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Race Report – RSP Racing #29
LRRS Round 3, 2014: The 91st Loudon Classic
Arrival
Since this was the classic weekend, the practice schedule was different than normal and began at 1pm. This allowed me to spend Wednesday night with my wife and family which really helped my mood. I left for the track early Thursday morning and made it to the track around 9:30am. I got the trailer set up, got the AC in it fixed with help from Ian Vivero (thanks Ian!), and got the pit set up and ready for the weekend with plenty of time to spare.
Thursday Practice
Uneventful although I got within .1 of my PB so I was really hoping for some good things this coming weekend. I focused specifically on some weaker areas and, to quote Valentino Rossi, “I pooshed a-very aard” and made some improvements.
Friday Practice
This was going to be a very long day. I was doing some R&D with different brakes than I normally run so I went out for both practices. I turned some OK times but was trying to pace myself since I had TWO endurance races today.
GTU
Gridded in 1C (well, 3C but 2nd wave). As soon as I brought the revs up for the start the bike started to lurch forward, even with the clutch all the way in. WTF??!? I had to fumble with the brakes while trying to modulate throttle and clutch and it threw me off. This would be a pattern for the remainder of the weekend. Crappy start, went into T1 into 4th behind Tim Barber (#46).
I honestly don’t know what was up, I was just not feeling it and it showed. My apexes were very sloppy, I was late getting on the throttle, etc. About midway through the race I got a shooting pain in my left hip (no old man jokes, please) and couldn’t put much weight on that leg for the remainder of the race. My times immediately slowed by 2 seconds/lap and I ended up giving up two positions to finish in 6th. Not what I wanted but it still sure beats being at the office. 25 minutes of hard racing done and I was feeling pretty tired already. Thankfully the cramp in my leg went away within the hour after lots of water and walking.
Outlap: 1:20.961
Finish: 6th out of 11
Best Lap: 1:17.043
Endurance Race
The three hour endurance race is always big fun and I was looking forward to it with a lot of enthusiasm. We had a fantastic pit crew set up (which is honestly a lot of the fun) and got ready to just roll around and have a good time. The team was RSP Racing tough guys Adam Butler (#820), Keith Draghi (#76), and I plus a guest appearance from Savas Kosmidis (#508) who would be filling our Amateur spot.
Since we were running Adams bike he would go first, followed by Savas, Keith, and finally myself. The run went well and everyone seemed to be having a very good time which is what it is all about. It was pretty apparent early on that we wouldn’t be competitive as the other groups put “serious business” teams together but hey, that’s ok! My turn came and I hopped on Adams bike for the first time. Lets see: I haven’t ridden an SV in over a year, its sprung for someone 80lbs heavier than I am, and I have never ridden this bike. What could possibly go wrong?
I managed to run 45 minutes straight staying in the 21’s and 22’s until exhaustion took over and I had to pit in. I flopped on the ground and my teammates took over to bring it home. Everyone ran crazy hard, put down some respectable times, and it was a blast. HUGE THANKS to our pit crew of Mike, Josh, Kyle, Mo, Mike, Eric, and Matt for doing all the real work to make this happen. RSP all-stars Mike Kurtz (#86) and Bill Coolahan (#47) filled in as “Pit Bosses” to round out the team. You guys had this running like a swiss watch and it was fun as hell to be a part of it. I think next year I will opt for the pit boss role and let the younger kids do the crazy endurance races :-p
In the end we came in 4th of 4 but everyone was smiling ear to ear =).
Saturday Practice
I skipped first practice and went out for 2nd which was qualifying for the MWGP later in the day. I had swapped back from my test brakes to the EBC GPFA pads that I loved but they didn’t feel quite right. I don’t know if it was just going back and forth but meh, I would focus past it. Still, I didn’t qualify anywhere near as well as I would have liked.
Middleweight Grand Prix (The Loudon Classic)
This was originally going to be run as one long race but there were so many entries that they had to split the race between experts and amateurs. I went into this completely exhausted after yesterday’s two endurance races, my strength was simply terrible. Add the fact that this was to be a 20 lap feature race and you have for a very grumpy rider.
I was gridded in 13th but had the same clutch issue as in GTU so my start was absolutely abysmal. I think I went into T1 somewhere around 20th place. I put my head down and immediately went to work with the passing thing. I took someone on the outside of T1A, another coming out of 2, and a few on the brakes into T3 although I was almost driven off track by someone rubbing some paint with me at the apex of 3. I stuck it out, got on the gas, and went up the hill of T4 in 13th place.
The leaders all checked out (best lap of the race was 1:12.987!!!) and a group of 4 of us separated out from the pack: Justin Torres (#23), Tim Barber (#46), Houk Nichols (#16), and me bringing up the rear of that group. We all stuck together very tightly as we tested each other, looking for weak spots where we could try to seize an advantage.
Tim made a slight mistake in T6 of lap 2 and he and Houk traded places but I wasn’t able to seize the opportunity. On lap 3, Houk got around Justin in T11 and quickly opened up a gap. I knew from prior races that I could keep up with Houk so I was frustrated as I watched him walk away from the group I was with.
On Lap 4 I made an outside pass in T6 on Tim that stuck and slotted in behind Justin. My brain was already working overtime as I closely followed Justin and by the front straight I had already devised a strategy to get around him but my strength was fading very fast as the dicing was taking a lot out of me.
Justin was quick but I knew that I was significantly stronger in T11 but it meant waiting an entire lap. Tim reminded me he was there by taking an inside pass on me in T3 but it forced him to go wide and I immediately reclaimed my position as I stayed on Justin’s tail going up the hill. I stuck to him very closely, trying to exploit every drafting opportunity so that I was in position to make my T11 pass. I drifted slightly to the right to make my move but Torres did the same! Crap! I quickly ran out of room and had to hop the curb causing my chassis to become very unsettled. I was forced to brake to make the turn and Tim shot right past me costing me my position. I was right back where I started!
I had no drive on the straight because of my trouble and Peter Ross (#42) who had been shadowing us for the entire race slotted past me. Crap! I stuck with the group and it was a few laps later where we were all going up the hill into T4 nearly 4 wide when Justin’s rear tire stepped out a little. It cost him some drive and I set up wide to make an inside pass in T6, smooth as silk and I moved back up into 13th position.
I gave chase for the next 10 laps or so but by lap 16 I had fallen back by about a second behind Tim and Peter, I assumed Justin was still hot on my tail. I missed a downshift going into T1 so my drive out of T2 was terrible and that gap widened. Disheartened and exhausted from Friday’s races I was powerless as the two in front of my continued to slowly pull away. I managed to keep them in sight but was unable to present a threat to either of them.
My finish was not what I had wanted however I had an absolute BLAST with this race as it was essentially 20 laps of fighting for position. I was also very pleased to find that not only had I gotten a new personal best but 17 of my 20 laps were in the 16’s.
Outlap: 1:21.603
Best Lap: 1:16.026 (new personal best)
Finish: 13th of 21
Saturday Night
The now-famous Butler/RSP/G2/Center Garage BBQ was in full swing. Thanks to teammate Adam Butler and his incredible family for putting this together. There was grilling, chilling, great food for all. I played bartender and introduced some poor souls to Moscow Mules for the evening. I had exactly one beer and was in bed by 9:30, completely wiped out from the day’s events.
Sunday Practice
I skipped because I needed my strength more than I needed 12 more minutes of riding around the track.
Middleweight SuperSport
I was gridded in 7th (2C) and got another crappy start due to my clutch issue. I was in 6th going into the first turn and was completely taken by surprise when the rear tire stepped out on me as soon as I got on the gas coming out of turn 2. Thankfully it was a nice, gentle lowside. I did a great impression of sliding into home plate as I watched my bike slam into the airfence. I immediately got to my feet and ran to the bike, only to be dismayed as I saw my left rearset lying on the ground nearby. #$*#&$^ I was out of the race. The race was red flagged and the corner workers rolled the bike to the gate so I could get back to my pits. I immediately took my glove off and felt the rear tire: cold as ice.
I rode back to the pits and had to use a paddle stand as the left spool also snapped off. I looked at my tire warmer and discovered that it was switched off, something that I never do as I use the switch on my power strip instead. Well, at least I knew what went wrong. I tossed some rearset parts on the bike thanks to Miles of Street and Competition and although she was no longer as pretty, she was race-ready less than 30 minutes later. Considering this was the first time crashing that bike in over 2 years I suppose I cannot complain, still it is annoying as it was not a crash based on rider error.
I was forced to take a DNS since I never completed a lap (Did Not Show).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBoWC4JOPGY
Formula 40
This was going to be a back-to-back race with Middleweight SuperBike so I knew that I had to conserve some energy here or I wouldn't make it through the next race.
I was gridded in 6th position (2B) and got what was again a crappy start due to my clutch issue. I made some quick passes going into T1 and ended up 4th by T1A behind Dennis Levesque (#17), John Grush (#70), and Mike Clark (#81). I got around Mike on the entrance to turn 6 of the first lap which moved me to 3rd, directly behind John but I watched with alarm as Dennis absolutely took off into the distance as I was unable to get around the bigger bike that John was riding.
I made a nearly identical pass on the following lap to get around John at the entrance to T6 but by then, I could no longer see Dennis. Apparently I caught Dennis sleeping last round but this time he knew I was coming and would have none of it. That man put down some seriously hot laps culminating in a 14 at one point.
I was still skittish after my off and was unable to break into the 16s, coupled with the fact that I was flat out exhausted my times started dropping off. I held onto 2nd place until the 6th lap when John Van Lenten (#69) got around me. I was simply too tired to put up a fight and resigned myself to 3rd place.
Outlap: 1:22.828
Best Lap: 1:17.650
Finish: 3rd out of 9
Middleweight SuperBike
I snuck off of the track and straight onto hot pit where my awesome friends and teammates were waiting for me with water, a cold towel, and an umbrella to help me cool off and reclaim some strength before my final race of the weekend. I only had about 3 minutes but it was enough to get some water and cool off a little bit. HUGE THANKS to Bill, Savas, Gino (of ECK), and my wife Erin!
I went back out way too soon for my liking and was gridded in 7th (2C) and got yet another poor start. I made my signature passing moves in T1 and was right behind Riley Rodgers (#48) coming out of turn 1 in 6th place. I know that Riley is blazing fast so I did my best to stick with him and hopefully get a tow but he was quickly moving away from me. Once it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with Riley I simply made sure that I kept my position.
Apparently the guys are the front weren’t tired at all as they put down some absolutely ridiculous laps and were quickly lost to the distance. I, however, could barely ride but did my best to see it through. I did manage to put down a new PB for my outlap before my strength gave out and I was happy to get back into the low 16’s so soon after my crash.
Outlap: 1:19.648 (new PB I think)
Best Lap: 1:16.315
Finish: 6th out of 16
Conclusion
Wow, what a weekend. I was honored to take part in the 91st running of the Loudon Classic but boy am I beat! Physical fitness definitely need improving and I will be working on that in the 5 weeks between this and round 4 to hopefully make a better showing.
I did make a new PB in both outlap and overall lap which I am grateful for however after over a year in the 16’s I was looking to break into the 15’s. To miss it by .03 of a second is really annoying.
I managed to pick up some time around the track and I am particularly happy with my turn 6 right now. I had a crash but it was minor so I am fully prepared to come back swinging for round 4.
I cannot thank enough my friends, family, sponsors, supporters, and the cornerworkers and safety staff of the LRRS community for making this weekend a reality. Words fall horribly short of my feelings for you. THANK YOU!
Pics and video to come!
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Originally Posted by Trouble
