6
Well I don’t normally write race reports, but i’m bored so why not. For those who don’t know me, I had been racing an r6 for the past few years. My last race on that bike was Sept of last year and I sold the bike over the winter and haven’t done anything since. Earlier this spring I decided to give LW a try and purchased a race ready 2006 SV650.
I rushed to get packed and down to the track first thing Thursday morning, just to find out that practice didn’t actually start until 2:00pm. I was pleased to learn this as it gave me time to get unpacked, set up, and mentally prepare for the weekend. I didn’t really talk to anyone about how to ride an SV at Loudon, as I opted to first try to figure the bike out on my own.
Thursday Practice - The bike felt great, but I was struggling to learn the powerband and where to shift. I spent most of the day trying to figure out the shift patterns. By mid-day I was starting to get comfortable on the bike, but shifting was still inconsistent.
My day was cut a little short when my bike started having some issues stalling mid corner. I skipped the last session and spent the night diagnosing the bike. It turned out to be a loose tip over sensor, so I remounted it and crossed my fingers.
Friday – I didn’t sign up for any races on Friday so that I could get a full day to recover after being away from the track for almost a year. I spent the day triple checking my bike to make sure the electrical issue was fixed.
Saturday – I start getting ready for our first and only practice. Luckily Brady Ward shows up and I decide to pick his brain a little bit. Brady is running the same gearing as me and tells me his shift patterns. Much different than what I had been doing and it seems crazy, but I decide to try it.
Wow what a difference it made. I was over shifting the bike so much and it was really getting in my head. Now I finally felt like I had the shifting down and I could just focus on riding the bike. Just in time for the first race…..
Race 1 – EX Thunderbike – I was either gridded last or second to last. I had 2 practice starts under my belt, so I wasn’t really sure how this would go….
The lights all come on and go out. I watch the whole field pull away from me like I was standing still. I’m used to the r6 where I could ride out 1st gear a little bit. Not so much with the SV….I must have had the bike bouncing off the rev limiter for 5 seconds before I realized I needed to shift. I’m pretty sure I came into T1 dead last, but made up some quick ground and was right with the pack going into 2.
I uneventfully picked off a couple of riders each lap until about the midway point where I came up on Sam Witham and Sav who were obviously running at a faster pace. I’d get close to them coming into 1 and then they would walk away from me coming out of 2 and I had no idea why. This happened for a couple of laps until I realized I had reverted to old habits and was grabbing an extra gear on the straight, but doing the same amount of downshifts into 1. Therefore I was a gear too high and had absolutely no drive through 1a/2. When I corrected this I could stay right with them. I got by Sam first and then was right on Sav. I believe I passed him in the bowl and held it for the rest of the lap. He blew by me on the front straight and then I managed to get him back in the bowl and this time it stuck for the remainder of the race. Had a blast in my first race on the SV and was glad I got to dice it up with people the entire time.
Results – 7th / 15
Best Lap – 1:19.641
Race 6 – EX LWSS
Again gridded in the very back for this one, but I managed to get a better start and was mid pack going into 1. I don’t remember this race as clearly, but I believe I picked off a rider or two until I came up on #398 Bruce Marshall. He had warned me prior to this race that he was doing a back to back so he may be a bit tired. I guess so. I could tell Bruce was struggling as he was taking very wide lines and was a bit unpredictable. I’m typically an outside passer so the wide lines were making it very difficult for me to pass. I probably did have a couple of opportunities, but I was tired as well and did not feel the need to push it. As I searched for the right spot, I allowed Sam Witham to get by both of us. Fearing that I could lose another spot, I forced myself around Bruce on the outside of the bowl and then began to chase Sam. I saw him peek back a couple of times, which to me means he was getting tired and hoping he could relax, but I was steadily gaining on him. On the last lap he was about 3 bike lengths ahead of me going towards 11, but he must have blown that section and all of a sudden I was right on him coming out of 12. I gave it everything I had as we raced towards the line, but I ended up finishing .09 seconds behind him.
Result – 7th / 14
Best Lap – 1:20.609
I had 1 race for Sunday, but with the combination of my exhaustion and the incoming storms I decided to call it a weekend. I helped out some friends until about 2 on Sunday and then headed home.
Overall I was very happy with the weekend. I came into it expecting to turn anywhere from a 1:20 to a 1:24, but instead walked away with a 1:19 and I feel like there’s a lot of time to gain (or lose?). The SV is a blast to ride, and although I do miss racing with the MW guys, I’m excited to dice it up with everyone in LW for the rest of the season.
Big thanks to everyone I pit with for all the help and entertainment this weekend. There are too many of you to list, but you know who you are. Thanks to Brady for the last minute advice which really helped me figure the bike out. Couldn’t have done it without that.
Thanks to Gregg Spears and Spears Racing for providing such a well set up bike. It’s incredible that I was able to get on the bike, ride it once and have it fit like a Glove and that’s all thanks to Gregg.
And thanks to Land Air for making it all happen! (And putting up with all my time off).
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Originally Posted by tsorfas
