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Race Report - LRRS Expert #434 10/15/11
Pre-Race
We arrived at the track Friday in the pouring rain however the weather reports promised sunshine with cooler temps in the low 60’s. I had some bike maintenance to do so I set to that while meeting and greeting the team and my fellow racers.
Saturday AM practice
I missed the first practice due to encountering a last minute exhaust issue so sadly I had to spend the second session just reacquainting myself with the bike, the track, and trying to loosen up as well as scrubbing in the nice set of Pirelli Supercorsa slicks that MTAG Pirelli provided. My times were in the low 21’s which was decent enough for a first practice and I was looking forward to my first race of the weekend.
LWSB
Gridded in 3A (9th) and got a less than ideal start so I slotted into the first turn in 5th place directly behind Rick Doucette (#6) who is one of the fastest SV guys out there. I was hoping to get a tow from him early on to help put a gap between myself and the rest of the pack but coming out of turn two I had traction issues with my rear which caused me to lose ground and run a bit wide. Sean Byrnes (#111) seized the opportunity and shot by me on the inside pushing me back to 6th.
I seem to be in an odd spot of the expert bracket where the front runners pull quickly away from me however I seem to be ahead of the rest of the pack leaving me few people to race with. The one exception to this was my friend and on-track nemesis, Matt Calhoun (#142) who dogged me the entire race. He kept showing me a wheel and I kept closing the door, riding as defensively as I could manage. With so little practice time before the race my lines were horrible as was my pace however I did manage to hold Matt off and I finished the race in 6th place. My times were off pace by one and a half seconds although this seemed to be across the board with the exception of the very top runners.
Finish: 6th out of 12
Best Lap: 1:20.022
LWGP
I was gridded in 2D (8th place) but wheelied my start and went into T1 in 5th behind #888 Chris Cucinotta. The race was immediately red flagged when front runner Rick Doucette (#6) lowsided in the 1A flop and crashed into the tire wall. There had already been several crashes in this same spot today which made me cautious here and killed my drive coming out of this section of the track for the rest of the day.
I got a much better start the second time around slipped into 4th position directly behind Ted Temple (#52). Chris Cucinotta (#888) was having nothing to do with it and passed me coming out of T2 and rapidly got ahead of Ted in T3 who had gone wide. I had sized up where I was planning on making a move only to have any hope snatched from me. I was driving up the hill into turn 4-5 when I shot my exhaust muffler off the bike like a rocket, nearly taking out Matt Calhoun (#142) who was right behind me. I tried hard to maintain concentration however it is difficult to focus when it was so loud and parts were falling off my bike.
I kept eyeing the cornerworker stations looking for the inevitable black flag however it never appeared so I kept my head down and continued to race. My bike was seriously down power without any backpressure from the exhaust and I struggled as best I could to maintain my pace but was passed by Matt in a well-executed T11 move. I never found an opportunity to try to re-take Matt and crossed the line just behind him.
Finish: 7th place out of 13
Best Lap: 1:20.136
LRRS Lightweight GrandPrix - YouTube
Sunday Practices
I spent the prior evening getting the exhaust repaired and going over the bike with a fine tooth comb, more to give me peace of mind than anything else. I did make both practices this time although one was cut short with a crash. I decided to focus solely on being smooth and hitting my apexes and was successful, if not slow for the attempt.
GTL
I was very excited for this race as GTL is one of my favorite brackets and also this would be my final race of the 2011 season so I was looking for something extra. I had a great grid position in 3A (9th place) directly behind race points leader Rick Doucette (#6). I got a fantastic launch and for a moment was pulling on the front row except I still let off too early and slotted into 4th place for the first turn. I managed to keep the front 3 in view for the first few laps but by lap 3 they had totally checked out leaving me open track. I spent the entire 20 minutes with my head down, expecting to hear Matt Calhoun at any moment however he was never able to show me a wheel. I later learned that a false neutral in T3 mid-race had caused Matt to lose a substantial amount of time. Rotten luck Matt, I look forward to many more battles next year!
I hit the back of the Amateur wave on lap 3 and strategically used them as picks to slow up any competition that may be there. My apologies to the AM bracket that I wasnt able to wave to, I had my hands full most of the time :-p. I specifically recall seeing Chris Aho and thinking "Hmm I said I would wave to him" but I passed him going into 6 and couldnt risk even a small wave.
At the halfway mark my team was giving me the “huge lead” sign so rather than risk any unpleasantness I kept it on two wheels and rolled across the line in 4th place, my best finish since moving to the expert brackets. It sounds much more impressive if I say “I finished right behind Rick Doucette”, especially if I forget to mention it was 35 seconds behind him :-p
While my times certainly are not what I would have hoped for I did manage to get back into the teens on a few laps and I am more than pleased with my finish place.
Finish: 4th out of 12
Best Lap: 1:19.889
In Closing
I am sitting here wondering just what to put in my wrap-up when the full realization hits that I will not be racing again for at least 6 months and I am saddened. As my first full year of racing comes to a close I realize that I have truly come to love the sport of motorcycle racing, the community that is LRRS, and my friends and teammates who have supported me unquestioningly throughout this crazy year. I am deeply going to miss the buzz at the track, the camaraderie of my fellow racers, or waking up to dawn and the first sound of an exhaust ripping into the crisp morning air signaling the start of another glorious day of racing.
The horrible tragedy of Dan Weldon (Rest In Peace Dan) this past weekend also drives home the risks that we all willingly take and although we know that the potential for danger is there, we choose to do this anyway. To me this only solidifies the bond between myself and my teammates as well as the other racers that share the same little bit of asphalt. It is inexplicable to someone who hasn’t personally experienced it, but to me it is as tangible as the keyboard I am typing on.
Although some aspects of my life are not where I would like them to be at the moment, I still cannot help but feel truly fortunate to be here, now with my friends and family around me and chasing the dream.
Thank you to my teammates who make this fun, to my family for their unwavering support, and to my valued sponsors who are always willing to offer advice and support to me to make this all possible. A huge amount of thanks to the LRRS officials and corner workers who work to keep LRRS alive and keep us racers safe. Finally my deepest thanks and appreciation to the friends and fans who read our reports or come to watch us do what we love, you are appreciated more than you know.
A few shots from the weekend:
Sorry Chris, just wasnt going to take my hand off the bars here :-p
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Originally Posted by darkduc7
ive figured out who he is, but never really met.
