News Article

FNB Support Rider Bennie Taylor WINS WERA West 125GP

FNB Racing - Bennie Taylor

Published: November 03, 2009

The headlines read “Bennie Taylor takes the Wera West 125GP Championship”. Those are words I have only dreamed of reading until now. I am happy to report that with the support of my sponsors, and my family I have brought home the 125GP Championship. It has been a year filled with challenges, and triumphs. Let me first start off by thanking my sponsors, without their continued support, this would have never been possible. I truly appreciate the opportunities offered through their support.

The last race was in Las Vegas. This race was for double points, and I knew where I needed to finish to take the championship. The championship was pretty important to me, so this race was more of a strategy for me than just worrying about winning the race. All of the competitors in the 125 class have really stepped up their game this season, so I had to make a decision. Do I go dice it up with everyone else looking for a race win and risk crashing, or do I play it safe get the points I need, and take home the championship??? I felt that the championship was more important. I have been leading the class most of the season, and I didn’t want to throw it all away on one race. Winning a championship is a strategy, this is something not everyone understands. You can take 2^nd place all year long, so long as you make sure the guy finishing in front of you isn’t the same each race.

We arrived in Las Vegas around 9:00 PM Friday night. My grandparents flew in to watch my last race of the year. My mom and sister came too so we could be together for Halloween. We pitted next to our friends Jim and Dana. It is really nice to make friends at the race track, we get to catch up when we go to the races, and meet some really nice people. We missed seeing Leonard this weekend. He wasn’t feeling that well, so he decided to stay home and get better.

Saturday came, and my dad made sure the bike was in perfect order. I had the Solo 20 race coming up, that is my very favorite race. The more laps the better for me. Usually we only get 6 laps in a sprint race, but the Solo 20 has 20 laps. It gives me lots of time to work through traffic, and increase my corner speed. I took 3^rd in that race. It was a great race. Wera ended the day a little early, so my mom took my sister, Mackenzie, and I trick or treating. It was pretty fun, and I was still in bed by 9 o’clock. While we were gone, dad went through my bike twice, just to make sure everything was good for Sunday.

Sunday came, and I was pretty nervous. I knew I needed finish 5^th or better in the 125 race to take home the gold. The first race up was the Formula 2. There were 13 bikes on the grid. My start was a little rough, but I worked my way up to finish in 5^th place. This secured a 3^rd overall for me in the F2 Class. The next race was the 125GP class. That is the one I really wanted to win. I was nervous and excited. I spent the time between the races getting my game face on. I headed out for the warm up lap, me and my butterflies. The green flag threw and my start wasn’t that great, but I didn’t let it get me down. I worked through traffic up to 5^th place. That is were I need to finish to make sure that I would take home the championship, at that moment I decided to stay there. I finished the race and season solid.

I am excited for the 2010 season. We have several plans in the works for some international racing along with Wera and USGPRU. With the help of those who believe in me, we can accomplish great things.

I would like to thank my sponsors: Inside Front Row (IFR), The Paddock, JGT Investments, Motul, Comcast, Arai, BMI, FNB Racing, and my family.