Draik Beauchamp making new plans for 2018

Robby Bobby that is an outstanding offer!

 

This sucks. Draik and Kurt are some of the most awesome poeple I've ever met. I'm with the guy that wishes he was right now just so he could give the guy a sponsorship. Could make this year a little rougher but the character of that family, I have no doubt that this will just be a character building experience for draik (not that he needs it) and everything will work out well for them in the end.

 

Great offer and definitely one of the better people to learn from. Just keep him away from Clarence.

 

Put that kid on a 600 already. Hes too big for LW bikes at this point.

 

I hate to read this. Hope things get better.

 

send me the bill for Draik's first race weekend entry fees.

I like to help out from time to time and Mongo knows I'm good for it...

 

I have a brand new 2017 r6 that he can ride LOL

 

That's great if he can find enough tire money assistance. If not, running those little bikes is good racing and forces the big kids to really push, which helps their racecraft.

 

@Robby-Bobby , good on ya for making that offer.

 

And bpro as well. Good onya!

 

Anybody know what happened? Why did Cook (TDW) drop the sponsorship?

Knowing Draik, I know it couldn’t have been because of something he did (or didn’t do). I’ve know him for years and he is a great dude (as is his dad). Whatever happened, I know it wasn’t Draik’s fault.

 

You should be able to help out, after all you've got a 16,000 sq. ft. home.

 

Draik is a stand up young man.

 

Shocking.

 

Is this the guy who was posting in a buyer beware thread throwing around unsubstantiated comments about WERA and WERA staff?

Edited for clarity

 

Yeah, I didn’t want to repeat it and give it new life. It’s a shame when business dealings fall thru (for whatever reason) and hopes are dashed.

 

Yes.


He is great at crashing.

 

Wow, thanks for everyone thoughts and comments of support.

Changing plans was a bummer, but we know there is a reason for everything even if we don't understand it at the get-go.

I won't get into the specifics of the lack of reason for the dropping of sponsorship, I'll just talk on the good stuff, what we plan to do now.

We had already invested a lot into the season based on the offer we had received. Some of the items were directly bike related and some weren't but were part of the training he was supposed to be doing. Draik's race fund to a critical level, now working with a small reserve, we are making the best of the situation. Some of the items Draik had bought can still be used for our purposes and others have been put up for sale.

With the amazing help of friend and long time supporter, Peter Hupperich of Red Fox racing, we have gotten a bike, a 2017 salvage R3 and started sourcing parts too. Jesse Norton of YamahaR3racing.com is helping out, as well as some other silent helpers. Peter was going to be helping out the MotoAmerica season and despite the change in plans, stuck to his commitment and has gone above and beyond. Pit Pass Radio (Tommy Boy Halverson) has also decided to continue their support while Draik pursues the WERA Nationals. We can also say the same for Shane Richardson of Tint One and Dave Alison of 129Photos.com.

As great as the offer is from Robby Bobby, at this point we have to focus on getting the funds together to be able to make all the races. Without a guaranteed income there, we can't chance it and the additional expense of the extra travel from P-cola. We have circled our metaphorical wagons here in Knoxville to cut cost and Draik to get a job for make the races. He and I also spent quite a bit of time in the garage today getting the bike ready for new parts. He will be doing what he can to train and work out here from home.

We are going to do out best to make Talladega for the Southeast Season opener to get more seat time on the new-to-him platform (he only got one and a half trackdays on an R3). It may not be pretty (running the turkey pan body work kit) but hes gonna let'er rip and see what happens!

Once again, thanks again for the outpouring of good will. It's gonna be tough but we've been a low budget race team a lot longer than we spent on a big team. We know what it takes and will make it happen.