Thursday Yamaha put on an amazing dinner for all the teams that ran Yamaha’s. Yamaha gave joe roberts and JD beach big champion posters and big AMA Number 1 plates.

 

Friday
I had never ridden at NJ Motor sports park. My first few laps were super fun. Practice went great. I was dropping my times every lap. Once I started getting used to the track, getting my shift points down, and hitting my apexes, the track felt awesome. Going into the weekend, I was told this track was one of the hardest tracks to get to know and get comfortable on. I am better at learning harder tracks, so I got comfortable with this track really quickly with all the fast turns.

Qualifying 1
During qualifying 1 I was running by myself for the most part, trying to time my laps where I would catch the slower riders draft right at the finish. Most of the laps it worked and I would drop some time off my lap time in Q1. I ended up 11th. After the day was done on Friday. MotoAmerica put on a dinner for all the teams. Thanking them for a great first season and giving some info on 2016. It was a great way to end the day.

Saturday Qualifying 2
I started off easy running 7 seconds off the leaders pace. I was battling with Nick Doolan, then it got red flagged. I went back out by myself and started pushing as hard as I could knocking time off every lap. On my last lap of Q2, I was green in all sections and in turn 11 was going around the out side of a slower rider and pushed the front too hard and lost the front. After that I ended up being in 14th starting spot.

Race 1
I got a good jump off the line was in about 15th and just started passing people. By the end of the first lap, I was in about 13th. I passed a couple people the next lap and was sitting 11th in a group of three. I was leading the pack for about the next 5 laps pulling us towards the next rider in front of us, but the other riders in the group decided they had a faster pace. They started passing each other and slowing us down letting the rider in front of us get away. On the last lap some riders that where in front of us had some trouble and couldn’t finish. Our group got bumped up some spots and I ended tenth.

Sunday Race 2

I got a bad start and got bumped in turn one. I was about 17th on the first lap and started to pass. I had moved up to about 15th and just sat there for a bit trying to think of a plan to get by the riders in front of me. That wasted my time and I made a mistake and lost some time on the guy in front of me. I had to work my way up to catch him. Another rider and I were in a good battle. At the end the race was red flagged. I’m disappointed my season ended with a finish that I think I could have done better. I’m just grateful to have had the opportunity to be in the KTM 390 Cup. Thank you to every one that made this year happen.

 

Mason De Keyrel #254

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

 

The trip started out on a rough note with the trailer we barrowed blowing a bunch of tires. After a 26 hour drive we made it to New Jersey and were ready to get the weekend started!

I went out for first practice and the big question was answered! My arm was 100% and I was feeling really good on the bike!

Qualifying started off with me needed a little more time on the track and just a little more time to get the bike sorted out. I was running better and better each time I hit the track and qualified 11th for the races.

First race was another one of those dry/wet situations. I went out on the warm up lap on slicks.  As soon as I started to go around the sprinkles started. At the two minute make the race was deemed wet so we made the decision to start the race rain tires. My crew had everything set to go ahead of time just in case this happened. They did an awesome job and had the tires changed with time to spare. Awesome work.

I got a good jump and was right up in the mix. I entered into turn 1 in about 9th position with my eyes on the front. I entered into turn 5 right behind Ben Young, then we both went to hit the gas on the way out and BOOM he hit the ground. I hit the brakes in an attempt to not run him over.  Luckily, I avoided him and his bike, but I had to run off track in the dirt and this put me way back. I just stayed consistent and kept pushing. I made my way up to 10th and that was all I could do.

Race 2 I had an amazing start and was right up in there. I was running 10th for about 2 laps until the bike started to run on 3 cylinders again. I milked it around as long as I could, but had to pull off. This year has been a rough one and I have to give a huge thank you to De Keyrel Racing for keeping me racing. They are 100% behind me no matter happens!

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

 

I got the Green light. I have been release by the doctors on my wrist and elbow injuries. So we headed to the track to test it on the Honda NSR 50R and my brothers KTM RC390. The elbow was not in any pain or not uncomfortable to me at all!

So with the info I have right now and with what my body is telling me I’ll be ready to push the limits at NJ! I feel great and am going to give it my all.

The Doctor said that I have done a great job being patient in letting it heal and then pushing hard in physical therapy once given approvel. Go test it out and push to win the race. Your elbow will not be holding you back.

See you all at NJ!

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

 

 

Last time I raced at the Indianapolis MotoGP was in 2010 with USGPRU.  I was really looking forward to racing Indy again but unfortunately I was not going to be able to ride.

I had to do what was best for my career and sit out so the bone can properly heal and I will hopefully have zero problems in the future! It was really hard to watch the race that I was suppose to be in. I am training really hard and pushing to be back on track for New Jersey!

Other than the not racing part, both Mason and I had a great time! Hanging out with fans and signing autographs was an unbelievable time! The fans just kept coming.

 

We got to go in a private suite and sign some posters. HJC hooked us up with some passes to go in the GP pits! Romel from HJC got us into Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi’s garage!  Also checked out some of the more fan orientated activities in the pits since we weren’t racing….


Overall I had an amazing time at the Indy GP like I do every year.

 

 

It is always great to see Michelle and Joey Lopez again. Bob Fisher from Roaring Toyz even made it up from Florida this year to hang out. Indianapolis MotoGP is an amazing event every year and I hope they put it on for many years to come!

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Mason De Keyrel #254

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

 

 

 

 

Some of you may or may not know that I broke the radial head bone of my elbow in a motocross crash training for the 7th round of the Moto America Series at Laguna Seca. I had surgery in CA. to fix the injury to my elbow. I rode practice and qualifying 2 at Laguna. I was trying to keep my time on track down and just focus on getting ready for the race. After Q2, we talked with Dr. Rossi and decided it was best not to race. After returning home, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. McCarty. He took x-rays of my elbow and did not like what he saw. I had a CT scan last Saturday and recieved the results yesterday. The screw from the surgery in CA is holding two of the pieces of bone together, but there are also two other broken pieces. After consulting Dr. McCarty and Dr. Bryan, we have decided that surgery is not a good option at this time. The surgery that would have to be performed would have a negative long term effect.   As you all know, I obviously am physically able to fight through the pain and race at Indy. There is an extremely high chance I could destroy my elbow and never race a motorcycle again. I have decided that this one race is not worth the rest of my career.  If everything goes as planned, you will see me back healed 100% for the last round of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park. I have to give a huge thank you to all my fans and sponsors who have stuck behind me through this very difficult season. God is good! We may not understand why some things happen in our lives, but the struggles will show our true character and eventually make us stronger. If everything goes as planned, I will be riding at New Jersey and will have some very good news to share with you once we get closer to that point!

Also a Thank You to Dr. Tom Bryan and Josh Hayes for the guidance and willingness to help in this situation.

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

After leaving Miller Motorsports park, we started heading to Melissa Paris and Josh Haye’s house! We spent a week there and had a ton of fun!

When we were staying with Josh and Melissa, we went training on motocross bikes at Cahuilla Creek MX! That was super fun learning new motocross tracks and getting to ride with Josh and Melissa.

 

We met up with Tag and Zach at the Carlsbad Beach. He brought some surf boards for us to try.  It took me about 4 or 5 tries, before I got up. The waves were not the best, but we made do with what was thrown our way!

 

After a couple days went by, we went motocross training again. This time we went to Pala Raceway. Pala has three tracks the VET track, Am track, PRO/Main.  I Rode the Vet track and the Am track mainly. They were easier tracks that I was more comfortable doing! I had a super fun time riding Pala that day and was looking forward to riding there again!

That weekend, we went with Josh and Melissa to their church the Rock! It was a great service and Russell Wilson was speaking about his accomplishments in football and in life and about his relationship with the Lord! He talked a lot about how there were a lot of struggles he went through getting to where he is today,  but managed to get through the hard times and focus on what his dreams and goals were.

 

After leaving Josh and Melissa’s, we headed over to Tagger Designs shop. We helped prep some helmets he had sitting there for Kaleb and I! We stayed at Tag’s house for a couple days and then we went to Pala again for another training day on motocross bikes. It was super cool, because there were a lot of fast pro MX riders testing. They were there getting ready for the next race in outdoor nationals in Millville, Minnesota! We had another super fun day at Pala watching the pros and being able to ride!

 

After we left there, we went back to Tag’s house and stayed there a couple more nights. We went back to his shop in Lake Elsinore in the morning and helped prep some other helmets. We were able to see Tag do what he does! After that went back to Tag’s house, stayed there one more night. In the morning, we headed off to Pala Raceway for some more fun in the dirt! Josh Hayes, Jake Gagne and Chris Ulrich were all there training. Kaleb went out for the first session on the pro track and was getting warmed up after he was done he came in. Then I got on and rode for a little bit.  I went out on the amateur  track and got warmed up. I came in to let Kaleb go back out. He was out there for about 20 mins,  and I was thinking to myself I haven’t seen him in a while.  I saw the medic in his truck going over by the big triple jump in the back, then I saw Kaleb stand up.  His visor was bent way down, so I ran over. I rode the bike back and the medic took Kaleb back to the pits. Kaleb felt his elbow was hurting way too much, so my dad took him to the ER. I stayed at the track with a buddy of ours from California! After Zach and I left Pala, we went over to Tagger’s house to play some Mx simulator and just hang out, while  my dad was sitting at the hospital with Kaleb. My dad came and picked me up. We left and went to Kenny Parrish’s house. We stayed there for the night and headed to the hospital early the next morning to be with Kaleb before going into surgery! He ended up breaking a piece off  the radial head of his elbow. They surgically placed a screw in to secure the broken piece back on. After surgery he had to stay there one more night. After that we started to head towards Monterey, CA.

 

We saw some beautiful places along the way. We also got to see a lot of our sponsors buildings like Helmet house,  HJC, Galfer.

 

Once we got to Monterey we hung out for a day sight seeing and just looking around. The next day we got into Laguna and started setting up our stuff and getting ready for the weekend!

 

Practice 1, I struggled with the fog in the morning. It was kinda sketchy for me.  I felt good in Q1, but my times weren’t showing it.  Qualifying 2, I knew I had to get my pace up,  I tried pushing real hard to get one good fast lap. At the end, I ended up going faster, but so did everyone else.  I had to start 19th for the race! The start of the race, I ended up about 22 in turn one. I was trying to fight my way up. Every lap I felt better and better. I past a lot of people throughout the race. In the end, I ended up 12th. Glad the riders that crashed where ok!

 

Thank you to all my sponsors and supporters for all they do. Also got thank my team and the people who make it all happen my Dad, Mom and Brother Kaleb for all the track advise. Special thanks to my Grandpa D for all his hard work he puts in at the track!

Mason De Keyrel #54

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

 

We made the 14 hour journey from Utah to Josh Hayes and Melissa Paris’s house.
We were blessed with the opportunity to stay at their house for an entire week! We rode motocross and road cycled every other day! It was awesome! The first track we went to was Cahuilla creek. I had a ton of fun at Cahuilla and the track was mint!

The next day we went for a spin on the road bikes, where I got the chance to talk to Josh a lot and sort of pick his brain about different things in the racing world! It was an awesome experience and Josh is a great guy with a TON of knowledge.

I mean, he has been in the sport since before I was born.  I figured I better listen close, because one day, I want to do what he is doing! The next day we went out and rode motocross again at Pala Raceway.  I loved it!

The jumps were more supercross style and just boosted you! It was so much fun that we ended up riding there 3 times while we were out there. It was awesome! There were always tons of pro motocross guys.  We met up pro road racers there too. It was an amazing time and I learned a ton!

We went surfing with Tag of Tagger Designs and my new buddy Zach! I am currently in love with the California lifestyle. Motocross and surfing, what’s not to love! Surfing was an awesome experience for sure.  If you have never done it, then you have to try it!

The waves absolutely beat you down, I will tell you that. It makes it that much more gratifying when you finally get up! If and when you do get up, its so satisfying for that 15 seconds that you just want to paddle right back out and do it again!

Next stop was to our friend Kenny’s house, who is our cop buddy who arrested me. If you saw that on Facebook, yes it was a joke, and no I was not arrested! He took us on a tour of some of the pro-motocross race shops of Star yamaha and KTM. It was awesome!

Next we also visited our friends over at Road Racing world and even did a 50 mile road bike ride with Chris Ulrich!

It was fun to catch up with him and ride! We also seen Chris at the motocross the next day where this trip goes from amazing to horribly bad. Most of you already probably knew but I broke my radial bone in my lower arm in a motocross crash jumping a huge triple.

I was rushed in and had a bunch of tests done then found out later that night i’d be having surgery for the first time in my entire life! I was nervous at first but they just knocked me out and everything went great. I’m not going to into any boring details no one likes hospital and they are no fun! So lets get back to the fun…

Once i finally got out of the hospital we moved on to one of my favorite parts of this trip was being able to visit all my sponsors, while we were out in CA. We started off by going to HJC and visiting their local headquarters in California. We got some insight on cool new products, also an inside look at designs, and some great features on the helmets!

If you haven’t yet checked out the HJC RPHA 10 Carbon race helmet, I would try it on and see what you think! I’ve been wearing it for about 4 years now and absolutely love it!

Next we moved onto Helmet House, who distributes Cortech Leathers. We got the grand tour by the one and only Dan Thomas, who takes care of all the Cortech race support at the track! The building there is huge! It’s so neat and clean for how big the wear house is and everything is in perfect order. The conveyor belt system that they use is super cool and really looks like it simplifies things. After the tour, we went to lunch with Dan and Mark. I had a great time getting caught up with them and can’t wait to see them both out at the track again!

Galfer was the next stop on the trip and we got a tour of there building!

We then started the 5 hour drive right up the coast up to Laguna Seca!

Once we got to Monterey we did some tourist site seeing we being we hit the track!

Old Fishermans Warf

 

 

 

Of course we went back to the ocean and just had some fun seeing what was around. When we got to laguna we got everything set up and I decided I was going to try to ride with my broken arm.

I did three laps in practice and was having trouble down shifting. Also just the sheer force of breaking was not helping me at all. The right hand corners I felt good in but the left hand corners we hurting me and my lap time big time!

 Idecided after riding qualifying and talking to Doctor Rossi that it jet wasn’t going to work and it would be better to make sure I’m 100% ready for Indy. Thank you all the De Keyrel’s and all the fans who came out to watch sorry there was much of a show. But i will be back in full force for Indy!

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

Thank You to all my sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales

Watch for Mason’s write up to come soon:

 

 

 

We started off the trip with a 19 hour drive to Miller Motorsports Park. When we got there, we went straight to the hotel. We headed out with Nick McFadden to explore the area. There is a long windy road that leads up to the top of this big mountain it was awesome! Thursday We got everything set up and then we put in a brand new motor for my R6. I was feeling good about the weekend. I hadn’t been to Miller in a long time.  I sort of remembered how the track went, so I knew it was going to be a blast! Friday I started out in the morning with practice. I was feeling good, but just needed more time on the track. I was 14th fastest in practice and I was not very happy with that. I went into Qualifying 1 with a little more intensity and came out in 11th. The bike still wasn’t perfect and I knew I had a little more to improve on as well. Saturday Race 1 started and I got a good jump. I was right up in there. There was a larger group forming from like 5 to 11th and I was pushing to try to stay with them, but in the mean time I just made way too many mental errors. I blew turn 1 and got right back onto the track and tried to refocus. I finished 11th after all that and was pretty disappointed with the way I rode. Sunday I was on a mission and determined to run with the group that I couldn’t the day before. Race 2 was all I could think about all day. As I was sitting on the starting line, my heart was pounding super fast, then boom! The light flashed off and I was gone. I got right up in the mix and got right behind Corey Alexander. Corey started to loose the group and there was nothing I could, but keep pushing him. I fought my way passed, then set a charge for Benny. I pushed and pushed and finally caught up to him, but I drug Hayden and Corey with me. There was now a 4 person battle for 8th place. With 2 laps to go, I passed Hayden then passed Benny.  Corey was right in front of me. I waited until the last lap to make my move. When I got to the corner that I knew I was faster,  he shut the door, so I had to try in the corner going up to the straight. I did my best, pushed hard and ended up ninth. I am working hard and will be ready to fight at Laguna. Kaleb De Keyrel #51     Friday Practice went pretty well. I was running with some of the fast guys in the class! I was just trying to get use to Miller’s layout and get the bike setup. Qualifying 1 I started off by myself and then I came into the pits and went back out with Hayden Schultz.  He helped me get a good lap in. After that session, I ended up finishing 13th. Qualifying 2 I started off running by myself and wasting time. Then I came in to try and get with a group. I went back out with a group and got ran wide and couldn’t catch back up. After that, the session was pretty much over.  I ended up 20th at the end of that session. Race 1 I got a bad jump and was gonna try to work my way up, as far as I could. I passed a couple of people and then they got me back and my bike started to feel like it didn’t have the power it normally had. I started fading back and then Jake fell.  Nolan Lamkin caught up to me and I stuck with them for a couple of turns. Then Jake tucked the front and Nolan was right behind Jake.  Nolan ended up hitting Jake and also crashing. After that, I took the bike over to KTM, so we could figure out what the problem was. Morning Warm up I went out and was running by myself. Nick Doolan and Jody Barry caught up to me. We ran a couple of laps together.  I ran two seconds faster then I had all weekend, and was running 9th in morning warm up! Race 2 I got a decent start and was about 20th. I tried running as fast as I could. Devin Husband and I started battling.  It was super fun going back and forth. As we where battling, we were catching another group n front of us. Once we caught up to them, we started battling with them. At this point, it was Ruben Casarez leading the group, then Jackson Blackmon. After Jackson, it was Grayson Gerloff, Devin Husband, and me. Devin and I got by Grayson and Jackson, then started working on getting Ruben. Once we got by them, we started trying to pull away, but Ruben and Jackson stayed right on our tails. On the last lap, I got in the lead of the group and was gonna try and pull away, but my plan didn’t work. Going into turn 3, Devin passed me. Then into turn 4, Ruben got by me. After going into the attitudes, Jackson got by me.  I was planning on passing Jackson and Ruben on the inside into the last turn, but when I went inside of Ruben. I got on the gas and he cut me and killed my drive out of the turn.  I ended up finishing 16th it was a super fun race. Can’t wait for Laguna! Mason De Keyrel #54

FRIDAY 

Practice 1– I was feeling good. I love the track at Barber, but I quickly realized I was quite under powered. The track has a lot of stop and go, square it up, kind of corners, so that would not be an advantage for us. I honestly was just happy to be out there riding, because I didn’t think I was going to be riding at all.

Qualifying 1– I qualified 10th in Q. I was hoping for improvement in qualifying 2, because I knew I could do better.

SATURDAY 

Qualifying 2– We didn’t find anymore time in qualifying 2. I was running almost 2 seconds off the previous year and I was giving it everything I had. I was struggling mainly, because I think the bike was just not as fast as last year.

Race 1– I got a great jump and got right up in the race. The leaders started to gap right away, so I knew I needed to make some moves quickly. I passed Hayden going around Turn 2, then started to charge to get around Corey and Kyle Wyman. They started to make a little gap, but I closed it up and made my way passed both of them. Once I got passed them, and started to pull away I  was to far behind 8th place to catch up.  Only 10 laps remained, so I stayed calm and just held my position. Hayden passed me back with 7 laps to go.  I just waited behind him and planned my move. I wanted to make my move in a spot where he couldn’t retaliate and pass me back before the finish. So on lap 4, I decided that I would make my pass in the last corner. This move was very risky, because you absolutely have to make it happen. I was running up on him pretty good the, so on the last I gave him some room coming out of the second to last corner then hugged right next to him and when we made the flip back I was right up the inside and he had to check up before the straight away to the finish. I won the little battle I was in, but hoped to improve some stuff with the bike and get in the 7th & 8th battle.

SUNDAY

Practice 2– Went good we tested some changes with the suspension and handling of the bike. I thought it was better, but it still wasn’t as good as last year.

Warm up 1– We made some changes hoping to make some improvements for the race, so we could hold the pace of the riders in front of me in R1.

Race 2– I got a good start and jumped right up in the battle and hung in there for a couple laps, but something felt different about the bike. I started to slip back a little and wasn’t getting the confidence I needed from the bike. The track was really greasy and I couldn’t hold the pace as the group in front of me, so I rode the rest of the race in a lonely 12th place.

Kaleb De Keyrel 51

 

FRIDAY

We got everything set up right away, then I went on a bike ride with Josh Hayes, Cameron Baubier, and JD Beach to get my legs warmed up for the weekend and get stretched out!

Then it was off to the hospital with Patricia, where we visited with local children and  brightened their & our day!

Road America started off great for me, I was running pretty good in practice, because I know this track really well. After Qualifying 11th, it all went down hill for me.

I went out for Q2 in the rain and was feeling good when BOOM the front end hit the ground and I was on my way sliding down the pavement into the sand trap.

The De Keyrel Racing team worked extremely hard to get the bike back together for race one. In the first race, I got a good start and was ready to get up in the battle.

On the second lap, the spark plug exploded and the bike was running on 3 cylinders. The last 8 laps I just lugged it in for a 10th place finish.

My team worked hard on the bike until 1am. Sunday,  I went out for practice and the bike was getting really hot.  The cap ended up exploding off the over flow and then running down into the belly pan, which eventually made its way to my rear tire.

So my team was back at it again, replacing the motor and radiator before my second and final race of the weekend. They got everything done and I was feeling good and ready to race.

I got a great start and I was tucked in right behind Corey about to make my move and start chasing down the Road Race factory guys. On the second lap, I felt a strange pull on the chain and a pop.

The chain started slipping a little bit on the sprockets. Then progressively throughout the race it got worse. The chain would skip teeth coming out of every single corner and I was still running in 10th.

On the last lap three corners from the finish line, the bike starts to sputter out and die. I ran out of gas three corners from the checkered flag. I loaded the bike up in the crash truck and headed back to the pits.

With the chain slipping, I had used way more fuel, just not having enough. A rock or something had got in the rear sprocket and broke a tooth off, this started the chain to slip.

Fan walk was awesome as always and if you didn’t get a chance to see the Trip7 Panda, he will be making an appearance at BARBER too…

I learned a lot this weekend and I really have to thank my team for all their hard work they put in for little to no results. I am thankful for a safe weekend of racing with my buddies and I hope that everything goes well, so I can see you guys at BARBER!

Kaleb De Keyrel #51

 

 

I felt good in practice and the bike was running great. Hayden, Anthony and a couple other KTM RC 390 cup kids and I were battling and pulling each other around. Our lap times were dropping every lap in free Practice 1.  At the end of free Practice 1, I was 8th overall.

MotoAmerica changed our Q1 session into a free practice, which was reduced to 20 minutes. We used this time to try another gearing option. We started the session on DOT’s and came in after 3 laps to see if rains would be better. Just wanted a chance to ride on both before qualifying and the race.

Qualifying: I ran in first for a couple of laps in a group and with the help of the draft. I was sitting in 4th and then there was a red flag. After the red flag, I went back out and was by myself. I was running laps trying to get my pace up and then my bike started cutting out. I couldn’t really figure out what it was, so I just kept on doing laps. I ended up qualifying 10th for the race. After qualifying, we brought the bike over to KTM and they were looking over the bike to find out why it was cutting out. They found out that the air box was full of water and the air filter was soaking wet. So they replaced the air filter, and cleaned out the air box, installing two holes in it for water to drain.

Race 1: I got a decent start and was running about 11th. I was trying to work my way up and was battling with some other riders. I started to pull away from them and was catching the next group of riders. I pulled a decent size gap on the riders behind me and was getting more confident each lap. On the second to last lap in turn three, I got on the gas and got high sided off. I was super bummed that I didn’t get to finish. I remembered that a month ago, I did not even know I would be racing in the KTM 390 Cup. I did my track map and focused on getting ready for Race 2. The De Keyrel Racing crew and Dan from Southeast Sales did a great job getting the bike ready to go.

Morning warm up: We tried a suspension change to try to make the bike more comfortable for me. The bike just ended up getting rear end chatter with this setup. I decided to change it back how it was and ride it as hard as I could.

Race 2: The light went out and I had passed a couple of riders that started ahead of me. I was gonna try and go around the outside in turn one.  A lot of the other riders went up the inside and I got pushed wide. This moved me back to about 15th going into turn three. On the next straight, I drafted by some other riders and was about 12th. Into turn six, I went up the inside of another and was starting to pick some people off. I caught up to Alejandro Gutierrez Mejia and we started battling. We were passing back and forth. This went on until the second to last lap. I got by him and was trying to pull away.  On the last lap, after Canada corner, I looked back and he was gone. I don’t know what happened, but it was a fun race.  I had great battle and finished 9th in that race. I can’t wait for Barber. I know that track very well and I know I can get a good result there. The De Keyrel Racing team will have a great setup for me and I am confident going into round two. See you at Barber!

Mason De Keyrel #254

A huge Thank You to CJ Czaia at 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, John and Dan at Southeast Sales, My Grandpa De Keyrel, The De Keyrel Racing crew and all my friends and family for the support.

Thank You to my Sponsors: GOD, 1-855-CzaiaLaw.com, CWS.net, Cortech, Sportbike Track Time, Yamaha, HJC Helmets, Tagger Designs, Dunlop, Motorex, Trip 7, Evans, Vortex, CoreMoto,Pro Flow Tech, Sharkskinz, Impact Armor, TR, AIM Sports, Southeast Sales