Personal History
Hi.. I'm Keith. Originally from Colorado and the RMEC enduro series I always had a dream to race in Japan and get sponsors & win races! In 2003 I got a job offer from an IT firm to work in Tokyo. When i first arrived in Tokyo in July 2003 I was shocked to find out that things were much different than the USA. I had to order my YZ 250 in advance as they do not keep them in stock at the YSP dealers and I could not just go and buy a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck because everyone uses Hilux Vans. My first friend in Japan was a racer named Takeshi Koikeda. He speaks encellent english and is pretty fast on the world scale. Now he is sponsored by KTM Japan but he still finds time to go riding with me 1 or 2 times a week at "monkey island". His home riding area. The friendships and the fun traveling around japan racing the JNCC Enduro's and the MCFAJ//MFJ Motocross have been incredibly fun.
Riding Goals
In 2010/2011 I had to go out to Afghanistan to support the NATO troops with an IT project so I lost some ground in the points race but I gained ground by losing a lot of weight. I returned to Japan in May 2011 and promptly got some great results.
2012 Goals are to advance from the Comp A class to the AA class in the JNCC Enduro series. If so, I would be the first foreigner to move through the ranks in Japan to the AA class. In Motocross, i'm currently on the edge of having enough points to move to the "Super Expert blue plate class, or the International B class". The point rankings are a little bit complicated so unfortunately I don't know if I'll make it until its announced as its a numbers game. If I make it, my goal is to beat some of the guys that are always getting podiums.. and get my own spot on the box. Also, I would like to start moving through the ranks of the FIM//MFJ Organization so that I could get a license and ride at other international races.
Sponsor goals are to continue to fine tune my bike and my riding with good equipment as well as show case the equipment to the Japanese racers to assist with the companies sales and the quality goods being used by my racing friends.
Competitive Highlights
At the Hiroshima JNCC I tried running a different tire (Pirelli Mid Soft) and ended up with some great traction and a great result. I pushed hard until the last seconds of the race and got a 7th in the Comp A class and a 20th overall, beating quite a few AA riders.
In the Motocross there have been times where the holeshot has come easy only to end up getting passed by the 2nd place and 3rd place as the race goes on, still getting a podium, but not the top of the box. At the last race I tried racing the KTM 350 instead of the Honda CRF and while I did not get the holeshot, I did pass a few guys and move into first place. Once into first I looked for the last rider and focused on him, instead of the guys behind me. It was awesome. I gapped the guys behind me by 2 or 3 turns and came within about 1 meter of lapping the rider in last place.. and I finally won a race in the Expert class! Was so happy about that and I didn't have any idea or expectation how good it would feel to win the race and be the Champion for that day.