AM #117 Round 5 2013

[Trouble]

AM GTL
The start was a mess and I struggled to avoid getting pinched too badly as we went 3 wide into turn 1, me on the inside. By turn 3 I was in third place and following #122 (Brady) and I think #215. The second place rider was sliding a lot and struggling hard to get past Brady. I hung back for a couple laps as there wasn’t an easy way to pass him and I totally expected him to crash as much as he was sliding through a couple corners. I finally found an opportunity and passed both he and Brady. I knew #109 John Dorans was coming for me on his TZ so my hope was to put as many bikes between he and I as possible as I caught up to the back of the expert pack. It didn’t really go as planned and halfway through the race John made it past me. I felt sloppy and loose, sliding the rear repeatedly and blowing corners on every lap as I struggled to keep up. It didn’t work and in the end he finished well ahead of me, giving me second place. The good news is that 8 of the laps were better than my PB, with the best one a full second below where I had been. My new pb was 1:20.750, putting me within a few hundredths of a second of a my teammates Bill Morey and Adam Clark. Adam stepped up to the challenge and dropped a nineteen during his next race.

AM P-89
Tyler Sweeney helped me fine tune my suspension before this race so I was curious to see that played out. In the end I was totally psyched as they kept the bike anchored much better and I had less wheel spin. This race went very well for me. The amateurs start a couple rows back from the experts but in the same wave so I get to play with the experts from the beginning. It was fun running with them and I pulled off a first place finish, beating all the experts in the process.

AM ULSB
Going into turn 1 I thought I was going to finally get a hole shot until #231 on a Harley came rolling past me. I wasn’t going to have any of that and I chased him until lap 5 when I managed to stick a pass. I put my head down and held onto first, setting another new pb in the process. 1:20.111 Maybe I will make it into the teens this year after all!

Lots of people to thank: Low Down Racing, Tony’s Track Days, MTAG, GMD Computrack, Souhegan Valley Motorsports and of course everyone else at the track that makes it such a fun place to be!

[GingahNinjah]

Yo John i have your metric allen set.i can get it to you at the NH TTD in sept. Thanks again for all your help getting my bike back together on sat too!!!!

[Kurlon]

The gentleman on the Harley was very impressed with your riding, especially how quickly you get back on the throttle out of the corners and how smooth you are. Nice job out there this weekend... should I mention the 107% rule says you only need to run consistently better than 1:22.594 to petition for an early bump to expert in ULSB?

[carsick]

Whoa dude, you just keep on bringing more awesomeness! I'd like to get a tow, but by T2 I can't see you anymore... congrats. And I don't have any of your tools, since I didn't have to fix anything (for a change)! Thanks for the heads up on the warmer deal too.

[Mr. Kurtz]

You're gonna need a bigger backpack!

[Trouble]

The gentleman on the Harley was very impressed with your riding, especially how quickly you get back on the throttle out of the corners...

I swung by a couple times Saturday evening hoping to talk with him but didn't end up crossing paths. He was motoring out there! That's great feedback to hear as I've been slow to get on the gas in the past. It's something I've been working on so I can have more drive to compete with the larger horsepower competition.

Nice job out there this weekend... should I mention the 107% rule says you only need to run consistently better than 1:22.594 to petition for an early bump to expert in ULSB?

Yeah but that doesn't get me to Daytona does it?

[Kurlon]

Yeah but that doesn't get me to Daytona does it?

Are there any requirements other than collecting points in the class you want to contest? If Daytona is your goal I'd say stay an AM, continue to steal podium spots from the rest of us. You'll go down to Daytona as an AM, clean house, and return as an Expert for 2014.

[Trouble]

Are there any requirements other than collecting points in the class you want to contest?

That's it as far as I know. Gotta win your region before taking on the rest of the world! And yeah, I'm hoping to run Daytona this year. I figure it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and so far it seems to be in the stars for me this year. I'd have bumped by now if I wasn't hoping to head south.

[Kurlon]

Crap, didn't realize you had to WIN your region to go play. No Daytona for me this year for certain then.

In that case, besides suddenly taking up knitting... if I can help with the goal let me know. Just don't ask for racing advice as you're on a different level than me there.

[Rambunctous]

Thanks for the great read. These reports make my day.

[BMMCBR]

Awesome work Mr. Linn! Hope to see you race next round!

[Chippertheripper]

Nice shootin' man. LDR represent.

[wolfie109]

John that was a fun race again, my grandkids really appreciated you returning my May move and letting me pass you. They got a big kick out of standing on the box. Looking foward to Sept and some more close racing.

[Trouble]

I'm glad you think I let you pass! Hah! Great job out there! Gotta thank you for the motivation to go faster though. I'll "let you" beat me again if you tow me into the teens...

[Yknot]

It was inevitable that you would be the fastest LDR Hawk! Super excited for you and the quest for Daytona. You have really made some great strides this year and I look forward to watching the rest of the your season. Proud to call you teammate, keep rippin' it !

[Doc]

Go John Go!

[CBR929RE]

I don't think you have to win your region to go to Daytona. Grids would be pretty small down there if that was the case. but it probably feels nice to be the best in your region when heading down. big confidence booster. you can do it John. people say Loudon riders typically have a little advantage down there because of the similarities.

[xsiliconkid]

Fast John,
ULSB,
Watched you try and get the Harley into t1 lap-after-lap. Good job on taking the win!
Scott Settino is his name, we just shod his bike with Pirelli slicks this week end.
That Harley and rider weights in at 730lbs! But it does have over 100 ftlbs of torque......
Oh btw this is his first week-end as a Am :-)..... he pits two doors down from the Pirelli garage.

I did speak with him after - he didn't know you were so close and backed off a bit as the race went on..... but once you got past you were gone - looked like he was holding you up in the turns.
Once you passed him, he was trying to figure out how you got such early drive out of the turns.

Should be good competition next race week end.....

[PainfullySlow]

Gino had better watch out! There's a new beard...err, kid in town!

[Trouble]

Fast John,
ULSB,
Watched you try and get the Harley into t1 lap-after-lap. Good job on taking the win!
Scott Settino is his name, we just shod his bike with Pirelli slicks this week end.
That Harley and rider weights in at 730lbs! But it does have over 100 ftlbs of torque......
Oh btw this is his first week-end as a Am :-)..... he pits two doors down from the Pirelli garage.

I did speak with him after - he didn't know you were so close and backed off a bit as the race went on..... but once you got past you were gone - looked like he was holding you up in the turns.
Once you passed him, he was trying to figure out how you got such early drive out of the turns.

Should be good competition next race week end.....

Honestly the weight thing is one of the reasons I didn't try to stick the pass into one. I figured his bike alone weighed as much as my bike and I combined. If I didn't make a totally clean pass things were going to get really ugly for me.

I didn't think he knew I was there. I saw him looking back over his left shoulder at the exit of turn 4 when I was over his right shoulder thinking about the pass. He waved to the turn 1a bleachers just before I passed him which showed me that either he didn't know I was there or he was holding back. He has a lot of power with that bike and can ride it very well. I'm afraid when he figures out the line I won't have a chance.

[Kurlon]

I didn't think he knew I was there. I saw him looking back over his left shoulder at the exit of turn 4 when I was over his right shoulder thinking about the pass. He waved to the turn 1a bleachers just before I passed him which showed me that either he didn't know I was there or he was holding back. He has a lot of power with that bike and can ride it very well. I'm afraid when he figures out the line I won't have a chance.

He didn't, he was joking about that in the pits. He was giving his girlfriend a 'hello!' when you buzzed him.

[The Snowman]

Nice showing, John. Wish I had been there to see it. You'll definitely hit a teen or two before the end of the season. I'd bank on it.