A Fool in April

April fools!!!  I’ll be 37 in a few months and I’m as busy as ever pushing my body to the limit and trying to find that edge to be a better Dad, Husband and rider.

The First event in April was the Loretta Lynn Area Qualifier at Glen Helen and I have to say I was pressured into this by KTM’s Orange Brigade team manager Christy LaCurelle. She had convinced Nathan Ramsey and Buddy Antunez to race Loretta Lynn’s so I couldn’t pass up the chance to race with those two legends. I raced the 25+ class on my KTM USA Bonanza plumbing 250 two stroke and had an absolute blast taking both moto wins at Glen Helen Raceway. Will I go to Loretta Lynn’s and do battle? I guess we will see come late July.

Next up was the California Classic at Pala Raceway. The Cal Classic is a event that has made it’s mark in the Amateur Motocross circuit as a must race event. The track was an all new layout and it proved demanding with great prep and tight turns. Being a local at Pala it wasn’t the same Pala that all off us locals are use to and it proved that with me landing on my head in my 1st moto chasing Dennis Stapleton. Racing the 25 and 30+ classes these days is no joke and with a 3 moto format I had some great battles with Jason Potter and Dennis Stapleton. After the 6 motos of racing I won 4 motos and two seconds to take home two championships. After all was said and done the highlight of my weekend was having my two boys and Wife able to get on the podium with me.

The nerves started to get to me coming into one of my favorite and most important races of the year. The MTA Two Stroke World Championships held at Glen Helen Raceway is a race that I have one two years ago and it get harder and harder to do well. Bonanza Plumbing came to me a month ago and gave me the opportunity race there KTM USA 250sx for them. This added a little more pressure on me, but it was a sigh of relief to be able to not have to buy a bike for a one off event. It’s always rad to feel like you are threat for a win, but to be honest it's getting harder. Some consistent top 15 AMA pro’s attended this event so I knew that I would have to race my best race of 2017 to be upfront with these guys. The Track was so damn good and the weather was perfect!!! I had some good starts, put in some solid laps and my fitness proved to be the determining factor for me to tie for the overall but my 2nd moto score was higher so I ended up 2nd overall. It was a great Day I went 3-2 for 2nd overall and I think I pissed off some kids which is always good.

I was dragging ass, but the Sea Otter Classic was my last event of April for me. My homies Mike Diorio, and Jake Elkins and I hit the road in the LKI Brand trailer to Laguna Seca. My focus for this years event was Cat 1 Dual Slalom and Downhill. Friday was the Dual Slalom event and it’s the biggest Dual Slalom event in the world! I qualified 2nd in Dual and ended up going head to head with Jake Kinney for the Cat1 title. I put down my two best runs and was pumped to get the win against a talented younger guy like Jake. The weekend goes by quick by on my rest day I got to shred with the Ride Or Die Crew on their local trails in Santa Cruz. We had such a solid group and I can't thank Rob Salcedo for giving us the tour. Sunday afternoon was my DH final and I put down my best run possible and closed the weekend out with another Cat 1 win. It’s always good to win, but I was more stoked for my buddies who killed it in their events. Mike Diorio is my training partner and has yet to win a Sea Otter Championship, but this year he put it all together and won 40+ Slalom and Downhill. Jake Elkins is a long time friend who attended Sea Otter for the first time this year and he came away with a 2nd overall in Cat 2 Cross Country. We had a great time on bikes but Sea Otter needs to step it up with Photos of athletes competing and the swag bags where all you get is a bag! What a joke with the amount of money you pay for your entries.

Whats next? Mrs. Sleeter is off to Stagecoach with the girls and me and the boys are getting a weekend around the pump track.

The Bikes

California Classic - 350sxf

Area Qualifier- 250sx

Two Stroke World Champs- 250sx

Dual Slalom- Intense Spider 27.5

Down Hill- Intense Tracer 27.5