Biography - Early Years

Unlike most kids, Anthony's first motorcycle was a PocketBike and not a dirt bike.

Anthony began riding motorcycles at the age of 5, soon after he learned to ride on two wheels.

His Electric PB taught him how to ride a motorcycle, which handles differently than a bicycle. It also taught him to wear protective gear.

The CAG kept Anthony happy for many months. It was faster (35mph top speed) than his Electric PB, which topped out at 10mph and was the closest thing to a real Road motorcycle a 6-year old could have.

It taught him lots of lessons too, like not standing while riding and looking where he was going.

Dreams of racing were non-existent. That all changed when he got a taste of his Polini 910 Carena. A 4.2hp Italian PB which changed everything.

His Polini 910 Carena was the catalyst that changed everything. Anthony's competitive spirit was born and so was the little racer  within.

However, the road to becoming a competitive racer was uphill and it had lots of hurdles.

Throughout the off-season Anthony began to push the limits of his Carena, and time after time he crashed.

The Carena came with 5-inch wheels which had a hard time coping with the high-speeds Anthony was pushing

But all the crashing taught Anthony that "crashing" happened and that to be fast, he need to be SMOOTH.

The "Evil" bike is a Polini 911 Dreambike. In stock form it comes with a 6.2hp Water-cooled engine, but club-rules and his skill level suggested an engine-swap.

His 4.2hp Air-cooled engine from his Carena replaced the 6.2hp engine and his "Evil" bike was born.

Tires, 6.5 inch Slicks, were the primary contributor to the bike's stability. Suddenly, Anthony could go into a corner and not wobble all the way through it, as he'd been doing on his 910.

The 911 was also bigger (a Midi) and fit Anthony much better.

His first-win could have come earlier, but a crash while in the lead in race #7 and a high-speed crash in race #8 put the champagne on ice until race #9

Until the end of 2006, Anthony's motorcycle education had all come from PocketBikes and asphalt. But after many suggestions by knowledgeable people he got his first dirt-bike, a 2002 KTM 50 Senior Pro.

To compliment his new dirt-bike, he also got this first shifter, a 1988 Yamaha YSR 50.

For the race we only brought Anthony's "Evil" bike, his 911 Polini.

All was going well, as Anthony quickly came up to speed on the track, but by 2:00pm on Saturday's practice everything went south.

As he entered one of the fastest left-handers of the track, he crashed out and slid onto a tire barrier. The impact broke his ankle and sent us back home.

This was Anthony's first broken bone and it would have played mind-games on most people, but not on Anthony.

After 6-weeks of walking on crutches, Anthony came back stronger than before. He dominated the first 4.2hp PocketBike race of the season and finished 2nd in his maiden shifter race.

But the YSR was not working as expected. Anthony continued to gain experience shifting, but its suspension (or lack thereof) and Anthony did not get along.

As much as he tried, he could not put enough weight on the front of the bike to settle it and you could often see him and his bike bouncing through corners.

Like his first "Real" PocketBike, this bike was the catalyst for teaching Anthony how to ride a "Real" motorcycle.

The NSR had a real suspension, 6-speed gearbox and was FAST.

However, before his maiden race on the NSR the nightmare of January struck again.

During practice, 3 weeks after he got the bike, he collided with a rider and the result was another broken bone. This time his pinky finger paid the price

But just as before, Anthony returned stronger. On his maiden NSR race (race #5 of the season), Anthony impressed everyone by finishing a close-second.

Race #6 (second time out) caught him by surprise, but he recovered and finished second again. However, this time his passing was more aggressive and the show grander.

He dominated most of practice and his lap times were fast, but his starts were crappy and he'd always have to fight others.

However, the last "Main" of race #7 had to be Anthony's. He got an awesome start, and once at the front there was no looking back.

By the time he crossed the checkered flag, second-place was 8 seconds behind in a 10-lap main.

SCMiniGP's round #8 took place two weeks after the previous SMRRC round and included PocketBikes, something Anthony had not ridden in months; partly due to injury and partly due to null turn out by other PocketBike riders at Stockton (SMRRC).

The event was at Buttonwillow's Kart track. A place Anthony had never even seen, much less ride.

To everyone's surprise, Anthony figured out the track quickly and by Sunday's race he was running at the sharp-end of the field, even though he had to start from the rear in ALL races because the grid is made up based on registration.

Considering his performance during practice and the fact that SCMiniGP is PocketBike-biased in terms of classes, Anthony signed up for the 6.2hp Junior, SuperProduction Senior and PocketBike GP classes; all on his 4.2hp 911 Polini.

He put on an awesome performance, making it to the podium on all PocketBike classes he contended, and always battling for the lead or with the leading pack.

He finished Third in the SuperProduction PB class, Second in the PB GP class and First in the 6.2hp Junior class

The outings on his NSR were not any less impressive. Even though SCMiniGP does not have an NSR spec class, we entered Anthony in the 50L and Formula GP classes. Both allow for faster bikes than his NSR (Think FAST Metrakits and NSFs).

Though he did not make the podium on the NSR, he managed to battle with the faster NSR riders of the club

Anthony practiced well and he knew he could ride the front. Of course, if he didn't feel challenged enough, Cameron Beubier, MotoGP Redbull rookies cup Star, showed up on an NSR and ready to show everyone why he's kicking European butt. The heat races went well, but Anthony had a big crash on the final heat which put everyone in his pit to work to get his bike ready for the mains.

In the Formula 50 main race, Anthony had a good battle with young-gun Josh Serne and took the victory.

The Super 50 race was his face-off with Cameron and it didn't disappoint. The two took the lead and left the field to battle for third. Cameron led the race, closely followed by Anthony, until Cameron's tires gave way and he crashed out, handing Anthony the win.

The Junior Stars race was an awesome race with Josh. This time Josh pushed to the limit and covered any openings for Anthony to pass. The two left the field behind to put on one of the better shows of the weekend.

The final race of the weekend, the NSR Cup race, promised to be a carbon-copy of the Junior Stars race. However, this time Anthony learned from his mistakes on the previous race and out-braked Josh to take the victory.

Next time you see him at the track don't hesitate to say Hi! You'll be able to spot him from a mile away.