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Race Report – RSP Racing EX#43 – Round 6 – 09/14/2013
Just getting to the track this time was a mess for me. I was registered for Friday practice and was intending to get some good laps in and work on some of my weaker areas before the race weekend but it simply was not to be.
My flight which was to arrive Thursday at 2pm did not get me into Hartford until 1am Friday morning. I got home by 2am and had to load the trailer, do laundry, pack for the weekend, etc. I decided to get a little nap time with my wife (who I hadn’t seen in 3 weeks) and figured I would get to the track by noon and catch the afternoon sessions.
I discovered as I was hitching the trailer that the wiring harness was destroyed and needed to be replaced. Unwilling to make the 3 hr drive without lights I ran out to the store, got the parts and fixed the trailer. Ok, no biggie. I should be able to make the last 2-3 sessions of the day. Nope. Traffic on 84 was a dead stop at points. *sigh* ok, 2 sessions! I get to the track and the moment I roll my bike off the trailer it began raining… At this point I have had 2 hours of sleep since Thursday morning and just admitted that clearly some force in the universe didn’t want me to get any practice in so I just gave it up and went about setting up in the pits. Hung out a bit with my racing family and did some work on a few bikes (not mine for once!).
Saturday Practice
I wake up after 4 hours of sleep feeling groggy but went about my usual morning routine at the track. It was then that I heard over the loudspeaker that there were no legends cars this weekend and so they were moving up practice…groups 1 & 2 (that’s me) in 10 minutes! Uhm, the track was still damp and I didn’t even turn my warmers on yet. This weekend is looking like a greek tragedy! I skipped first practice figuring that I needed to stay upright more than I needed 12 minutes of rolling around the track on cold tires in the wet.
Second practice I made it out and clicked off some low 1:17’s if I remember correctly.
GTU
I can honestly say that I went into this without a lot of hope of doing anything outstanding. I was pretty frazzled from lack of sleep and generally grumpy about my crappy start to the weekend. Still, I had a great grid position, 2D, which gave me a nice clear shot down to the outside of T1. A mediocre start put me into 4th place just behind Justin Torres (#187).
I followed him for a few laps and finally made my move on the entrance into T6 when we caught the back of the wave that was ahead of us. I held this position for 4-5 laps until I hesitated to get around Amateur traffic and Justin took 3rd back from me on the exit of T2. I was annoyed but not truly worried as I felt that I could take the position back without too much trouble.
I didn’t realize it at the time but Justin was having a tough time getting around Brett Guyer (#11) who was running in 2nd place and the bikes bumped going into T6 where Justin went down hard. Brett went a bit wide and I dove under him into 2nd place for the first time in my expert racing career. I held this position for a glorious 20 seconds or so until Brett motored right past me going into T11.
I stayed with him for a few laps and was hindered a few times by the inability to pass under a waving yellow flag allowing Brett to slowly pull away.
During one of these times when I got caught in traffic I was passed by Jason Carter (#15) under power entering the front straight. I stuck with him like glue while dodging traffic until I seized an opportunity where he went just a little wide in T3 and I dove underneath to retake 3rd place. I knew he was right behind me but didn’t dare look back so I put my head down and ran as hard as I could for the remaining 3 laps to take my first expert podium!
My times weren’t what I would have liked but I did discover that I also managed to finally break into the teens on the outlap which was one of my goals for 2013! This was one fantastic race where I was dicing for almost the entire 25 minutes. Fun as hell but thoroughly exhausting!
Outlap: 1:19.737 (new PB)
Best Lap: 1:16.458
Finish: 3rd out of 8 (first expert podium!)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrLeVUx6NSY
Middleweight Grand Prix (The Dash for Cash)
3A grid position, not my favorite for sure. I got an average start and ended up going into T1 in 8th place. This is a race where I really noticed that I am losing a lot of ground under power. I know the GSXR is down a few ponies from most of my competitors but I think the blame lies with the rider not twisting his wrist early enough. Something to note for next round.
Anyway I stuck with the pack for a bit with Houk Nichols (#909) right ahead of me. I set my sights on him and began the process of reeling him in, closing the deal and moving into 7th on the 3rd lap going over the hill into T6. Houk wasn’t having any of that and passed me back a few laps later going into T3 (I still need work here). Only a few seconds later the race was red-flagged.
For the restart I was in 2D and took 6th into T1, again behind Houk. I didn’t even have time to make a plan to pass him as again the race was red flagged when I think it was Cory Hildebrand (#8) lost the front in T1A.
Restart #2 from the same grid position, I was really getting concerned about my tire temperatures as between both flags there was at least 5-6 minutes of cooling down, not to mention the sun was starting to set and many parts of the track were already in the shadows.
I wheelied the start a bit and was 7th into T1. It was definitely a bit cooler than I would have liked and I pushed the front in T9 pretty wide on the outlap, costing me some time that I would have to make up. I spent a few laps regaining some ground and managed to squeeze pass Houk on the front straight under power. I couldn’t get the rear tire settled going into T3 on the same lap and Houk ducked right under me to take the position back however two laps later I made a nearly identical pass to my first on the front straight.
I had begun running into the AM wave traffic and could hear Houk right behind me so was doing my best to get through traffic at opportune moments where I could pass but it would be difficult for Houk to do so. This worked great until with 3 laps to go I missed BOTH shifts going into T1 and lost a ton of drive while I was fumbling with the shift lever to get at least one for the drive out of T2. Surprisingly it wasn’t Houk that took advantage but Peter Ross (#42) who shot passed me 6th place.
By the time I got my act together, Peter had built up at least a 4 second lead and showed no signs of letting off so I had little choice but to watch frustrated as he rolled off into the diminishing sunlight. Meanwhile Houk made a pass in T3 but overcooked it and ran wide so I took the position back immediately. With one lap to go, I could still hear Houk right on my ass and I was fading quickly with no energy left to fight with.
On the final lap I knew Houk had to make another pass attempt in T3 so I deliberately stayed a little more to the right, knowing it would squeeze him and forcing him to run wide should he try the overtake. He did, and he ran wide, and I ducked underneath him back up the hill just like the previous lap. He was breathing down my neck the entire time but I managed to hold him off to take 7th place at the line.
While 7th isn’t anything to write home about, this was one hell of a fun race and it is a pleasant change from my usual lonely laps to having people to dice with. As it turns out I got to go to the winners circle as the Dash for Cash honors the top 8. The icing on the cake!
Outlap: 1:21.562
Best Lap: 1:16.734
Finish: 7th out of 14
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGhaJyY3jc4
Sunday Practice
Cold but sunny. Again I skipped first practice and instead took a nice hot showerTime well spent!
Second practice went per usual and I clicked off some 17’s while attempting to get my exhausted body back into a rhythm. I didn’t sleep well and my energy was way down and mentally I was just feeling foggy.
Middleweight SuperBike
I wanted to pick up a 4th race for the weekend and this was it. As I had never run this bracket before I was gridded last in 3D. I got a tremendous start and shot past most of the grid and was 3rd into T1. I distinctly remember passing Cory Hildebrand (#8) and thinking “Holy shit, I am not supposed to be here”.
I don’t know if it was that thought or my lack of focus but I am ashamed to say that I simply gave up and let Cory go past me (he absolutely would have anyway). Eric Wood (#5) shot past me like I was going backwards in time and that shocked some sense back into me. I was running in 5th with 3rd and 4th still in sight when the race was red-flagged.
My restart was not as good and I settled into 6th place for the first turn. I followed #715 Adam Andrusia for a few laps and should have pushed sooner but I did manage to make the pass on the brakes into T3 and then immediately tried to highside myself in T4 (@ ~6:50 in the video). Thankfully I didn’t, and kept the throttle on.
I was really struggling with rear tire grip, you can see/hear it throughout the entire video. In any case, other than some AM traffic the remainder of the race was uneventful. I discovered upon my return to the pits that my rear pressure was 2 lbs. high. I don’t know if my warmer was dying or if I didn’t have it on long enough.
Outlap: 1:20.276
Best Lap: 1:16.717
Finish: 5th out of 12
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du7VVbhuJjY
Middleweight SuperSport
Somehow I found myself starting from the front row in 1C. I wheelied for a while but managed to be 3rd into T1 for about .0001 of a second until Tim Barber (#46) took me on the outside of 1 like I was his bitch. I then learned very quickly that my rear tire grip issues were definitely not solved as I slid the entire way up the hill into T4 which really got into my head. I pushed the front again in T9 and then fast-guy Joel Allen (#35) shot past me into 11 and very quickly moved off into the distance.
It was a very small grid (8 with 2 no-shows) and my competition was the entire straight behind me so I simply rolled around in a lonely 5th place for the remainder of the race. My lap times sucked and I simply did not have the energy to push any harder.
Outlap: 1:20.447
Best Lap: 1:17.262
Finish: 5th out of 8
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcy8AjKz_HA
In Closing
Despite a very rocky start I had a fantastic day of racing on Saturday. My first expert podium (I don’t count the ASRA event), my first time on the mic in the winners circle as an expert, and I did finally manage to break into the teens on my outlap.
I had a great time with the amazing people of LRRS, donated to a great cause (the Larry Lap!), and got to spend a few days in the sun with my wife, kids, teammates, friends, and fans of LRRS. What more could I ask for? Well, 15’s really, but I don’t want to be greedy :-p
As always my most sincere thanks to my wife, family, teammates, and sponsors!
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Originally Posted by PainfullySlow
