Racers have lots of lessons to learn, and in Supercross and Motocross they must learn them at a very young age. And Torco Racing Fuels Honda’s Jake Weimer is on the Dean’s List when it comes to his learning curve.

Consider these points for a moment: Of course you have to be fast—that’s a no-brainer. But there’s more. You have to put together a whole season uninjured—when racing every week there’s little time to recover, and if an injury’s holding you back you’re going to keep losing points. Then there’s the strategy that comes into play on the track during the event itself: when to push, when to hold back, who’s going to do what.

“I feel I definitely had my highs and lows in the Supercross season, but overall I can’t complain. I told myself I’d be happy if I got a top five, and I did. I wanted to get third; I was close, finishing fourth overall. I got on the podium for the first time, and that was a big deal for me.

“Standing on the podium felt good. In the big picture, it was a long time coming. Ever since you’re a little kid, you dream about standing on the podium. And even though I didn’t get first, it was just good for my confidence. We have a long season, and when you throw some podiums in there, it makes all the work seem a lot easier—you know it’s paying off. So it was really exciting. I really enjoyed that race.”

This is Weimer’s third year on a Honda CRF250R. What does he think of the bike? “My bike is so fast that it’s hard to not wheelie, so I struggle at starts. In Supercross I always seem to do well in the whoops—it seems to be a particularly strong point for the CRF250R. The whole outdoor season I was happy with my CRF250R; it handles really well. Overall it’s a great bike, and it shows Honda’s commitment to build the best motocrosser out there. And my team is really good with setup. The bike does everything well.”

Weimer knows young racers (he just turned 20 years old in December) need to set goals for themselves early in their career. “I have two ways of thinking about it. I actually had this discussion with my trainer because honestly I wasn’t really happy with my progress. But then I stopped and looked back, and every goal I had set for myself I accomplished. If you look at what I did on paper, it does look all right. It’s not bad. But I think in everybody there comes a certain time when a light switches on and all you care about is winning. That’s kind of where I am right now. In 2006 I would’ve been happy with a top-10 outdoor finish, and now it’s like I’m really disappointed. It’s just that I want to do better than what I’m doing. Overall I’m happy, but it’s definitely time for me to step up my game.”

Like most of the really successful Lites-class competitors, Weimer has a long year, racing both Supercross and Motocross. And that gives him an interesting perspective on things—and shows how fast he’s growing. “If someone had asked me earlier, ‘How would you feel if you got a fifth at Red Bud?’ I would’ve said, ‘Oh, I’d be pumped with that.’ But then you do it, and you think, ‘I want to do better.’

“For me, I would say the outdoors has probably gone better than Supercross. Now that I’ve done this well outdoors, I look back at my Supercross season and go, ‘Man, I could’ve done a lot better.’ But all things considered, my whole year—Supercross and Motocross combined—went pretty well. I had no serious injuries, and it’s been good.

“The 2008 season is basically the time to win or to go home and go to college. Supercross seems to fit my style a little bit better. So in Supercross I’m going to go for a title. And in outdoors it would be cool to get top three. So as of right now those are my goals.”

Talent, drive, far-reaching goals and a learning curve like a rocket: With just a little luck thrown in, 2008 is looking like it can be Jake Weimer’s breakout year.