6
Well, I guess it's no secret I'm dipping my toe back in the racing water and it feels fine. Living with JerseyGirl make it pretty hard to avoid actually, so thanks to her for making it happen, and congrats to her on some great races this weekend. Kerry races a gorgeous and fast Honda CB350 with vintage clubs all over the east coast. Anyway, this weekend was AHRMA at NJMPs Thunderbolt and is happened to be my birthday so I dialed up some friends to secure a 125 to race. Thanks to Neil and Jeff for all their generosity. I ended up with Jeff's number 202 bike and it performed flawlessly.
We rolled thursday night and got word that the track was hit with heavy thunderstorms. We arrive to see some broken canopies and a LOT of standing water. Rivers and mud flowing across the track in T1, T3, T5, T10 and the kink.
Friday dawned hot and muggy. The water wasn't going anywhere fast and practices were effected til noon. There were loads of crashes, and short sessions. The track dried by noon, and then someone oiled half the track. Never got a sense of my potential laptimes, but I got re-acquainted with Tbolt and with riding a 125. I love this track! and I still love the 125.
Right around the final hour of practice the thunderstorms rolled in. This was like Armageddon. Strongest storm I have ever seen in the northeast. It was like a hurricane for about 30 minutes. the tracks canopy lifted the giant cement blocks it was tied to and floated by. THe doors to the classroom were ripped off their hinges. and many more tents and canopies were destroyed while we all had a beer and watched the mayhem from the garages. Aaah, track life.
Saturday the track was worse, and practice was wet/dry. The river flowing across three would not dry until the final race of the day. I only entered one class called Sound of Singles 3. A handful of 125s showed up as well as a bunch of supersingle racebikes of all types. There was another class on the grid with us in a one wave start. I was on row 5 or so and I was sure to get smoked off the line by all the big diesels.
At the 1 board I pinned the throttle and feathered the clutch, and Jeff's 125 took off like a rocketship. Whoa! that was different. I wheelied it through the pack and passed a few more into T1 slotting into 4th. Passed another into T2, and was not far from the overall leader and AMA/CCS fast guy Mark Heckles on the CR750. By T9 I had worked my way to 2nd and put a move on Mark in T10. I tucked in tight on teh straight and waited for the big bike to blast past, which it did as he passed me up the inside into T1. It was on! I followed for half a lap and I could see that the old bike was fast, but could not carry the corner speed needed to stay with the 125 if I could get in front. I slipped past in 4/5 and put my head down. I got enough gap to keep Mark behind me on the straight, and that was all I needed. I eased away and cleared off for the win in class and overall. That was fun!
Sunday dawned dry and sunny. Yay! I was hot to get my laptimes down so I entered open two stroke as well. This included a lot of TZs and fast guys. Pat Mooney and Nick Ianetsch on his TZ750! I was hoping to get towed into the 1:35 range and at least watch that 750 for a half a lap. This was a HUGE grid as it included next gen superbike, but we were wave 2.
I got another good start, but was no match for the big bikes and had a lot of positions to make up. I saw the 750 pass me, but then Nick put his leg out and pulled off. I put my head down and weaved through a lot of bikes until I got locked in a battle for 3rd with a TZ250. Problem was there was a battle for the SBK lead right in front of us, and we were all getting in each other's way, passing and repassing every couple of corners. I decided I needed to get in front of BOTH SBKs in order to shake the TZ, and tried my move around the outside of 10, but Bob Robbins got stood up and that left me nothing but grass. I carefully returned to pavement and set off after 3rd again, but it was too late. I did click my best lap of the weekend trying to catch him though. 1:34 I was happy with that and it was fun to BATTLE.
Sound of Singles 3 was pretty much a repeat of Saturday, but faster as the track conditions were mint. I just enjoyed clear track and a fantastic motorcycle. Tbolt is fast and really exciting to ride on a GP machine. I took another win in class and overall.
In summary, racing is awesome, and I have missed it.