2
AM GTL
I had a decent start on this race and passed a couple folks the first lap, catching up to 122 (Brady) midway through the lap. On lap two I passed for the lead and held onto it until a red flag stopped the race. We re-gridded on pregrid and then had our warmup lap. The experts launched on wave 1 and had an incident before we even launched so we waited until they came back to the grids. The announcement was made that if there was another red flag then the race was done. I utterly and totally botched the restart. Someone told me I was tenth going into turn one. I was pissed! Talk about tossing away a win! Putting my head down I managed to put myself into third place by the end of the lap. Another pass (Brady again, he’s doing excellent this year!) put me in second place for the next couple laps. I had a hard time making it past #115. He’s apparently from out of town and it was his second race on this track so he had some interesting lines. I finally took him going into turn three. Having a bigger motor and a better drive out of four he tried to pass me on the right going into the bowl. I guess he thought he was past me when he tried to make an early turn in. He wasn’t and we made pretty hard rider-to-rider contact. I’d never experienced that and it didn’t shake me nearly as much as I would have expected. He went wide through the bowl and I stayed underneath him sticking the pass. I put my head down and took off expecting him to be on my tail. As it turns out he ran out of gas with a few laps to go. My times were much more consistent then they have been, mainly in the 1:22.x range which makes me really happy.
AM P-89L
This race went off without a hitch for me. The bike felt loose so I didn’t push it trying to keep up with the experts and knowing I had two more races that day. The biggest disappointment was showing up late for the awards ceremony. I wish they’d make an announcement that the ceremony was beginning. Thanks for those that stuck around to see me on the box later!
AM ULSB
I got a good start and managed to pass Chris Priore #421 for the lead when my bike wouldn’t shift out of 5th on the second lap. I have no idea what was going on but it was quite frustrating. I debated pitting but decided to stick it out and still managed to finish not last. The race ended with a good drag race to the finish which Savas one by a hair.
Modern Sidecar
Yeah, that’s right. I was a monkey! I raced both Saturday and Sunday with Marcus Poisson and had an incredible time. Thanks to Peter Essaff for providing the rig and Marcus for not killing me. Those things have wicked power and it was fun to be drifting into corners and flying (literally) over curbing. I hope I get a chance to ride on his vintage rig when it makes it back together.
I spent the next three days with Tony’s Track Days and had a great time. The weather wasn’t always the most cooperative but it seemed like most people kept their spirits up. Kudos to those that chose to ride despite the precipitation. I still hold that riding in the rain is fun. The weather on Wednesday more than made up for Tuesday for those that stuck around. A big thanks to Razee’s for making that happen!
I hesitate to include this last part in a race report but the timing was too coincidental to do otherwise. After riding hard on the track for 6 days I was quickly brought back to reality as I was leaving the track. A call from my father informed me that my uncle had passed away that morning in a motorcycle accident. http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/303...te-87-reopened He had a huge heart, was always full of energy and contagious laughter. I’m pretty sure he never matured past his teenage years which made him a favorite with all of the nieces and nephews. He’s the guy with the hard hat. And yes, he’s probably the reason I have unique facial hair.