What a whirlwind of a ride these last two weeks have been! If there's one thing we've learned from this experience, it's that some pretty incredible things can happen when your back is against the wall, the odds are stacked against you, and you're surrounded by a team that refuses to give up.
On Wednesday, October 7th, we received the freshly built motor for our Suzuki GSX-8R race bike, and our sights were set on one thing: racing at Daytona. By the following day, the motor was installed, properly broken in, and strapped to our dyno for testing. Everything seemed to be coming together until around 11 AM, when the motor suddenly died. Just like that, our hopes of making it to Daytona took a massive hit.
On the 9th, we pulled the motor back out to assess the damage and discovered a failed rod bearing. Not exactly what you want to find when you're racing against the clock to get a bike ready for competition...exactly the opposite, actually.
With our options running thin, we reached out to our good friend Jason Karns, who was already planning to make the trip down for the races. As luck would have it, Jason was willing to lend us a massive helping hand. He arrived late Tuesday evening on the 13th and immediately got to work rebuilding our motor. By Wednesday the 14th, the motor was rebuilt and back in the bike.
Now came the tough decision. Do we take the risk and head to Daytona with a freshly rebuilt motor, or call it quits and play it safe?
Well, there's no glory in giving up, and we certainly weren't about to start now.
Our team threw everything they had into getting the GSX-8R race ready. We finished prepping the bike, got it back on the dyno, dialed in the tune, and made our way to Daytona to get set up for the weekend. It wasn't exactly the preparation we had envisioned, and we knew the bike wasn't quite where we ultimately wanted it to be, but we had made it. At that point, we had high hopes, realistic expectations, and one simple goal: have a safe, fun race weekend and make it home in one piece.
Apparently, Isaac Woodworth and Andrew Weyh had something a little different in mind.
Against all odds, they worked their magic and brought home a FIRST PLACE FINISH!
What started as a seemingly impossible situation turned into one of the most rewarding moments of our racing season. This wasn't just a victory on the track. It was a perfect example of what can happen when a group of passionate, talented people come together, put in the work, and refuse to throw in the towel, even when just about everything seems to be going wrong.
And while this win belongs to everyone who helped make it happen, there's one person we'd especially like to dedicate it to. Our company owner, race team president, and the guy whose vision drives so much of what we do here at TST Industries.
Bart Rogowski, this first place finish is all yours!
We also want to give a massive thank you to everyone who supported our racing efforts this season, especially those who stepped up to help us through these last couple of weeks. We couldn't have pulled this off without you.
Special thanks to PirelliMoto, Blud Lubricants, Mark Tenn Motorsports, Gabriel Wolfgang, Alex Vaipan, Alex Ferreira, and of course, Jason Karns.
From a shattered crank bearing to the top step of the podium at Daytona in a matter of days. It's safe to say this is one race weekend we won't be forgetting anytime soon.
And if there's one thing we're taking away from all of this, it's that sometimes the biggest victories come from the moments when giving up seems like the easiest option.
We're pretty dang glad we didn't.
