CotA Race Recap: Heat, Heartbreak & Hard Lessons in Texas

What was supposed to be a smooth trip to the Circuit of the Americas turned into one of the most challenging race weekends we've ever had—before we even made it to the track.

The Trouble Started Early

Not even two hours into the drive, disaster struck: a blowout on the RV shredded the water and wastewater tanks, setting us back several hours and hitting the budget hard before the weekend even began.

That would've been enough for one trip, but things just kept piling up.

When we stopped for the night and fired up the generator, we realized the radiator had also been damaged—every drop of coolant leaked out as soon as we started it. On top of that, the bedroom floor had taken some damage, too. Wednesday morning found us doing field repairs in a Lowe’s parking lot. Unfortunately, the generator wasn’t something we could fix on the road.

It Gets Hotter From Here

To survive the Texas heat, we picked up the loudest portable generator known to mankind—but it wasn’t powerful enough to run the whole RV. Outside, it was 95°F. Inside? A swampy 90°F. Not ideal for race prep or sleep.

While setting up the pit and prepping the bike for Friday’s practice, we also scrambled to solve our power problem. I now know more than I ever wanted to about 50-amp plugs, adapters, and generator hookups. Eventually, we rented a massive 20kW tow-behind unit and finally got full power running—by Saturday morning.

Just in time. But probably not in budget.

Friday: Practice and a Data Blackout

Carson went out for Practice 1 and chipped away at his time, going from a 2:34 to a 2:32. But with the leaders dropping into the 2:28s, we knew we had work to do.

Then came another curveball: the data system crashed. The AiM datalogger decided this was its weekend to misbehave. We had no usable telemetry. No lap breakdowns. Nothing to guide our decisions.

Heading into Qualifying 1, we made gearing changes to give Carson better drive out of the corners, and early signs were promising. He picked up right where he left off in Practice and dropped a full two seconds, clocking in at a 2:30. But just as he was settling into a rhythm, the quick shifter failed—again—cutting the session short and robbing him of crucial laps to keep building pace. That lost track time stung, especially with the front-runners continuing to drop into the 2:28s. To make matters worse, our AiM datalogger still wasn’t playing nice, and it took hours just to extract basic lap info. On the upside, I’m becoming a reluctant pro at RaceStudio3—though I'd rather just have a working system.

Q2: Steps Forward, One Second at a Time

We kept the gearing but made suspension tweaks—softer front and rear—to help Carson carry more speed through corners. It paid off. He dropped another second in Qualifying 2, staying in P9 but inching closer to the front runners in raw pace.

Carson’s view from the grid

Race 1: A Fight to the Flag

Carson got bottled up behind Solly off the start, and by the time he got around, the lead pack had checked out. From there, it was a fierce three-way battle between Carson, Solly, and Nathan Bettencourt.

The last lap was chaos. Position changes, tight lines, and no one knowing who finished where until well after the checkered flag. It was one of the best races of the day—even if the overall pace was a second slower than qualifying. Maybe the heat got to everyone.

Warmup & Race 2: The Real Turning Point

Sunday morning warmup gave us one last chance to try changes, but everything we considered would have made an already chattery front end worse. We backed off and ran it as-is. The result? Same pace as Race 1. No gain, no loss.

But then came a breakthrough.

Talking with Felix from Kramer, we uncovered a ton of info that we honestly wish we’d known earlier in the season:

• The rev limiter varies by gear.

• The actual rev limit is 11,500, not 11,750 like we thought.

• And you should never run more than 5mm of preload.

With that new knowledge, we overhauled the bike before Race 2—springs, preload, tire pressures—the works. Carson rolled to the grid with a brand-new setup under him. It was a science experiment, and we were about to find out if we got the formula right.

Race 2: Best Yet

The race split into four groups. Carson led the third group early on and managed to put a gap on Solly and Nathan, but Nathan clawed back into the mix and the two traded positions lap after lap.

Carson came out on top—P7, his best finish of the weekend, and another full second faster than his previous best. The changes worked. We’ve finally found a base setup that Carson can fight with.

Takeaways: Brutal, but Worth It

From RV meltdowns to data failures, this weekend threw everything at us. But in the midst of the heat, noise, and chaos, we made big strides.

We’re coming out of CotA not just with better results, but with deeper knowledge, improved setup, and momentum we can carry into NJMP in two weeks.

Bring it on.

Follow along for more race recaps, tech insights, and behind-the-scenes stories as Carson continues his climb through the field.

Two Weeks, Two Tracks, Countless Lessons: CotA & Barber Kick Off the 2025 Season

The 2025 season came in fast and heavy—two major race weekends back-to-back, kicking off with the MotoGP support race at Circuit of the Americas (CotA), followed by Round 1 of MotoAmerica at Barber Motorsports Park.

Let’s just say we were thrown into the deep end… and we swam.

CotA: In the Shadow of MotoGP

You can look at Friday’s weather one of two ways.

On the plus side, rain gave us a chance to ease into the massive CotA circuit at lower speeds. On the downside, it meant a slick track with limited grip and no real chance to push the limits. Either way, it was surreal to be out there in front of the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 teams. Big names. Big energy.

Practice & Qualifying

Friday morning practice was tense. New bikes, new gear, new championship, and a whole lot of unknowns. What would the gearing need to be? What suspension setup would work? Who was going to be fast?

Despite the nerves, I ended up 6th in Practice 1. The gaps were big between riders, so I knew I’d need to find another gear before Qualifying.

Qualifying 1 was dry, finally letting us push. I landed in 5th, less than a second off DiMario—the guy everyone’s been chasing. By the end of Qualifying 2 on Saturday, I was still holding 6th on the grid for Race 1. We didn’t make many changes—gearing was pretty close from the start, and our Cresson-tested soft suspension felt great.

That’s a BIG hill…

Race 1: Trouble in the Tank

We tried tweaking the gearing for more top-end speed, but something felt off. Every time I got on the gas, the bike bogged. No drive. Watching other riders blow past me on the back straight was frustrating. I ended up finishing 11th, and we knew something was seriously wrong.

Saturday night, my dad and Rueben tore into the bike. It wasn’t until Sunday morning that they found the culprit—clogged fuel pump and filter, full of black debris. The Kramer crew stopped by, took one look, and said, “Yeah… that’s not supposed to look like that.” They hooked us up with a new filter and pump, and confidence was back on the rise.

We didn’t have a warmup to test Race 2 setup, so we reverted to the qualifying gearing. It was a safe call, and I knew I could be fast on it.

My cousin came out to be my umbrella man

Race 2: Redemption and a Battle Royale

Race 2 was a whole different story. I got off the line strong and slotted into 3rd behind DiMario and Bodie. Game on.

Then came Turn 3. I ran wide, lost time, and rejoined in 5th. It was a quiet few laps—until Derek Sanchez showed up and we started duking it out. We were so focused on each other that it allowed Kody Kopp, Ella Dreher, and Rossi Garcia to catch us.

Final lap, I went full defense mode—held the inside, braked deep, but lost grip on exit. The rear slid, and Ella, Derek, and Kody all came by before the line. I finished 8th.

Frustrating? Sure. But it was a heck of a race and we learned a ton.

Barber: New Round, Fresh Start

No rest for the weary. One week later, we rolled into Barber Motorsports Park for MotoAmerica Round 1.

We had a strong start—good gearing out of the gate, and I finished Practice 1 in 4th. By Q1, I shaved nearly a full second off my time and finished 5th. In Q2, we tried a different gear setup and I dropped another 0.4s, finishing 3rd in the session. On combined times, I lined up 5th—middle of row two with a clean shot into Turn 1.

We were starting to lean heavily into data at Barber. Everything we learned at CotA helped us make smarter decisions here. They weren’t easier, but they had more logic behind them.

Race 1: Close Combat

Race 1 was likely going to be our only dry race of the weekend. We adjusted the gearing for more punch out of the corners—and it worked. I dropped another 0.4s during the race.

I ran in 4th for most of it, locked in battle with Ella Dreher and Julian Correa. I was faster into corners, they pulled out harder. Classic match-up. On the last corner, Ella snuck past me and I crossed the line in 5th—just 0.315s behind her.

It was a good fight, and I was fired up for Sunday.

Race 2: Slippery When Soaring

Rain rolled in just as expected. Everything was delayed and reshuffled—we didn’t even know if we’d race until around noon.

During our quick acclimation session, I felt great. Right up until Turn 6… when I highsided to the moon. Miraculously, I was okay—and so was the Kramer. Tough bike.

The windscreen was toast, though. No time to fix it, so I went out for Race 2 with it broken.

I got a clean launch and was battling with Sam, Derek, and Ella the whole time. But the missing windscreen hurt more than expected—every time I popped out of the draft, the wind would hit like a wall. I couldn’t make the passes stick.

Still, I brought it home in 7th. Salvage mode complete.

What’s Next: Road America

Two race weekends back-to-back. Rain, battles, breakdowns, comebacks—welcome to racing.

These first rounds tested all of us. We’ve still got a long way to go, but the growth from CotA to Barber was massive. I’m proud of the team, grateful to our sponsors, and more motivated than ever.

Next stop: Road America at the end of May. Let’s keep climbing.

Want to keep up with the journey?

Make sure to follow us on Instagram and check out Pressure to Rise on YouTube for behind-the-scenes coverage of the Talent Cup. Huge thanks to our sponsors—you’re the reason we’re able to chase this dream. See you in Wisconsin!