3 Problems

Saturday
Saturday morning, I woke up around 5:30Am excited because AFM R2 at Sonoma Raceway Is finally here! It's been a two month break with no races for the AFM, and I was excited to get back out there.

I arrived at the track around 7:00Am unloaded my bike,went through tech and started to prep for morning practices.Morning practices went well I was starting to feel a little re acquainted with the track since I have not been here in a while with each session that passed, It was also evident in my lap times.My lap times started at 2:00 and went down to 1:59,1:58....Minutes to 1:55. I was kinda of confused because I was able to get down to 1:52 last year but this year I was stuck at 1:55.

Clubman Middle Weight
Clubman Middle weight race I started from 5th position,I got a great start putting me in 4th but was quickly taken away from me due to my first problem  "A false neutral" as I shifted from first to second and pushed me back into last place. Once I was able to get it into gear I was able to make up time and pass a couple of riders, but as I was starting to get into my rhythm the race was red flagged and ended due to crashes.I finished 13th and did a fast lap of 1:52.538

Sunday
Sunday practice sessions started at around 8:15,all practice five practices groups had one short 10-15 minute practice.I felt comfortable during my practice session although the weather from Saturday to Sunday was night and day.Saturday It was warm and not windy and Sunday was windy and chilly.

Novice 750 production
In the novice 750 production I started in 3rd position,I got a pretty good start but not as good as the other three riders #822 Yovany Alvarez,#744 Manual Hernandez and #999 David La Bree that was now in front of me putting me in 4th going into turn 2.The first lap I spent chasing rider #999 David La Bree. Lap 2 two by turn 7 I was able to gain ground back that La Bree inched out in lap 1 but was unable to get close and make a pass.The end of the 2nd lap is where I ran into Problem #2 "False Neutral from 2nd gear to 3rd"I quickly put my hand in the air to symbolize to racers behind me #986 Lorenzo Rios and #923 Jahan Raissi that were now passing me that I have a problem. I tried to get my bike to shift into 3rd gear but it would not go. After about 4 kicks I finally got it to go into gear and continue my race. I was able to make a pass a few turns later on Jahan and was quickly gaining ground on Lorenzo. The beginning of lap 4 I was able to pull right behind Lorenzo,I would follow him for a few corners to see where I could pass him safely and I noticed that I could break a little deeper than he does.Going into turn 6 "the carousel" I was right on the rear wheel of Lorenzo setting up my drive into turn 7. we were side by side as we came out the bottom of the carousel,I was just able to get on the gas a little sooner enabling me to claim a position going into turn 7 but thats where problem #3 begins "Tank Slapper" as we came out turn 6 heading towards turn 7 full throttle,in split second I was in a tank slapper.The first thought in my head was do not touch the front break.... give it gas and straighten it out,before that was able to happen the handle bars started whipping back and forth faster and more violent until it threw me off of the bike.I did a few bounces and slid a good few feet and was able to run of track escaping with a little bit of bruising.This would be the end of my weekend.

Below is a video taken by Jahan Raissi as the crash happened. This crash is still a mystery to me and since the SD car that was in my camera ejected and was found but corrupted I am unable to see the video from my view.*NOTE* the broken pieces of windscreen and go pro on the ground to assess the initial impact of the accident.Its kind of hard to see the video but if you put it in 720p and full screen you can kind of see it better.

I want to thank all my sponsors Arclight Racing,Munroe Motors,Pacific Track Time,EDR Performance,Silkolene,GoPro,Axo,TTF,CT Pirelli,Woodcraft,Optimal Racing And everyone else who supports me and follow my racing. THANK YOU!

Another One Bites The Dust

AFM round 1 At Buttonwillow Raceway (also Kown as Bumpywillow ) took place March 2-3, seeing Ive never been to Buttonwillow I decided to do the Friday practice to get a little extra track time.

Friday Track day

Friday I arrived at the track with the TTF Crew (AFM # 875 Ricco Nicholas and #923 Jahan Raissi) we all had little or no time at this track so we wanted to use it to prepare for this upcoming weekend. My first thoughts on the track was "its not as bumpy as people say" (but maybe thats because some sections were recently repaved) but I liked the layout, it took me some time to get use to the flow of the track especially turn 2, 3,phil hill and the sweeper.

Saturday Practice

Saturday morning I arrive at the track feeling good after the friday track day,I go to register and find out I'm in practice group #2 when I ended last year in practice group #3. I was kind of bummed because Ricco and Jahan were in group 3 and we're all around the same speed, but I thought about it and took this opportunity to let me figure some things out with no added pressure of riding over my head and trying to stick with them or anyone else in group 3 when im not ready.The first few practice sessions my times ranged from 2:10-2:15,I was able to break the 2:10 mark and get down to 2:08 once before lunch. Druring lunch A good friend Joe from 4theriders came to check on and me and ask me how I was doing. I let him know that I was having problems with cotton corners and he gave me some pointers on getting through those turns better which gave me a game plan for the session after lunch.The first session after lunch, and applying what tips joe gave me I instantly dropped 3 seconds from my lap times and was able to drop down to a 2:05. I did not complete the last session of practices because I wanted to relax and prepare for the clubman Middleweight race that was shortly coming up.

Clubman Middleweight Race (Saturday)
I got a good start from the second row and was able to put myself in 4th place by turn 1, I was able to stay in 4th for the first lap. Lap 2 going into turn 2 a rider made a aggressive inside pass on me which cause me to do a stoppie and run into the run off area to avoid running into the back of him and or crashing trying to make the corner, I was able to re enter the race with only loosing 2 positions which now put me in 7th place. I remained in 7th place until the 5th lap. On the 5th lap going down phil hill I had a little moment where I had a minor tank slapper which allowed a rider to get around me and put me in 8th place. I would finish the race in 8th place with my fastest lap being 5 seconds faster than my practice time at 2:00.

750 Production Race #2
I got a great start and had the whole shot going into turn one but thats about where it ended. Going into turn one I went in a little to fast and with bad body positioning the back of the bike got uneasy and lost some traction swerving side to side like a snake moving across the asphalt, I had to let the bike settle down and slow down before trying completing the turn which caused me to loose 3 places putting me in 4th,As I approached turn 2 the same thing happened; I had to tell my self "Jovan settle down and relax"once I regained my composure it was time to try to make up some ground. 4 laps into the race I was able to catch up to #999 David La Bree and An expert rider from the first wave going into Riverside, at the end of Riverside I was able to make an outside pass on La Bree putting me right behind the expert rider going up Philhil,through the sweeper ,the S's and onto the front straight completing lap 4. Lap 5 La Bree would outbreak both me and the expert rider into turn one ,but  he ran the corner a little wide staling the expert rider as I made an inside move that put me behind La Bree. I would chase La Bree until we once again reached Riverside, coming out of Riverside up to philhill I was able to outbreak him,but due to anxiousness, bad body positioning and uncertainty if I would run the corner wide it caused me to loose momentum and allow La Bree to make an outside pass and regain his position and we would finish off lap 5. Lap 6 the final lap, Labree and I was able to gain ground on #744 Manuel Hernandez, we would stay this way with manuel leading, La Bree following and me at the tail of the group until we reached my favorite turn... Riverside. As we went three deep into riverside seeing this was the last lap and I felt I had a little more speed than LaBree I went for a inside pass on the exit apex of riverside that I was able to make stick putting me behind Manuel going up to philhill. I could not set myself up for a pass on Manuel until turn one of the 7th lap which did not matter because our race was only 6 laps,I was so into my zone i did not realize the race was over until completing turn 1. I would finish the race in 4th place with my fastest lap breaking the 2:00 mark at 1:59.

600 Production Race #5
Due to a bad start consisting of a wheelie and a mild tank slapper I ended up in 8th place by turn 1, during this race I was only able to make up one position which is where I would end the race in 7th place.

600SBK Race #11
600SBK would turn out to be an interesting race. I once again had a bad start but managed to get in 5th place with #822 Yovany Alvarez right on my tail. I was able to hold yovany off for 5 laps. On the 5th lap through riverside we encountered 2 riders from the expert wave. I was able to pass one expert through riverside and the other going into the sweeper putting a little distance on us as I went through the S's and the left hander at the end of them leading to the last left hand turn that leads on to the straight I make a mistake. I apexed the corner a little earlier which caused me to run the corner wide on the exit taking me out towards the rumble strips.I tried to inch my way towards the track but with my focal point being on the dirt instead of up the track, thats where I ended . I almost made the corner but caught a little dirt at the edge of the track and down I went. This would symbolize the end of my weekend.

Sponsors

I would like to thank all my sponsors - Munroe Motors,Chuck Warren & Archlight Racing,TTF, Axo,Silkolene,Pacific Track Time,EDR Performance,Woodcraft,Stage1racing,Moto-D,CT Racing,Optimal Racing and all of you for support and encouragement! 

Pacific Track Time

is now a sponsor of Jovanbettonracing for the 2013 season!! check out their schedule and come ride with us! www.pacifictracktime.com

Fast like a Nascar, Auto Club Speedway

This WERA event was 1/13/2013 held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana,California, This would be the first race of the year for WERA and my first time at Auto club Speedway as well as racing with WERA.I arrived Thursday night in with my TTF crew (AFM #607 jeff Keohen and AFM #875 Ricco Nicholas) in preparation for Friday trackday with Fasttrack Riders.

Friday- we arrive at the track at around 7, early enough to get a garage and stay out of the low to mid 30's degree temperature and wind, due to bike maintenance I was unable to get my first taste of the track until 12 pm. My first session was difficult, I found out my gearing was a little off and I did not have any other sprockets to change that in addition I was also trying to get use to the track and make sure I did not crash due to cold and windy weather. Second session I started to feel a little more comfortable with the track as you can see by the digram below I was able to get down to a 1:47 seconds once,Session 3&4 I started to get in a grove and was able to constantly stay in1:47-1:48 range with my fastest lap being a 1:46.

Session 1 JOVAN BETTON -
12:06:35.6	1	2:00.792	70.634
12:08:50.2	2	2:14.631	63.373
12:10:46.0	3	1:55.852	73.646
12:12:40.5	4	1:54.484	74.526
12:14:33.1	5	1:52.531	75.819
12:16:23.4	6	1:50.293	77.358

Session 2 JOVAN BETTON -
13:06:27.1	1	1:51.382	76.601
13:08:33.9	2	2:06.762	67.307
13:10:24.5	3	1:50.594	77.147
13:12:14.0	4	1:49.501	77.917
13:14:01.0	5	1:47.060	79.694

Session 3 JOVAN BETTON -
14:04:44.7	1	1:50.760	77.031
14:06:32.8	2	1:48.099	78.928
14:08:19.8	3	1:47.034	79.713
14:10:07.7	4	1:47.870	79.095
14:11:56.4	5	1:48.667	78.515
14:13:43.4	6	1:46.986	79.749
14:15:30.7	7	1:47.308	79.509

Session 4 JOVAN BETTON -
15:10:23.7	1	7:53.747	18.010
15:12:11.7	2	1:47.995	79.004
15:14:00.2	3	1:48.524	78.619
15:15:47.2	4	1:47.006	79.734

Sunday- Sunday was race day. I signed up for race #2 600SBK and race #12 600 production. The weather was still a little chill but more sun and slightly higher temperature for mid-day.

Race #2 600SBK- I started in 11th Position, with a good start I was able to make up a couple places going into turn's 1 and 2 but lost a few back going into turn #3, I was able to make up one spot back on the breaks going into turn 12.Lap 2 I remained in the same position gaining ground on 6th and 5th place. Lap 3 I was able to make a move on 6th place on the breaks again going into turn 12,turn 13 5th place almost had a high-side which allowed me to gain ground on him going into turn 17 and to set up a pass going onto the nascar banking. I would finish in 5th place with a fast lap of 1:42.



Race#12 600 Production- I started in 9th position,had another good start and ended up in 5th place through turns 1 and 2 but lost a few places going into turn 3 and another 3 going into turn 4 and 5.Lap 2 I was able to make up one spot going into turn 12 but this time rider #88 Joe Rocha tried to make a inside pass but overshot the corner,a little, I was able to regain my position. Lap 3 I was able to gain couple of position by making a outside pass on a rider going into turn 4 and turn12. Lap 3 #88 Joe Rocha was able to make a inside pass on me going into turn #12 as we gained ground on rider #80 John Erickson to finish off lap 3. Lap 4,Joe,John and I had very close race with John leading the pack.Joe tried to make a inside pass going into turn 3 neither rider wanted to give up the position which caused both riders to run wide,I was able to capitalize off of their mistakes and claim 2 positions. Joe was able to catch up to me 7 turns later and make a pass going into turn 11 where he inched out a little gap and was able to maintain it for the rest of the race.I finished 5th with my fast lap being a 1:41.



I would like to thank all my sponsors - Arclight Racing,Munroe Motors,Axo,Woodcraft,Silkolene,United Capoeira Association,Optimal Racing,Stage1Racing and last but not least, all of you for your support and encouragement.

New Sponsor

Fuchs Silkolene is now a sponsor of Jovan Betton Racing for the 2013 season. Go check out their products! http://www.silkoleneusa.com/default.aspx

Conditioning with a twist

Who say's conditioning cant be fun???? one way I like to stay in shape is by going salsa dancing.Its a good form of cardio mixed with a lot of fun!!!

A little Dirt biking & Supermoto

To better prepare myself for the 2013 racing season I wanted to do various types of riding, I took Rich Oliver's mystery school and Road Race Factory supemoto school.

Rich Olivers mytery school: was a two day flat tracking course I took in November 2012 , this was my first time ever on a dirt bike.Day 1 was focused on learning all the fundamentals on how to ride a dirt bike. We did a bunch of turn configurations to help us get use to different type of turn situations such as figure eights, hairpins and U turns along with working on body positioning transitions .It took me a good portion of day one to get use to the difference in body positioning,engine feel and the way you steer the bike.Day 2 we did a lot of sprint racing, Rich also taught us how to slide the rear going into corner.Riche and his family were real hospitable and helpful ,I will definitely do Riche's school again, I had so much fun!

Road Race Factory school: held a supermoto event at sonoma kart track on December 2012,this was my first time on a supermoto bike. This day was flooded with bad conditions due to cold weather and rain.The first few session of of the day a bunch of riders fell, the tracks surface was real slick. My main goal for doing this school with the conditions was to get use to the bike moving around underneath me,learn how to back it into corners and improve the skills I learned from Rich Oliver's school.Throughout the day I crashed about three times all tucking the front, this day was pretty much a crash course but real fun. Danny and his team were real helpful and real informative on how to keep us on the bike. I would like to take this school again but with better weather conditions.

Below is a video I put together with clips from both school hope you enjoy it!