Photo By: Matt Ware
Brandon Sommers en route to a podium at Unadilla last year.
Brandon Sommers: Lots of things going on here. I've been working on bikes a lot and riding and racing. I also started working for my dad (at GT Thunder) part time to try and make a little extra cash. It's been a real busy summer. I bought some land and even started building a house!
What have you done since the break started?
I went on vacation right after snowshoe. We went to Myrtle Beach for a week. It was Jeff Pickens, Traci Cecco, my new fiance Eryca and myself. We had a lot of fun down there for sure. On the way back, we stopped at the Bithell party cabin at Deep Creek. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long but had a blast while we were there. It was so crazy, I think Johnny Gallagher lost his virginity that weekend! (Laughs)
(Laughs) What else is going on?
We got back from there and I started riding again so I definitely had lots of work to do on the bikes. I've been going to the lake some with the Chirdon family, tubing, wakeboarding and fishing. Lots of fun. Last weekend we went zip lining for our birthdays and that was pretty fun. Right now I'm getting ready for the ten hr race in Iowa. That will be a lot of fun road tripping with Brian Wolf and Donnie Ockerman. And in the midst of all of this, Eryca and I have been trying to plan a wedding and start building a house. So my plate is overflowing!
What are your plans for the rest of the break?
Well when I get back from the ten-hour race, the plans will be to keep riding and racing and build a new bike for the final four races. Then, obviously I need to keep working on the house and plan the wedding, because we move in on October 30 of this year. We need to get going on this quickly, because if we get in there quick, there will be less time to spend money and fight! And beyons that, hopefully keep working for my dad and slowly get more hours.
I know it's been a tough year of recovery for you. You broke your leg last year at the Ironman, and then came down with mono just before the season. How is the recovery from the injury and such?
The injury was really my first serious injury. The pain sucked and not being able to race and ride sucked, it sucked about as much as going to France. But the worst part was being laid up and not really being able to do anything for a while. Everybody kinda' knows what went down with everything after that, I caught the mono and all, but it wasn't that bad. I just wanted to ride. During all of this, I definitely had some emotions, and it was hard on me, but in the end I think everything made me a stronger, smarter person on and off the track. I'm still working at my racing, but I'm learning to have fun as well this year. That's so important, with the dedication everybody is putting into their racing today, you have to have some balance.
How long before you think 100%?
I'm not really sure how to answer that. Endurance wise I'm doing pretty good. And my leg doesn't really bother me much when I ride. I feel like I'm going as fast as I did before. I believe most of the problem right now is a a subconscious fear, or maybe just smarts. I feel like I'm trying and pushing just as hard as before, but my brain isn't comfortable going any faster than that. I have some good weekends where I think I've got it back, but then there are some rougher ones.
With your success as a pro am and the consistency you had in the pro class, why do you feel you have yet to seal the deal and get the win?
Ouch! (Laughs). Well, jumping from the pro am class to the pro class is a big step. And then going from top five to number one is pretty big. There's a maturity that it takes to win a local race then another maturity to win a pro am, but then to win the ovrall at a national is a big step.
You know, I can go back and make a lot of excuses. But it all comes down to, in the end, there was somebody out there that put more into their race, and they beat me. Whether it was time working on bike, time training, or even putting more heart into the race that day to take the win. You have to put it all together and I can't blame or get mad at anyone but myself.
What are you looking to do these last four rounds?
Well, I would love to light the world on fire but my goal is to stay consistent and maybe improve my finishes a little. Most importantly, I want stay safe so I can get ready for next year.
Good luck. Anything to add?
Yeah I'd like to thank all my sponsors, Yamaha GT Thunder, GYTR, Maxxis, Fly racing, Fasst Company, Precision, Tireballs, Hiper, HLS, Prographics, G4 graphics, Wiseco and BNR. Okay, I'm out of here, hearing to Iowa for the 10-hour!
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