Back to Back National Champs! Defending The Title

If you’ve been following us for a while, you may know that last year we reached a milestone which we were, and still are, incredibly proud of – Moto3 National Champions! If you are just joining this adventure, you can read more about that accomplishment RIGHT HERE. With one national title under our belt and some R&D that will continue to grow, we decided to try our luck defending our title during Daytona’s 2020 Race of Champions, but this time, on a completely different machine. Our R3 Superbike is undergoing a complete motor rebuild, so it was time for our Ninja 400 to show us what it was capable of, and luckily, our racer Alex Ferreira was more than up for the challenge.

Now it’s important to note, our Ninja 400 is NOT a Superbike Spec bike. This is a pretty basic Ninja 400 that has some mild work done to it, BUT, we have some big plans for a brand new Ninja 400 we just got in. Will we see a second Superbike from TST?! Be sure to stay tuned!

The weekend started off like countless others, packing the trailer up, heading to the track, unloading, getting a “lay of the land” as the saying goes, and getting into a proper headspace. For Alex, this meant walking around the paddock and chatting it up with fellow racers to get a feel for the overall atmosphere. We won’t focus too much on the entire process because let’s face it, we know how it ended, but we did have a chance to catch up with Alex after the races to ask him some hard-hitting questions. Here’s what he had to say.

1. What did winning a second national championship mean to you?
Alex: IT FEELS GREAT TO WIN! Especially being able to bring home a win for my mom battling cancer.

2. Was this year, in particular, weird to prepare for and race because of COVID?
Alex: This year sucked big time. Covid was just the start, and I was extremely busy with my business, as Bart is with his… And in Florida, grass doesn’t stop growing. (He owns a lawn care business).

3. Goals for next year?
Alex: As always, make it out for some more race rounds and hopefully rack up some more wins for the team!

4. R3 or Ninja 400 and why?
Alex: Well the R3 project is currently on hold… Ninja 400 is running sweet at the moment and can obviously perform at the highest level. Bart makes adjustments and I just feel it out from there. I really like the 400, but I’ll ride whatever lol. But I do wish Bart still had the Superstock R3..I’d go race FMMRA IN 300 CLASS AND WHOOP BUTT LOL

5. What are your thoughts on the future of road racing in the US?
Alex: The next generation is coming from SFLMiniGP or a similar small bike racing org.. The US is hurting big time. Our talent pool doesn’t run deep here like overseas.. A lot of the big names end up leaving for overseas glory.

6. Any final thoughts?
Alex: I felt this weekend was fun, but not having people in stands or in pits was definitely a disappointment. It’s always nice having friends and family around. If I were 15 again, I’d go race for Bart in MotoAmerica! I can’t wait for next season and I can’t thank you guys and all of my other sponsors enough.

About Mark Lourido

Customer Success Specialist. You can find me at the twisties, at the track, or just cruising around town!