2
Round 2 is my 2nd round as an AM. Still amazed at how fast the experts eclipse me...
Made some gearing changes to the 848 between round 1 and 2. Went from stock 15/39 to 14/42 per advice from Eric Wood. Didn't practice Saturday...first ride with this HUGE change is in Race 5.
Race 5, HWSS
I forget what position a started in, but basically last as I've not raced in any heavyweight classes before. First few laps I was just trying to get my shift points down as its tremendously different with these new sprockets. At about lap 3 or 4 I'm comfortable with the shift points and can relax enough to realize...holy shit, the gearing change is AWESOME! Incredible drive out of the corners! I feel good out there, giggly good. Man I love this friggin Ducati. I end up finishing 7th with a new personal best laptime of 1:20.4, beating my old PB by exactly 2 seconds. Wow, 2 seconds??
Race 11, Mid GP
After my 1st race of the day I was really looking forward to this one. Green flag drops and this John Deer style gearing causes me to loft the front wheel about a foot in the air....I stay on it, top out the revs and click second, front still reaching for the sky. I know it's not the fast way, but man it looks killer....lol. Entering into T1 I've gotta slow way down for the pack...I was surrounded on both sides. Pass a few exiting T1, pass one breaking into 3, get by 2 more on the inside of 4, holy shit there's a LOT of bikes in this race. It's starting to open up a bit more and I can start to get up to race pace. Lap 2 feels awesome, I go across the start/finish line and get to the pink box. I brake very late and always charge pretty hard into T1. Just after the pink box another bike comes around my outside and I think 'Jesus, he's not gonna make it' , he cuts my nose right off and jams the brakes and parks it.I could do nothing. My front hits his rear. My bike goes sideways, high sides me into his exhaust pipe which gets ripped off by my body. My tailsection and under tail pipes ride his rear tire....me and the Ducati slide off into NASCAR turn 1...the bike pushes me up the embankment, we pivot and I eventually stop sliding but the bike goes another 50 feet or so....fuck. I'm very angry. Racing is racing but that move sucked. Balls outweighed skills. I know who, but don't need to call him out. It obviously was not on purpose. I get a best lap of 1:28.0, but the worst was having to watch the next 9 laps of the GP from the NASCAR wall. The other riders exhaust pipe ended up in the bowl, right on the race line I hear...
Done for the day. The bike fairs quite well. Rashed the left side fairings and smashed the tailsection. The Woodcraft rearsets and underbody frame sliders did an incredible job of minimizing the damage. Ground the peg to less than an inch, bar end got ground down. Miles to the rescue with a new peg and shifter tip. $38 bucks later and I'm ready for Sunday! Don't forget the Advil...lots of Advil.
Sunday I wake up and realize I'm 43 years old. Not 25 anymore. Where's my Advil? I get to the track late, much to my teammates dismay. Jump into my leathers, gingerly I might add. Practice is slow....like 1:27's slow....ugh. And I'm scheduled for 4 races on Sunday.
Race 3, MWSS
Good start, lots of bikes, I start feeling better as the adrenaline kicks in...on the grid I decide I'm gonna hang onto Duncan Wood, he's my marker. Well....I couldn't. I end up with a 14th place finish and a best lap of 121.7
Race 5, Formula 40
I'm excited about this race especially since round 1 I had to sit this one out due to mechanical issues. I get an ok start, but for some reason I just don't feel it. I'm not on my game for this race. Laptimes are not good, with a best of 124.4 and a 7th place finish. It's a long season, I'll be way more competitive in the Formula 40 next round....
Race 8, Unlimited Superbike
Starting for the back again, got a pretty good start. T1 was hairy, everyone jockeying for position. Get thru clean, and the lead pack takes off. Ya, I got zero chance here...lol. I put together a bunch of clean flowing laps, I feel good! Next thing I know, the white plates make me look like I'm going backwards. Good race, felt good, had a couple good battles. Best lap 120.8 with a 13th place finish. Not too sure I should be out there in this race but it was fun! Glad to come in front of my pal Duncan Wood.
Race 13, MW Superbike
Don't remember this race all that well being the last of the day and my 4th of the day. Finished 9th with a 121.5
Overall a fantastic weekend. Dispite the crash, I felt great and I think I did pretty well. I know there's 19's in my near future.
Thanks to my BT1R teammates, love you guys! Thanks to everyone else for the well wishes and words of encouragement.
NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT PART, PLEASE READ.
Most of you saw us BT1R guys racing on Sunday with gray tshitrs over out leathers. This is the 'Elevate Al' part of this report.
Before I start, it needs to be known I asked permission to post this. Stoneman and the gaggle of moderators agreed to allow me to do this.
I personally know a lot of you guys, thru racing, trackdays over the last 8 years, etc. Some of you even know my amazing girlfriend, Stephanie. She was here this weekend. A little over a year ago, Stephanie's father had massive strokes. He's confined to a bed and stuck in the one room basement of his home. We are doing a benefit to raise funds to make his bathroom handicapped accessible and add a wheelchair elevator to the home so he can have some dignity in his life. Shower for the first time in a year, eat dinner at the dinner table with his family. A great man who worked his whole life to provide a great home and life for his family, 40 years at the same job, averaging 70 hours a week to give his family the best life he could. Now, it's our turn to help in any way we can. The way we can is to help with the costs of giving him his dignity back. Stephanie has set up a gofundme.com website for this. We also have a benefit function on Sunday July 12th. Yes, she scheduled it on this day after checking to make sure there was not an LRRS event that weekend.
If you know me, if you don't know me, if you like me or have ridden with me or joked, chatted with me or even didn't like something I posted or said, I ask you...please, give for this cause. It means a LOT to me, a lot to Stephanie and her family. I know it's race season and racing is expensive. But I ask because this 'racing family' of ours is such an amazing group of people with such big hearts, I feel you all would want to help, in anyway you can. Even if it's $10, $20, $100 whatever....every dollar will help a man who raised an amazing woman I love, be a man again instead of just someone confined to a 15 by 18 foot basement room. I thank you all for your generosity.
A Daughter's Promise by Stephanie Totilo - GoFundMe
Let's Elevate Al!!
I do have more shirts If anyone is interested in wearing one at the classic, let's do what we can and show Stephanie and her family we care. Thank you!!!!
Please put NESR or LRRS in the gofundme.com comments so we know who you are!!
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