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First weekend back after a year off! It felt GREAT to be back out there.
I went up with only DOT's this weekend since the cash flow was light and another $4xx for rains just wasn't going to happen. I still had quite a lot of sorting out to do on the bike and decided to just feel things out in the dry for my two practice sessions...the only riding I'd be able to do on Saturday. The big changes were a softer rear spring as well as my first ride on a 190 tire. The suspension felt pretty good as I was able to get it mostly sorted during Boston Moto's trackday the previous Monday but the biggest surprise was how my machine felt MUCH less frantic once the 190 went on.
Fast forward to Sunday:
Did both practice session in the wet on DOT's and it really wasn't a whole lot of fun. Lots of spinning in many places and I was getting passed by everyone in the paddock.....hell, I think I saw Chris Watt pass me on his longboard while I was out there!
Because it was raining (or going to rain) and I only had DOT's I weighed the balance between just being able to ride or actually being competitive. I decided to scramble for a set of rains and how that came to be is a thread all its own but it worked out and I was mounting wheels with 10 minutes before my first race in over a year, Race 1. Plenty of time! (but no practice on these tires! O - M - G !! )
Race 1 (AM/ EX GTU) - Grid position showed me in 5-D. I couldn't be any further away from the starter box. In a light rain, I got a great start and filed into 4th. It was a rather uneventful race. I was working on feeling out the added traction from the rains but didn't want to exceed the available adhesion so my time was spent carefully pushing. It paid off as I began to reel in a red Ducati. I think his pace dropped off but that didn't matter to me, I made the pass and looked about 40 bike-lengths in front of me at the 3rd place rider. After slowly closing that distance, the rider had an off exiting T12 which put me in 2nd place. I would finish the race in that position.
Race 7 (AM/ EX MW SuperSport) - Again, starting in the next town over in grid position 6-B, I knew I had a ton of work in this race as the grid had more riders than the previous race. Green flag flies and I manage another stellar start which would land me in 4th place going into T1. The 1st and 2nd place bikes disappeared so I figured I'd do what I could in order to make a good finish. As the first few laps came to a close I lost sight of the 1st place bike which told me I had to really start pushing if I were to place anywhere that would make me happy. At this point the rain was incredible. I have never skated so much at any point in my riding experience!
As I pushed I regained sight of the 1st and 2nd place bikes which caused me to put my head down permanently in order to make up some distance. After seeing the 2nd place rider blow T1 no less than three times twice, I started wondering if he wasn't trying to gain an advantage by doing this since the exit speed from NASCAR is much greater than that of T2 exit on the road course.
Regardless, I was on a mission which would pay off greatly by the time the checkers flew. The last 3 laps of the race I saw I was much stronger than the 2nd place rider going into T1 and I exploited that with perfection. The white flag flew and I found myself a bike length away from 2nd place going into T3 as the rider once again blew T1.
Since my plan was already in motion, the rest of my job was simply waiting for the turn in which I would execute my plan....and I did. Turn 6, up the inside. Have a nice day. Placed 2nd.
Cliff's Notes:
Sunday Race 1 - 2nd place
Sunday Race 7 - 2nd place
All in all a fantastic opening weekend for me.
Thank you to my sponsors:
Boston Moto, Landrics Customs, Duncan Moto, Code Red Assembly, Continental Tires, EBC brakes, Vortex sprockets, kmf and the two lovely ladies who trudged out in the rain on Sunday.
Thank you to Radu (CCS # 110) for the help in safety wiring during my rush for race 1 and thank you to my garage mates who offered help or who simply put a smile on my face.
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Originally Posted by Pookie
"why tip-toe through life to arrive safely at death?" Tony Campol
