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No bumping and grinding for me at this year's Classic as it was last year. Just some solid racing. I'm going to keep this short, except to say that I am realizing how important a good start is to the outcome of the race for a competitor. I was able to get away with mediocre starts in Amateur races, but this is not the case in expert. I was finding myself near the back of the pack in all but one of my races due to poor starts.
I did, however, find that I am getting better at passing people.
Friday
Race 4, GTL
Started 15th into T1, ended 9th of 20 starters with a best lap of 1:20.998.
Race 8, LWGP
Started 16th into T1, ended 11th of 22 starters with a best lap of 1:20.898.
Saturday
Race 4, Formula 40 Lites
Never ran this race before, but wanted a Saturday filler. It ended up to be the best battle I have ever had with another racer. This one was with Skip Kelleher (EX #84) We went back and forth for the final 3 laps.
Started 13th into T1, ended 10th of 22 starters with a best lap of 1:21.097.
Sunday
Race 6, LWSB
My nemesis race from last year. I got bumped twice last year and DNF, because my nerves were so shot. This year, I wanted to complete it.
Started 10th into T1 and finihsed in the same place, having passed 2 riders and was passed late i the race by 2 other riders. I just got really tired.
Ended 11th of 20, but managed a new personal best lap time of 1:20.157.
For those who did not attend the Classic, the best thing about the LWSB race was that I had my own umbrella girl, who out-shined the 4 hired beauty queens on the grid.
I didn't achieve my goal of teens, but I feel that I'm running very consistent and raise my bar very slightly with every race. Now if I can just nail down starts. I am satisfied with my performance, finishing in the top 10 and toP 50% of 3 out of 4 races in my second expert weekend.
As always, I want to thank my umbrella girl, Annalisa for supporting me through 6 days of racing and trackdays. Thanks to my ECK teammates (along with Gene Berrio Sr), the RSP team, and the guys in garage 2. Thanks to Wendy and Boosey Butler for the awesome treats and additional garage support. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch the awesome racing and supporting our racing habits.
And thanks to my sponsors: ECK Racing | Tony's Track Days | OnTrack Media | Asthetic Rain | Pine Motor Parts | Woodcraft Technologies | All Balls Racing | Motul USA | Spiegler Performance Products | Street & Competition | MTAG Pirelli | MoM's
Special thanks to Todd at Heroic Racing Apparel for hooking me up with an awesome pair of gloves and altering them to fit my mutant pinkie fingers.