickly got out in front again and led the entire race, taking home the win and finishing the weekend with a clench of both the Minimoto Junior championship and the Junior Overall championship!

Minimoto USA 2014 Round 7, Stockton

Sep 072014
 

Evan had been to Stockton quite a few times to practice, but had never run the track clockwise until this weekend. He picked up the lines pretty quickly, but everyone was having a little trouble with traction since the lines running that direction were green. Things improved as more rubber got laid down, though.

Evan had the biggest crowd he’s ever had cheering for him during his first race on Sunday. He really appreciates the support and wanted to do his best for everyone there. In his first race he got a good start and got through turn 1 with the lead, but Errol was on his back tire the entire race. Evan never faltered, hitting his marks and putting down his fastest laps of the weekend. It was enough to hold Errol off, but just barely. It was a very exciting win for his fans!

In his second race, Evan didn’t get quite as good of a start and Errol got out ahead of him. Evan kept right on him and about half way through saw an opportunity for a pass. Thinking Errol would go around a lapped rider on the outside, Evan dove in for an inside pass, planning to put the lapped rider between them and ultimately get around both of them. Unfortunately for Evan, Errol also dove for the inside and Evan had to hit the brakes hard, which completely killed his drive out of the corner. That gave Errol about a second and after catching some lapped traffic at inopportune times, Evan had to settle for second place.

AFM 2014 Round 6, Sonoma

Aug 312014
 

Miles was still having trouble getting the bike set up right during practice, and he brought it over to Catalyst Reaction for some help. Jim was able to finally get to the root of the suspension problem Miles had been dealing with the last few rounds—a loose steering stem. Tightening that up made a world of difference!

Miles got a decent start in 650 Twins and had a good time dicing at the beginning of the race. He crossed the line in 11th and was feeling much more comfortable on the bike. Thanks to Sydney locking herself in the RV bathroom, Miles missed his warmup lap for his Formula 4 race, which slowed him down a little on the first lap. He finished 11th, but didn’t have the pace he had in the morning. In 650 Production, Miles found himself in third place through turn 2, which is where he finished after an uneventful race.

AFM 2014 Round 5, Thunderhill

Aug 102014
 

Third round in a row at Thunderhill, and Miles was still having some suspension issues. Some adjustments at Catalyst Reaction had helped, but the jittering was still there. Even so, Miles was feeling a lot better about the front end and was excited for race day.

Miles had a weird start in 650 Twins, ending up next to a rider that had mechanical issues in turn 1. Miles checked up a little to give the rider room, which put him back a bit. Miles had a decent ride and finished 8th. Formula 4 was another odd race. A crash on the warm up lap (right in front of Miles) created a black flag before the race had even begun. Miles was having a good race when he began to feel some pain in a sensitive area. His tank pad was coming loose and flapping violently in the wind down the straightaways. Unfortunately, that is an area his leathers don’t protect particularly well. The last bit of adhesive on the pad eventually let go and Miles had some relief, but by the end of the race, he was feeling quite nauseous! Even with all the distraction he was able to turn out an 12th place finish. Miles didn’t get a great start in 650 Production, but was able to take home a 2nd place. Unfortunately, it was mainly due to attrition of a rider in front of him—still his best expert finish!

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