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What? we are back already Race fans! NorthEast Motorcycle Road Racing - NEMRR round 2 is already in the books and it was another wild one. The weather was a major factor again. as the relentless cold spring rains continued
TLDR: HWSS 2nd, MWGP 1st (4th in overall Dash), MWF40 1st, MWSS 1st
Friday was a complete washout and I stayed in the camper warm and dry.
Saturday was no better and started with more flooding rain and cold. I did go out for a practice session to get a sense of conditions, and it was bad. water was gushing everywhere with puddles and rivers aplenty. The forecast called for it to stop by 1pm, so I didn't push for times.
HWSS: The rain did stop on schedule, which was about 45 minutes before my first race. We went out on rains and enjoyed the best conditions so far with just a shadow of a dry line showing in a few turns by the end of the race.
I got a good launch, but Ian Beam out motored me into T1. I was close on his wheel as we exited T2 when suddenly he was sideways across my path! With no chance of saving it, he highsided leaving a yardsale of bike, parts, and body in my way. I just squeaked through again!
His bike was definitely in the line, so I assumed a red flag would fly and I backed out of it and Justin Landry flashed by. Damn, we are still racing! I put my head down and closed the gap to Justin and decided to let him set the pace and take the risk. I could see him have a moment in T4, so on the next lap I lined it up and passed him there. I led out a lap or 2 but I could hear Eli's 790 on my tail. He passed me into 3 and I finished 2nd.
When I removed my belly pan after the race I found most of Ian's windscreen in there! WTF?
MWGP Seacoast Sport Cycle Dash for Cash. The rain was long gone and the track was dry... except where it wasn't! The water table was so high that there was a puddle right at the apex of T1 that just wouldn't go away. Also water seeping up a little in T3/4 and T12. Racing like this is STRESSFULL.
I was gridded on the front row and I got a good launch, but Eric Wood's Ducati found it's power and motored on by into T1. We all tip toed safely though the puddle and I tried to follow Eric as long as I could. He put down some impressive laps to put a gap on the field.
I was running a strong second, but Shane Narbonne Racing caught and passed me as he chased after Eric. I held down 3rd overall for a while, but once again Eli caught me with 2 to go and I finished 4th overall. All of those guys were in heavyweight class though, so to my surprise I took my first ever win in Middleweight GP!
Sunday morning the SUN was out, but that NW wind was cranking up. I practiced, trying some new fork settings and set some decent times despite the cold.
MWF40: I gridded up in second position and got a decent launch, but Ian one upped me and I made a bold move around the outside of T1, slotting into the lead by 1A. I put in 3 hard laps pulling a gap on Ian which continued to grow through traffic as we caught the lappers. 1st place
MWSS: Conditions were FINALLY starting to improve with the sun warming the pavement and the wind backing off a bit. I took the holeshot after a wheelie battle with Geoffrey Bonnard and held a decent pace. Shane Narbonne Racing came by me and led for a few laps, but he pitted in I assume testing for the classic. (his bike would not have been legal in this class) I took the win with a pretty big lead.
This was a confidence game with different conditions in EVERY race. I have been feeling good this year and it showed in the results. Pretty close to a perfect round FINALLY!
Pics to follow.
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Originally Posted by Rada
