#121 Round 4

[BrianC]

Basically, my am. debut just sucked for me... the heat didn't bother me much as I drink water nearly 24/7 anyway, but for some reason I just couldn't match my previous pace. My best time of the weekend was a 1:24.5... more than a second slower than last weekend's pb.

Sat. Race 3 am. hwss: Last place
Sat. Race 10 am. mwgp: Last place
Sun. Race 1 am. gtu: Last place

Not too surprised to be at the back of the pack, but the one thing that really has me down/confused is that I felt like I was hitting every section the best I've ever done. With the exception of t3, I was ripping harder than I ever have, so to not have it show in the times is a bummer. T3 definitely had me scratching my head this weekend, starting out on sat. morn. w/a lowside in practice after I lost the front. For the rest of the weekend I couldn't get thru there w/out some sketchiness, and it has to be why I couldn't match my pb. Just a miserable feeling overall, but I'm trying to keep it in perspective.

A word on racing w/the experts... It was cool to see what they do. Getting lapped by most of these guys was no big deal, w/the exception of Narbonne who basically seems to try and chop my front wheel everytime he goes by. Once I actually had to grab a little brake which almost stood me up right into his rear tire because it looked as though he was going to cut me off. I have to say there is a big difference in the way the more mature guys like Wood/Greenwood pass compared to someone like Shane. Thanks to those guys for not being so encroaching when they went by. All in all I will learn alot from watching these guys, and the thing I learned this weekend is that they must be in incredible physical condition to ride the way they do. I have a lot of respect for them, and I can now see the bigger picture of what fast really means in this series.

So, I have alot of work cut out for myself, and alot of it is mental, but the physical conditioning part is going to be huge. Although I did finish the 2 longer races(mwgp/gtu), I am going to have to do alot of exercise to be able to ever run at the front of am.

Thanks go out to Low Down Racing for all the support... as always my teammates were 1st class in their hospitality, moral support, and help in the pits. Also James Flagg who spent a good amount of time helping me figure out certain parts of the track, and Tyler Sweeney for taking the time to answer my million questions about how to get as fast as he is!

Thanks for reading, see you next round

[Degsy]

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Sorry about the lap times but good safe debut in am!!

[union]

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Dont worry too much about the results. It takes time for most of us to get quick. Remember get markers on the track. Its the easiest way to improve. Do a slow practice and pick out things on the track that people cant pick up and move. Some times it takes a slow session or two to go faster. Youll get there.

[tls25rs]

Brian,

The times will come! It was your first weekend with the "big dogs" and you had alot going on. As Degsy said, you made it through the weekend safely and there will be other race weekends. Remember you changed the type of front tire you were using and you will need time to get used to how it feels compared to what you used to ride on. Different profiles can really change how things feel to you on the bike.

Regardless of all of that, it was great to be able to pit with you, as usual, and we'll see you in August!

Joel

[Doc]

Congrats on the first Am weekend.

Do a trackday and work on reference points, they can make your laps feel slower even though you will be ripping faster than you ever have before.

[supertuner]

brian,
how would you like someone to pass you who is racing for a win with the second place guy on his rear tire, beep his horn, tap on your shoulder, or maybe they should use the blue flag on you. Btw you are only 13 seconds slower a lap, did they lap you once or twice a race. In all honesty when those guys are battling they probably dont think if they passed you cleanly they hope you just dont change your line. Actually eric wood was impressed how shane could use lappers to control the race for himself. This is no disrespect to you but you should not call someone out like that.

[Chippertheripper]

Oh boy...
The kid probably passed him real close, thus "using traffic" like the announcer guy said. And I think Brian meant during each of the races. Either way, none of my business.

Brian, the shit will come together. A bruised ego is a great learning tool.

[darkduc7]

??? Chill. Brian was only making light of how he was passed, he was laughing about how crazy it was in the pits. Hes not calling anyone out. No need to point fingers.

Oh, and don't get down at all about times Brian, you're def progressing quick, and just one weekend of "slower" riding isn't a bad thing.

brian,
how would you like someone to pass you who is racing for a win with the second place guy on his rear tire, beep his horn, tap on your shoulder, or maybe they should use the blue flag on you. Btw you are only 13 seconds slower a lap, did they lap you once or twice a race. In all honesty when those guys are battling they probably dont think if they passed you cleanly they hope you just dont change your line. Actually eric wood was impressed how shane could use lappers to control the race for himself. This is no disrespect to you but you should not call someone out like that.

[supertuner]

"I have to say there is a big difference in the way the more mature guys like Wood/Greenwood pass compared to someone like Shane. " He used to pass lappers nicely and you know where that gets you? Second to jeff,scotty and eric.

[Doc]

"I have to say there is a big difference in the way the more mature guys like Wood/Greenwood pass compared to someone like Shane. " He used to pass lappers nicely and you know where that gets you? Second to jeff,scotty and eric.

If Scott, Jeff and Eric can do it?

I am sure Brian took it well and didn't mean to call anyone out. Shane is a great rider and I bet most of us wish we had 1/4 of his talent.

[CBR929RE]

you weren't in last for a few laps of race1 today. so you aren't that far off even if you were running slower times than you're capable of. Just remember everyone has an off week at some point. good to get it out of the way right at the beginning.

as far as the Shane thing, it could just have been the specific spots he passed you in where it just gets real tight for 2 bikes to be. My impression of him is that he seems like a nice guy and wouldn't want to ever hurt anyone. He was just trusting you to stay right where he thought you were going. Remember he is used to running AMA and just came from running Mid-Ohio with them last week.

[BLACK SQUIRREL]

You will get use to it Shane is a good guy and he is not trying to make you crash. Understand the fast guys do NOTHING better then pass people. It seems you just got spooked it happens to everyone. You will get use to it. Racing is fun.

[fastfreddy333]

My advise to you is, not to let your times bother you ( 1st weekend as Am. - different front tire - maybe a bit nervous - super hot - Ect. ) Your doing well.

My 2 cents on close passes by super fast experts :
#1 there is a bit of an expectation that if you have your yellow plates, you know the line / and will STAY on the line!
#2 A MUCH faster rider in a RACE wants/needs to get by you as quick AND safely as possible..he does NOT want to get hurt or hurt anyone else.
#3 Any top 5 Expert knows what he is doing and knows exactly where HE is and where YOU are when making a pass, he needs to get by you AND back on line ASAP, he will not put himself or you in danger intentionaly.
#4 Welcome to being on track with super fast guys

Keep learning - your doing just fine.

[butcher bergs]

Brian,

First off, good on you to have the sack enough to voice your opinion on something that concerns you. There aren't enough people who do that.

As others have already stated, don't sweat this past weekend or the lap times.

Looking forward to gridding with you soon!

[tsanterre]

You'll bounce back next event. You'll do a 19 and feel like you still had some in reserve.

Seems like my best lap times never come when I get off the track and feel like I was killin it. They always come when I don't really expect them to. Smooth is fast.

You looked good out there - keep it up.

[PainfullySlow]

Congrats on surviving your first AM weekend =)

Dont sweat the lap times, it is common to hit a new fast and then fall off pace for a little bit while you sort out all the new info you are working with. It will come back and then some, guaranteed!

As for going fast, I always turn better laps when I feel slow. When I am riding by the seat of my pants I end up trying to force things, and it interrupts my natural rhythm...the results are slower lap times. Try to relax, its the key to picking up speed.

As some others have mentioned, while I am sure you were spooked by the pass Shane made, I am absolutely certain that in no way were you in any kind of danger. Having yellow plates means you are sharing the track with guys a lot faster than you (and me!) and it is something that you simply need to get used to.

I just bumped to EX this last weekend and I can tell you I have a whole new respect for those EX racers. When I first went AM I was naturally passed by lots of EX people and even though it spooked me at first I always had room and never had to do anything drastic to avoid crashing, etc. Now that I have white plates I can tell you that the passing gets a lot closer but still it is super clean and I havent felt threatened in any way. If anything the EX guys try to give the AM guys as much room as the track and lines allow, or at least I do *shrugs*

My advice is this: If you feel that the pass was unsafe, introduce yourself to Shane and talk to him about it. I am just now getting to know a few of the EX racers and so far without exception every single one of them is a stand up person.

Anyway, sorry to ramble and congrats again on your first AM weekend. Good times are ahead for you and I hope you seriously think about the pass in question. Either reconcile that it wasnt as bad as you think or if it was, talk to him about it =)

[WordTooYoMamma]

"I have to say there is a big difference in the way the more mature guys like Wood/Greenwood pass compared to someone like Shane. " He used to pass lappers nicely and you know where that gets you? Second to jeff,scotty and eric.

Some guy with no posts before this comes to blast you for "calling someone out"...seems fishy to me.

[supertuner]

Brian,
Not to offend you, but with 6 races under your belt and a best lap time of 1:23 I'm not sure who let you from NV to Am. In the lrrs rule book it states. "Novices seeking advancement may
petition the officials and must run times within 112%
of the fastest time set in the corresponding Expert class
run under the same conditions." Do the math.

[butcher bergs]

Man! That comment about Shane really put the sand in your lady parts, eh?

[supertuner]

This is not about Shane, It is about how lrrs puts racers in dangerous situations by moving them up too quickly. With that little experience I would not want to be out there in the expert class. Lets keep the new riders safe so they will be around a while.

[darkduc7]

Brian,
Not to offend you, but with 6 races under your belt and a best lap time of 1:23 I'm not sure who let you from NV to Am. In the lrrs rule book it states. "Novices seeking advancement may
petition the officials and must run times within 112%
of the fastest time set in the corresponding Expert class
run under the same conditions." Do the math.

dude, stop dumping on his race report thread. if you want to discuss this, start your own topic. who the fuck are you anyway?

[butcher bergs]

Maybe try voicing your concerns with the officials that run the series because raining on someone's parade here, and all for a simple comment, isn't going to get you anywhere.

BTW, it's painfully obvious you are hiding your ID which is pretty fkn weak.




Congrats again, Brian. Don't let douches take away from the hard work you've been putting in.

[Chippertheripper]

My first guess at his first comment was: shane's dad.

23's to bump to am (in mw). Make the mark, get the plates. Keeps guys from hounding the don, and Wanda and whatnot to bump early. (yeah I'm talking about you)

[Jim]

Brian,
Not to offend you, but with 6 races under your belt and a best lap time of 1:23 I'm not sure who let you from NV to Am. In the lrrs rule book it states. "Novices seeking advancement may
petition the officials and must run times within 112%
of the fastest time set in the corresponding Expert class
run under the same conditions." Do the math.

Maybe you should check the 2011 rule book pal. A middleweight novice doing 1:23's automatically gets bumped to amateur.

Stop trying to shit on someone's race report. What he's done already in his little experience is outstanding. As much as we've busted his balls all winter, we're all rooting for his success. I suggest you do the same.

[FirstDuc-1098]