MONTEREY, Calif. (July 16) – Racing in this weekend’s GoPro Daytona SportBike race at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix is going to be half the fun for GEICO Motorcycle Honda rider Dane Westby.
Westby and his father Tryg are packing up their motorhome and driving out to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca from last week’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series stop in Ohio.
“We’ve decided to take four days to get out there,” Westby said. “We figured it would be a lot easier than going back to Tulsa (Okla.), hang for a day, then have to blast it back out to California.”
Westby enjoys road trips like the one he’s taking this week, but it’s not something he’d want to do all the time.
“I like it right now but we’re only a week into it,” Westby said. “I like to hang with my dad. I’m fortunate that he’s more of a buddy than a dad.”
One of the favorite aspects of a trip like this for Westby is the chance to train in a variety of locations while on the road.
“We’re going to hit some off-road parks along the way,” Westby said. “We brought our dual sports, so we’re going to hit some of that. And of course on my bicycle it should be lots of cool scenery.”
As for the weekend’s racing, Westby has taken steps so that past mistakes don’t come back to haunt him.
“Laguna and I haven’t been the best of friends,” Westby said. “I’ve wrecked in the corner there two years in a row. I think I’ve got a better handle on that.
“I went to Champions Riding School and they gave me a few pointers. I had been shooting in too shallow on the entrance, which blows my exit. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. They’re unproven, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Practice for Westby and the GEICO Honda team gets under way at 12:15 p.m. PDT on Friday with the first qualifying session at 5:15 p.m. The second qualifier will be at 9:05 a.m. on Saturday. Sunday’s 20-lap race rolls off at 11:15 a.m.
