Central Mass Powersports Round 5 #123 ~ racing with baby elephants ~
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I rolled in Thursday night, confident to be participating in Friday practice for the first time in a while. This decision proved invaluable as I learned we had major issues with both bikes and wouldn’t be able to race if not rectified. I tossed the GSXR and KTM into my truck and made the dash back to Central Mass Powersports. Todd, Al and Steve went far above and beyond to get us race ready. Wives, girlfriends and lord knows what else were mad at us – my apologies, it was worth it.
Saturday, race 4 – AM Super Singles – KTM (1st) 1.23.9
It’s Saturday morning now and first up for me is AM Super Singles. I got a great start and took the holeshot lead into turn 1. I was zipping along, feeling more and more comfortable when suddenly I lost both tires to a big slide in the bowl. Dialed it back a bit and brought it home for a 1st place finish. Good times, we’re leading the class championship!
Saturday, race 11 – AM Ultralight Superbike – KTM (Mechanical DNF, 2nd) 1.24.4
I pull up to grid and there’s a young man sitting on a new Moriwaki, 14yrs old. He looks confident. We launch with the green flag and crickets, nobody around me. I’m bombing along stretching out my lead and picking up my reference points when BAM, the bike bucks me so hard that I’m out of the seat!!! Ok, that was cool. Keep pushing, BAM – again and again and again! To the point where I know the spectators in the bowl grandstands were just waiting for me to stack it. Over and over the KTM kicked me around at full lean in the corners. 2 laps to go, I can limp this thing home for the win. Plans are good, really – you should make them too…sometimes they just don’t work out though. She died, I coasted into the pits in neutral and watched my new little buddy (#69 Alex Dumas) take his first win. Way to go Alex!
So, it’s Saturday night and I’ve come to the realization that the KTM is done. It’s not kicking over, it’s all bad – I’m no mechanic. I decide to eat steak and drink beer with my friends. We had a great time and got back to the garages. As soon as I’m back, Mo and Kurtz are tearing into the KTM. We can fix this they keep saying. I tell them not to worry about it, I’ve got the other bike to focus on and it’ll be fine. They’re not having it. We scour the pits for spark plugs, we test coils and we drink beer.
Sunday morning and now it’s hitting me. The KTM is still dead, really dead. One of my competitors, Sam Lakas (#969) comes over early Saturday morning and has a quick chat about the KTM with me. Mind you, he’s my closest competition at the moment. Sam says, “there’s a KTM just like yours for sale by the bathrooms, I know the owner – we should ask him for parts to get you going! Want me to introduce you?” 10 minutes later and we’re pulling Valley Motorsport’s Jerry’s KTM apart. Big thanks to Mo Kaadum (#521) for the mechanical help. Coil replaced, good to go!?
Sunday, race 5 – AM Motard – KTM (Mechanical DNF, 2nd) 1.23.9
Holeshot into 1 and I’m feeling good. Bike’s running okish and we’re out front. I’m riding around feeling, listening and waiting – I know it’s coming. POP, BANG, POP! I’m flying above the bike again. Damn, not fixed. Limp around hoping to see the checkered flag, nope. Dead in turn 9 behind the tire wall. I promptly give Sam the two finger salute from the sidelines as he powers on for the win. Now things get interesting, I’m in the very next race on the GSXR! I let the corner workers know that as soon as the checkered flag flies, I gotta go! They open a sneaky little gate and I’m off, sprinting in full leathers, boots, gloves, helmet with a however many pounds motard. I make it to the garage to see my GSXR running, warmers off and smiling faces all around. Somebody says give me that, they take the KTM and I hop on the GSXR. Big Virg gives me a pat on the back and I’m off! We made grid with no time to spare.
Sunday, race 6 – AM MW Supersport – GSXR (12th) 1.21.4
I hit the grid, find my spot (dead last) and get ready for the flag to fly. Sweat fills my eyebrows, eyes and entire face from the sprint back to the pits 2 minutes prior. Well, I’m warm. Flag flies, we rocket off and I settle in to a nice race. I focused on being smoother with my inputs and tidying up my 600 lines. Not too keen on passing as I still don’t know the danger spots with this group of guys so I pick a few off and finish 12th out of 18. Went progressively faster and had a blast, this thing’s a runner for sure.
Sunday, race 8 – AM Lightweight Sportsman – KTM (1st) 1.26.8
Jerry noticed me sprinting around like a fool with the KTM. He stops over before race 8 and mentions it sounds like a CDI issue. He says it’s two bolts and one clip, he’ll grab his off his bike and swap with me for my race. I protest, he doesn’t listen. We bolt it up and the bike kicks over FIRST kick. Finally, it’s idling smoothly and sounds happy. I went out excited the bike was working again but hesitant, very hesitant. Putted around at a mediocre pace worrying about #69 who crashed out behind me and just waiting for the BUCK. Never happened, took another win to wrap the weekend up and did some big ol’ wheelies to celebrate.
I can’t tell you how many times I told Mo, Kurtz, Jerry, Sam, Christian and everyone else involved to let it be – it’s ok. They wouldn’t let me quit. They found solutions I hadn’t considered, did work I couldn’t do and got me to the grid. I’m humbled and grateful for the help.
Great round, credit to Central Mass Powersports (Gary, Al, Todd), TSS Graphics, Pirelli, Woodcraft and Suomy. We’re all the way up to 11th in the AM championship after not pointing in the first two rounds as a Novice. With a little luck – we’ll crack the top 10, maybe even top 5. Stay tuned, next round in 2 weeks. With baby elephants onboard, it’ll always work out.
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Originally Posted by csmutty
