[Paul_E_D]

Hi guys, Thanks for all the kind words and support. I have to first thank Lisa and Graham! I'm humbled by the amount of effort you both put in for me this weekend. Chris and Deb werepart of the effort as well. It's great having such a dedicated team.

We arrived at midnight on Thursday and crashed in Graham's rig.
Friday morning we wired the bike and Lisa jetted it while I registered and then teched. My goal was to set the pace from the first practice, and we pretty much did that. I was in the low 18s and only bested by Todd Pucket

I softened the rear suspension a bit for the afternoon session, and it quited some chatter I was having. My tires were SHAGGED and I was still second fastest. No 17s on the board yet.

We threw a fresh set of rubber on the bike, changed the oil, and were ready for Saturday. It rained Friday night, bu the track was dry by our first session. I wanted to click a 17 and I did that wit ease.
Still second fastest with a 17.7 Nobody in the 16s yet...

Qualifying was next and I was feeling confident. 40 bikes entered. I hit the track first and tried a flier on lap 2. It was a low 18 and I caught the slow guys on the next lap. I picked my way through until I saw a gap. I slowed a bit to let the gap grow, checking behind to make sure nobody came past. When I thought I had a big enough gap, I uncorcked it. I had clear track all the way and I saw the 17.3 on my timer and I knew that was good for the front row. I caught some riders in T1 after he flier, so I cruised back to the pits satisfied. Traffic was bad and I thought everyone had to struggle with that.

My number showed up on top of the board and someone said I was on the pole!!! Another official then changed the board and confusion ensued. but It was true, I had set the pace for the session. I was deeply satisfied, even though I knew the race pace would be faster still. All our hard work was paying off.

Sunday came and Brian Kraget smashed the lap record for a 125 with a 16.1 in practice. Gulp!!!

Race time! A new set of slicks and the pole is a good place to start. I put fresh clutch plates in to make sure I could launch the thing, and I did OK. I was headed into T1 near the front, but being on the inside at Loudon is sometimes a disadvantage, and I had to check up. I come out of T2 in 5th. I made a surge into 4th and clicked a 16.9, but th leaders were getting away. I slipped back to 5th, 6th, and maybe even seventh. I was dicing with 14 year old Josh Herrin. He could motor past me on the straight every lap, and I'd out break him into T1.

Lap traffic was becoming an issue, and I decide it was now or never, so I started forcing my way through. I had just made a heroic double pass in 9/10 rolling chicane style, outside one guy in nine, blocking him at the apex of 10 as I squeezed through to pass the next guy outside of 10 at full tilt!!!. into 4th place!

I was making another double pass on the ouside of 11 when I heard a grinding noise. I was surprised to find that I was on the ground.
My brain was already in T12. I tried to save it, but the bike gained traction and highsided. I slid across the curbing into the grass.
Foot peg gone, race over.

I was bummed, but I still feel great about my weekend. I rode my best, My team worked hard, the results showed.

Thanks again everyone.

[legalspeed]

That's awesome!

Don't ya hate when your crashing and you don't even know it yet?

Thanks for the report!

[gixxer6]

Hey great job!!! Glad to hear you're ok. I hate it when I crash period..never mind when I'm doing well in a race..heehee cuz I've never done well in a race for that matter... Great job though. Strong racing on your part!

Heath-

[Degsy]

Paul, you put on a great show from turn 2 where the NESR contingent were watching. I see www.roadracingworld.com mentioned you in a report. they named you X-racing winner for your over-the-bars vault in turn 11.

Bummer guy, but hey, we went for it and gave it a bit too much. Better than not even going for it.

derek

[scootertrash]

Congrats on getting the pole position Paul. That was awesome. You have a lot of talent, man.

[Paul_E_D]

Thanks guys. The DNF didn't really bum me out too much because I was improving all weekend and ran a pace WAY faster than I ever have. My average time over 9 laps was in the mid 17s and my personal best was a 16.9. Finishing the race would have been great, but I surpassed so many expectations on the way that it was just gravy at that point...

I knew I had to push it to my limit, and I did. No regrets

[trackdog]

Always look at the bright side...if you look long enough there always seems to be one.... ...really enjoyed reading your race report.