Read about life on the road and beyond written by the man himself: Ben Thompson.
BIKE CRASH!
2008-04-28
I'm checking in from road after leaving Fontana on Sunday, May 17. It did not turn out to be the weekend we had all hoped for as I crashed during Super Bike practice, and broke both hands and fractured a couple of ribs.
Barber Motorsports Park Update
2008-04-23
Well, I'm on the plane flying back from Barber right now. It was a pretty decent weekend all-in-all for my first AMA race there. We definitely had our ups and downs as usual.
The Leaner, Meaner Ben Thompson
2008-03-18
Well a lot has happened since my last update. Most notably, I got a ride with Millenium Technologies KWS Suzuki. It's been in the works since last year and everything finally came together. They're a great group of guys and build some really good bikes. We are racing Suzuki GSXR 1000's in AMA Superstock and Superbike. I teamed up with Coach Seiji this off-season to help me with my training regimen. It has done me a lot of good. I'm leaner than I've ever been and I'm ready for the season. I've Just been training like mad in the gym, on my bicycle, and on my motocross bike.
August 3-5, 2007 AMA at Mid-Ohio
2007-08-06
First off, I want to thank everyone who stepped up to help get me out to my first AMA race this year. Namely, all of my existing sponsors plus, and most recently -- Midnight Sun Rider Magazine, Dayton Powersports and Lake Hood Inn.
Friday the 13th - news from Ben
2007-07-13
Sorry it's been so long since I've updated my site. As you may have heard, my 07 AMA Superbike season got seriously hosed when my primary sponsor was unable to fulfill his end of the deal. A serious downer for me as everything was supposed to be taken care of. Instead, I ended w/almost nothing.
Autobahn ASRA National
2006-09-09
I drove from Houston to Chicago by myself in the new Lester Racing 80’ motor home/trailer setup. Evan and Tray (from Evan Steele Performance -- my invaluable crew) flew in the morning of the track day on Thursday. We spent half the day prepping the bikes -- just getting them ready to ride. I got on track right after lunch; everything started going well right away.
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA
2006-05-19
A friend of mine Charlie Ramirez, and I packed up everything after Autobahn and drove straight through to get to Infineon on time (36 hours). We showed up Wednesday night, got everything unloaded and set up for Thursday morning practice. My mechanics Phil and Evan had trailer problems and were going to be a bit late with my other bike and all my parts, wheels, and everything else. We got up early on Thursday to make sure we'd be ready for the first practice since I'd never been there before. One problem, however -- Evan and Phil had my wheels, and weren't going to be there until after practice started.
Autobahn WERA Nationals
2006-05-12
We drove 30 hours straight from Tucson to get to Chicago on time for practice on Friday. We arrived Friday morning at 4 a.m. to find it 40 degrees and it raining sideways. I didn't even bother riding in practice because the weather was supposed to be the complete opposite for my Sunday races so there was no point in getting the bike set up for riding in the rain.
WERA National at Talladega Grand Prix
2006-04-09
It was a really successful weekend for the team of ESP (Evan Steel Performance) and Ben Thompson Racing. I think by now we've proven that we can be frontrunners in the AMA series. Now, we just need someone to step up with funding. There are so many people and companies out there who could EASILY pay for our entire AMA season and get the best advertising they could possibly get for their money.
GP WERA National Challenge Series
2006-03-18
I showed up Wednesday night ready for Thursday practice. It rained all day Thursday so we missed out on valuable practice time. Many teams had already been there testing since the previous weekend so we were behind the curve already. Took the first laps on the new bike and new suspension Friday AM working with one of my new mechanics, Evan Steel, for the first time. We only got four very short practice sessions to get the bike dialed in and up to speed. Evan made some very positive changes to the bike to place us fourth in 1000 superstock and sixth in Formula 1 qualifying on used hard tires while everyone else qualified on new softer tires. For Saturday, we got one short practice session before the endurance race. We got up to race pace on the same used hard tires with some more suspension changes.
WERA National at Talladega Grand Prix
2006-03-09
My bike was all set up and ready to rip for the first session Friday morning. I started out well -- after the first three laps, I was half a second faster than my race time from last year. We qualified third, only a half second off the lap record on used tires.
