Two Weeks, Two Tracks, Countless Lessons: CotA & Barber Kick Off the 2025 Season

The 2025 season came in fast and heavy—two major race weekends back-to-back, kicking off with the MotoGP support race at Circuit of the Americas (CotA), followed by Round 1 of MotoAmerica at Barber Motorsports Park.

Let’s just say we were thrown into the deep end… and we swam.

CotA: In the Shadow of MotoGP

You can look at Friday’s weather one of two ways.

On the plus side, rain gave us a chance to ease into the massive CotA circuit at lower speeds. On the downside, it meant a slick track with limited grip and no real chance to push the limits. Either way, it was surreal to be out there in front of the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 teams. Big names. Big energy.

Practice & Qualifying

Friday morning practice was tense. New bikes, new gear, new championship, and a whole lot of unknowns. What would the gearing need to be? What suspension setup would work? Who was going to be fast?

Despite the nerves, I ended up 6th in Practice 1. The gaps were big between riders, so I knew I’d need to find another gear before Qualifying.

Qualifying 1 was dry, finally letting us push. I landed in 5th, less than a second off DiMario—the guy everyone’s been chasing. By the end of Qualifying 2 on Saturday, I was still holding 6th on the grid for Race 1. We didn’t make many changes—gearing was pretty close from the start, and our Cresson-tested soft suspension felt great.

That’s a BIG hill…

Race 1: Trouble in the Tank

We tried tweaking the gearing for more top-end speed, but something felt off. Every time I got on the gas, the bike bogged. No drive. Watching other riders blow past me on the back straight was frustrating. I ended up finishing 11th, and we knew something was seriously wrong.

Saturday night, my dad and Rueben tore into the bike. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that they found the culprit—clogged fuel pump and filter, full of black debris. The Kramer crew stopped by, took one look, and said, “Yeah… that’s not supposed to look like that.” They hooked us up with a new filter and pump, and confidence was back on the rise.

We didn’t have a warmup to test Race 2 setup, so we reverted to the qualifying gearing. It was a safe call, and I knew I could be fast on it.

My cousin came out to be my umbrella man

Race 2: Redemption and a Battle Royale

Race 2 was a whole different story. I got off the line strong and slotted into 3rd behind DiMario and Bodie. Game on.

Then came Turn 3. I ran wide, lost time, and rejoined in 5th. It was a quiet few laps—until Derek Sanchez showed up and we started duking it out. We were so focused on each other that it allowed Kody Kopp, Ella Dreher, and Rossi Garcia to catch us.

Final lap, I went full defense mode—held the inside, braked deep, but lost grip on exit. The rear slid, and Ella, Derek, and Kody all came by before the line. I finished 8th.

Frustrating? Sure. But it was a heck of a race and we learned a ton.

Barber: New Round, Fresh Start

No rest for the weary. One week later, we rolled into Barber Motorsports Park for MotoAmerica Round 1.

We had a strong start—good gearing out of the gate, and I finished Practice 1 in 4th. By Q1, I shaved nearly a full second off my time and finished 5th. In Q2, we tried a different gear setup and I dropped another 0.4s, finishing 3rd in the session. On combined times, I lined up 5th—middle of row two with a clean shot into Turn 1.

We were starting to lean heavily into data at Barber. Everything we learned at CotA helped us make smarter decisions here. They weren’t easier, but they had more logic behind them.

Race 1: Close Combat

Race 1 was likely going to be our only dry race of the weekend. We adjusted the gearing for more punch out of the corners—and it worked. I dropped another 0.4s during the race.

I ran in 4th for most of it, locked in battle with Ella Dreher and Julian Correa. I was faster into corners, they pulled out harder. Classic match-up. On the last corner, Ella snuck past me and I crossed the line in 5th—just 0.315s behind her.

It was a good fight, and I was fired up for Sunday.

Race 2: Slippery When Soaring

Rain rolled in just as expected. Everything was delayed and reshuffled—we didn’t even know if we’d race until around noon.

During our quick acclimation session, I felt great. Right up until Turn 6… when I highsided to the moon. Miraculously, I was okay—and so was the Kramer. Tough bike.

The windscreen was toast, though. No time to fix it, so I went out for Race 2 with it broken.

I got a clean launch and was battling with Sam, Derek, and Ella the whole time. But the missing windscreen hurt more than expected—every time I popped out of the draft, the wind would hit like a wall. I couldn’t make the passes stick.

Still, I brought it home in 7th. Salvage mode complete.

What’s Next: Road America

Two race weekends back-to-back. Rain, battles, breakdowns, comebacks—welcome to racing.

These first rounds tested all of us. We’ve still got a long way to go, but the growth from CotA to Barber was massive. I’m proud of the team, grateful to our sponsors, and more motivated than ever.

Next stop: Road America at the end of May. Let’s keep climbing.

Want to keep up with the journey?

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