Garrett Willis Scores Two Wins and a 2nd Place Finish at Buttonwillow WERA

Under idyllic weather conditions all race weekend at the Buttonwillow WERA event Garrett Willis made use of his time on the track to post some good results and add to his on track learning experience.

The action started on Saturday with the Medium Weight Solo Expert 20 lap race. Willis left the line quickly for a 5th place position going into the first turn. He patiently rode a few laps before making his move toward the front when his tires were fully up to temp and after passing for the lead he held that spot until the checkered flag waved for his first victory of the weekend.

Sunday his first race was the C Superstock Expert where he started from 10th place on the grid. Heading into the first turn Willis rode in the third spot and on the next lap passed for 2nd and went to work to chasing down pole sitter Tommy Aquino at the front, eventually catching and passing him late in the race but he was unable to make it stick and Garrett crossed the line in a close 2nd place.

Next up was the B Superstock Expert Class and this would prove to be quite a duel between Garrett and Chris Clark who pulled a huge holeshot to lead the race early on. After exchanging the lead several times during the race the pair entered the east loop portion of the track side by side and stayed that way until Willis was able to take the lead on his Honda CBR600RR and cross the finish line first for his second win of the event. Afterward Garrett said “that was the best race of my life! It was fun dicing back and forth and I learned a ton about passing in a lot of places on the track.”

The final race of the day for Garrett was the C Superbike Expert class which essentially re-matched the earlier competitors from the C Superstock race. This time Willis started from the second spot on the grid and put the improved starting position to good use taking the lead into the first turn. Stretching out a solid lead well into the race until a less than ideal tire choice saw his lead erode to the point of being passed by Tommy Aquino on the last lap. Finding neutral unexpectedly also caused an off track excursion on the last turn before the finish line. Willis’s recovery reminded one observer as “something from a Steve McQueen movie” with roost flying from the fish tailing rear as he was able to safely get back on course and salvage a fourth place finish. Garrett would later say “This race was a great lesson about tire selection for me and I learned a lot more about picking a tire that will suit my style and work for me and the conditions for the entire race. It was disappointing but I already knew I was riding as hard as I could and my tires were going off so I was ready to take the 2nd spot when I caught neutral and went off track. All I could think about was keeping it upright and then getting back on track to finish as well as possible. I don’t think you’ll see me make the same mistake choosing tires in the future.”  

The next race on the schedule for Garrett is the AFM at Infineon Raceway on May 24th  & 25th 2008.

Garrett Willis would like to thank are the sponsors that support his racing and help him pursue his dream of being a professional road racer:

American Honda

Pro Honda Oils and Chemicals

Honda Riders Club of America

Mach 1 Motorsports

Pirelli

Leo Vince Exhaust

Keigwins@theTrack

A&A Racing

Rod Lake Racing

Jett Tuning

Dainese

Arai Helmets

RJP Racing

Mike Wymer Performance

SuperMoto Engineering

Please visit www.garrettwillisracing.com for information and updates on Garrett Willis and his racing.