HE IS THE CHAMPION!
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE is the Champion, my friends...
'Cause heeeeeeee kept on riding, til the end...
HE IS THE CHAMPION!
HE IS THE CHAMPION!
No time for LOSERS 'cause HE IS THE CHAMPION...
Of the Southwest Region!
PHOTO CREDIT: Mike LaPutt
Sunday, December 3 is a day that will live in infamy, as my sweet husband, Patrick Bertinelli clinched not one, not two, but THREE Championship Cup Series southwest regional amateur motorcycle championships!
In his first racing season back from a devastating shoulder injury (crushed rotator cuff - the doc's words, not mine), Patrick piloted the No. 93 Krewe of Helios-Arizona/aztrackday.com Suzuki GSX-R 1000 to championships in Unlimited Super Sport, Unlimited Superbike and Unlimited Grand Prix.
Over the course of the season, he racked up eight first-place finishes, 17 seconds, 1 third and 1 ninth (low side, but didn't finish last) - not to mention a fourth-place finish at nationals in the Unlimited GP race at Daytona International Speedway (as well as two other Top 10s at nationals!)
As the season came to a triumphant close, Patrick thanked his wife (me) for her season-long support and sacrifice (and cheeky press releases), and lauded his competitors, including Ray Thibodeaux (Overall Amateur Champion, Heavyweight Supersport Champion, Middleweight Supersport Champion-Southwest Region) and Trevor Gilbreath, who retired mid-season, selling his bike to Thibodeaux so that Pat could continue racing against the damn thing.
Having tasted the sweet nectar of 190-miles-per-hour and more, Patrick has decided to kick it up a notch and take his racing career to the next level in 2007: The Expert Class (in part because he's not allowed to sandbag it as an amateur anymore). With the experts next year, Patrick will race against professional AMA Superbike riders during events here in Phoenix and elsewhere. He'll find himself racing from the midpack - as opposed to the front, except for when he saw fit to detour into the gravel this season.
"I can't wait to get back on the bike," he said. "I've made so many good friends and have had such good times this year - it's gonna be fun taking it to Dave "The Mid-Pack Wrist" Stone and the other experts. Plus Ray is moving up as well, so it'll be a fun season. I'm looking forward to it."
HE'S TAKEN HIS BOWS... AND HIS CURTAIN CALLS
RACING'S BROUGHT HIM FAME (BUT NO FORTUNE) AND NOT MUCH ELSE EXCEPT WORN-OUT TIRES...
BUT HE THANKS US ALL.
AS IT'S BEEN NO BED OF ROSES...
NO PLEASURE CRUISE (ESPECIALLY PUSHING HIS BIKE OUT OF THE GRAVEL WHEN HE MISSED A SHIFT)
BUT HE CONSIDERED IT A CHALLENGE BEFORE THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE THAT HE'D NEVER LOSE
('CAUSE HE KEPT GOING ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND...)
PAT IS THE CHAMPION - MY FRIENDS!
'CAUSE HEEEEEEEE KEPT ON RIDING, TIL THE END!
PAT IS THE CHAMPION! PAT IS THE CHAMPION!
NO TIME FOR LOSERS, 'CAUSE HE IS THE CHAMPION...
OF THE SOUTHWEST REGION!