They are athletes, but at the end of the day, they are also just kids.
When they are sitting on the dummy grid waiting for the five-minute horn, the nerves are palpable. You can see it in how they fidget with their gloves or stare blankly at the dash. At that exact moment, the absolute worst thing a dad can do is start talking about apexes, braking markers, or strategy.
My job on the grid isn’t to be a riding coach. My job is to be a dad.
I give a fist bump, wipe the visor, and remind him to just breathe and have fun. The mental game in motorcycle racing is 80% of the battle. If a kid is tense, they will grip the bars too tight, making the bike nervous and unpredictable. If they are relaxed, the bike flows.
Watching them learn to manage that anxiety is one of the proudest parts of this sport. They learn that being nervous doesn’t mean they aren’t ready; it just means they care.
When the green flag finally drops, you see the nerves instantly vanish, replaced by pure instinct. But getting them to that green flag with a clear head? That is the real challenge of the weekend.