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I’m not good at these things, so bear with me….
Sat – LWGP – gridded up in 1A. Flag drops and I feel I get a good launch, went to shift, hit the throttle and – NOTHING. Bike pings the limiter and I slow….false neutral. As what seemed to be the entire grid passes me into 1 (I was in 8th), I fall in line through 1A and 2. Heading down the chute, the bike that was in front of me was much slower, but there were 5 bikes on 5 different lines…nowhere to go. Going up the hill, I’m pretty angry at this point, so I put my head down and started going. Don’t remember many details, but ended up passing someone on the brakes in 3, 1 person in on the gas coming out of 10, 1 in 1, then on the white flag, I closed a 2 second gap and passed Bruce Marshall on the inside of 9…ending up in 4th….I hit a 27.xx and a string of 26’s with a new PB of 26.0! And I had a BLAST doing it! Not happy with the placement, but very excited for the new PB….
Sun – LWSB – I was coming off of Saturday’s high, and knowing I could hit the 26’s again when the lightning struck….literally! The rains came right before race 7, and my race was race 9….I don’t have rains yet, so my choice was to hope it dries up and run slicks, or not race. Then one of my teammates said to just borrow a bike….I never really like that idea especially in the wet…Next thing I knew, teammate Keith Draghi (#769) said to take his bike…teammates Dave Pang (#910) and Michael Weyant (#434) came back to the garage and had already found out the details for what I needed to do for the number plate and transponder (since mine is hardwired). I turn back around and Keith, Chuck Boucher (#565), Michael and Dave are already making a number plate and getting a game plan together. Keith was in the race right before mine, so I am waiting on hot pit for him to come in from his race…I jump on his bike, Chuck is swapping transponders, Dave and Michael are throwing on the new number plate, and Kathy is on the radio trying to describe to the rest of the track what we were trying to accomplish! I make a small brake lever adjustment and off I go…..
I grid up in 1C and the field has shrunk to I believe 5 bikes and I am by myself in the front row. Green flag flys and I’m off….Bruce Marshall passes me and I pass him back going into 1. He passes me back on the brakes in 3. I follow him for a few turns and take him back in 9. from there it was me just trying to remember all the advice I was given – be smooth, progressive throttle and brakes…you have to finish the race to have a chance to win….Plus, I wasn’t on my own bike…so I rode even more cautious…I get the white flag and my teammates signal me I have a good lead, so I turn it down 1 more notch….I come around 11 and my front slides a little..Thank God it’s the last lap! I start heading the finish line, my teammates are on the wall and clapping….I get the WHITE flag…..AGAIN!!! Now I’m confused! So I put my head down and try to turn it on again….The lap seems slow, then I hear another bike behind me….ut oh….I push through the back of the track, come down the straight to get the checkered in first!!!
I want to thank all my RSP teammates for all the help and support this weekend (and Keith for letting me use his #769 machine)….Bill Coolahan (#784), Chuck Boucher (#565), the boys at ECK Racing…Special thanks to Tony from Tony’s Trackdays for lending me a battery to make this weekend possible (mine died Sat morning)….My sponsors, Mtag Pirelli, Tony’s Trackdays, Sportbike Trackgear, Dyno Solutions, Northern New England Appraisal Services
REALLY looking forward to next round!
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Originally Posted by marshdrummer
