The 2007 XDL National Championship took place in Long Beach at the Queen Mary late in March of 2008 this year. This is the last time it will be a one event Championship and the 08 season will culminate in the same physical year.

This was also my first contest on my new BMW F800s and needless to say I was a little nervous in the weeks leading up to the contest due to minimal practice time. BMW has kept me busy doing demos all around the country and I literally had about 1 week to get myself acclimated to the bike in stunt trim.

Friday was open practice and although I lacked my normal confidence on the bike, I was still ripping, proving just how in tune with the rider that BMW motorcycles are. Saturday morning saw the top 30 riders in the country vying for the right to compete in the finals later on that day. Only the top ten were taken and after a solid run, I was sitting surprisingly in the top qualifying spot. I rode well, didn’t make any mistakes and everything was working well despite the slippery and inconsistent surface. Under the circumstances, I was going to be satisfied with a top ten finish, but once I got out on the course, my competitiveness came out and I was going to win or crash trying.

The finals arrived and there were some killer runs thrown down, but nothing that I didn’t think I could beat…until my teammate Alex Flores (who qualified 2nd) pretty much blew the roof off the place. I knew I was in trouble and didn’t think I was familiar enough with the bike to beat him but I was certainly going to try. Everything was going well and I was punishing the pavement with the Beemer making all kinds of sweet racket with the inline twin when I got a little too aggressive in a circle, slid out, and put the bike down. I recovered quickly but the 3 point deduction for crashing proved to be my downfall and knocked me out of 2nd and down into 4th.

I was a little disappointed for not winning, but overall it was a great success for myself and my sponsors. The new 08 Shift lineup is off the hook and definitely the hottest gear out there and as usual Scorpion kept my head protected. The Maxxis tires did their job all weekend, the Galfer brakes were on point and the BMW performed magnificently. Look for me to be on top of the podium at the next event! You can come chat with me at www.Cyclespace.com and join up to check out the latest vids.

When in doubt, throttle out!

Check out the gear at Shift Racing

You can also check out the qualifying run video here: Shift Videos