1
Back in action for the first round of the 2014 season. A long winter and a last minute scramble to get the bike back in one piece after it's off season refresh had me pretty well stressed as I made the drive up to the track for Friday practice.
Friday practice:
I arrived at the track late in the morning and with a list of things that still needed to be done to the bike. After getting through registration I got back to my pit and set about dealing with a few details that got missed in the rush to get the bike started before I left home. After getting through tech I finally made it out for the 1pm session. The long winter had given me time to develop some heavy cobwebs and it showed in my riding. I couldn't seem to string together a decent lap and felt like I was working extremely hard in the process. I was able to keep my spirits up though, constantly reminding myself that this was the reason I signed up for the extra day of practice. As the day progressed and adjustments to the bike were made, things were definitely improving.
Saturday
Saturday greeted us with cold temps and a wet track. Having just had new tires mounted, I set those wheels aside and mounted up the rains. Since I had run practice the day before I opted to stay warm(ish) and dry until my race and sat out morning practice for the first time.
LWGP
The weather had certainly not improved leading up to the race and things were still cold and wet. All the races had been reduced in length with sprints down to 6 laps. I lined up in 7B and waited for the start of my first race of the year. A poor launch set me up for 4th into T1. Though I felt a bit better than the day before things still weren't clicking for me but I kept at it and maintained my position for the first 4 laps before things went south pretty quickly. My failure to properly install the pinlock insert on my visor resulted in fog developing between the two layers. Unfortunately, the gap in the seal was off to the sides so opening the shield down the straight did exactly nothing to clear it. By the end of the 5th lap I was riding all but completely blind, totally unable to distinguish between dirt, curbing, and track surface until I was right on top of it. All I could do was back off and putter around the track to the checker. My lack of vision cost me two spots by the end of the race putting me in 6th at the finish. A rather poor start to the season but given the circumstances I was not about to lose too much sleep over it.
Finish: 6 of 6
Out lap: 1:51.254
Best lap: 1:45.095
Sunday
Having realized that my gloves were restricting my movements and causing a number of other issues, I picked up a new pair of Taichi's track side to try and gain back some control of the bike. Testing would have to wait for second practice though as the morning was still bitterly cold so once again I sat out the first practice session
2nd practice:
The new gloves instantly made a difference in my riding. With free movement of my fingers and no annoying addon's to get in the way of the controls I felt much more in command of the bike. I still wasn't riding where I knew I should be but I definitely felt a difference in my level of confidence on the bike.
LWSB
Heading out for the warm up lap, something seemed to finally click for me and I felt better than I had all weekend. Gridded in 2A I got an ok start, though it was becoming clear that I needed to get used to the new clutch I had installed over the winter. I made a good number of small mistakes in the 1st lap but felt loose and in control for the first time all weekend. Nothing terribly dramatic happened during the race and I took the checkered in 6th place. Heading back to my pit I couldn't have cared less about my finishing position and was simply happy that I had gotten back into something resembling a groove.
Finish: 6 of 14
Out lap: 1:36.008
Best Lap: 1:30.910
Supertwins
Shortly after Superbike, it very suddenly started to rain. Within a matter of minutes the dry pavement was properly wet. Watching the radar with growing anxiety it was clear that the rain wasn't going to stick around, or was it, no it wasn't, but it might, but it might dry up..... I made the call to put the rains on and then waited to see what would happen in the time before my next race. As it turned out, I made the right call and the track was still wet for the supertwins race. Only 3 of us gridded up for the race, and only 2 of us on rains. Off the start it was clear that this was going to be an open track session for me as the #508 of Savas Kosmidis immediately fell behind and the #325 of Chris Bouchard pulled away. Though I made small gains on Chris under braking and in the corners, his motor carried him further away from me every time he got the bike pointed and vertical. Within a couple laps he was out of sight and I was on my own. Possibly the most exciting part of the race was when I started to reel in one of the experts. Wet conditions or not it was certainly a thrill to pass an expert rider on a more powerful bike. I finished the race without seeing another bike and took my first podium of the season and my first amateur 2nd place finish.
Finish: 2 of 3
Out Lap: 1:44.536
Best Lap: 1:41.999
LWSS
By now the weather was starting to clear but the track was still wet and occasional drizzles looked to keep it that way so the rains stayed on. Savas had made the switch to rains and got an incredible launch putting him in first right ahead of me. Braking for T1 he backed it way off though and I passed him on the outside as we were tipping in. For some reason I can't explain I had a ton of confidence in this race. Things really seemed to be clicking for me so off I went. By the halfway point of the race I had unknowingly put a sizable gap between myself and 2nd place but I was convinced that someone must be right behind me just waiting for me to make a mistake so I kept pushing. 4 laps in I started risking a look back whenever I could and while I didn't see anyone I just assumed it was because they were too close for me to spot. By the final lap I realized I really was all by myself and relaxed a bit, counting down the turns to the checkered to keep my head in it so I wouldn't do anything stupid. Crossing the line with a HUGE margin I took my first amateur victory. With 5 podiums now in wet conditions (including the three from 2013) it seemed rain was my element.
Finish: 1 of 4
Out Lap:
Best Lap: 1:39.950
Thunderbike
The start of Thunderbike was a carbon copy of Supersport. Savas got the jump, stood it up for 1 and I passed him tipping in to take the lead. 4 laps went by with me out front but this time I knew for sure that I had someone on my tail. Though he had yet to show me a wheel or make any kind of move to take the spot it was clear that I couldn't afford to let up. Realizing that I had been over braking for a couple corners I decided to push my brake markers a bit in an effort to extend my lead just in case I should make a mistake before the end of the race. Lap 5 entering T1 I pushed my marker farther than I had intended to. Hard on the brakes I ran wide and crossed off the NASCAR track over the painted lines. Instantly the front tire went away and the bike slammed me to the ground. My shoulder and hip took the initial impact followed by a shot to the head as I bounced and tumbled, eventually landing on my back and sliding off into NASCAR 1. After what seemed like an eternity on the ground a corner worker got to me and helped me to my feet. My should hurt but I felt ok. The marshals gave me the go ahead to finish the race so I got back on the bike and off I went albeit at a seriously reduced pace. Halfway through the lap, struggling to keep my foot on the bent and ground down peg and straining to find the mangled shift lever I decided that finishing the lap and having to run another one to get back to the pits was likely to result in more damage to myself and my ride so I pitted in without taking the checkered flag. In hindsight I regret not finishing the race but I believe it was the smart choice. Though I still will receive points for 4th place, I ended the day with a DNF.
Finish: DNF
Out Lap: 1:41.991
Best Lap: 1:37.077
In a way Round 1 2014 came very close to being a yellow plated rehash of my rookie weekend the year before. Some incredible highs early on and capped off with a DNF at the end thanks to a bad decision attempt to improve (or in this case maintain) my position. In racing one has to aggressively chase the best result possible, knowing full well that every extra push is that much closer to pushing too far. In my case it seems the lesson is to be smarter about where to make that extra push. In the end though, I walked (and rode) away from my wreck at the end of the weekend with two more podiums including a win. With some minor repairs and a bit of healing (already underway) I will return to the track in May for round 2, a little scuffed perhaps, but a bit wiser as well.
As always my thanks go out to my sponsors, DP Brakes, Spears Racing, All Balls Racing, Spectro Oils, Race Tech, Zero Gravity, Woodcraft, Armour Bodies, and at least for this round most especially to Kabuto helmets. Thanks to their fine product, that knock to the head resulted in nothing more than a minor headache for a few hours with no other signs of concussion or other injury. Though it saddens me that a brand new helmet has been so quickly made a paperweight, I look forward to another fresh one for round 2.
And as always, my final note is my thanks to my ever loving, and ever supporting girlfriend Jess, who has been putting up with me disappearing for hours a day and stressing for the last several months as I rebuilt the bike and prepped for round 2 and who has been with me for every up, down, and in between since the beginning. I love you.
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