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Where do I start....
Penguin school on friday, 4/23, was interesting. Missed the first FTL session in the morning because I was still working on the the hawk. Even though it was yesterday, I don't remember what exactly I was doing, but I know it was needed. Lots of classroom time in the morning going over flags, procedure, etc... Second morning session of FTL and I was able to get out and start getting into the hawk. No blazing lap times but it was good to be out on it. Friday marked only the third day that I had ridden the hawk.
Afternoon sessions were marked with red flags so I wasn't able to really get into a rhythm. Maybe put 12-15 laps together in 3 sessions or so, not much at all.
Saturday started out hectic. Took almost two hours to register for my races because my name was spelled wrong in the new computer system they are using for registration. Needless to say, I missed the first practice because of this. Finally got registered and went to tear the bike apart real quick to add an overflow canister for coolant. With the help of Trouble and his tools and spare parts and expertise, I was able to get one up onto the bike. I also thought I had to pipe in what I thought was a carb overflow. Well, turns out I piped in a vent, which cause the bike to choke up and not run. Diagnosing and fixing this problem, caused me to get really frustrated, and into tech late, so I didn't make it into practice session #2.
Finally, it came time to grid up for the rookie race after the rookie rider's meeting and general rider's meeting. I didn't get anxious until I actually lined up on the grid. Then my heart started pounding, tunnel vision, etc.... until the green flew. I watched to my right as Trouble and 6 Fingered Man, pulled wheelies off the line to start the rookie race. That was a lot of fun. Not wanting to do anything stupid, I really backed it off, finished my 3 laps and headed into the cooldown lap, giving the corner workes all thumbs up. As I headed into pit lane, I noticed one bike stayed out on the track....I won't say who it was, but his name starts with 6 and ends with man.
With the rookie race done, I was ready to race for real. Race #8 (ULSB) had 4 hawks in it. Me, Trouble, yknot, and 6 Fingered Man. Then there were two other novice riders, one on a tard, the other on a duc. We lined up in the first wave with the Supertwins. Second time launching the bike was OK at best. Little late on the green and definitely didn't have the rev's up high enough. Trouble and Yknot took off from the line and were gone. I didn't see them after the first lap. 6 Fingered man was behind me on the first two laps though he was catching me and would have passed me had he not gone out with a brake issue. My first lap was 1:40 and I improved from there. My best lap in the race was a 1:36.388. I was taking off about half a second each lap and could definitely feel myself getting into more of a groove. I think had I had practice in the morning I could have improved more and gone faster. Ended up finishing 5/6, but I know I would have finished 6/6 had 6 been out there. His second lap was in the 1:34-35 range so I know he would have passed me.
All in all it was a great experience and I can't wait to race again in May. Between penguin on friday, and the first round of races, that makes 4 days total of track time on the hawk. My goal for the season is to break the 1:30 mark and get into the 20's as deep as I can. I know with more track time that I can do it. T3 is still one of my problem areas, as well as T11, but I made huge improvement in T9 just in the race today. Got knee down and had a much better line and it felt so much better. I also need to stop being a pussy and twist the damn throttle coming out of corners. I have found that I still have about 1/8 turn left or so before I go WOT when accelerating which is probably a habit from street riding because I never go WOT on my Duc or on the street for that matter.
Big shout out to Trouble for use of his time, paper towels, tubing, and just general help. I owe you bigtime John. Met lots of great people this weekend and can't wait to be down for Round 2. PS: if anyone has a set of tire warmers (cheap) that they are looking to get rid of, let me know.
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Originally Posted by CMG241
