0
Race Report - LRRS Expert #434 7/23/11
Pre-Race
It was 98 degrees when I left my house and the weather reports predicted near 100 degree temps for both days, I can’t say that I was looking forward to the scorching heat however I was still very excited to make my debut as an Expert; I have come to rely on my starts and I was curious how they would stack up against the “big boys”. As an added bonus I got to keep the children over the weekend (I don’t usually during the summer) so I had my own little pit crew with us who were immediately put to work cleaning helmets and learning how to take tire warmers on and off.
Saturday AM Practices
I skipped the first practice while I was swapping tires and put a nice new rear on thanks to MTAG Pirelli. Second practice I went out and felt smooth, loose, and clicked off some low 20’s for times which is great because I can rarely get anywhere near race pace in practice. I also spent some time working on pushing my brake markers back. I recently installed EBC GPFA ceramic brake pads and holy cow, these things are amazing! I have had to push all my brake markers back significantly and it is helping to pick up some extra time.
Lightweight Superbike
I set up for my first expert grid in 5A, the last row on the inside. I would have preferred a better starting spot however being the noob, I get what I get. It felt weird launching in the first wave (experts start in the first wave, amateurs in the second) but I got a very good start and entered the first turn in 5th place but was immediately passed by two riders as I rolled off the gas…just like an amateur. I mentally chastised myself and put my head down and got into the game. The rest of the race was a blur of passing and being re-passed and honestly I cannot recall much of it other than focusing on being smooth and being more aggressive in passing the AM riders that I came upon which has always been a weak spot in my riding.
My goal for the weekend was to simply not be in last place and I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that I was in the top half of the field and I had set a new personal best lap record in the process.
Finish: 7th out of 16
Best Lap: 1:19.029 – New Personal Best!
Lightweight GrandPrix
My grid was 4C which was a much better starting point than Superbike. My excitement was high after I did so well and I was anxious to get another expert race under my belt. I got a fantastic start and went into T1 in 7th but immediately passed two riders on the outside of the first turn and was in 5th place by T1A. The race was halted due to a red flag on the second lap and after a brief wait in the pits we went out for a restart.
Riding with the experts truly is an amazing and humbling experience. I got a great start again and went into T1 parallel to #14 Bob Poetzsch. It really is something to be in a turn at max lean with someone only a few inches to your side. Bob was quicker to the flop however and ended up with the inside line into T1A so I had no choice but to let him go and I fell into 8th place. Sean Byrnes (#111) wasn’t wasting any time behind the “new guy” and showed me how it was done with a brilliant inside past in the chute to T3 and I was pushed back into 9th. I stuck with Sean and on the 2nd lap I managed a pass in T9 but made a mistake and went wide, Sean immediately took his place right back in T10.
On the 3rd lap I was passed in the same spot in T3 by #23 Jonathan Burbank (mental note: man up in T3) which forced me to refocus and was rewarded with a great drive out of T12 and I passed Jonathan under power on the front straight. I had great momentum going and so I simply didn’t back off and passed Sean on the brakes deep into T1 on the outside (thank you EBC!).
We started to mingle with the back of the amateur traffic at this point and it really occurred to me how much more racecraft plays into your performance here. I started to consciously pass late into turns where I knew those behind me wouldn’t have an opportunity to pass until the next turn, something I simply didnt think about when I was riding as an AM.
I kept looking back over my shoulder expecting to see people waiting to pass but either the traffic or the heat took its toll and I finished the last 3 laps without any pressure from the other EX racers. While my finish and times weren’t as good as LWSB, this was by far a more exciting race and I enjoyed it immensely!
Finish: 8th place out of 21
Best Lap: 1:19.195
No making fun of my horrible body position. I still struggle with it and with so many other things demanding my attention, something had to give.
‪LWGP-072311.wmv‬‏ - YouTube
Sunday AM practices
Once again I skipped the first practice simply because I didn’t want to tire myself out as I have the 20 minute GTL endurance race today. Second practice I worked on a few more lines in trouble areas, retaining more speed in T3, and pushing my brake makers even further back than I had the day before.
GTL
I got 4D, a great grid position for this race which is the 4th row on the outside, just where I like to be. I got a fantastic start and muscled my way through traffic to enter T1 in 5th place which I was pretty darned happy with. I manage to keep #95 Glenn Coolbeth in sight for 3-4 laps but he was just too quick for me and eventually I lost track of him and was left to my own race for a bit.
Around lap 7 or 8 I was treated to an ego check as I watched young amateur Jake Vader drag elbow in T1 before I got around him (@9:30 in my youtube video but you can’t see it because DDK was in the way!). That’s just not right. Anyway, I was pretty much doing my own thing until lap 12 when came upon my fellow RSP Teammate David Pang (AM#910) in T6. I had a difficult time getting around him in the back of the track and Bob Poetzsch took full advantage of it and got around of both of us with a brilliant pass in T11. I also passed Pang in T11 and stuck right on the tail of Bob, cursing myself for letting off. FYI I even though Bob was consistently running 1 second faster lap times I am still blaming Pang for losing 5th place, but I digress.
Traffic from the AM wave got heavy and I was having a difficult time keeping up with Bob through it. He seemed to slice through everything leaving me in the lurch and trying to keep up. I nearly lost it in T9 getting around a motard when my front tire ran the entire length of a tar snake and the front end got loose, costing me precious time. I got around him in T10 and was fortunate that Bob was caught behind two more ‘tards just ahead. I wasn’t expecting such a massive speed differential as we all came into the chicane and I nearly collided with the back of Bobs TZ. I had to brake check really hard which killed my drive onto the straight..and again Bob coasted away. He managed to get past both motards under power on the front straight while I could only manage 1 pass safely so I had to settle in behind the rider in T1 and watched as Bob furthered his lead. I don’t know if it was heat, exhaustion, or just crushed spirit at this point but I was having a really difficult time getting around this one motard. I was having a heck of a time judging his lines and his speed and I had to check up more than once. So we are clear this rider did nothing wrong and it was me lacking the skill to safely navigate around him. I could have stuffed him into a corner somewhere but Bob had such a substantial lead at that point and I was so tired I simply resigned myself to a 6th place finish.
I blew T9 so badly at one point I actually lost a position to one of the other Tards but took it right back. By the time I finally got around the first tard, Bob was nowhere in sight. Bob ran a great race and deserved the place and I look forward to many more scraps with him!
I was disappointed that I couldn’t get around well enough to stay with Bob as I struggle to find that balance between aggression and rider courtesy as I don’t want to stuff anyone but on the other hand I was extremely pleased that I was able to hold fast and consistent lap times without a carrot in front of me as I held 5th place alone for quite some time. In the end I managed to beat my best lap yet again and beat another hallmark and reached the 18’s!
Finish: 6th place out of 17
Best Lap: 1:18.774 - New Personal Best!
Video: ‪GTL 072311‬‏ - YouTube
In Closing
I couldn’t have asked for a better first weekend as an expert. I met some great people, had some fantastic races, placed far better than I have any right to expect, and managed to pick up some time to boot!
HUGE thanks to my friends and teammates at RSP Racing (and congrats to them as well, there were a TON of podiums for RSP this weekend!) who make this fun to do. Thanks to Gregg Spears Racing, EBC Brakes, SportbikeTrackGear.com, MTAG Pirelli, Dyno Solutions (get well soon John!), Tony’s Track Days, and all my other sponsors whose support allow this dream to become a reality. Finally my deepest thanks to my wife Erin who unconditionally supports me in this crazy endeavor and to my two boys Emmett and Aidan for helping out in the pits and cheering me on; it means the world to me.
Only a few shots from this weekend as of yet.
My pit crew - Emmett and Aidan
Maximus Poopacus
Gridding up for GTL, Pang sitting behind me in the front of the AM wave.
Not gonna lie, it was kinda cool to see my number up here in the single digits
This to me is more beautiful than a Picaso or Monet...
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by darkduc7
hehe.
