GEICO Honda Signs Lance Vincent
WHARTON, Texas -- The powerful GEICO Honda motorcycle team has added 18-year-old rider Lance Vincent to its roster. Vincent already has joined the championship-winning organization and will compete at this weekend's Freestone National in Texas.
"I can't wipe the smile off my face," Vincent said. "We had just finished putting a bike together to ride in the Lucas Oil Motocross Series and about an hour after we were done assembling that bike I got the call from the GEICO Honda team. What an incredible opportunity. Of course I jumped at the chance."
That call happened Thursday and by Friday the young man from Lafayette, La., was at the Underground Racing facility in Kemp, Texas, aboard his new ride.
"The equipment is the best you can imagine," Vincent said. "The bike was unbelievable right from the start. It's very powerful. I started out just riding normal to get a feel for it but what I found out was the more aggressive you are with it, the better it runs. It's made for racing and by the end of the day I was getting after it and the bike responded.
"What's crazy is this was just a test motor. The guys were telling me, 'Wait 'til we put the race motor in there.' Man, I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. This is a dream come true."
Vincent was added to the team to fill the void left by three injured riders -- Wil Hahn, Jimmy DeCotis, and Blake Wharton. Hahn is expected back in the next few weeks. DeCotis should follow by the sixth round of outdoor action, while Wharton is out for the season following shoulder surgery.
"We felt the need to represent GEICO, Honda, Factory Connection, Planet Fitness, Amsoil, Fox, DVS and all our other sponsors to the best of our abilities and adding another rider the caliber of Lance was the best choice," said Jeff Majkrzak, who co-owns the team with Rick Zielfelder and Mike Grondahl. "He's a guy we've been watching closely and he rode well in Lites East this year, finishing seventh overall, so we thought we'd call him up. We're happy to have him with us."
As for Vincent, he's keeping his initial goals in check. "If I can get up in the top 10 in each moto and help out my teammates then I'll be extremely happy," he said. "There are some great riders in this class and I'm excited to see how I'll match up with them. As the season goes along I think we'll reach a point where we'll want more, but for now doing everything they ask of me is the only thing I'm going to worry about."
