Rhythm & Speed Racing
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769 William Johnson aka "Storyteller" Mass on the earth: 185lbs Distance from the Ground: 6’1" Existence: 30yrs Interest/Hobbies: Family/Friends Anything that scares me Indoor/Outdoor Activity Writing Stories Name it and I will try it!!! RaceBikes: 99 Suzuki TLR100 01 Suzuki GSXR750 "This my Story and I’m sticking to it!!!" I started riding in the summer of 1998 on a 97 Suzuki TLS1000. I always wanted to ride but never took the time to go do it. Once on the 97 TLS1000 I picked up riding really fast and wanted to go faster. Later I heard of a place where you could ride your street bike on the track. After doing some research. I soon ran into a guy named Butch who was already attending track days held at our local track Summit Point, WV. Butch helped me prepare my street bike for the track. The research had finally paid off. I entered a one day race class held by CCS in July of 1999. I placed 3rd in my Student mock race held at the end of that day. I really had no idea that I would love the sport so much. I only dreamed of dragging my knee while riding. I raced two weekends that year on a stock 1999 TLR1000. With my limited knowledge of the sport that year, the bike was not setup properly. The next year I decided that I would go for a Championship on a used 99 Yamaha R6. During the two race weekends in 1999 I met Roman Kilgore who helped me prepare the Yamaha R6 for the 2000 season. He had a lot of knowledge about racing and basic setup for the bike ie, suspension, tires, brakes, and overall telemetry. At that time I could not afford to purchase everything needed to make a perfect race bike (For those that don’t know, the suspension and race tires are one of the biggest expenses in racing). I was really close to having a good racing machine, what it lacked in suspension and good tires, I made up with trial and error, and riding technique. I rode the wheels off of the used 99 Yamaha R6 to maintain two 4th place Regional Finishes in C Sportbike and C Superbike and a 6th place at the Grand National Finals (GNF). The GNF is the last race of the year, you have to be invited to attend. You must be in the top five of your Region in any of the classes that you enter. With the two 4th place finishes, I was invited to attend the GNF held at Road Atlanta, Braselton GA. By now you should be wondering how I was given the nickname "Storyteller". Well, I started writing short stories on a chat board where we post information about riding and talking trash to one another. The stories I write give you a feeling of riding with me on and off the track during some hair-raising experiences. At the end of 2000, I decided to go Expert. They, say that making a move like that is very unheard of in Club Racing. Roman (WFO_180) and AJ (Buzzoman) thought that it would be the best move. Many of the first year Amateurs stay an Amateur for another year to capture a Championship. I was more interested in winning with the faster guys. Those Championships would mean more to me. Below is a picture of me in my first expert race where I placed 7th out of 18.
Another major accomplishment, in my racing carrer was the tryouts for the most prestigious Motorcycle Training Class in the USA. The Keith Code California Superbike School is one of the most premier schools in the country. I was selected as one of the Probationary Instructors for the school. To date, I have had the pleasure of instructing students in the fine art of riding on and off the street. At the beginning of the 2001 Season. Roman, Adrian an myself decided to form a race team called, "Rhythm & Speed Racing". We created this team in hopes of obtaining sponsorship and to work together in this very competitive sport. We have recently added a new rider to the team named Curtis.We work for our sponsors, at every event when standing on the podium, we thank sponsors, mentioning their and providing information on and off the track. If you are interested our have questions on sponsorship please contact us at rs1racing@yahoo.com or We have a very extensive schedule to follow this year, which is very expensive. In the end, we hope to run away with a couple of Championships and provide our current sponsors and potential sponsors with advertising and resources. |
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On my quest for two Regional Championship my current standings are: 1st in Heavyweight Twins where I ride I a 1999 TLR1000 and 3rd in B Superbike where I ride a 2001 GSXR 750. I have three race weekends left in the 2001 season. I hope to come away with a Regional Championship in one or both of those classes than go on to run with the Big Boys a the GNF. Below is a picture of me in action leading a pack of riders in a race held at Virgina International Raceway.