2026 NW Mini Moto 24 heures du Mini
Track:
Tri City Kart Club, Richland, WA
Date:
October 03-04, 2026
Results:
| Class | Result | Video |
|---|---|---|
| Mini Endurance | 2nd | N/A |
Complete event results at northwestminimoto.com
Summary
I was invited to race with Team Crazy Turtles again this year. 2024 was so much fun, when I was offered to come out and do it again I jumped on the opportunity. Riding a motorcycle for 24 hours is a very unique feat. In road racing, most circuits aren’t lit so this is just a special experience.
As we had a bit of an odd setup this year, with late rider adds, and a few on 125 teams, we decided to rename ourselves to Team Expendables. We had a solid race. We ran fast laps, we had only two crashes, but it turned out to be one too many and we lost the race by 1 lap over 24 hours. 1531 laps to 1532. It was such a close race. And while we didn’t quite pull it off, it was another unforgettable weekend at Tri-City Kart Club with NorthWest Mini Moto.
What follows is a chronological tale with photos and videos of the weekend for you to enjoy.
Signing up and Prep
As I said, we got to this pretty late. Petro and I had spoke about doing this months beforehand, but finding others wasn’t coming together… Until about two weeks before the event. So we did it anyway. In true racer fashion, it all came together at the last minute.
Track Arrival and Setup
I arrived at the trakc around 8 PM the day before the event. Before I arrived my pitmates, this year made up of two teams, were mostly setup. They had started the grill just after I arrived. I took a moment to unpack my truck, setup my sleeping bag, and find the fresh hop beer (brewed with Cascade hops grown in my backyard) so I could share with dinner.
I like to take a moment to check out the track before the morning. There is a brief period after Friday practice and when they turn the light down, where they let folks walk the course. TCKC is truly a great facility. The track is downright pretty.
We also set a schedule for ourselves beforehand. Endurance races have a habit of bringing surprises that force us to deviate, but it’s good to go in with something to deviate from.
Pre-Race
The morning starts a little before 0900, so we can have a riders meeting, followed by transponder practice. The last thing you want in an endurance race is to find out your laps aren’t recorded! This is also the calmest time to say hello to folks you know. From here most interactions become “Hey can you hold this fire extinguisher for our rider swap” or “do you have a longer 6mm bolt?”. Best to get the pleasantries out of the way!
First things first. Coffee.
The Hot Pit
This year was a record number of teams which meant a very very full paddock. How full? The right hand side had popups added to fit everyone. I think the count was 21 total bikes. Incredible.
Riders Meeting
Before we get going, we need to go over the rules. One of the things about NWMM is they really are quite open to new riders. Endurance is easily the fastest way to get track experience. It does mean that the preroll is important. Making sure everyone understands signaling, where the information is coming from, and operational procedures is important.
Here’s an example: While we have yellow flags, they are informational, not enforced quite as strictly as most sprint racing. You can pass under yellow, but it is expected you still respect the added risk. You could still be penalized if the maneuver was over the top. This is unique to most sprint racing.
Take some selfies.
Like I said earlier there isn’t a better time to say hello to your friends in the paddock. A lot of the folks I race bigger bikes with show up to this.
It’s a good time to mention also the number of folks not picture that I race with is kind of crazy. These endurance races are a reunion of sorts of current and past racer friends. It’s one of the draws of coming out. And the environment created from what I describe as “dumb fun” is a bit less serious than the road racing series I usually race in. It’s a good change of pace always.
Check up on the bike
Let’s Get to Racing!
1100-2250: First Configuration
Because we are at a kart track that has MANY available configurations, NWMM runs two layouts; the first until 2250, and the second for the remainder until 1100. The first layout had a longer straight and some easier passing areas, especially for our more powerful Open Mini.
1100 - Race Start
The race starts promptly at 1100 with a Le Mans style start. Bikes are off, racers are on the opposite side of the track. What happens next is always entertaining. Luckily I have a video from two angles you can watch!
1300-1400 my first stint
Our schedule started off basic. We’d run in order giving everyone a shot at the first layout. This is good for two reasons.
- The tires would be relatively fresh for everyone. Something you just deal with in endurance is a deteriorating vehicle. The grip level at 1300 on Day 1 was substantially better than 1000 on Day 2.
- The thing about endurance is it’s long. There is a lot of time for things to go… sideways. By doing it in this order you mostly ensure everyone that trekked out to the track gets a crack at it.
I didn’t grab any footage of my first session, but I did snap this photo afterwards.
1438 - Red Flag Restart
Remember how I said things have a way of not quite going to plan? By the 1400 shift we’d encountered a red flag that necessitated shutting the track down for a hot minute. Once that was tidied we’d have another start. This is a great time to bring up a quirk about endurance racing at the lower level. All race starts, the start, restart, or red flag, are done in registration order. Because our team was late to register, we’d have to repeatedly start back in the pack. Looking on the bright side it was great practice for passing under pressure.
1507 - Rider Swap
We’d generally swap riders around the hour mark. To get back on schedule, we swapped to Andrey after Darrin finished his stint after the red flag.
1604-1634 Session
My next shift on the bike was at 1600. I’d had a chance to do the layout so this stint was a bit smoother. It was also one of the prettiest. As I rode the sun slowly set on the track, bringing in the start of our night sessions.
1900-1930 Session
The first session under the lights for me.
2226: Off Bike Video (Andrey Riding)
While I waited to go out after the course change I took a video of Andrey riding the course so you could see it off of the bike as well.
2230: Red Flag
Halfway through the 2200 stint, we had another red flag that required a full course stoppage. This created an interesting scenario. We’d have a forced stoppage in 20 minutes, so this was a sprint. I fueled the bike to the brim which turned out to be crucial…
1120-2250: Second Configuration
As mentioned earlier, halfway through the event the course is altered. The new layout brought a shorter straight and quite a tight infield. It also was a shorter lap overall. It brought a new challenge.
The reason the fueling earlier was important is this: in a red flag you are allowed to refuel. But during the course change no motorcycle changes are allowed. Because we’d refilled the bike on the red flag, we’d had a forced stoppage, and we’d fueled the bike, we had a decent amount of range. Enough to do most of a stint in fact for me at the new start. Our original plan had been to start from pit lane and refuel immediately. This would mean losing a few seconds from the pits. It also meant another thing: we’d not get a sighting lap. And having a sighting lap was very helpful for getting up to speed with this new circuit.
2320 - Race Restart
I took the restart and got a solid launch, railed the outside of the first corner, and the moment I saw a gap on the inside of the chicane I took it. In the matter of a few corners I was in front of the entire grid. Awesome. I’d run a solid stint, slightly abbreviated due to the lightened amount of fuel, and handed the bike off to the night crew. It was time for me to get some Z’s before the morning shift.
Just the Restart
Thanks to Nate Werlinger I ended up having two perspectives on the start. This shows my camera (right) and his (left) as we start the new layout. I’m the bike on the left of his view, with a white KYT helmet and white and black leathers.
The complete 2320-0000 stint.
A rude awakening
One thing about endurance that I’ve said a few times is it’s unpredictable. Sometimes, rarely, it goes off as planned. Usually though it doesn’t. And for that reason, Darrin wandered over to my truck, rapped on the tailgate, and I sprung awake.
“Sorry to wake you”
I sit up
“So, one of our riders is experiencing pretty bad arm pump and is hoping we can shift the schedule to let them ride less”
I begin stretching while sitting
“Can you be ready to ride in a bit under 30 minutes”
Me: “30 minutes? Great! I have time to make a coffee first…”
Sadly I forgot to turn the camera on so no footage of this one, but it was uneventful.
0900-0920
The last session I had scheduled was 0900-1000. The final shift, 1000-1100 was to be done by Andrey. Andrey and I had picked one of us to get the first session on the new circuit and the other to get the last, seemed like a good compromise. Alas, I had other plans apparently.
My 0900 session was going great. And I was setting pretty darn good lap times. And then I tried to make a pass on the outside of another rider, a rider in another class, and lost traction. I’d simply went over the limit of grip for the amount I was asking from the tires.
I did redeem myself by getting the bike up quickly, which I was commended for, running it across the track just about as fast as I could, and getting it into the pits to be remounted by the next rider. Props to Darrin for suiting up in about 20s as well making it possible for us to bank a sub 2 minute lap, including my crash. Incredible.
Full Session
Just the crash lap for those short on time ;)
For those of you that follow racing you might be surprised I didn’t remount. One of the rules is that once you crash you are out until medical checks you out. So I had to, despite my head not hitting the ground, and the bike being functional in all ways, clear the course and swap with a teammate. It’s a good rule to ensure folks aren’t doing irresponsible things, even if in this instance I paid for it a bit.
I’d spend the next little bit feeling bad. My team narrowly had the lead from the other team (#28) and we had to push to stay there. But I’d went to far. It wasn’t until Monday they let me know I wasn’t the only crash; someone else had crashed while I was having my nap. That helped me feel less bad.
1019-Finish: The Final Session!
The other thing that helped the mood was an offer of redemption. Andrey asked me if I’d like to take the final session. I resisted, but he seemed insistent enough so I said yes. I went out and set my fastest laps of the event. I’d started the session down by two laps on the other team and would get us within one lap by the end. It was a heroic attempt, but as long as the other team kept the bike upright and didn’t have mechanical issues they’d be clear. They did a stellar job. After the race they revealed they had started to have clutch slippage and if the race went on much longer they would have been dead in the water. (Hey David, if you are reading this yet I think a 25 hour race sounds lovely).
The end results of 24 hours of abusing a mini bike
After all of that our award was a neat medal, a bottle of champagne, and the memories of an unforgettable day on this earth.
Thank You.
So many folks to thank.
- Thank you Anna P. for letting me run away for the weekend, skipping a training run, and complaining about the random soreness I experienced following.
- Thank you Petro K. for providing and prepping the bike for us all to ride. Each year we have the best setup and experience minimal issues thanks to your prework.
- Thanks to the team; Petro, Andrey, Darrin, Todd. You each gave it your all.
- Thank you to the entire pit of folks between both #555 teams. I ate basically none of my own food between all of your offerings, from lox on brown bread, to tri tip, to a variety of smoked meats, middle of the night chili, and even lunch after the event. Seriously, this was quite a step up from Petro and I eating ramen in the dark in 2024.
- And thank you to all of the folks with NWMM. David Price, you put on such a great event each and every time. Volunteers, we seriously couldn’t do this without you all. Thanks to your rapid tech, my crash cost us not nearly as much as it could have. You ran to our bike!!!! And to the medics who quizzed me after my incident to be sure I was actually alright. Even if my only injury was to my pride…
Here’s to the next one.
Bonus Content
If you read all of that and still want more there is a YouTube Playlist with all of the videos and a couple of extras.