Monday, February 21, 2011

CMRA Visits MSR-Houston in Angleton for Round 1 for some great motorcycle racing.

The CMRA kicked off there weekend in Angleton, Texas this past weekend at MSR-Houston. This is only the second time CMRA has raced at MSRH and the first since July 4th weekend, 2008. Congrats to CMRA for stepping up and giving the members what they wanted and that was a race closer to the Houston member base. I don't have any stats or know anyone who would share that info with me anyway, but it appeared to be a success based off of the large grid sizes.

I didn't race, just went out to show some support to my sponsors and some of their other sponsored riders, as well as some really good friends. It was a bit strange seeing MSR hosting a race weekend, and people were spread all over. I still never found some people I was looking for.  LOL

I found myself missing some of the components that I have grown accustomed to at a race weekend like my bike, my girl, Ty Howard on Dunlops, Derek Wagnon chasing Ty on his 750, etc. it took me a second to recognize the riders in their new gear, new bikes, and new numbers. The racing was quick to grab my attention as I watched Carlos Lescale beat Derek Wagnon by 0.351.  Alonzo Contreras and Dustin Dominguez battled for third with Dustin narrowly edging Alonzo. I think both were on borrowed bikes.

C Superstock Novice was a good race to watch as Jose Silva beat a fash approaching Jason Hanning. The real difference in this race was Jason's 1:53 second out lap. The A Superstock Ex/Nov race was another awesome race because you had two waves of good racing action. Ty Howard ran the best time of the day 1:34xx but that was 2 seconds of his track record set in 2008. Another milestone in this race is Brandt Dillon getting the holeshot and leading Ty on lap 1, but he didn't have the pace to run with Tyhut he did beat Ricky Parker. In the Novice class Wil Zamora won his first ever race with his prov nov jersey on. Wil rode a crazy fast pace and both he and Jose Silva ran a 1:40.2xx Those guys were in a class of their own. In fact, Will won all three of his races.

Rookie Expert was the funnest class to watch in it's rookie year in 2010. The class of 2011 looks like it could be another race to keep you eye on. Eddie Thornton, Zeb Harris, and John Keene were top three most of the race with Thierry Bareille sneaking into third place on the last lap. Missing from the line up at MSRH was Derek Steptoe.

Brandt Dillon got 3 holeshots, and lead over Ty Howard for a brief time. It was impressive and Brandt wasn't that easy to pass. Now if he would get traction control and a few other trick parts he could keep the pace. lol

All in all, I was excited to be back at the track and see some friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I had some interesting conversations with Ty Howard, Brandon Spradling, Joe Prussiano and it was good to see everyone have a successful weekend.

I added a poll to vote on who you thought was the most impressive out there yesterday. I almost added Ty Howards name to the list also because he had to start from pitrow of one race after the Novice wave. he finished 6th and I thought that was pretty impressive because of the head start the other guys had.


Me asking Ty, "When you going to let me ride that KTM?

Dean Dufrene is a WERA National rider sponsored by Apex Road Racing, Track Junkie Racing. HPC Decals, Vortex, EBC Brakes, Dunlop

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Next Moto Champion-Could it be someone you know?

Every time I go to the track I am amazed at the youth and how fast they are. I was listening to a favorite radio station of mine and they were releasing the next moto champion for 2011 and giving away custom pilot leathers/boots and a 4 day pass to Collin Edwards' bootcamp.

I was surprised to hear Austin Gore (CMRA #69) was runner-up for the second year in a row for 150cc 4 stroke/85cc 2 stroke class. When it came down ot it, the reason Aaron didn't win it was because his competition also raced another organization against another talented rider that the company had been watching.

All of this talk made me think of a good friend and a very young and talented rider-Jose Silva. Jose is 17 and very fast. He was bumped to expert after his first year of racing but decided to protest and stay novice. While I respect his decision, I know Jose has aspirations to be much more than a club racer, and hope he choses not to stay novice for very long. He has the talent to move up to expert and get the much needed attention and face time so he can start to gain the sponsors needed to help him acheive his dreams of being 'thenextrossi'

He started his 2011 season by going to Las Vegas and racing with WERA West. Jose walked away with three victories-Mediumweight Solo, C Superstock and B Superstock. He intends to continue his success the weekend of February18-20 at The Mercedes Benz Course of Sugarland, better known as MSR-H in Angleton, Texas for the CMRA 2011 Season opener.

So here's to Jose and his awesome start to a young racing career where the sky is the limit! Go get em Jose!


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Round 1 WERA Southeast and Mid-Central at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway

The Southeast and Mid-Central regions started their season this past weekend. Weather was less than favorable with rain, sleet, and snow falling on Friday and Saturday causing the cancellation of the Friday trackday. Saturday's horrendous weather didn't stop WERA from putting on a show though. I have to commend WERA officials and all the corner workers for enduring the conditions so that we could play. By the time the Solo 20 events rolled around, the rain and snow had already passed, leaving a wet and cold track.

Dean Dufrene managed to get a few laps around Talladega before he gridded up. Dean appeared to have the holeshot but settled down into 4th place before the end of the first lap, which is where he would finish the race. "We felt if we could finish in the top 5 during the solo that we would have accomplished a great feat. With around 6 wet, and snowy laps to learn the track, we really couldn't ask for more. Tim Hunt, Aaron Ralph and Matt Ting-Ting were instrumental in me doing as well as I did. Tim worked so hard in the offseason to prep my bike and make sure I had a bike that could win. After this past weekend, I am confident I have that tool."

As Sunday's dawn approached, the team's hopes of decent weather were stymied by 25 degree temps and ice covered grounds. The team opted to skip the first morning's warm up and let the sun melt the ice away before getting on track. Race 3 was Dean's first race.

C Superbike Race 3
Dean was gridded on the fourth row. He got a decent start and was battling for third as the bikes entered the 90's for the first time. On the second lap there was a crash involving two riders one bike behind Dean. The race was red flagged due to the injured rider. The re-start seen Dean again get a good start and into third place entering turn 1. #171 stayed in third for a few laps. The lack of practice time caused Dean to make some mistakes which cost him 3 positions. The promising sign was Dean recorded his fastest laps in Laps 9 and 10 of 10. He finished 6th in this race.

C Superstock Race 14
From the fourth row Dean again settled behind the two leaders and was able to follow for two laps. The story of this race was Dean's weakest corner being the fastest corner on the track. Dean wouldn't give his position up without a fight. The battle for 5th was all Dean could manage and he almost pulled it off. On the last lap, Dean was attempting to pass in Farmer's corner, but outbroke himself and couldnt stop the bike and ran off. He still finished 6th and was able to keep his times respectable and more consistent.

This race weekend was a warmup for the WERA National in April. The team was able to gain some data and accumulate a few laps at Talladega. "I love racing WERA and hanging out with the team. Plus they are smoking fast so we can definately learn alot by being around them."

Tim Hunt continued his amazing streak and won 3 of 3 races. None of them were close as Tim and his KWS Motorsports GSXR 1000 was in command of each race from the very beginning. In two of those races teamate and friend Ben Kirby finished second. "Tim's bike was a rocket ship out there today. And what was even more impressive is he did it with one practice session all weekend."

Dean would like to thank the following people who are instrumental in the successful weekend:

Tim Hunt/Apex Roadracing
Larry Ray/Track Junkie Racing
Dunlop Tires
EBC Brakes
Vortex Racing
Team Privateer/LP Racing

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Dean Dufrene finishes fourth place in Mediumweight Solo at Talladega first time on a dry line.

The journey to Talladega started some 42 hours ago, and it was a tough one. The team got stuck on a bridge that was iced over for 5 hours. When the Louisiana police finally realized the weather wouldn't break they re-routed traffic, but the damage had been done and the team was some 7 hours behind schedule.

 The weather in Munford, Alabama was supposed be in the 40's with 10% chance of rain. When the team woke up they knew the weather guys had got it wrong. The only two practice sessions Dean it got was either raining or snowing. With the 20 lap solo races on the horizon but still in the 30's Dean seemed confident he could do well.

The race started with Dean getting the holeshot, although he couldn't keep it long. "The competition was tough, and I have to commend the three guys who finished ahead of me. Tomorrow is a different day, we have some laps in now and hopefully we can re-arrange the standings come race time."

Here are some pics of the journey up until now.



The bikes


From Left to Right: Dean Dufrene, Matt Ting-Ting, Aaron Ralph, Eric Buchanan, and Tim Hunt
Without Tim Hunt and Track Junkie Racing none of this would be possible

Matt Tingsanchali, Jamie Mullins, Dean Dufrene in their Track Junkie Racing Gear



[url=http://gofast-dontcrash.com]Dean Dufrene WERA #171[/url]

Thursday, February 3, 2011

600 Superbike Expert & Novice - Talladega 2010 -

This is what Talladega looks like. Thanks to Danielle and the motoconnect.tv crew for this video. I think I like the lay out of the track! I have saturday morning to learn the track and a 20 lap solo later that day to get me prepped for Sunday's 600 cc races.



600 Superbike Expert & Novice - Talladega 2010 -

[url=http://gofast-dontcrash.com]Dean Dufrene WERA #171[/url]

Mother Nature delivers a special visit to Dean's mom

Sometimes blessings can come in disguise. The trackday got cancelled so we had an extra day to rest and travel. My mom lives not far from Interstate 12 in Covington, La. so I called her up to ask about the weather and we decided we had time to make a visit and get a homecooked, hot breakfast that makes you think of growing up.


Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Mat Mladin-Inside the Champ

Mat Mladin, former AMA Superbike Champion is the focus today. Mat self-admittedly was not the most gifted rider, but he knew what it took mentally to stay on top of his competition. Sometimes being able to pysch out his competitors before the race even began.

"Talent doesn't mean a thing." That's a quote from 7 time AMA champion Mat Mladin as he talks about the difference between those 2 or 3 tenths of a second.  know I am not the most gifted rider, but I think the preparation and conversations I have had with Tim Hunt have aligned me with what Mat Mladin is saying in this video. Talladega is only two days away, and the preparation is just beginning.

Stay tuned for the exclusive unveiling of the bike at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway.

We have seen great success with the blog and website since we launched last week. I want to say thank you to all my fans, followers, sponsors and supporters. Without you we are nothing!



and yes the power outtages keep affecting our blog today so I kept it short and simple
be sure to watch the entire 14 part series of Mat Mladin behind the scenes at onthethrottle.tv

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

MotoGP Champion to use # 1 in 2011

Jorge Lorenzo announced yesterday that he has earned the right to wear the number 1 plate and will do so for 2011. He went on to state the Fiat Yamaha team was able to incorporate his initials JL (see pic below) into the number one plate. This marks the first time since 1983 that the defending MotoGP Champion will wear the number 1. He promised to also have the number 99 on his machine.

Click this link for more info




http://www.jorgelorenzo.com/
http://gofast-dontcrash.com/