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Team CMP’s 2nd Loudon Classic, let’s see how it went…
Thursday practice –
With CMP’s help, all 3 bikes were good to go again for round #3. I figured it best to shake the KTM down in Thursday practice and was lucky I did so. 2nd practice round it decided to alert me that the clutch was not up to the task this weekend. A few things came together in a most beautiful way Thursday evening and by 9pm (with Jimmy’s #969 help) the bike was buttoned up and 100% with a new clutch pack. Friday races are looking good, pace is there and the weather is gorgeous.
Friday, race 4 – GTU – GSXR600 (practice for Endurance race)
We entered just to practice swapping the bike, transponders and to get a feel for exiting onto pit road. Nothing to really note, everyone did as planned and we felt setup for success in the endurance race.
Friday, race 6 – Super Singles – KTM (5th) 1:21.4
The clutch was happy, bike was good and rider was going ok. Got this great picture from the chainwheelmoto.com crew chasing Adam Clark (#38) around and had a fun battle with Rick Breen (#28) towards the end of the race. All in all, low drama race and good start to the weekend.
Friday, race 8 – MWSB Endurance Race – GSXR600 (3rd) 1.20.0
The endurance race team consisted of Duncan Wood (#910), Tim Barber (#46), Tony Cerqueira (#540) and myself. None of us had any endurance racing experience so we rolled down the pit area with minimal items. We sent Duncan out to head the program and he ran a good first stint. After that, we rotated riders through with little excitement for the next 2 hours. Everyone did a great job of working as a team, rider/transponder/refuel stops were smooth and quick. We ran in 2nd place for a majority of the race to our surprise! With about 45 minutes to go on the clock, I pitted in to switch and remembered the left side of the bike feeling funny during my run. I double checked and oh no, the rearset was loose! Luckily the team next to us wasn’t as poorly prepared as us and they had tools at the ready. We tightened the rearset up and sent Tim back out to run some hot laps. With 8 minutes left in the race I knew we had a problem when Tim dipped into turn 1, it didn’t look right. Must be a shifter issue. He’s headed down pit road now after a long lap around (now I know he’s stuck in gear). As he pulls into the pit, the shifter is hanging by 1 of its 3 original bolts – pointed due South. Again, the well prepared team next to us had bolts/tools and assisted us with emergency repairs. Less than 2 minutes later the bike was headed back out. We’re still in this race, maybe?! Clock expires and we found ourselves in 3rd place! What an exciting race! Everyone did their job, kept a cool head and made good decisions under pressure. We were fortunate to podium in our first attempt at endurance racing and will come back even stronger with lessons learned! Thank you to everyone who participated, Stacy/Tanya on fire extinguisher duty, Tim/Duncan/Tony for riding flawlessly! What a fun experience.
Friday night – AMA Supermoto Practice
I was too tired so I sat in the CMP pool with Duncan and Tim, glorious decision.
Saturday, race 4 – MW Supersport – GSXR600 (10thh) 1:19.0
Green flag and we’re off, decent run to turn 1 and I’m somewhere around 8th or 9th place. I focused on running consistent laps while trying a few things here and there. About halfway through the race, Frenchy (#678) bombed by me so I latched on. I thought I could get him here or there but I couldn’t make the pass. I settled in and finished 10th, my best finish in MW SS to date! Slow progress is starting to pay off.
Saturday night – AMA Supermoto (Pro Open) – KTM (2:15ish?)
First and foremost, I planned on entering the Amateur class of this race. This race involves dirt track, jumps and a mixed bag of skills that I only currently have about half of. On top of missing practice the night before (no idea what the track looks like), I’m up against a pretty tall order vs. the fastest in the US at this discipline. I went to register for the race Saturday afternoon and Peter Gaboriault (#81) from ECK racing was doing the same. He mentioned he was racing the Pro division and I half-heartedly asked if he wanted a grudge match between himself (ECK racing) and I (CMP racing). He perked right up and that was settled. I entered the Pro race with 1 goal, beat Pete.
Practice, heat races and I find myself 14th on the grid for the main race. This is exciting! Pete is gridded directly next to me so it’ll be a fair fight from the green flag to the checkered. Green flag flies and we’re off! I get a great start, hold my own and am somewhere around 5th or 6th place going into the dirt section of the race. I never saw the top 8 riders again after that. Pete and I did the best we could in the dirt, each on racing bikes with slicks meant for asphalt at Loudon. The crowd urged us on through each lap and smiles were the norm. Pete and I swapped back and forth until finally I was able to pull a small lead towards the last lap. I crossed the line a little ahead of Pete, happy to have finished my first pro race with the AMA! I wasn’t last, won the grudge match and the whole race put the biggest smile on my face I’ve had in a while. Saying I was tired afterwards would be an understatement – I was exhausted…going that slow in the dirt trying to keep it all pointed straight is grueling. First lesson, point it where it needs to go and rip the throttle open. I’ll work on that next time. Thanks to the fans for the endless encouragement, you guys were awesome!!!
Sunday, race 1 – LW Superbike – KTM (7th) 1.26.5
It’s raining so we mount rain tires. Time to race comes up but the legends cars spilled oil on the track so the track decides to jet dry the track. I find myself without enough time to swap back over to race slicks. I went out and went as fast as I could on a drying track with a rain tire. Tire got real sloppy trying to put a pass on Sav (#508) exiting turn 12 so I backed it off and settled for where I was. 7th place, not the most fun race in the world but there’s always value in running around on a sliding tire. That tire’s lifespan was less than 1 hour from mounted to trash, I’m not sure how I feel about that. Sometimes you’re the ball, sometimes you’re the bat.
Sunday, race 3 – Unlimited Supersport – GSXR600 (4th) 1.21.8
With lessons learned from race #1, I made sure to have race rubber on the gsxr for this race. The track had relatively good grip in drying conditions. I had a fun time trading positions with Norman Pomerlau (#874) while trying to track Frenchy (#678) down for the final podium position. Norman and I had a drag race to the finish line on the last lap and I came out on top of this one, finishing 4th – unable to catch Frenchy. Congrats on what I think is your first expert podium, Frenchy!
Sunday, race 7 – Motard – KTM (4th) 1.21.2
Last race of the weekend. I slotted into 3rd place off the start and Eric Shaw (#77) went around me a lap later. I latched onto him for a lap to see if I could keep pace. I could, I also realized I could pass him in turn 3. I didn’t know how fast he was or wasn’t so I just hung out until the final lap and then I struck. I passed him up the inside in turn 3 on a long coming well executed pass. Hammer down for the next 9 corners was the plan. He was able to get back around me in turn 12 and I narrowly lost out on the podium. Like I said earlier, sometimes you’re the bat – sometimes you’re the ball. Lessons learned and my plan will be that much better next time. Racing a motard at Loudon is truly a blast, if you get a chance to do so – take it.
Final thoughts -
The 92nd Loudon Classic provided lots of new experiences and positive progress towards this season’s goals. Everything went back in the boxtruck the way it came out. The entire CMP crew did a great job and fun was had all around. Racing motorcycles is a real blast sometimes and this was one of those weekends. Thank you to the corner workers, fans, race crew and all who helped make this a successful and safe weekend. Bring on round #4!
All possible with great support from Central Mass Powersports, TSS Graphics, Advanced Traction, The Beantown Sound, Pirelli, Kixsports and ChainwheelMoto.com who once again crushed it out of the park with pictures.
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99 + 02 SV650 ex-race - 91 FJ1200 street - 03 KDX220R woods - 12 WR450F motard/ice
