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I arrived at Roebling Road at about 130am Saturday night. Gates closed at 10 pm. Oh well no problem sleepin in the truck. I wake up and sign up for my wera license. "We don't know what # you will be assigned, so use your CCS # this weekend". I politely tell them i wont be registering yet as I don't know what classes i could run. Unfortunetly they didn't have any rule books at registration. But did point out i could read the rule book online. at a track without any internet hot spots and only edge data service. They were kind enough to overcharge my card $20 so i didn't have to drive back into town to pay the gate lady. (You cannot pay for your gate & registration at the same time)
First thing i noticed pulling in the gate, is you cross the track to get to the paddock. This will suck i think, But crossing between sessions shouldn't be too bad. I promptly find a spot to pit and unload. Today is the WERA National Endurance Race so there is no sprint races. So i go around asking the SV guys what classes they will be running and what kind of gearing. I found out i was eligible for Formula 2 & Lightweight Twins Superbike. The recommended gearing was 15/43. Well i dont have a 15 with me, so i ran with a 16/46 setup.
Right before the Endurance race I came across a few guys i've talked with through the wera board (Team Bluegrass Motorsports) and offered to help them during the endurance race. We ended up doing 3 gas stops, and 2 tire changes. During the last tire change, no one noticed that the only wheel without a captive spacer didnt have its spacer in it. They ran like this for about 1h 45m till the wheel moved and the chain snapped and broke the clutch actuactor. They ended up finishing 3rd in their class.
Sunday morning I wake up @ 630 and get the bike ready for first practice. While i was getting ready to walk over to registration, I hear first call for lightweight practice. I'm like what the hell, i know i didn't take that long to get ready. (turns out i really woke up at 730 and didn't know about the time change). So i end up missing my first practice at a track i've never been at.
2nd LW Practice.
I go out only have seen the track from a track walk the night before. This track is FAST. I push myself to the 3 board entering T1 and spend the time trying to figure out the lines. Going into T1 i downshifted twice from 6th. Upshift once out of 2, down shift going into 4 and carry 4th all the way back to front straight. Avg lap was about 1:37 (horrible, but not to bad with all things considered)
Formula 2
I grid up 5C (13th). Griding here is different then CCS as it goes 3-2-3-2 instead of the 4-3-4-3 lineup i'm used to. I got a okay start and was mid pack till i missed a shift. After the 2nd lap, coming into T1 they start waving the red flag. They end up sending us back to our pits (which was great cause the gas light came on). They announce they are cutting the races from 8 laps to 6 laps and we go back and regrid. Horrible start this time around. Now i just focus on improvement. I ended up finishing 9th with a avg lap time around 1:33. I also noticed after this race that my brake rotors are COLD. stick your tongue and it gets frozen cold. I think you touch the brakes for a whole 1.25 seconds a lap.
LWT SB
I grid up 5A (11th). I got a okay start here. I just focused on improvement. I was definitely carrying more speed around the track, and the few corners i was confused about started getting easier. I was able to push my brake marker to the 2 board on the front straight as well. And just carry more speed through out each corner I ended up finishing 5th and dropped my time down to 1:31s.
Next up WERA Regionals @ VIR 3/20-21
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