James Gaiser #802
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About Me:
I was born and raised in California. After graduating high school I joined the Air National Guard in 1996 as an
F-16 Avionics Technician. I attended college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and majored in business
administration. In 2003, I was awarded my bachelor’s degree. Shortly after, I was commissioned as an officer
in the United States Air Force. For the next two years I was stationed at various locations across the country
while I completed the Air Force’s flight training program. I am now the aircraft commander of the $200M, C-
17 Globemaster III.
I started riding in 2000 after I purchased my first bike, a 2000 Yamaha R6. After being run off the road by a
truck that thought it was ok to use two lanes, I was pretty shaken up. My friend introduced me to the track day
scene and I was hooked. After attending a few track days, I met up with Dennis Pegelow of DP Safety School
(now known as Red Shift). He offered me a job working setup and tech inspection and I was at the track every
month during the season. As my riding skills increased I eventually began instructing. This job took me from a
street rider and transitioned me to the life of track riding. I’ve ridden most of the major tracks in California
including; Laguan Seca, Infineon, Thunderhill, and Buttonwillow.
I hung up my motorcycle helmet while I was in pilot training. In 2005 I moved to Washington. I did some research and found out about the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association (WMRRA) and quickly joined. I purchased a 2003 Yamaha R6 that was formerly Chuck Graves’, of Graves Motorsports, personal race bike. The following year I was a novice racer and had consistent times that placed me in the top of the novice class. I completed most of my novice graduation requirements in between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the Global War on Terrorism. It was during these deployments that I met my teammate and friend, Jay Buchanan.
In 2007, I was hired by Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays to be a course marshal/instructor. This year I also completed my novice requirements and raced the remainder of the year in the expert class. I also competed successfully at both a 4 and 6 hour endurance race at both Pacific Raceways and Portland International Raceway.