Barf's mini racer Season 2 - race reports (2024)

New season and new series. Stoney Landers and Jason Paden have started a new series for 2012, MinimotoUSA and it was a great success for round 1 at Buttonwillow kart track. Brenden has stepped up to "shifter bikes" for 2012. He is competing in 5 classes this season. Minimoto Pro and Unlimited in his 10hp DM GP1 minimoto bike. 50cc Stock on the Barf NSr50, 50cc modified on his Metrakit GP50 and GP65 on his Metrakit GP70. He is still getting used to starts on these shifter bikes but isn't letting it die, so not bad. We arrived on friday afternoon so not much track time. Saturday rolled around and thing got started. Brenden is LOVING his NSR50 and quickly getting very smooth on is. His corner speed is improving tremendously. Without a doubt the best bike we've gotten for his development - THANK YOU BUDMAN. He also did super good on the GP70 (all blue bike). With a new club comes new policies. These guys want to teach what the pros do, so Saturday is qualifying day, Kinda cool. Though timing was an issue as they didn't receive their system yet. Brenden did fairly well. Front row on 3 of the 5 classes.
Sunday Sunday Sunday
Race 1 : 50cc stock on the NSR Brenden gets a good start from 5th and is into 3rd right away. There is a 4 bike freight train for the first 5 laps. Brenden tries a move up the inside for second and the door gets SLAMMED shut. He loses some drive and is slotted into 4th. He's right there on the back of his buddy Cory and Cory goes down. Brenden did a great job on the binders in the corner to not go down himself and not hit Cory but loses time on 1st and 2nd. He was actually gaining but they were too far out and he brought it home in third. Cory did an AWESOME job from last to come all the way back to 4th.
Race 2 : 50cc Modified. Unfortunatley the Metrakit had shifter linkage problems so Brenden had to run the NSR. Once again a 4 bike freight train for 3rd - 6th. Brenden went for a pass into 4th but once again got shut down. He battled with the other three all race long but could only muster a 6th. He rode strong. His buddy Cory rode smart and came home 3rd.
Race 3 : GP65 on the Metrakit GP7-0. Without a doubt Brenden's best race of the day. He was 5th on the grid and that way for the first 4 laps. He finally made his move. He got a great drive onto the back straight and just as Rocco was going for the pass into 3rd Brenden went around both bikes and took the spot. It was Brenden and Rocco battling it out till the end for 3rd place. Brenden got a little gap and then ran off track. Rocco closed right onto the back of Brenden but he didn't lose his focus and pulled out just enough on the final two laps to bring it home in 3rd. He looked the best of the weekend on the bike powerful 70.
Race 4 and 5 : Minimoto Pro and Unlimited. Both classes were carbon copies of each other. Rocco has been on the DM for a full season and his bike is tuned to a Tee. Brenden had 3 laps on his prior to the weekend and is giving up nearly 20 lbs to Rocco. These bike are being clocked at 60mph down the back straight, wicked fast. But in the end Rocco took the win in both classes and Brenden 2nd. He rode well and I'm sure hell be right with Rocco as the season progresses.
Over all Brenden's Barf mini racing, Viet's performance Bridgestone shod, Ace custom graphic, TTS, GoPro, Tom Adler #37, Grandma Jan,Full Throttle,Kniesel's painted, Lucky8design Impact safe-T armour, USA synthetics/Amsoil backed bikes did very well in Round 1 and are looking forward to the rest of the season

Thank you all for your support,

Dean and #44 Brenden Ketelsen

man... that is a lot of racing in one day.

Good results too

He looks sheepishly happy on the podium. Probably thinking " I got these guys next time"

Keep it up Team Ketelsen!

Thanks Budman. It was his idea to do the 5th class too. It was just going to be 4 which is plenty.

Annika, no worries.

Great stuff Dean. Glad he likes the Bridgestones!

Lance

@IBYS

Yes we will be racing on the kart track during AMA weekend.

Round 2 race report: Atwater kart track

So Easter weekend has come and gone, we spent it racing at the track and couldn't have asked for a better time.We got the weekend started early on Friday for a full day of practice. Brenden went out on the little DM and came off after just 3 laps. "Dad, I don't want to ride this" was his quote and there ended his pocketbike career. He was doing ok but was really struggling in the bus stop and with body position. Saturday came around and the struggles continued. Each time I would talk to him and he just wasn't getting anywhere. We did qualifying Saturday afternoon. Brenden did fairly well with a 7th in MiniGP modified, a 4th in GP stock on the NSR and a 1st in GP 65 on the Metrakit. Sunday morning came around and the bus stop was a little worse. He and I were having a hard time communicating and I almost packed it up. It was getting to scary for me as a father watching and anticipating a possible pile up with my boy or someone else getting hurt. I just couldn't have that. Luckily Stony Landers came over and talked Brenden through it. Race 1 : He went out for the Mini GP stock. Got a good start into 2nd and held it for a few laps. Ezra Beaubier and Cory Ventura eventually got around and Brenden came home 4th. But most importantly the talk with Stony worked. The bus stop improved.
Race 2: MiniGP modified. Once again on the NSR as were still having issues with the Metrakit GP50. Brenden is gridded 7th in this one. He gets a rocket start and the holeshot into turn one. Leads the first lap till the 26 of Jeremy Coffey makes the pass. He did 9 of 12 laps in the 41's with a fast lap of 41.54, big improvement over the whole weekend in the 43's or high 42's. Brenden held on for 2nd with a big CRF100 all over him for the remaining 11 laps. You could have thrown a blanket over the two of them at times. Brenden never faltered under the pressure and had opened up a 3 bike gap at the line. I asked him, " did you know he was back there" to which his reply was " yeah dad but I didn't let him pass".
Race 3 : GP65. Brenden got the hole shot here too and never looked back. He was clicking off consistent 39's and high 38's. He came home to the checkers with a half lap lead over Valentine Welsh though I'm sure this will change next race as Mike and I talked after the race about gearing. She was one tooth lower in the front making a huge difference. I can't wait for the next one because this girl is fast and can really give Brenden a run for his money for sure. It should be a good race so come up to the kart track during AMA weekend at Sears point (sorry, that's what I call it in the interim) a watch some racing.
Over all an AWESOME easter weekend. Brenden and his buddy Cory were on the podium. Ezra Beaubier got on the podium in his first ever roar race weekend and also I believe had the fastest lap on an NSR all weekend of a 40.6, great work Ez. Brenden made huge strides in his quest to master the bus stop. We also have to give it up for all the track moms as they spent Saturday night huddled around a table stuffing 600+ easter eggs and had a HUGE easter egg hunt in the paddock after the last race for all the kids. MinimotoUSA puts on a great race weekend so come out and race with us, a good time will surly be had. We would like to say a BIG thank you to all of Brenden's sponsors. Without you all this wouldn't be possible.

Round 2 is in the books and here are the current overall point in the club.
Top 10 Overall

1Brenden Ketelsen

16458

2Jeremy Coffey21014070

3Rocco Landers1961960

4Fernando Ulloa17312053

5Kenny Anderson1301300

6Dan Nathanson1178829

7Daniel Torres1147638

8J Andrew Preciado1088226

9Jordan Kanaday1006436

10Riley Snow76760

Round 3 race report:

Sorry for the delay getting this in but here it is. Round 3 has come and gone but what a great weekend it was. As most of you know it was held in conjunction with the AMA superbike and SMUSA races at Infineon last weekend. We were on the top of the hill at the kart track with SMUSA on an abbreviated race coarse due to the dirt for SMUSA. Brenden did race with SMUSA along with MinimotoUSA. So lets start with SMUSA. SMUSA has no 65 class anymore so he raced in the 85/150 class with the big kids. He was super slow in the huge and awesome dirt section but really made up time in the street section every lap and brought it home in 4th place which is darn good since he was on the 65. That and he had so much fun doing it. So much so that I have since bought him a KTM 65 so he can do some dirt training. so please check out http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=401100 . Brenden had the mighty Cobra to do supermoto with. Unfortunatly the only 50cc race is run on the road coarse so no dirt section. Not to worry though as that is where Brenden is at his best. He got the hole shot in both the heat and the main. It was truly a no contest as Brenden walked away in a dominate performance lapping all the way up to 3rd place and laying down some fast laps. I did notice though that his tires were DONE.

Now onto MinimotoUSA
Race one was the 50cc stock NSR class. Brenden got the holeshot and led the first half of the race. His buddy #64 Cory Ventura had gearing on his side though and made an AWESOME pass from 3rd into the lead going into T-1. On the next lap Brenden made a bad passing choice and had to hit the binders to not hit the kid in front of him on an out of class bike that was allowed to ride for some reason and back to 4th he went. This is something he's been working on and is still in need of improvement. He was right on the heals of the two in front of him and then on the final lap Jeremy low sided out of second and Brenden made it onto the poduim for 3rd. I think he had want it took to hold onto second but for the KTM being allowed but that's racing and Brenden worked hard. A great race from Cory and congrats to him on the win.

Next up, GP65: Brenden was on pole in this one but Jeremy was on the BEAST, his KLX143 with HUGE power and an extra 5 years of experience. Brenden went into T-1 in second with 16 yr old Jordan on his tail. Brenden rode a flawless race and never gave into Jordan showing him a wheel on nearly every lap aboard his KX65 and brought it home in 2nd.

Brenden only had on race on Sunday and it was the 50cc Mod class :
Brenden go the hole shot in this one too and was riding great when he once again made a poor passing choice and had to let off the gas or run off the track. Jorday was right behind him on his XR124 and also had to let off. That gave Rocco the chance to go underneath both of them and into the lead. Jordan quickly made the pass around Brenden into T-1 and B was back to 3rd. My suspicions about the tires were true. Brenden was sliding the rear out of almost every corner and then it happened. He low sided right in front of me. I amazed at how well he manages the bike when it's sliding so much. He was so determined to get back in front of Jordan and Rocco and was pushing hard. He popped right back to his feet and picked up the bike before I could even get to him. He was quick enough to keep third place and was even closing the gap but it was too much with not enough laps left and he came home in third.

All in all a GREAT weekend for him. With a 1st, a 2nd, two 3rds and a 4th on the weekend. We even got to go down to the big track and watch race two of Superbike and Daytona Sport bike on Sunday.

HUGE thanks to everyone that bought raffle tickets and to Budman, John from USA Synthetics, Matt from GoPro and also Zoom Zoom trackdays for their support. It truly made this weekend possible. Also to all our other sponsors for your continued support in helping Brenden chase his dream of becoming a Pro road racer.

Dean and #44 Brenden Ketelsen

Righteous ..

So bummed to miss it..

Round 4 - White City kart track. Medford, Oregon

Welll round 4 is in the books. We arrived in the afternoon on Friday to the Oregon rain. Brenden immediately put his gear on and wanted to go ride. So out on the Barf NSR he goes. He really learned to be smooth on the throttle and was puttin down some good lap times too. When Saturday came around the track was dry and all the kids got FREAKIN fast. Brenden and Rocco were layin down some fast laps on there NSR's and Brenden was doin well on the Metrakit GP70 too. His fastest on the NSR was also the fastest of the day at a 1:09.34 and a 108 on the Metrakit. Then the rains came back and he again went out for wet practice. How many of you have ridden the track in the rain let alone at 8 years old. This will be good for these kids' confidence when the go Pro for sure.

Ok, it's Sunday and race day is here.
Race 1 - GP65 on the mighty Metrakit GP70sp. Brenden was on pole and got a rocket start. His biggest competition 13 year old Jeremy was on the 3rd row since he didn't qualify. On lap 2 there was a red flag. Brenden got the holeshot again and Jeremy got a great start into 2nd by the 3rd corner. Brenden held the lead for that lap and Jeremy passed on the next lap then laid it down.Brenden got a good gap and Jeremy went down again trying to catch up. Jeremy still came home second. Brenden's Viet's performance Bridgestone tires were AWESOME. There so predictable. Brenden came in and said "Dad, my back time was sliding" with a big smile. Stony Landers said " when I can see his back end steppin out from all the way across the track, the kids gettin smooth on the throttle". Dam kid was makin' me nervous because it was every left hander from lap 3 through lap 8. New Bridgestone going on this weekend. Hopefully we can see some of it from the GoPro provided by Matt Jasinek.

Race 2 - Mini gp mod. Brenden qualified 3rd for this one but got the holeshot once again. He led the first 2 laps when Jeremy came by. Unfortunately he pushed Brenden a bit wide and Brenden made a cardinal mistake. He fixated on the edge of the track instead of continuing to look through the corner and went down. He remounted after I bent the shifter back into operation. But I didn't bend it far enough and it lifted him off the ground 3 laps later and he went down again. This time the bike landed on his ankle and he couldn't get out from under the bike. When I got to him he was in pain and the race was over so we took him to the pits for a look and some ice. Once I knew he was ok I fixed the shifter.

Race 3 - MiniGP stock or the NSR class. I thought this was a DNS for Brenden but to my amazement he wanted to race it. He wanted to get "back on the bike so I know I can do it dad". His foot was in obvious pain and it showed when he tried to shift the bike but he went out and raced anyway and came home 4th (also last but so what). I was very proud of him, he's a tough kid.
So all in all it was a great weekend. We did spin a bearing on the KX65 SM bike, we need to build the Metrakit GP50 motor and once again need an upper for the NSR but hey, that's racing right. We did get the foot x-rayed yesterday and there are no broken bones. Just severely bruised bone and bruising. He wants to go race next weekend in SoCal, I just can't bare to tell him the race budget won't allow it so I said he needs time to heal .
As always We want to thank all of you who help and support Brenden in his efforts to become a Pro road racer. You'd have been amazed but his efforts this weekend. Those of you who read this, PLEASE look over our supporters and call them first for your next purchase. We would appreciate you mention you hear of them through Barf's mini racer #44 Brenden Ketelsen.

thank you,

Dean and #44 Brenden Ketelsen

Awesome pics provided by Joe @ 4theriders. Thanks Joe

Barf has seen Anthony rise... And Brenden is on the path Dean.
Overcoming..giving way more than most kids could.. You should be very proud.

I have real pride in your guys effort... Give the kid a big high five from me.

Round 5 race report.

IT WAS HOT! We saw temp hit 107 on Saturday and 111 on Sunday. Needless to say Brenden was in a hurry to get to the pit after each session. He would take his gear off and dunk his Under Armor shirt in the cold water till the next session/race. He would than take out the cold towels and put them on his back and head to cool his core. The new Attitude toy hauler from salesman Tim at Best RV in Turlock with the AC on helped too (shameless plug).
When we showed up Friday afternoon we were surprised to see the never before ridden track layout in Atwater. We ran the track backwards with an added cone chicane near start finish. Brenden didn't ride Friday at all and therefore was a whole day down on practice for the new layout. But this is Brenden we're talking about, a BARF racer. So he was quickly up to speed and the four boys qualified all within a second of each other. All of them were actually happy to be done with qualifying and get a shower and some shorts on.
Sunday morning came around and yes fans that means RACE DAY.
Race one: Mini GP stock (the nsr class)
Brenden got an untypical bad start and slotted into 3 at turn one. And that was pretty much the race. I have to say, everyone seemed to like riding the track backwards but it was a lot harder to pass on for sure. Rocco out front, Fernando in second and Brenden 3rd and they all came across the line with only a bike length apart at best.
Race 2: GP65
This is Brenden's favorite class because he gets to ride the mighty Metrakit GP 70. He qualified 1st, got the holeshot and was checking out when all of a sudden he comes off the track where Stoney (club owner) and I are standing. Hard on the breaks and full stoppie, he says "Dad, my shifter...no, no". In a total panic. He is leaning the bike over so dam far that he stuck the delrin peg into the pavement and bent it outward, thanks to his AWESOME Bridgestone tire for Viet's perrformance. Stoney bent it back and he was ready to go. Unfortunately he was on a down slope and I couldn't get him turned round so I sent him out the way he was facing. The look on Stoneys face said it all and I knew I had done something wrong. I asked him "what should I have done". He said, "I would have held him a place or two". So I pulled him back in, turned him around facing back onto the track, waited for second to come around and sent him back out in 3rd. Brenden was on a mission, now about a half a lap behind the leader and 5 laps left,with one rider between them he was on fire. Brenden was laying down his fastest laps ever on the Metrakit and backwards is aprox 2 seconds slower. He got pasted Fernando and set out after Rocco on his wicked fast KTM. Brenden did have power over the KTM and was using all of it. He was able to get around on the last lap for what we thought was the win. He got a white flag. Brenden was left out of the podium and the protest was taken care of after all was done. Stoney, who's son was credited with the win, led the protest and after all was said and done Brenden was credited with the win. I was going for a one or two place dock but Stoney said Brenden in his eyes clearly won the race. Coming from a 15 second deficit with 5 laps remaining to lead at the line.
Race 3: MiniGP mod.
Unfortunately we are still waiting on parts for the Derbi motor from England so this was another NSR ride. Once again Rocco was on the killer KTM, we had little Max Toth on his also. Brenden and his teammate Cory (as seen in the current Roadracing world) on their NSR's. Cory's Dad Chris and I talked to the boys before the race. This was the last race of the day (race 13) and there had been 14 crashes in the previous 12. We told them to go out and finish on two wheels and not to push the pace. To date no one has gotten a holeshot against the KTM's or Brenden's Cobra. Brenden ended that though and got another one. He then did exactly as we talked about. He let the two KTM's go and backed off just enough to come home in 3rd clicking off consistant :44's. Where he had been doing low :41's. There was a lot behind this decision. The biggest being Chris and I seeing the exhaustion in our boy's from all the heat and wanting the best for them. Cory had already had two crashes, without injury thank goodness..
All in all a great weekend albeit MEGA HOT. I was chasing jetting and other small mechanical gremlins all weekend and didn't get any photo's, sorry.
MinimotoUSA has asked us to display Brenden's Metrakit at the GP races this weekend so come by and see it, say hi and check out MinimotoUSA for your self or the little ones.

HUGE thanks to all of you that keep Brenden out there. No doubt he wouldn't be racing without you. If your reading this, Please see the tag at the bottom and call them up for all your racing needs. Help support those who support. Thank you,

Dean and #44 Barf's mini racer Brenden Ketelsen

Sweet....

111... not so sweet ..

Way to go B!!!!

Round 6 Reno Kart track.

So round 6 has come and gone and yes this race report is a bit late, sorry. Round 6 was once again at a new track which is usually a great equalizer if everyone shows at the same time. Unfortunately Some got there Tuesday, some Wednesday and a few Friday. We got there Friday early evening and the track was already closed so Just Saturday and Sunday for Brenden. Brenden is a quick study at new tracks and by the last session it was just he and Rocco on the track and Brenden was right on the back tire of the Rocco "rocket" Landers. Matching him lap after lap for 16 straight. The tow of them were the only NSR's running 1:00 flats. The altitude was a huge factor here at aprox. 440 ft. The little Barf NSR was quickly sorted out but the Mighty Metrakit was very temperamental. Brenden had VERY little time on the bike all weekend. As a matter of fact we didn't get the jetting sorted till lunch time on Sunday and the GP65 was the first race after lunch.

So lets start with GP65 then.

Brenden qualified on the NSR and was 3rd on the grid. But he raced the Metrakit and despite not the best start off the line he did take the hole shot and left the field. He won by a huge margin. :30 seconds at the line and no one in site. A great win for Brenden and he was very happy after the bike not running correctly all weekend.

Mini GP Stock, the NSR class.
Brenden was 2nd on the grid but fumbled the start and slotted into 4th behind his team mate #64 Cory. Brenden had the pace to run with Rocco but the Reno track is very narrow and Brenden just couldn't get past Cory. He made 13 attempts but just couldn't get it done. I have to hand it to Cory too. This kid is the real deal. Brenden hounded him every lap and Cory never faltered. He held is line and even closed the door with every attempt Brenden threw at him.

MiniGP mod and the last race of the day. Barf NSR again.

Once again Brenden is 2nd on the grid and fumble the start. 3rd into turn one and once again right behind Cory. This was almost a carbon copy of the NSR race. Brenden made another impressive 12+ attempts to pass Cory and once again Cory held him off. Brenden actually got past Cory down the front straight and out broke himself into one. Cory was right there and went back under Brenden into second. Brenden really learned from both races and changed his shift point coming onto the front straight. It was exactly what he needed and he got an amazing drive off the last corner. It was too close to call from where I was but Brenden pulled off a photo finish and beat Cory to the line by an inch. These two races made me so nervous and I was cheering Brenden on so much that I had to sit down and watch instead. He learned so much in both races and hopefully he has gained a lot of confidence when it comes to passing as he goes forward.

We want to thank each and every one of you that support Brenden. He truly loves this sport and without all of you he wouldn't be out there.
Barf mini racing and Budman. The one that started it all for us.
Ace custom graphics. Brenden has the nicest bikes in the paddock. Thank you Mike.
Kniesels Collision centers for the beautiful paint that mike gets to work with as a canvas.
Viet's performance for the AWESOME Bridgestone tire's. They truly work great every weekend. Thank you Lance and Jeff.
John Lorenz of flattrackers.com for the awesome Amsoil products and for spear heading the raffle earlier this year. Lets do it again that was fun.
Lucky8design.com Thanks uncle Darrell for the incredible Resume. Your the best.
Impact safe-t-armour for the chest and back protector that I have tested a couple times this year.
GoPro cameras. Thanks Matt for supporting Brenden with the best sports camera on the planet.
Trench and traffic Safety. Thank you John and Bob for you support.
Local 3 operating engineers.
Tom Adler for your help with my suspension and talking to me in the pits about racing.
Special thanks to non sponsors Joe from 4thriders.com for the AWESOME photos and to MinimotoUSA, thank you Stoney and Jason for having this race series and for helping me at the track. I'm learning and you guys are helping in that process to keep Brenden on the track.

Thanks for reading and look for round 7 report mid September.

Dean and Barf mini racer #44 Brenden Ketelsen