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Cliff's Notes: Racing is awesome, 1.2 seconds off my PB in Round 1, new setup feels great, ready to attack Round 2.
It was a long racetrack week for me; left for NJMP last Sunday, got home at 11pm Tuesday, worked Wed then headed to NHMS for a 01:30 arrival on Thursday morning. Unpacked, and hit the air mattress. Thursday was garage setup and slinging tires with Tony and Graham, and getting a mini-workout in since it was my only travel and riding free day last week. Thursday night was "sort out Sav's Hawk" night, and it provided some amusement.
Friday (practice): Signed up for Penguin practice to shake down the bike and myself after the winter. NJMP was fun, but is a very different track and I wanted to regain the feel for the new fork and brake setup. Nothing spectacular, I realized too late my Qtsarz GPS lap timer was left on all winter, so the battery was stone dead. Felt the bike out, got some laps in and felt comfortable.
Friday night the crew started rolling in and I helped with some unloading the hung out. Great beginning to see the rest of the track family after a long winter.
Saturday (Lightweight Grand Prix): I ran first practice on my existing rubber, then switched to a fresh set for second practice and the races. No laptmes because my transponder number was on file incorrectly, and I didn't catch it at tech inspection. For LWGP, I was wearing a custom made shirt decorated by Annalisa Boucher, due to losing a drunken bet that I could beat Chuck and his Superbike SV in the final round last year during LWSB. I'm a good sport, so I went and grabbed my shirt, ripped the sleeves off, and rocked the shit out of it. Pictures are floating around, but I'm not gonna be the one to point them out to you. I gridded dead last in this race due to having zero Expert points in the class from 2012. I got a decent launch, but couldn't find a way to stick my bike into the pack going in T1 from the back and outside. Two of the TZ250 riders "battled" with me for the first lap, passing me only to be repassed by me under drive, since those bikes don't have any torque and couldn't find free track to open up. They both eventually got clear and checked out, going on to finish 2 and 6 places ahead of me. I ran an uneventful race, finishing 19 of 21 starters with a best lap of 1:23.8, at the end of the race.
Saturday evening was fun filled as always, even though I'm limiting myself to two adult beverages per night. As usual, RSP Racing kept the trophy ceremony lively, although our "GET ON THE BOX" routine is now part of LRRS norm, and doesn't require much input from us.
Sunday (Lightweight Superbike): I elected to skip first practice, as it was cold and I had a decent number of laps to this point. LWSB was a last minute addition for me, I wanted to feel out all three LW races to formulate a plan for the remained of the season. I was gridded towards the back of this race also, and again managed a decent start, managing to keep the back of lead pack in sight for the first lap or so. Eventually they began putting some pavement between us, and I had no one directly in front, but I could feel hot breath on the back of my neck. BJ Worsham (311) came around me, gave me a thumbs up up the hill, and eventually gapped me. Lap after lap, Ben Travisano (130) would pull up next to me at the end of the front straight on his Monster 696, and I'd shut the door on him braking into T1. I knew Ben had some HP on me, but since it was taking him almost the length of the front straight to catch up, I wasn't too worried about the race finish if I could keep him behind me. Drilling down towards my 2012 pace, my last lap was a 22.5...but it wasn't enough. Even tucked in tight, Ben managed to sneak 1 bike length ahead of me at the start finish. That was a bummer, but I ran a good race, and running a stock bike in a Superbike class means you're gonna deal with stuff like that sometimes.
Sunday (Lightweight Supersport): This is, in theory, my bike's most competitive class. It eliminates the bikes with motorwork. Of course, in the Expert classes at LRRS, all that really does is reduce the grid size; the guys in this class are still crazy fast. That showed almost immediately, as the top 6 finishers clicked off sub :23 outlaps. David Dayon (611) was behind me through T2, but got around and checked out up the hill to join that front pack. Once again, I could feel the heat behind me, so I knew I was leading the "second pack" of whoever wasn't running 20's during this race. This turned out to be my RSP Racing teammate Bill Coolahan (47) along with neighbor Adam Butler (820) and Eric Connolly (26). From every perspective except mine, it was apparently an exciting race to watch as Bill crept and stalked me looking for a way past. In the end I managed to hold him off, for an 8th place finish at the checkered. This race saw half 23's and half 22's, with a weekend best of 1:22.213 in the last lap. I'm happy with the pace and consistency, especially since reviewing the Qtstarz data gives me some clear input on how to get back to, and hopefully smash past, my 2012 PB of 21.0 in Round 2.
Overall, I had a good weekend on the track and a great weekend at the track, and I'm looking forward to Round 2 in May. As always, having my teammates, my track family, and so many friends there to share the weekend with me really makes this all worth it. Of course, thanks to all the great companies and organizations that support RSP Racing; Tony's Track Days, MTAG Pirelli, Dyno Solutions, Sportbike Track Gear, 434 Racer, Brunetto T Shirts, KNOX, GMD and Woodcraft. Also, Crossfit Wallingford, without which there is NO way I could have done three races, let alone done better on Sunday than Saturday; I'm typically a full second slower on the second race day. My recovery time is so much improved from last year that I could confidently have gone back out and raced again on Monday.
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Originally Posted by Mr. Kurtz
hey! lmao
