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A little bit of history first. I’ve been stagnated at 1:27’s +/- for the past two years since I high-sided and broke my foot. It’s been frustrating and I just haven’t had the same confidence in myself or the bike since. Last weekend I finally hit a 1:26.4 so I bumped to Amateur. After last race weekend I did the one-on-one training with Tony’s Track Days (Gino was my instructor) and picked up a set of brandy new Pirelli slicks. Between Gino and the tires I felt great and looking at the video it appeared I had broken my funk. I took July off due to a family commitment but spent a lot of time on the dirty bikes. My goal going into this weekend was to not piss off/get run over by an Expert and to hit the 1:23 lap time that I think I pulled running with Gino.
Fast forward to this weekend. I was a bit nervous going into practice as I hadn’t ever done an AM/EX practice. Long story short, no big deal. I chased a couple of my pit mates around (Adam Clark and Bill Morey). They’re both faster than me so it was great having rabbits. Getting dusted by Experts wasn’t as intimidating as I thought. One even came up to me after first practice and apologized for what he thought was a tight pass. I didn’t know the difference, assuming that’s how experts passed. Whatever. Didn't bother me and it was good practice because I'm sure it'll happen again. Turned a 1:25x (a new PB) and was OK with that but it was still a ways off my lap goal.
AM GTL: I was gridded up near the wall which I love. Keeps me out of trouble. I had a decent start but chickened out going into 1. There was a cluster of bikes in front of me and my brain said “let them sort it out”. I checked up and followed the train. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Didn’t I even listen to Gino? Never hesitate! I had a great back-and forth battle with 801 (Celso Barros) for a couple laps during which I didn’t hesitate and it worked well. I never made a pass that I thought was too close and never had anyone scare the crap out of me. I ended up picking up another position toward the end of the race and finished 5th overall with a 1:24.6. Another new PB and a great race.
AM UL Superbike: No screwing around this time. A better start and, despite being on the inside, I just stayed in the mix through the first couple corners. I wanted to keep Bill Morey in sight so I had no choice. Celso and I had another great back and forth battle and I ended up passing him for the last time on lap 6. I put my head down trying to catch Bill but just couldn’t reel him in. I did manage yet another PB, 1:23.6! Hell yeah!
A big thanks to Tony’s Track Days, Gino Berrio, MTAG, Celso for the invigorating racing, my pit-mates Low Down Racing and especially Bill Morey for the advice and being my rabbit!
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Originally Posted by Trouble
See you Labor Day weekend.
