Road America 2012

Mason De Keyrel Wins the USGPRU MD 250 race.

Mason- It was great to have my first ever win be a USGPRU race. I lead the race from start to finish. I just kept my head down and pushed as hard as I could. It was alot of fun.

Kaleb De Keyrel 2nd in ASRA Pro Race

Kaleb De Keyrel finished second place in the ASRA Pro Sportbike race.
Kaleb-It was a really great feeling to get second in an ASRA pro race. I know the next step will be AMA. I am only 14 right now and will turn 15 in June. I have a year till I race my first AMA race. I feel that this race was a very big accomplishment for me and a really big confidence buster for the next couple races in Brainerd. I know we were running a couple seconds off AMA times but it was raining most of the time too. I think this is a great step for my racing career and the hard work is starting to pay off.

The weekend started with Apex Friday Practice

Mason-The weekend started out with Friday practice. I started to learned the track and got used to the elevation change and the long straights. I was having alot of fun and was glad to be at Road America racing for the first time.

The weekend started out

Kaleb-The weekend started out with Friday practice put on by Apex. It was cold and windy; I hadn’t been on the bike for two weeks. I started off slow and worked my way up to the pace of the leaders. I got up to pace by the second session so I started to push the next couple session and felt good about Saturday.

Saturday did not start out so good. I am a really good rain rider and it was raining so I was really happy. The first practice session went great. I was running really awesome times in the rain and I felt good about the next practice session. In the second session I was going really well. I went out right in front Ricky (who was one of the fastest 600 riders at Topeka.) I knew if I could stay in front of him for this session I would be set for the race. So I started to push and I was pulling away from him. I didn’t have my knee down yet. I knew if I added to much lean angle I would tuck the front but I didn’t like the feeling of not having my knee on the ground. I don’t know why, but that feeling just makes you feel more connect to the bike. With my knee down I could gain a few more seconds a lap. So the next corner I remember telling myself if you just carry in a little more lean angle and right then and there I tucked the front in turn 13. So I

road back in the crash truck pretty disappointed in myself. I knew real champions would forget this and move on. I got back to the rig and got my head on straight. Then I focused for the first race, while my dad prepared the bike. I have to give him a huge thank you for getting me back together for the first race. I went out for the first race and noticed the right bar was really pushed forward and the left bar was pushed really far back. ( 4mm and 5mm) This was my fault because I didn’t check the bars before I went out. I would just have to push through it. The race started out with a bad start and I would have to make up a lot of positions. I ended up fourteenth but I knew I would do a lot better in the next race. I have to give Yamaha Champions School

a lot of credit for that race, because of one of the drills they do. It’s called championship lap they basically give you a problem on your bike like your seat is on fire so you have to stand up the whole lap and I think that really helped me with that race because the bars were in the wrong position.

The second race started off with a good start and I was running up front. There was a big pack of six of us and the three guys up front started to pull away. I couldn’t hold the pace yet so I dropped back and road it in for sixth.

The next race started off with a great start and I was feeling great! I was again in the pack at the front and this time I was going to hold up there and push with these guys. I was having a good battle with Bart who was running fourth and was on him on the last lap. But then a guy on a

Suzuki stuffed me going into the last corner. I realized he was going to have a horrible drive out of the last corner leading on to the final straight. So I drafted him before the uphill and passed him. Then I drafted Bart coming up the hill and passed him to take fourth. Overall I think Saturday went really good I got over the practice crash and got back up to speed. I knew Sunday would go a lot better.

Sunday

I got a really good night sleep. Woke up and went for a run. I felt really good about how the day was going. It was raining and freezing cold again. Practice went great! I didn’t go down and was running really good times in the rain. Race one started off with a great start I jump right into the lead and then Ricky passed me into turn 3. Then Barrett long passed me in turn 4 and I tried to

run up with him but it looked like they were pushing really hard. So I figured I’d just stay about two bike lengths behind and wait. Just as I did that Ricky tucked the front into turn 5. Now it was just me and Barrett. On the last lap I started to catch Barrett and real him in but I couldn’t catch him in time. I would just have to take second in this race. The next race I got another great jump and was running second right behind Ricky again. But again I just wasn’t close enough to make a move. Another second place. The next race was the ASRA PRO superbike race and I already had two second’s for the day. I felt great and knew I could still do better. I remember being so cold at the start of this race. I was shivering really bad and I honestly didn’t even know if I could pull in the clutch lever. This race didn’t start out as good as the others but I still was first into turn one. It really started to down pour before this race and I was already soaked from the first two races and I was freezing. But everyone has to ride the same track with the same weather so I would just have to ride through it. I ended up second in my first ASRA Pro race. I was pumped. . The last race of the day the rain was still coming down and I got another great start, first into turn one. Barrett and Ricky got me coming into turn 3. I got a great drive out of turn three and was running right with them till the last lap and coming out of turn 14. I was holding the throttle wide open but the bike was cutting out. I think it had something to do with the electrical getting wet or something with the stator. I still brought it in for 3rd and overall we had a great weekend. I learned a ton and had a lot of fun!

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Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Mason De Keyrel #54

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Thank you to all our sponsors for making this year a succes so far. Thank You to my Mom, Dad, John Anderson, Grandma and Grandpa De Keyrel and GOD for keeping us safe