Briar Bauman works on getting the #10Z Rod Lake Racing/Browns Cycle/Russo Construction/Arai-sponsored Honda CRF450R dialed in for round 12 of the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship season at the Springfield Short Track on September 15, in preparation for the evening's 25-lap National main held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Multipurpose Arena.
The 2012 Rookie of the Year headed to Daytona last month with his new team, the Babe DeMay Yamaha/Memphis Shades squad, and suffered from a serious case of the sophomore blues in rounds 1 & 2 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season. But like all champions in the making, he will surely shrug it off by the time round 3 hits the half-mile confines in Stockton, CA. come May 11, and with his new team and soon-to-be-new stable of Yamaha twins will be working his way back to the top before we all know it.
Bauman got a chance to spend some down-time with some of his flat tracking friends after Daytona, and talks about it in his latest update below.
Check it out, thanks to Tyler Porter/Fight for Dirt Track.com and the Babe DeMay Yamaha/Memphis Shades team!
Press release courtesy of Tyler Porter/Fight for Dirt Track.com and Briar Bauman, the 2012 AMA Pro Flat Track Saddlemen Rookie of the Year.
Briar Bauman update
April 3, 2013
For Briar Bauman, rider for the Babe DeMay Motorsports/Yamaha Motor Company/Memphis Shades racing team, it has been a relaxing couple of weeks since leaving sunny Daytona Beach, Florida. While many local racing seasons have not taken off yet, the young Californian has been able to spend a little time relaxing after some tough luck in the opening two rounds of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship presented by J&P Cycles.
Though he is a fierce competitor on the track, he is just like any teenager who enjoys time with his friends. The only difference is most of his friends are some of the fastest motorcycle racers in the world! In his own words, here is what Briar has been up to:
“I was ready to get away from the moon-like track in Daytona after the luck I had there this year. Instead of heading straight home to California, I was able to head North up the East Coast to spend some time with the Texter’s, Cory and Shayna, two-time Grand National Champion Jake Johnson and his wife Jodi, as well as former Daytona Short Track winner and current Factory Triumph rider Johnny Lewis and his wife Alysha.
"Though we are all racers, we were able to do a lot of things that kept my mind off of the two wheel game. They took me Go-Karting, where they cheated with all of their local knowledge of the track and we shredded a knobby or two on a couple of their local motocross tracks.
"The biggest thing for me was getting to experience real snow for the first time! It was funny, after the tough winter that they have had, they were not too excited, and I was outside running around in it, just loving it! All good things have to come to an end though, and as with any job, you can’t be on vacation all year long, so it was time to head home to California.”
Once back in his home state with his family, Briar got back to work quickly, catching up on all of the school work that he missed while away at the track and on the East Coast.
“It was great to be home and to top it all off, my younger brother Bronson had the van loaded up when I got there so we could head to the local motocross track to show off our air wheelies and panic revs. It’s always a great day when you get to spend time at the motocross track goofing off with your little brother,” stated Briar.
Two wheels and things that go fast aren’t Briar’s only hobby though, as the very next day the family spent time getting their fishing boat ready for some time getting their lines wet on the water. “While it was great being out on the water with my family and best friend Austin, I pretty much proved to everybody that I was there only for moral support and maybe to help with the dip net here and there. They caught twice the fish that I did! The main thing though was just being able to relax and talk about things other than racing for a change; it really helped put things in perspective. I am just about caught up with all of my school work now and last weekend I enjoyed an amazing Easter holiday with my family. I’m getting really close to graduating High School and man that cannot come soon enough!”
Being at home in his warmer climate, Briar is back on the pedals, doing his favorite type of training, cycling, both on the road and off. You can be rest assured that he and his brother Bronson are beating up some mini bikes around their house also.
Briar is getting geared up for round 3 of the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Championship Presented By J&P Cycles in nearby Stockton California on May 11th as the entire Babe DeMay Motorsports squad works at a feverish pace to put the final touches on their new Yamaha twin-based equipment so the team can begin testing with Briar to make sure they have a race winning combination for round 3 of the series, but the first round for the twin cylindered machines.
Look for more updates as the team wraps up the final preparations on the bikes and they start the testing process!
Along with Yamaha Motor Company and Memphis Shades, Babe DeMay Racing would like to thank the following sponsors who have come on board to make the 2013 season possible:
(In alphabetical order) Barnett Clutches, Big Gun Exhausts, CJ signs, Cometic Gaskets, Comp Cams, CV4, Falicon Cranks, G2 Ergonomics, K&N Filters, Millennium Technologies, Motion Pro Cables and Tools, MSD Ignition, Saddlemen Seats and Luggage, Silkolene Lubricants, Wiseco Pistons, Works Connection and Xceldyne.
Briar Bauman would like to thank the following personal sponsors for their support during the 2013 season:
(In alphabetical order) Arai Helmets, DC10, Drew Massa Transportation, Eks Brand Goggles, Fly Racing, Gene and Gail Cummings, Rod Lake Racing, Russo Construction and Specialty Fabrications Incorporated.
