Former AMA Pro and World Superbike regular Geoff May is feeling optimistic about his upcoming one-off ride with the ezVerify/Turbo Turtle Racing Honda team September 11-13 at New Jersey Motorsport Park and has his sights set on a podium finish and earning new opportunities for 2016.
May’s only rides this season have been a crowd-funded effort in the Daytona 200, which netted a pole position and a third-place finish on his personal Yamaha YZF-R6, and one-event appearance on the Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 machine, which ended with seventh- and a fourth-place finishes at Circuit of The Americas.
“I miss riding,” May told Roadracingworld.com Thursday. “I recently did a track day with Sportbike Track Time at Road Atlanta just because I felt like I was going insane and needed to ride a motorcycle. So this all fell together at the right time.”
May said he got a call from ezVerify/Turbo Turtle Racing Team Manager Ken Cordero asking if he was available and interested to ride for them, and May met up with the team this past weekend for a test during a CCS race event at Roebling Road Raceway, near Savannah, Georgia.
“Everything was really good,” said May. “I was actually surprised by the Honda. I’ve heard a lot of things about it. It’s one of the older motorcycles out there. I think it’s been the same bike since 2008. But I knew it had potential from having to race Jake Holden in the past when he used to ride for Corona Honda when I used to ride the National Guard/Jordan Suzuki. The thing was fast.
“So I felt there was potential there, but I was still surprised at how well it did a couple of things. The chassis was really forgiving. It has a lot of feel in the front end and the back end and gave me a lot of confidence. I was surprised by that. I felt like it honestly finished the corner better than any motorcycle I’ve ever ridden. The thing is very predictable when it slides and how it slides, and it’s still driving forward while it’s sliding kind of like a Ducati or the EBR would. That kind of blew me away because all of the inline four stuff I’ve ridden once you get the thing sideways they just want to burn the tire off or try to highside you and you’re spinning and not moving forward. The Honda didn’t have that kind of engine characteristic. It was more linear, like a twin.
“I think we have a good shot at a good result at New Jersey just from what we saw in testing. I know it’s a tall order, but I want to be up front with the regulars. My goal is to be right on the back of [Cameron] Beaubier, [Josh] Hayes, [Roger] Hayden and [Jake] Lewis and put myself in a position to where if I’m a little bit lucky I can get a podium.
“I’m feeling good going into this. I feel like I can take everything with a grain of salt. It’s the last race of the year. There’s no pressure from anyone other than myself. It feels like the project I put together for Daytona. I feel like I’ve got all the right pieces of the puzzle that I need to go out there and be successful. It’s fun. It has a good, fun feel to it. [Team Owner] Gerry [Glass] and Ken Cordero and the guys at Turbo Turtle Racing have given me the tools I need to succeed.”
Glass told Roadracingworld.com on August 28 that he was already making plans for the 2016 MotoAmerica season, including trying out new riders like May and preparing for a switch of machinery.
May said his commitment to ezVerify/Turbo Turtle Racing is only for the event at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but he hopes this activity will lead to a full-time ride for the 2016 season.