24th-Annual Roadracing World Young Gun Honors:
By David Swarts
Roadracing World started this exclusive special feature recognizing the most promising young road racers as an answer to pessimists who claimed America had no new, up-and-coming young racers. This edition of the Roadracing World Young Gun Awards marks the 24th consecutive year of showcasing an abundance of new talent.
Roadracing World Young Guns have won:
FIM MotoGP and FIM Superbike races and World Championships;
AMA Pro races and Championships, including eight AMA Pro Superbike Championships;
A KTM RC Cup World Final race;
The Daytona 200 (8 times);
WERA National Endurance Championships and WERA National Challenge Championships;
ASRA/Formula USA Grand National and CCS National Championships;
AMA Road Racing Grand Championships and Horizon Awards;
USGPRU National Championships;
Many regional and local titles.
The competition has continually become more intense as more – and younger—racers with higher levels of accomplishment are nominated, and the level of achievement required to make the grade keeps getting tougher.
We’ve spent the last several months accepting nominations and evaluating road racers between the ages of 11 and 18 (as of the start of the 2020 season) who have, at a minimum, won Expert-level road races and/or Championships on a 125cc two-stroke/250cc four-stroke or larger racebike or had outstanding results as an Amateur/Novice. Most of the riders included here have done far more than the minimum.
The young riders recognized here are the most promising young road racers in North America. All have earned the title of Roadracing World Young Gun.
We will feature one Young Gun per day, presenting them in alphabetical order.
Sean Thomas
Age: 17.
Current home: Frederick, Colorado.
Current height/weight: 5’11”/145 pounds.
Current school grade level: 12th grade.
Began riding at age: 4 years.
First road race: 2014, High Plains Raceway, Colorado, MRA, Colorado Class, 9th place.
Current racebike: Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Current tuners/mechanics: Mike Lukachy, Brian Sharp, Scott Dawson.
Primary race series: MRA.
Top sponsors: Quikcycles, Boulder Motorsports, GP Suspension, Motorex, Scorpion, Sidi, Spidi, Flexi-Glass, G Force Powersports, Superbike Unlimited, Vortex Racing.
Recent racing accomplishments: 2019 season, tied for 32nd in MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Championship (competed in 3 rounds, best race finish was 11th at Utah Motorsports Campus), won a MRA Race of The Rockies GTO race, 6 podium finishes with MRA; 2018 season, placed 6th in MRA Overall Championship, won MRA Middleweight Superbike Expert Championship, finished 2nd in 3 MRA class Championships (MW SS, HW SS, Race of the Rockies U), 12 wins and 4 class lap records during 31 races; 2017 season, won UtahSBA Moto2 Expert Championship, placed 2nd in UtahSBA Middleweight Superbike Expert Championship, placed 3rd in UtahSBA KOTM GTU Expert Championship (3 wins with UtahSBA); 2015 season, won UtahSBA Production 500 Combined Championship.
2020 racing goal: Win MRA races.
Racing career goal: Contest an entire MotoAmerica season.
Racing hero: Nicky Hayden.
Favorite track: High Plains Raceway.
Favorite hobby: Riding mini-moto bikes.
If I wasn’t racing I would be…: Thinking about racing.
