Local nine-year-old takes state 50 cc motocross title
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Still flying high, Jacob Gillis continues to rack up wins.
One of the state's rising stars in youth amateur motocross, Gillis, 9, accumulated 35 first place finishes last season. This garnered him the state championship in the America Motocross Association District 14 pro senior 50 cc class, the icing on the cake of getting to roar around tracks on a motorcycle and jump hills every weekend.
"The most fun about motocross is flying through the air," said Gillis, a fourth- grade student at Norris Elementary School who has accumulated more trophies than he knows what to do with. "I like the jumping."
Merging situational awareness, reflexes, balance, strength and stamina into one fast-moving package, Gillis moves up next season to the 65 cc class. Coached by his father, Keith Gillis, a Traverse City Police Officer, Gillis reached a new level of maturity during this racing season.
"We would have to explain to him that you can jump this or you can jump that or you can take the corner this way," said Keith Gillis. "Now, at Zeeland, for instance, he's analyzed the track and sees where he can do things faster and he knows what he can do and what he can't do."
"We video him and we use that for training and sometimes now he can see for himself and make changes," Gillis added.
With his increasing development, racing team Gillis last year met its goals: a state championship and qualifying for the Loretta Lynn Regionals. There he competed against 42 of the fastest riders in his age group in the country. While he came in 14th overall and missed out on going to the prestigious Loretta Lynn Nationals, that is now his number one goal as the 2004 racing season gets underway in mid-March. Getting to the Loretta Lynn Nationals in Tennessee by August will be a challenge for Jacob, but one that is doable.
Living the racing life nine months of the year is fun for the whole Gillis family. Their motor home and bike trailer are weekend fixtures at tracks around the state for nine months, where their extended family cheers Jacob on.
School friends and Gillis' co-workers also attend races and the family has made good friends on the circuit. While the competition may be fierce on the track, the friendship is strong off of it.
"I had my friends come and watch me race and last year I had my birthday party with them at the track," said Gillis, who plays center for Squirt hockey from November to March.
A former mechanic, Keith Gillis performs all the repairs and maintenance. Blow a clutch on one heat? No problem, Gillis has a replacement in the trailer and can quickly replace it before Jacob's next flag. He also lends a hand to other families as needed.
"I fixed a lot of other kids' bikes, on the 50 a lot of kids are starting out and so are their dads," he said, noting Jacob helps with some basic maintenance work on his bikes. "So I help them fix things."
Keith Gillis is nothing if not methodical and he carefully tracked all aspects of his son's racing last season: schedule, track, points, place finished. He also tracked the performances of Gillis' closest competitors and from all this data the pair decided this year to concentrate their efforts on fewer, but more important races and more practice. They plan to race in two regional qualifiers for the Loretta Lynn Nationals.
Gillis also recruited 17 sponsors last season to help defray costs of the sport, which could be staggering. As area businesses step up to help, it gives Jacob the opportunity to continue developing his talents.
"It's a thinking sport," said Keith Gillis, as his son added: "But you gotta be able to muscle it, too."
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