0
Gotta write this up ASAP so I don't forget it all!
Arrived at the track around midnight on Thursday…it was pouring rain while I was unloading and setting up the trailer for the night. Woke up and the rain had past, but it was chilly and super windy. Ran Novice practice all day and that was mixed in with the Penguin Basic school, so there was a lot of traffic which made for good practice passing. Not really getting on it too much, it was too cold and I was too rusty. Felt out the track and the bike after a couple suspension and brake changes over the winter. Also practiced a few starts, I've never done any hard starts before but they came along pretty well. One wheelie incident, but I was happy with my starts by the end of the day.
Saturday was a little warmer than Friday, but the wind persisted. Got two practice sessions in in the morning and started to feel a bit more comfortable. Hung around and watched some buds race until Race 6, Formula 3. This was my first official race and my mate Adam Butler was in the race as well. I was gridded in the first row, outside, and got the hole shot. I maintained the lead until 9 when Adam whizzed by me never to be seen again. I never saw anyone else that race. 2nd. Best lap time of 126.5 I believe. About 2 seconds off of my PB.
Sunday was still cold but the wind died down for the morning. Got out for a practice session to try to grab some much needed reference points going into the bowl. Gridded up in the first row for Rookie 3. Adam Butler and 744 (Michael Hakey) and I went into T1 fairly close with Michael in front. Adam got by me in 1A, and slipped a little going up the hill out of T3. Adam recovered quickly and I passed Michael in the chaos. That was that, I stayed with Adam for a bit, but he took off later as we weaved through some AMs and lapped a couple NV. 2nd. Best time of 126.9. Still not getting near my PB. Video synched with data below. Chopped a little short because the Contour card was full.
http://youtu.be/x4StEOQQNQA
Final race of the weekend. Sunday 9. Starter 3. I believe Adam, Tony Schummel [141] (?), and myself went into T1 together, but the race was quickly red flagged because Billy Cool went down in T2 in the first wave. Re-gridded and the start was similar. I fought a couple laps to get past Tony, but was finally able to sneak by on the inside of 3 and checked out afterwards. Adam was long gone. I got by a couple AMs and the race was red flagged again. 2nd. Best of 127.2.
Overall, it was a good weekend. Getting back into the feel. A bit disappointed I couldn’t get back to my PBs, especially since those were run during track days and I made some serious upgrades to the forks. But, it was chilly and the wind was a big factor. Hopefully next round I’ll be able to pick up some time.
Great time hanging with friends and on the track. Thanks to Woodcraft, Armour Bodies, Dainese,Tony's Track Days for all the help along the way, and of course Mad Monkey. Also, thanks to the boys of RSP and ECK for helping a newb figure out the first weekend!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by darkduc7
