Tuesday Toolbox with ....
Brandon Sommers!
Brandon Sommers has climbed the ranks. From a real First Year Racer in 2003 to a C, B and A class champion, the hard-working young man from Ohio is out front early in the XC2 Pro Am class with four-straight wins. The Sommers name might be familiar since Brandon’s father, Lazarus, runs the popular GT Thunder ATV race shop that won Sponsor of the Year at the GNCC banquet last year, but Brandon is all business. The business of getting better as a racer.
 Brandon Sommers. Harlen Foley photo- ATVRiders.com |
So, it’s Monday afternoon. What are you doing right now? Do you work at your dad’s shop?
No, I actually don’t work at my dad’s shop. I have a receiving job at a warehouse, and I work from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. And then I come home and spend the evenings and weekends doing nothing but training, riding or working on quads. That’s all—I don’t have anything else going on.
And nowadays you need to train this hard to progress like you have?
Yeah. My dad got me started on a training program a few years ago, so my training is similar to that now. But with the pace we’re going now, and with every race counting, you have to spend more time getting the bikes ready.
So you work on your own stuff.
Oh yeah. I do my own work. Once in awhile my dad will do something to my bike, but I don’t like him doing anything unless I’m there watching. I can rebuild and service my own shocks, and my own motors. I’ll usually have him there watching just in case when I build the race bike, but I do it, Tire Balls, whatever it is. In his shop, I have a little room, it’s pretty cool, and that’s where I work on my stuff. I don’t do any work in his shop for customers. My regular job is to do with horses, and I’m not even a fan of that.
What kind of training you doing?
During the winter we can’t get too much riding in, but during the summer, we shoot for getting in three to four days a week. I try to ride on Tuesday or Thursday. Other times like this past weekend, I raced Saturday and Sunday. Ever since Georgia, I’ve been riding at least four days a week, if you include the races. Whatever days I don’t ride, I spend an hour training with cardio, at least.
 Brandon hasn't lost yet in '07. Harlen Foley photo - ATVRiders.com |
A lot of riders start racing this series the day they’re 16. You didn’t do it that way, take us through your career.
I was six when I got my first 3-wheeler, it was an ATV 70 I would ride around the yard. I didn’t ride very much then. Every once in a while my dad’s shop would have a dirt bike around. I liked to ride it, but I never got to ride as much as I wanted to. When I was 14, I got my own job. I always wanted to race, but he told me to wait until I was 18. He didn’t want me to get banged up on his account. I raced a few times in motocross. I was really bad, I couldn’t keep two wheels up for nothing. The year before I started racing, my dad’s shop was all motocross. But he had some customers who raced cross country, too, so he wanted to see what it was all about. He bought a stock 400EX, and we went to Florida the year it was totally underwater. He raced a few events and got into it, he would make small improvements to the machine each race. He told me I might like it, and it might work out better for me than the motocross. He told me if I followed his training program and stuff, I could do well. I ran first year racer a few times there. I won first year racer, and I was ecstatic. The next year I raced the C class, and I didn’t know what to expect. That winter I started doing a lot of bicycling to get in shape. It started out okay, then all of a sudden I got a bunch of wins in a row, and it started going real good. Then I raced stock class and made a few podiums, then I did B, A, and now Pro Am. The training, I think in the winter time, I spent a lot of time on the quad.
How?
I would ride in the cold, although it had been pretty warm up here through December. All through December I was riding twice a week. Over Christmas we went down to Florida a lot, and I rode with Taylor Kiser. Old man Gallagher came once, too.
I know with GT Thunder, and Yamaha, that you’re program has a connection with Johnny Gallagher and the Ballance boys and people like that. Do you ride with them much?
At the races, I always hang out with Johnny there. But he’s actually, the past four or five weeks, he’s been riding with me. He’s ridden with me more these last four or five weeks than I’ve ever ridden with me. I’d like to see him keep it up.
You ever ride with Ballance?
I went down to Bill’s twice during the winter twice. Taylor came up for that, too. I always talk to Bill and BJ at the races, but as far as riding together, we don’t ride together too much.
 Brandon's race shop. |
How did the Yamaha deal happen?
They came to me at the end of last year and threw some stuff out there. They’re helping me out with bikes and a parts allowance, and it’s been awesome to get that. It’s not a full-out factory ride, it’s been a huge help, and it’s great to get that foot in the door.
Well, now you’re a Pro Am guy, and the goal for anyone at your level is to get to the point where you can race full time. Have you thought about that at all?
Oh yeah, I’m definitely thinking about that. Me and my dad have talked about it, with my dad’s business, it would help, because he goes to the races so that takes care of my travel expenses and stuff. If my year keeps going real good like this, I don’t expect to see myself go full time next year, but I would love to see it maybe in the next year or two.
Take us through this year. You’ve won all the races. Did you expect that?
Oh no. Last year we came back from the summer break and I was getting a lot of competition in the A class. Ockerman was really going well at Yadkinville. I knew there were guys in that pro am class that I had raced before at local races, and I knew they were quick. It’s a good strong class, I knew it was going to be tough. I trained real hard over the winter, but I did not expect four wins.
 Quad-sized garages! |
Now that you’re winning, does your strategy change? Do you race to win now just to keep the streak going?
Right now the goal is to go out and do my best, and win the championship first. I would like to stay in the top three at all the races, I’m not going to take a huge risk on the last lap just to try to win the race. One of the biggest differences is being prepared mentally.
Okay, I keep hearing racers say that. What does that mean? How do you train mentally?
When you go into a race, if you don’t pay attention to your mental state, you’ll have good races and bad races, if you don’t pay attention. You’ll make dumb mistakes. A lot of riders look over small things that they don’t think matters. Like watching your diet, turning away one piece of candy, it’s not going to make a real difference, but turning that one piece of candy away, it’s part of your mental training of teaching your mind not to do whatever it wants to do. You have to have all the spokes in the wheel to make racing work. You miss one spoke, and you’re done.
You’re working hard. Is it still fun?
You know, you have your ups and downs with it. Just like this year, some things happen, and it’s pretty hectic. You think about what you could do with all the time you spend on racing. This is even after a couple of wins, I would think about this. Then I think, if I didn’t have racing, what would I do? The racing is awesome, and every time I pull up to the line, I love it. I enjoy working on the bikes, but sometimes you miss out on things you would like to do. But I am definitely having fun.
 Brandon all buffed up. This photo also starring the world's best announcer! (That's right, Rodney) Harlen Foley photo again |
Okay who do you want to thank?
Of course GT Thunder, Yamaha, Maxxis, Hyper, Fly Racing, Powermadd, flexx handlebars, pro grafx, tire balls, EVS, HMF, ATV 4 Play and DP brakes.
No shock company?
No, I run stock shocks.
No way!
Yeah! So does Taylor Kiser. My dad’s been working on it, he built a set of A-arms to work with the stock shocks, and a linkage to work with the rear shock. He has that revalved, that’s all. I’d be willing to bet that my suspension on my bike, there’s probably four guys in the pro class that have better suspension than mine, that’s it. Just like with the dirt bikes, a lot of people are running stock shocks. Down the road that’s where it’s gonna’ go, so I did it and they were amazing. Then over the winter, we did some more testing, he has a new piston he’s coming out with in the fall. It’s unbelievable how much better it’s going to work.
Well I’m sure Yamaha doesn’t mind you winning races on those stock shocks! Well done this year, Brandon, good luck.
Thanks, Jason.
