LRRS AM 516 Classic Weekend Race Report
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LRRS AM 516 Round 3 Classic Weekend Report
Where to begin...always a good question. *This time I'm going to start with the thank you list, which is longer than Dirk Diggler's johnson. *First and foremost thanks to Michael Weyant. *Without his help this weekend never would have happened in the first place. *Also a huge thanks to dynosolutions and riders discount. *Without these two vendors, who have taken extremely good care of me, I would not have been ready to race this round. *Many thanks as always to Mike Kurtz at MTAG for triggering constant chase bank fraud alerts on my Pirelli tire purchases....its bad when the bank notices youre chewing up your tires too quickly. *Also to Tony both for his track days and the bonus entertainment this weekend....never thought I'd see the day
A personal thanks to Joe schettino, David King, Chris handley, and Kevin Russell for helping with the logistics shipping the motor and Dave Kagan for his help keeping me on target making the right repair decisions. *I have a habit of over doing it sometimes and he does a good job keeping me in line.
That's*a lot of thank yous now that i think about it. *I certainly keep good company considering nobody told me to pound sand If I missed any thank you's then my apologies in advance as it wasn't intentional. *You are free to kick Joe hawley in the nuts to relieve your frustrations.
Now onto the racing...or whatever it is I was doing:
The three weeks before the classic weekend were just downright hellish. *Between repairs, reeds ride, traveling for work,*etc., I drove almost two thousand miles and flew about three thousand. *I landed back home Wednesday afternoon and had some errands to do and a girlfriend to prove I was still dating since I live with her but had hardly seen her in two weeks. *Even as I type this I'm on a plane yet again to my cousin's wedding.
I leave home at 12:30am to start my five hour haul to NHMS. *After two pit stops I arrive at 5:15 am and unpack a few things before catching a thirty minute cat nap in the car.
Find out last minute we only get one practice. *Awesome....I get a handful of laps to make sure nothing falls off the bike. *Glad to report nothing came flying off.
I actually got a second practice which was for Classic qualifying. *I use this as another shakedown session, consequently not focusing on my times and therefore gridded 11th out of 18 I think.
Race 1: middleweight super bike*
I'm gridded poorly as I have yet to complete this race. *I crashed in it during round 1 and the triumph had diarrhea for round 2. *Im anxious on the start line, hoping this race is going to be the turning point on a thus far difficult year.
Three board drops, I close my lid, drop the bike into gear and rev her up. *Green flag drops and I dump the clutch. *GREAT launch! *So unlike me. *Shift light comes quick with the newly lowered redline. *I smack second gear with my new quick shifter. *The bike starts to pick up through the the gear, then abruptly falls on it's face. *What just happened?!?!? *For a split second I thought the motor popped. I beg like a crack whore needing a fix for the bike to start up. *Around turn 1 it kicks over and comes back to life like nothing ever happened. *I looked up to see a red flag...thank god a restart!
As we are rolling around the track I determine the issue is as John warned: the QS isn't good on the launch from 1st to 2nd and I'll have to shift that one normally. *We regrid and now I'm nervous something is wrong. *I fumble the restart but the bike stays alive. *I put my head down and pick three or four guys off on the brakes going into 1.
I'm not feeling the speed at all. *My tires feel like they are spent which was actually because i over baked them on the warmers. *I pass a couple guys but also get passed myself. *I finish 10th a bit disappointed with how things just went. *Not the stellar return of the lion king performance I was hoping for. *I ran 22's...still a couple seconds off last years pace.
I roll back into the pits and tell myself now that that's out of the way we can get down to business for the classic race the next day. *I spend the rest of the day second guessing the bike issue and staring at lauren's ass...I mean
Day 2, Race 11, MW Grand Prix, The 88th Annual Loudon Classic (20 laps!)
This is it...the longest running motorcycle race in America. *Amateurs an experts are mixed into one big freaking wave. *I've been shitting my pants all day. *For those that don't race, you can't really fathom the type of speed guys like Scott, Eric, Shane, etc carry. *It's scary, inspiring, and down right fucking cool to be on the same track in the same race as these guys. *Begs the question: what the hell am I thinking? *I "race;" therefore, I don't think
We grid up, my adrenaline is pumping at max flow. *The flag drops and I get a better than average launch. *It's a sea of bikes. *I see a hole to the outside and point for it. *Shift normally into second and the bike falls on it's face again. *SOB! *Go into turn 1 dead last. *The bike fires back up. *I see someone down in 1A. *A restart will be good. *Hopefully it goes better.
We roll around the track single file. *Turn onto the straight and....NOBODY IS REGRIDDING!!! *There was no flag. *Stupid amateur...basic rule: always race the flags. *Everybody takes off like their ass is on fire. *This sucks, I'm dead last and there's no restart.
Fuck it: there's 20 laps to learn some race craft and have fun. I put my head down and go to work. *I feel a tad faster but not like I'm breaking the sound barrier or anything. *I set my own pace and start my ride to china.
The experts make there way around quick. *Scott G gave me a lesson exiting ten. *I latched onto him until the straightaway...which was the fastest ten seconds of my life then he ran away like I had herpes.
What feels like five hours later I've passed a bunch of people but have now been on an empty track for a bit. *Coming into the shoot I look up the hill and see Dave. *What the hell--I'm catching Dave? *No way...this is gonna get interesting for the last few laps cause there is no way he's letting me pass him without a fight. *Not like a civil court room battle type of fight, but like a Brooklyn street brawl I'm gonna give you aids type of fight.
I make my way down turn nine and flop for ten; I see Dave dumping into 11...I'm reeling him in. *As I turn into one I see him just making the flop over out of 1a into 2. *I should catchup by the bowl or the tree house. *Then, like cop car lights in your review, red flag comes out. *Son of a bitch. *
We roll into the hot pit and I'm breathing like I just did a round of bukaki with Jenna jamieson. *I pull up next to Dave, swig some water and ask how many laps we have done. *13 so far. *That's good cause I still had a bunch left. *The announcer says we are going to restart which I was happy about but thought was against the rules cause we were more than half way. *As it turns out they had to end the race cause the rule book gives no leeway for interpretation, judgement calls or what everyone would prefer to do. *Race over; i placed 11th.
Shane Narbone takes the checkered for the victory lap and we go out for some waving, wheelies and crowd pleasing burn outs. *I think to myself: that was fucking awesome and I wish it went 20 laps because I have a feeling a lot of things, like finishing positions, would have changed a lot over that last seven laps as people began to get exhausted and make mistakes they never would in an 8 lap sprint.
I learned a lot in a short period of time and reinforced a lot of basic fundamentals like never give up and keep pushing as hard as you can, but keep some in reserve for when you come across your buddy whose off pace. *I also learned that I'm very good at lugging around an extra 40lbs of man tits, gut and ass but it is a serious handicap to the stamina and many other factors key to doing well in racing. *Lesson learned: eat a fucking salad.
I'm looking forward to round four which will hopefully see me on a new machine a little more adept to the racing environment than the triumph. *The daytona is a great bike but I just don't have the bank roll or patience to make it work. *I'm in this for fun and some personal goals which I can't achieve if I'm always playing mechanic.
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Originally Posted by Palm Bomb
