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Cliffs: Dropped some time and got back to where I left off in August. Had a lot of fun and have a plan for the Classic.
Friday: Got to the track around 2 or 3pm since I decided not to do Friday practice this round. Unload and hang out with everyone. After Brookside, I sell a set of old CBR wheels that I had laying around to some local guys from the LRRS FB group with a lot of dirty looks from the guy who changes my tires. Got the bike thru tech without any issues this time. I also decided to replace the calipers on my bike so I did that and bled the brakes pretty good before I went to bed.
Saturday:
Woke up early around 630am. I finished safety wiring everything and then put the warmers on. Hung out within the neighboring garages of BT1R, ECK and RSP. Got to chit chat and catch up a little bit. Felt good and rested. Decided I was going to go out in first practice. I came back to C15 and saw Doug getting ready for practice and putting his leathers on, I said "I need to do that." His response, "Mo, please don't point at my butt while I'm putting clothes on and say I need to do that." That made me laugh. Got my leathers on, 1 minute left in the Group 1/2 session. I go to put on my contacts, they're in the car, by the tent. Crap. By the time I get them and put them on I only have five minutes for practice. Decide not to rush and skip practice.
Second practice, I got all but a couple laps in. On the third lap, I am going into 1 blow my brake marker. I stood it up and took the Nascar oval. I come back towards the T2/3 chute, there is a bike down. I realized it's also starting to rain. All three things happened in less than 30 seconds. Nope.com for me, I decided to pit in.
GTL:
This race is becoming something of a nemesis for me. My only goal is to finish. I don't care about what place I am in but I can see it is my worst race so far both rounds. Lots of people do excellent in this race, I do not.
I got a crappy start I was somewhere in the back of the pack. I wasn't feeling a 100% and was getting passed by everyone. Including Bill Cool who passed me coming out of 7 and had a train of experts behind him. I was screaming like a school girl in my helmet. Then quickly realized I had to turn and make 9. The rest of the race was pretty much the same. Got lapped twice by the experts and lapped once by the top 3 amateur's. Overall I felt like poop.
Outlap: 1:37.361
Best Lap: 1:28.507
Finished: 13th out of 14th
LWGP:
After GTL, I got an earful from Virginia. Rightfully so, I needed that motivation. Before the race, I decided to listen to my go to music when I needed to focus. I stretched then relaxed to calm myself down before the race.
Green flag drops, I end up somewhere in the middle of the pack on the start. Noel is right in front of me and gets stood up in T1a which forces him to miss the apex and go way off line for 2. I ended up passing him and another rider coming out of 2. I see the lead pack pulling ahead and already braking for 6 as I am coming up over the hill. Crap. I start to get a little hasty and make very minor mistakes. After a couple laps, I decide to push my brake marker into T1. The first time I tried it, I went a little wide since I missed my tip in marker and little did I realize, Kyle was right behind me and I forced him to go way wide. Felt bad but I tried hard not to give away the position easily. We both got passed by the new guy FAST guy Kris Hopkins into 3 and then Kyle got by me on the same lap coming out of 10. The rest of the race was uneventful. I felt better than I did in GTL but I noticed my line in to T1 is crap.
Outlap: 1:30.008
Best Lap: 1:25.967
Finished: 8th out of 18th
Saturday night dinner took a little longer than expected. Got back to the track to hang out with everyone. Had some of Jen's amazing cupcakes. Those were out of this world. Afterwards, Eva (Amy's daugther) wanted to race pedal bikes with me. So I borrowed Steph's bike with the purple light and turned a couple laps near the awards area and RSP garage. That was fun. She started to belch some notes in the middle of it, and I had no idea what she was singing but it made me laugh. Good times until her foot slipped off the pedal when she went over the train. Racing was over. Shortly after it was bed time.
Sunday:
Woke up early. Went out to eggshell for breakfast with Virginia. Got back to the track, plugged the warmers in and got ready for practice. I decided to work on my line into 1 as I was peeling off the straight way too early and I was too far on the inside. The first two laps I noticed I was about 5-6ft on the inside of the orange box. Tried to work on that for the rest of the session.
LWSB:
Pre-grid, I was lucky enough that Doug pulled up next to me and we had a pretty good mock start/drag race on the hot pit. Felt good. I was gridded right behind Kyle in the second row far right. Ideal for a start so I was determined to make it worthwhile. Get into my slot, gas light comes on. FAACCKK! I start panicking a little since I forgot to check for fuel after practice. DAMMIT! Too late, I'll just see if I can finish the race. Got an AWESOME start! Went into T1 in third behind #345(Faucher), and #103(CEO). Sweeett! I was determined to cling onto the front of the pack to see if I can get a tow and push a couple of my markers. Going up 4/5 #613(Doug) passed me but I hung onto the front straight. I peel off the wall and grab a downshift, bike becomes completely unsettled, stand it up and take nascar. DAMMIT! I pull the clutch in, the bike revs to the moon. (Come to find out, my entire throttle assembly moved. Even when I was getting off the throttle, it was slightly open.) I get back onto the track as soon as I can, by that point I drop about five or so spots. I ended up getting someone on the brakes into three. Kyle ended up passing me later on but I felt much better than Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could do an entire race with the fuel light on. Josh took care of the throttle issue for me. Thanks for that.
Outlap: 1:29.067
Best lap: 1:26.447
Finished: 8th out of 20th
Thunderbike:
My favorite race. I was determined to make the same start as I did LWSB and hang on to the front of the pack. Flag drops and I get an okay start I ended up being third behind #345 and #613. I tried to hang on but they started to check out on me by the second lap then Kris Hopkins got me going into 6. I tried to focus on my reference points and push a couple of my markers by a few feet as I started to have a pretty lonely race, around lap 4 or 5 I got passed by #298 (Sergio Di Molfetta). I tried to push and get the position back but he was on a 748. He would pull me on the straights and I would close up on the turns. I made a mistake by grabbing a little too much brake into 3 and slowed down way too much which killed my drive up four. I ended up finish in the same spot.
Outlap: 1:27.382
Best Lap: 1:24.007
Finished: 5th out of 9th
Overall, it was a successful weekend. Started off slow but ended up dropping down to where I left off last August. I was hoping to get into the 23's but I couldn't fart my way into them. Still I'll take the progress. I had a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. Center garage 15 has been a blast with Doug and Josh, lots of laughter. You guys are great and I really appreciate your help. I'd also like to thank Virginia for her continued support and setting me straight for the task at hand. Thanks for Steve Heider for giving me advice on a couple reference points for a few turns I was having trouble with.
I have a plan for next round and I will to see it through. Can't wait for the classic!
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99 + 02 SV650 ex-race - 91 FJ1200 street - 03 KDX220R woods - 12 WR450F motard/ice
