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Welcome to the home of Professional Motorcycle racer Jake Latimer
RECENT NEWS:
Sturgis,South Dakota 6-19-10
Saturday night Shorttrack
We arrived at the track as the gates opened to find the track crew working hard for the nights racing. With over 25 mini sprints running in conjunction with the program, I was looking forward to the track conditions as they usually lay a real nice groove.
I was a little disappointed in the track after the practice sessions as it was a little rougher then usual. I made a few changes to the motorcycle and it made a big difference.
I had 4th pic on the line after having a terrible heat race. The light went green and I timed in perfectly. Grabbed the holeshot and my bike was working perfect. I was nailing my marks every lap...untill the 11th lap when I stuck my foot in a hole and almost lowsided. I gathered it up but was passed in the process. A last lap effort going into turn 3 was all I had to do, but came up just 1/2 bike length short. All in all it was a good race and am glad I made the trek down to South Dakota.
Decatur,Illinois race report 6-10-10
Thursday night 1/2 mile All Star Series
Well I loaded up White lightning (the van) and headed out West for a Thursday 1/2 mile in Decatur, Illinois as part of the Seve Nace All Star Series. I was looking forward to the trip because we could also race Saturday night in Wilmot,Wisconsin as well as Peoria TT on Sunday.
We arrived at the track as the gates opened and got ready for action. Oddly there was a small turnout of Pro-Singles riders for this event. With only 12 total riders entered, everyone made the main event.
The 1st practice session I went out on 2008 Yamaha. I found it very hard to ride so opted to try my trusty old 2007 model. I was instantly faster and opted to ride that bike.
I found out fast that I made the wrong decision as my bone stock motorcycle did not have the speed needed to compete. I was fortunate enough to start the main event end bring home 9th place. I was to soldier on to Wisconsin, but made it all the way to Chicago before finding out the race had been rained out. with another 4 hour drive back to Peoria I was excited to get some rest for the following days TT race in Peoria.
Sunday morning the gates opened at 7am. After standing in line for an hour, the Peoria Motorcycle Club president had to make the devastating call that unfortunately due to the rain the night before the track was left useless for racing for several days.
So 3200 total miles and only 1 race completed, it was an expensive trip for sure. I was anxious to rest a few days and race Sturgis SD the following weekend.
Sturgis South Dakota race report 6-5-10
Saturday night shorttrack
I am always pretty excited to ride Sturgis. Even though it is 230 miles away,I feel like it is my "home" track, as I have been racing there for years.
They changed the program up a bit different to a "speed format" similar to speedway. It goes like this:
12 racers divided into 3 groups of 4. You race 3 heat races (each time with a different set of riders) with points being tallied on your finishes. Top 6 go into an "A" main event and compete for money while the remaining 6 go into a "B" main event and compete for trophies. I was fortunate enough to win all 3 of my heat races and had 1st gate pick for the main event. I got off the line in 2nd behind Sturgis local Chris Bruse. Both of us gapped the field considerably and swapped the lead a few different times. Going into turn 1 on the white flag lap I was center punched by the 2nd place rider Bruse directly into my shift lever unknowingly downshifting in a gear. As I recovered from hit and accelerated out of the turn I quickly found myself on the rev-limiter! I hurried and grabbed a gear up but Chris got the jump going into turn 3. I'm sure he figured he had the win in the bag but I had something planned. I ran into the corner substantially higher then Chris, made my turn sooner and beat him at the line by 1/2 a wheel! It felt great to win in Sturgis, and am looking forward to their next race June 19th.
Next on the schedule..Decatur, Illinois half mile Wednesday June 10, Wilmot, Wisconsin shorttrack June 12th and the famous Peoria, Illinois TT Sunday June 13th!..STAY TUNED!!
Springfield, Illinois race report Memorial day weekend
Saturday TT:
Saturday found us at the TT. This was to be my first national race of the year. I was excited to ride. After the 1st 2 rounds of practice I found my self a few tenths off the pace and could not re-group in time to make the 32 rider cut. The day ended with final times being posted and we were out of the top 32. I was bummed but read y for the mile the next day.
Sunday Mile race:
After little sleep from the previous night I found myself struggling right out of the box. Bad gearing decisions put us out of the top 32 cut after the 1st few rounds of practice. After some DRASTIC gearing changes I managed to shave 3/4 of a second off my lap time, but just fell 4/10's of a second short of making the 32 rider cut. I was happy with day because I had ALOT of fun and learned alot.
RECENT NEWS:
Sturgis,South Dakota 6-19-10
Saturday night Shorttrack
We arrived at the track as the gates opened to find the track crew working hard for the nights racing. With over 25 mini sprints running in conjunction with the program, I was looking forward to the track conditions as they usually lay a real nice groove.
I was a little disappointed in the track after the practice sessions as it was a little rougher then usual. I made a few changes to the motorcycle and it made a big difference.
I had 4th pic on the line after having a terrible heat race. The light went green and I timed in perfectly. Grabbed the holeshot and my bike was working perfect. I was nailing my marks every lap...untill the 11th lap when I stuck my foot in a hole and almost lowsided. I gathered it up but was passed in the process. A last lap effort going into turn 3 was all I had to do, but came up just 1/2 bike length short. All in all it was a good race and am glad I made the trek down to South Dakota.
Decatur,Illinois race report 6-10-10
Thursday night 1/2 mile All Star Series
Well I loaded up White lightning (the van) and headed out West for a Thursday 1/2 mile in Decatur, Illinois as part of the Seve Nace All Star Series. I was looking forward to the trip because we could also race Saturday night in Wilmot,Wisconsin as well as Peoria TT on Sunday.
We arrived at the track as the gates opened and got ready for action. Oddly there was a small turnout of Pro-Singles riders for this event. With only 12 total riders entered, everyone made the main event.
The 1st practice session I went out on 2008 Yamaha. I found it very hard to ride so opted to try my trusty old 2007 model. I was instantly faster and opted to ride that bike.
I found out fast that I made the wrong decision as my bone stock motorcycle did not have the speed needed to compete. I was fortunate enough to start the main event end bring home 9th place. I was to soldier on to Wisconsin, but made it all the way to Chicago before finding out the race had been rained out. with another 4 hour drive back to Peoria I was excited to get some rest for the following days TT race in Peoria.
Sunday morning the gates opened at 7am. After standing in line for an hour, the Peoria Motorcycle Club president had to make the devastating call that unfortunately due to the rain the night before the track was left useless for racing for several days.
So 3200 total miles and only 1 race completed, it was an expensive trip for sure. I was anxious to rest a few days and race Sturgis SD the following weekend.
Sturgis South Dakota race report 6-5-10
Saturday night shorttrack
I am always pretty excited to ride Sturgis. Even though it is 230 miles away,I feel like it is my "home" track, as I have been racing there for years.
They changed the program up a bit different to a "speed format" similar to speedway. It goes like this:
12 racers divided into 3 groups of 4. You race 3 heat races (each time with a different set of riders) with points being tallied on your finishes. Top 6 go into an "A" main event and compete for money while the remaining 6 go into a "B" main event and compete for trophies. I was fortunate enough to win all 3 of my heat races and had 1st gate pick for the main event. I got off the line in 2nd behind Sturgis local Chris Bruse. Both of us gapped the field considerably and swapped the lead a few different times. Going into turn 1 on the white flag lap I was center punched by the 2nd place rider Bruse directly into my shift lever unknowingly downshifting in a gear. As I recovered from hit and accelerated out of the turn I quickly found myself on the rev-limiter! I hurried and grabbed a gear up but Chris got the jump going into turn 3. I'm sure he figured he had the win in the bag but I had something planned. I ran into the corner substantially higher then Chris, made my turn sooner and beat him at the line by 1/2 a wheel! It felt great to win in Sturgis, and am looking forward to their next race June 19th.
Next on the schedule..Decatur, Illinois half mile Wednesday June 10, Wilmot, Wisconsin shorttrack June 12th and the famous Peoria, Illinois TT Sunday June 13th!..STAY TUNED!!
Springfield, Illinois race report Memorial day weekend
Saturday TT:
Saturday found us at the TT. This was to be my first national race of the year. I was excited to ride. After the 1st 2 rounds of practice I found my self a few tenths off the pace and could not re-group in time to make the 32 rider cut. The day ended with final times being posted and we were out of the top 32. I was bummed but read y for the mile the next day.
Sunday Mile race:
After little sleep from the previous night I found myself struggling right out of the box. Bad gearing decisions put us out of the top 32 cut after the 1st few rounds of practice. After some DRASTIC gearing changes I managed to shave 3/4 of a second off my lap time, but just fell 4/10's of a second short of making the 32 rider cut. I was happy with day because I had ALOT of fun and learned alot.
