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This weekend I entered all the same races but dropped the GTO to try to save some money. My goal this weekend was to get into the 16's after getting a 17.9 the previous event.
Friday
UNGP - I had a brand new clutch for this weekend so I hoped that the starting problems of the past would be ok, especially after I pulled off a practice start during practice that morning without a hitch... Well my first start was more of the same, with a friction zone that was more like a light switch than something that eased you into the power. I was last into T1 but started picking off people starting in the first corner. By the time I got around 2 or 3 people the pack ahead had disappeared. The red flag came out though and we had a chance at a restart. I had discovered last event that I could launch at a lower rpm then once I had established territory in the friction zone the rpm could be raised to try to salvage the start. I used this technique and managed to get into T1 in 8th. I managed to pick off one rider the next lap and then 2 the next to put me into 4th. On the last 2 laps traffic was heavy and it was a challenge to get around them all without letting the 17 of Dennis Levesque catch up. On the last lap I got stuck behind traffic in T9 and Dennis gathered momentum and powered around me on the inside of 10 for the 4th place position. I finished in 5th with a new best time on the bike of a 1:16.5! At this pace it had become apparent that the suspension was going to have to be done, as pegs were hitting the ground. With the help of Peter Kates at GMD Computrack Boston I got some changes done that would hopefully help on Sunday.
Endurance - I had declined to race the endurance race because of lack of funds...but Ryan Hobbs was getting over pneumonia and needed someone to replace him. We were on a GSXR600 owned by Chris Knopf which had seen some better days but was a solid mount with all of the right mods done. The highlight of this was probably the team itself and the laid back atmosphere that made it fun. During my second stint, which was at the end of the race, I almost binned the bike twice on the exit of T10 getting on the gas at the second transition bump. The rear end came around quite a bit and the only reason I think it was able to be salvaged was because of lack of traction. I thought it was just because of tire wear at the time so I took it easy there after the second time I almost got bucked off. I was also losing traction in T6-7 getting on the gas and T12. When I came into pit road after the cool down lap I almost crashed because the steering damper blew during the race and the bike was SUPER hard to turn, which hadn't been apparent on track since you don't actually turn the bars. When the bike had been put on the rear stand in victory lane I told the team about the traction problems. They pushed in the rear tire with their finger... After measuring air pressure there was 5lbs in it. We managed 1st place in our class and 4th overall. It was a blast!
Sunday
UNSB - This race was a blast! This race was going to be used to figure out how well the suspension adjustments would work and what adjustments I had to make to make it ride able. I had met and talked to Antonio Marchetti before the race in the bleachers during the SMEC races and we both thought we would be good competition for each other. I ended up right behind him on the start and stalked him for a few laps, figuring out his lines, strengths, and weaknesses. I found myself gaining some serious ground braking into T1. On lap 5 I got a great drive out of T12 which meant basically that his 1098 Ducati did not out power me down the straight. I turned in early just before the 4 board, therefore giving me a longer straight line period to brake. I braked in my normal spot but used a gradual pressure instead of a hard braking to allow the distance to close without my nerves getting the best of me. I got the pass inside and gave the throttle a good squirt to flip for T1A to solidify the pass. I could hear him right on me the rest of the race (the cbr1k is pretty quiet and his duc was pretty loud haha), but I managed to keep him behind me for the rest of the race for a 6th place finish with a best time of a 1:16.9.
UNSS - My last race of the weekend ended up yielding only 3 people on the grid. Greenwood, Doucette, and myself. GREATTTTTTTTT. I had increased the rear ride height to try to get the bike to turn in before hand, so hopefully the results would be positive. I got a good start and tried to follow the 2 insanely fast guys but they started to slip away more and more. All of a sudden on the 2nd lap Doucette pulled into pit. Weird. I finished the race without too much happening. Got 2nd by default and managed to get down to a 1:16.3!
Thank you again to Gary at Central Mass Powersports for all the help. I would NOT be here doing this without these incredible people. I would also like to thank MTAG Pirelli, Tonys Track Days, all the boys at ECK Racing for the help when I need it, and all the people who come up to support us at the races and help out. It really makes it more enjoyable for us to have you there. Big thanks to all the corner workers and track officials for keeping us safe and allowing us to do what we do. Last but not least thank you to Chris Dove for providing the awesome bike to ride this year, and his girlfriend Tanya for making sure my shirt stays on and keeping me in line.
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Originally Posted by doug1611
