0
I make my return to NHMS/LRRS 3 months after my broken collarbone.
Arrive and set up Pit in the gracious ZTA garage. Thanks fellas! Go out friday night to TGI Fridays with the crew and Richie scored a chicks number!!
Saturday am, I go out for 4 Laps of practice, had rains on, drying track. Fast lap of a 1:34 Richie comes WALKING into the pits... Says "I think I fragged my motor" Long story short he gets it fixed... I'll let him tell it.
Race#9 ULSB: I honestly figured I would come in last for this race, I didn't have the new one down and I haven't launched the Hawk since last year.
Green flag goes up and I wheelie the start, nice one too, about 2 feet off the ground from row 6 until I shifted into 2nd after the start finish... , last into 1 , Racing with Tony Soucier who has my old Duc 800 and 2 motards, (1st,2nd and 3rd pull a 4 second gap in the first lap on our little group). Tony is trying hard to get by them and I can't make a move either, I really wasn't being agressive and figured I would just stick on Tony and we would get by them, Tony takes the first Motard going into 3, I get by her going into the bowl, I had the fastest lap of the group of 4 but couldn't get by the second motard until I out broke him going into 1 of lap 3 , Tony and I gap the motards by 2-3 seconds both pulling 1:25's. Richie in third place is 5 seconds ahead. Can't even smell his smoking 4 stroke Coming into 11 on lap 4 and Tony misses a shift and runs wide, I go up the inside but know that Duc has some motor so I put my head down and pull a second on him on the next lap The 700 kit in the Hawk makes some nice power and I don't regret selling my 800ss AT ALL!
Lap 5 and I have my head down trying to be smooth and trying to get the "smell of money" in the air. 4 seconds back from 3rd.
Lap 6 and I am 3 seconds back, I can smell a faint odor...
Lap 7 and I drop my fastest lap of the race of a 1:24.6. I have 3 seconds on Tony and Richie is 3/10ths ahead of me!
Last lap and I am tired but I gotta beat Richie! He has never beaten me! I get a look going into 2 but don't risk it, bad drive outta 2 makes up the inside in 3 out of the question. I think about taking him in 6 and pull up on the outside but he hangs tough, pull alongside on the outside of 9 but can't get by there either, looks like I have to try the old fasioned way and drag him to the line. Get on him close through 11 and 12 and put the hammer down, I am gaining, I could get him... but not in the cards and and he takes 3rd by 3/100th's of a second! (good job Richie!). That was the closest finish I have ever had!
Great race I just wish I would have got a better start then I may have had a chance at second.
Really surprised myself in this race. I thought I was going to be doing 1:26's or worse. Considering this was my first race of the year and I was in the 1:28's at the last trackday I was at... Looks like I haven't lost all of my fast (just some of it).
Thanks to ZTA for letting me pit in their garage. T1a had room but my old teammates got snobby.
Also thanks to my wife for letting my go to the track, JCBell for being my "pit bitch", spotting a burned fuel line on my bike and joining the cornerworker ranks! "woot"