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Saturday morning practices went well and I was feeling comfortable on the bike. I didn't do the full length of the practices because I wanted to save whatever I had for my schedule ahead...14 laps for the GTU and 10 for the Dash (MWGP). My goal for this weekend was to get into the 1:19's.
So I grid up for GTU, surprisingly not in the back of the pack. Green flag drops and I get a great start and am pulling ahead towards the front. Then I try to grab second and hit neutral. Can't use the quickshifter to get from 1st to 2nd...DOH! I do a dance on the shifter and finally get it into 2nd as everyone blows my doors off. I get a back of the pack entrance into 1 and try to get a few positions coming out of T2. I don't manage to pick up any positions, but am able to keep the pack in my sights for a lap or so. I am surprised how much feedback I can feel from the bike as my tire slides out in T2, as after I got off the warmers the tire would gain another 3-4 psi on track because of how hot it was. I fought this problem for the rest of the weekend. By the half way point of the race I am completely dead and looking for the white flag instead.... I go into survival mode and I bring back the pace a little. On the 2nd to last lap I hear a bike behind me and start to wick it up. Going down the front straight I see everybody giving me the (GO!) symbol and I dive hard into 1 and try to get good drives everywhere, (which sucked but I am wicked tired.) I drive out of 12 going up towards the wall way too high and am able to barely beat Rich Maracina for 8th out of 10. Bumping my PB on the R6 from last weekends 23.4 to a 21.0.
After resting for the rest of the day I grid up for the dash for cash (MWGP). Once again I am gridded mid back pack and botch the start with the quickshifter and start dancing on it. Once again back of the pack going into T1 and end up just in front of pigman. I can hear him stalking me, on my ass every lap. I try to push to keep him behind me, but he passes me in T3 and I can start to lose sight of him. Uneventful for the rest of the race besides the rear sliding again because of pressures off the warmers getting higher. BUT I end up finishing 17 out of 20 with a 1:20.8 beating my all time PB! Still haven't reached my goal of a 1:19 though. Edit: Oh and I forgot to add that Gecko shouldered me going into 12 on the first or second lap. THAT was fun haha.
For Sunday I practice on the 55/180 Pirelli and then switch to the 60/180 Pirelli, as my chain was too short last event, so I put on a new chain so the taller tire would fit in. I put it on for race 1 and try to set the pressure as best I can off the warmers to prevent overinflation.
MWSS - Sunday first race was MWSS. The goal for this race off the start was to make SURE that I clutch the upshift from 1st to 2nd. This time I only got a decent start and didn't quite clutch the shift fast enough so I lost a little time there (really need to practice that). I got into T1 much better than before though and notice that the 352 of my good friend and rival from last year, Wes Perry is right in front of me. I catch him coming out of T2 and we are side by side going into the T3 chute with me on the inside. I put on the binders a little before he does and he inches away. He tries to close the door but my front tire is still there and we get tangled up together. I press on my right bar to get away from him and he goes wide in 3 and I get him up the inside. On the 6th lap I get passed by Tim Barber and try to keep up with him but fail miserably. Trying to keep pushing I hit my helmet on the top of the windscreen and my body gets flung off the seat as I almost highside coming out of T12 (damn pressures). I keep it relatively in check for the rest of the race and start to relax finishing 13th out of 19 with consistent 1:19s and a new PB again in a 1:18.9!!! Goal achieved by more than a second!!
MWSB - The new goal for the last race now was 18's, as I thought the race previous I had only hit 19's. I had dropped the pressures for this race off the warmers to try to get rid of the over inflation problem, with the help of MTAG-Pirelli. So I grid up and get a decent start and end up right behind Wes Perry again. I stalk him right on his ass for lap upon lap. On lap 4 he goes wide into T1 and I try to capitalize on it, but he cuts back onto the line just in time and I couldn't do anything with it. I am catching him entrance to T1, coming out of T2, braking for T6, out of the bowl, and holy hell he braked a lot for T9. I knew I had to get around him but his lines were very defensive and every time I tried the door was shut or I didn't have enough track or time. I finally got around him on the 5th lap and then clicked off 2 1:18's and then on the last lap a 1:17.9 with a finish of 13th out of 19! To say that I was stoked was an understatement. This weekend was a complete dream for me and it couldn't have gone any better.
During the Tony's days I had a clutch problem where it stopped working and Peter Kates helped me to fix it. WHile fixing it we swapped the springs which gave the clutch more slip. HOLY HELL the bike is awesome now. No more rear tire chirp going into 1 or 3 and the bike is a hoot to ride now. I feel more comfortable late braking into 1 now and everywhere else where I grab a downshift. I am anticipating this will help me drop even more time for next weekend. Thanks Pete! And also thanks to Peter G, (oreo) for helping me out and dealing with my bs this weekend. And the rest of the team for helping out.
I want to thank my sponsors, MTAG Pirelli for the GREAT new rubber, Tony's Track Days for the great training and track time, Pine Motor Parts for paint, Woodcraft for the go fast parts, Street and Comp for those much needed parts at the track, AestheticRain for our web site, On Track Media for the killer pictures, Dyno Solutions for the great map on the bike, and All Balls for the bearings. Couldn't have done it without you guys!
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Originally Posted by OreoGaborio
