2
LRRS#5 weekend turned out to better than I would have ever expected. I was packed and out of Boston on Th night around 9pm. The GTI was towing a trailer with 2 bikes + car fully packed and rain tires strapped to the trailer. Got at the track around 11pm , quickly unloaded the bikes and the basic stuff that I needed on Friday morning and I headed back to Red Roof for a good night sleep.
Friday: Woke up around 6.30 am, headed up to the track where I was registered for Eric’s Advance class. Also, I purchased a QStarz GPS timer to see my speeds/breaking points and lines and to analyze the data in order to figure out what am I doing right and what am I not… Eric Wood game me some great pointers regarding my body position and that managed to do 1.28.0 (previous PB was 1.29.2 in a race) during Friday Practice… Eric: there are no words for me to describe how grateful I am for that feedback that you gave me …
Saturday: I had 2 races on Saturday. I made it to both practices, but both felt really really short and we also had a red flag in one of them.
Race 7: NOV Formula 2
I had a pretty bad start. Got in T1 on the 13th position out of 19. Ended up passing 1 bike per lap for 3 laps and managed to get 9th out of 18 with a new PB of 1.27.0
Race 10: Novice Formula 3
This was a little sketchy race. We had 2 red flags, the 2nd red flag was (I think) before the middle of the race when I was right behind #604 (he was leading the race) and the officials decided to finish the race. The cause of both red flags was in T4-T5, same spot one high side that looked bad and another (I think) high side. Though I completed only 4 laps, managed a new PB of 1.26.9
Sunday: I had 3 races and there were some ASRA events going on between 1.30 and 3ish. On Sat night I looked on the GPS Data and saw what were the main factors that helped me improve my time. Also Brian gave me more pointers on the breaking into T1 that helped me brake later … Thank you Brian! We had only 1 practice where I managed to test some newer approaches and got a 1.27.0. Knew it was going to be a great day.
Race 1: NOV Rookie 2
Had a great start, got the 3rd in T1, put my head down and raced as fast as I could. All what I cared for was to go FAST .. got a new PB 1.26.488; outplap 1.31.8 and all the laps were 1.27.xxx . I was very happy with the consistency and that I managed a PB and for the 1st time I got on the podium of a 2 race.
Race 3: Novice Rookie 3
This was probably by far one of the best races I had ever done. I was in the zone from Race 1, felt great. I had 3 goals for this race: do a new PB and get 1.26s consistent and get 1st place from #604 – what I did not manage to get on Sat. Had an ok start, #604 and #976 got ahead of me in T1 and #604 was pulling away FAST .. in T3, #976 breaks more and sooner than I expected and I went on the outside of T4/T5 trying to pass him but managed to get him on the breaks of T6…. Now for the next 2 laps I was chasing #604 … I went faster and dragged more knee (and sometimes boots) that I had ever thought would be possible but I knew that I will be able to pass #604 (he kept looking behind for 2-3 laps to see where I was) … In Lap 5 I managed to get him on the brakes on T1 and kept going faster and faster without looking back. When I got in the pits … I saw that I got a new PB 1.25.8 and consistent 1.26s … This was such a great and clean race! No flags .. just pure racing.
Best Lap: 1.25.895 ; Outlap: 1.31.7
Race: 8 Novice Starter 3
This race was approx. 5-6h after the Race 3 due to ASRA events. I just wanted to complete the weekend without crashes. We were only 3 bikes in this race and I rode pretty conservative, got consistent 1.27s and won this one too.
As I mentioned in the beginning of the report, this weekend turned out better than expected. I managed consistent 1.26s with a 1.25 lap. I would like to thank Eric Wood for all his advice/guidance, Penguin Racing School, WoodCraft, Armor Bodies my awesome teammates Brian, Mike and Roland, Dunlop, Yoshimura, DP Brakes, Lucas Oil.
See you all in 11 days,
Dan