2013 | jessejames835

WERA Nationals: Round 1

Jesse is competeing for the Open Superstock Novice title in the WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series. Round 1 was a great success as Jesse won 2 of the 3 regional races on Saturday. He then won the opening National round to take an early lead of the series championship!

WERA Nationals: Round 2

Round 2 of the WERA/Michelin Challenge Series proved to be much more of a challenge for Jesse. A late arrival to town and high expectations carried over from Round 1, mounted serious pressure on the weekend. An early crash in practice broke the exhuast of the CBR1000RR. This prevented Jesse from continuing practice for the rest of the weekend. Crafting up a makeshift exhaust late Saturday afternoon, Jesse was able to pass tech and was ready for the race on Sunday. Rained threatened all Sunday morning, and practice times were very slow. At first call of the race, the heavens opened and a wet race ensued. With the luck of a red flag due to lightening, Jesse was able to put on rains and compete in the race. The wet conditions and lack of practices proved a hindrance that kept Jesse from back to back wins. He settled for a 3rd place finish in the National Open Superstock race. It was a welcomed podium given the adversity faced through the weekend.

WERA Nationals: Round 3

Round 3 of the WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series was held at Road Atlanta. Once again, rain was a damper on the weekend. Jesse was unable to turn any race pace laps due to rain Thursday. This was the first time he had been to RA and was at a disadvantage in knowledge of the highly technical course. Jesse was able to finish in the top 5 of 3 of the 4 races he entered, including a best finish of 4th in the National Open Superstock race on Sunday. This was more than enough to hold on to 2nd place in the championship and keep the points race close.

WERA Nationals: Round 4

Round 4 of the WERA/Michelin National Challenge Series was held out in the mountains of Utah at Miller Motorsports Park. This was a 20 hour pilgrimage for Jesse, but proved well worth it. Joe Behlmann, fellow club racer and friend, made the trip with Jesse sharing drive time and providing support on the track. This allowed Jesse to focus on the task at hand, regaining the points lead. The weather was quite good the majority of the weekend, and Jesse was running pretty good lap times during practice. The Saturday Sportsman races resulted in Jesse finish in the top 5 in 3 of 3 races. He ended the day cracking into the podium with a 3rd. On Sunday, Jesse took the win in the National Open Superstock, which also put him back in the points lead for the championship!

WERA Nationals: Round 5

Jesse was unable to attend Friday's practice due to prior engagements. This put off the drive to New Orleans, Louisiana till Friday afternoon. Ariving just short of the deadline for gates closed, Jesse was forced to spend the night outside in the NOLA Motorsports Park parking lot. Unfortunately, this made for a hectic morning on Saturday. Setup cut into the 1st round of practice leaving Jesse with only 3 laps of experienc on the track. Some good adjustments to the front end of the bike boosted confidence for Saturday's race. Jesse dropped 7 seconds off his lap times from practice to race #1, but wasn't consistent enough to mount a decent charge for the podium and finished 4th. Shortly after race #1 a terrible tropical storm brewed up from out of nowhere, and postponed further racing until Sunday morning. This meant that Jesse would loose a precious round of practice before Sunday's race. More setbacks continued to ensue as a race suit debacle added stress to an unpredictable weekend. Some safety wire to replace a broken zipper, and Jesse was ready for Sunday's race. Dropping 2 more seconds from Saturday's race, put Jesse out front. A great start lead to him leading the first lap, until a battle ensued that resulted in an overall finish of 2nd place for Sunday. This left a 20 point gap back to second place in the Championship, just 1 point from clenching the title. Stay tuned for the closing round at Barber Motorsports Park in October!

WERA Nationals: Round 6

Jesse came into the final round of the WERA/Michelin challenge series just 1 point away from closing up the championship. The Grand National Finals were held at Barber Motorsports Park this year again. He was acutally able to get to the track with reasonable time, only missing 1 round of practice. The temperatues were very low all weekend, putting grip at a premium. A vicious low side early in practice poised to put Jesse out of contention and threatened his chances of winning the Open Superstock championship. However, a drive to succeed and some borrowed parts, put him back on the track for Sunday's finale. Jesse was able to keep the bike upright and finish the season with enough points to take the Number 1 plate in the championship!!

WERA National Challenge Series:
3/15-17 Roebling Road Raceway, Faulkville, GA
4/26-28 Talladega Gran Prix Raceway, Talladega, AL
6/6-9 Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta, Braselton, GA
7/27-28 Miller Motorsports Park, Salt Lake City, UT-DH
9/14-15 NOLA Motorsports Park, New Orleans, LA
10/24-27 Barber Motorsports Park, Leeds, AL

MCRA Challenge Series:
5/25-26 Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, IL
6/29-30 Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, IL
9/7-8 Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, IL
10/5-6 Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison, IL

2013 Racing Season

SCHEDULE & RESULTS