Friday 10/2

Got out of work and on the road at the usual time. Arrived around 10PM. Someone took over my usual spot so I found a nice spot near the garages and set up shop. Said hi to whoever was awake and went to bed.


Saturday 10/3

Woke up around 6:30. I had left my rain tires on from last round (You're all welcome!) because the weather report this week was crazy back and forth, so I needed to swap those over to my DOTs. Because I'm not the fastest person at changing them over I missed first practice, but was able to get out for second practice. I was all over the place, probably because I'm still slow, but also because it was fairly cold out and I didn't want to push my luck. I clicked off a 1:37, which isn't horrible for me, but it was good to clear out the cobwebs a bit.


Race 6 - NOV Formula 1

Gridded 4B. Got a great start ending up 5th or 6th into T1. Even after the cold morning, the grip was great. I was riding much better than practice, for sure. I held onto the front runners until T3 and T4 where they started to get away from me. I tipped into T6 and right as I was coming up to the apex, a rider passed me on the outside, but cut in towards the apex before fully clearing my bike, clipping my front wheel, hard (That person and I spoke afterwards, so all is good, no hard feelings.). The result was a jarring, almost tank slapper like jolt, causing my bike to point straight up and out of the bowl, right into the gravel trap. The problem was I was still on two wheels. The gravel trap doesn't work so well when you're upright and going 30-40mph. I ended up smashing into the tire wall head on. After opening my eyes and making sure I was clear and all my extremities were functional I sat up and gave the corner workers a thumbs up. Looks like they only threw out a yellow flag for me too, which I was glad for, so my fellow novices could keep racing. The three of us then pushed the bike out of the gravel and down the hill to the crash truck. Right as we were driving through the tunnel I could hear on the radio "red flag all stations". Apparently someone else had binned it too shortly after I did (hopefully they were okay too). So that was the end of that race. After I made it back to the pits Mike Randi and I took a quick look and decided that even if it was rideable, I needed more time than was available before race 10. So I headed over to the media center and filled out the paperwork to file for mechanical. Just like that, my race season was over.

DNF (I think I was 33 of 36 or something. I wasn't last! Woooo!)


Saturday Night

After I headed back from the media center I found that Mo had stripped down my bike and was assessing the damage (Thanks again buddy! You freaking rock!). The fairings were pretty beat up, but the worst part was the fairing stay was bent to all hell, and I didn't have my spare with me. Luckily we found out that the bike doesn't need the gauges to run, so the plan was to tidy everything up and throw some number plates on the forks. I decided to work on it the next morning and started to get ready for the 5th annual Low Down Racing Halloween party.

The Halloween party was a blast, there was a cookout, a live band, and a big raffle. Everyone raised $4,000 for Larry and the NH Brain Injury Fund. Can't say enough good things about how generous this group of people are. Such a great family.

I was starting to get pretty exhausted and ended up going to bed around 9PM.


Sunday 10/4

I woke up at 7AM and all the bumps and bruises from the previous days crash started to present themselves. Holy hell was I in pain. I decided that, even though I had a running bike, I wasn't in decent enough shape to safely turn a wheel on the track. I opted to hang out for the morning/afternoon and cheer my fellow racers on. I watched some great racing and even got to see Larry go out for the Friends of Larry Lap before I headed out. It was pretty cool to see him leading a big parade of race bikes, pit bikes, and even a Razer scooter, haha.

This wasn't how I wanted to end my season, but I still had a great time, and my season was nothing but a success in my eyes, even with all the mishaps. I had 2 serious goals for this season, and I met both of them. Get my race license, and turn times faster than a 1:30. Obviously I got my license, but I managed to turn sub 1:30's every round except Rd 7, with a personal best of 1:26.816 in my rookie race in June.

I'd like to thank everyone at LRRS, the racers, the staff, the safety crews. You're all amazing and make this sport even more than just racing. Mo, for helping me with my bike almost every round and for the constant advice. Fast guy Mike Weyant, for his awesome Mad Scientist Moto parts, and for the advice on my riding technique. RSP Racing for their never ending hospitality, you guys are what inspired me to take the dive and do this in the first place. I'm going to call out the safety crews again, especially because this round, I definitely needed them. You guys are amazing at what you do. Even though they don't sponsor me, thank you Alpinestars, Bell Helmets, Sidi, and Forcefield, for keeping me from injury. I hit that tire wall HARD, and walked away. And of course, pit boss and girlfiend, Missy. Thanks for always helping me with my bike, keeping me hydrated, and just being there!

Photos courtesy of Melinda Peterson.