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Race Report - LRRS Amateur #434 6/17/11
Pre-Race
It was a pretty uneventful pre-race. I arrived at the track excited to be here for the 88th Loudon Classic weekend which typically has lots of great events and fantastic racing. I was looking forward to getting involved in the visiting ASRA races with some of the ASRA pros! I met up with my team, unloaded my gear, and generally spent the night catching up with my friends at the track.
Friday AM practices
I was unable to make Friday practice as I couldn’t get my bike to start. It appeared to be a dead battery so I tried a spare that one of my teammates had without success. I spent the next hour diagnosing the issue and finally came to the conclusion that both batteries were dead, as odd as that seems. HUGE thanks to my RSP Teammate Mike Kurtz who gave me the battery from his own bike (so that we knew it was good) and it fired right up. Ugh, an hour wasted! I quickly ran over to Miles from Street and Competition who I knew carried the Ballistic line of batteries (which is what I was using) and he gave me a replacement on the spot. You don’t get that kind of service just anywhere and I truly appreciate him being there to help us racers out. THANK YOU MILES!
Amateur Lightweight Grand Prix
I was gridded up in the 2nd row on the outside, all in all not a bad place. I wheelied a bit on my start but still managed to take the holeshot however I was almost immediately passed on the outside of T2 by Sean Byrnes (#111). I watched frustrated as he quickly pulled away from me and was then passed going into 11 by Matt Calhoun (#142). Things were boring for the next few laps as I barely managed to keep Matt in sight but gained on him when we began to hit the back of the expert traffic on lap 4. At some point Matt got held up and I shot past him and another rider on the entrance to 6 where I thought I was in good shape however Matt wasn’t having it.
On the 2nd to last lap he made a brilliant pass entering the chicane and got in front of me again. The way he was passing other riders it looked like he was trying to throw stuff in my way :-p. I stuck to him like glue but it looked like I was going to have to take 3rd until Matt inexplicably dropped back going into 6. I managed to avoid hitting him and rode on to a 2nd place finish. I later learned that Matt had run out of fuel…tough luck for sure.
Finish: 2nd place
Best lap: 1:20.323 – new Personal Best!
YouTube - ‪LWGP2.wmv‬‏
Saturday AM Practices
Nothing special to report. I went out, I felt loose, and typically I turned lap times that are a couple seconds off of my race pace. I felt great though and looked forward to my only race that day, the GTL.
Amateur GTL
I was on the grid in the 2nd row, 3rd slot so while not ideal, it was decent enough. I got a horrific start where I wheelied three times which was frustrating since I had come to depend on my starts keeping me in the front of the pack. I ended up 4th into T1 but took Brian Cooner (#501) on the inside of T2 as I was determined to keep the front runners (Wes Perry #352 and Matt Calhoun #142) in sight. I had just taken Wes on the outside of T6 when I spotted a muffler in the track right in front of me which I later learned was from Pete Gaboriault (Ex #82). I checked up like a noob and Wes got right by me. I sat behind Wes until I was able to take him on the straight under power.
I would like to say that there was all sorts of dicing going on, but really I spent the rest of the race in a quiet 2nd place. My teammates informed me that I had a pretty good lead so I started to try some different lines and nearly blew T6 twice but I managed to keep it together. I was later pleased to see that I had a 1:24 outlap and the rest of the laps were all very consistently in the 21s-20s.
Finish: 2nd place
Best Lap: 1:20.786
Sunday AM practices
I skipped practice as I had enrolled in the ASRA Thunderbike race and so had a 15 minute qualifying round which I used that as my practice. I ended up clicking off a 1:21ish during qualifying which is great for me as I have a difficult time getting anywhere near my pace in practice.
Amateur Lightweight Superbike
I rolled onto the grid in the 2nd row, 2nd position. My start was mediocre and I entered T1 in 4th position behind Sean Byrnes, Matt Calhoun, and Brian Cooner. For those of you unfamiliar with race starts, generally you are tire to tire at this point; very close without much room to move. Disaster struck when race leader Sean Byrnes lowsided on the exit of T2 and Matt was so close he couldn’t do anything. His momentum carried him over Sean and pitched him into the air where his bike then proceeded to explode; parts were everywhere. Brian ditched his bike to the right in a superhuman effort to avoid the riders and ended up against the wall. I am still not sure how I managed it but I avoided both riders and their bikes, stalling it in the attempt. The race was red flagged and we out to regrid and I was keenly aware that both Matt and Sean were missing.
I got a much better start this time and tipped into Turn 1 in first place. The crash was really messing with my head and I felt tense and off pace however I managed to push it out of my head after a lap or two. I caught up with expert traffic on Lap 5 and had some difficulty getting around a motard but ended up taking him under power on the straight. My team was signaling me that I had a pretty large lead so I dialed it back a bit and just ran fast enough to keep my position. Sometime later in the race I hit a huge conga line of expert bikes and was unable to get past so I settled into the back of the pack and motored across the line to my first ever first place finish. My excitement was doubled after I returned to the pits to find that both Matt and Sean were completely unharmed after the 1st start crash.
Finish: 1st place
Best Lap: 1:21.302
1st start with the crash YouTube - ‪LWSB1.wmv‬‏
2nd start YouTube - ‪LWSB2.wmv‬‏
ASRA Thunderbike (15 Laps)
This was the main event of the weekend for me; it was going to be a challenge to not only potentially race against ASRA racers but also to be in the mix with bikes that put out a lot more power than my meager SV650 (that’s there just for KB btw). Even with my “cheater motor” as KB likes to call it, I was still down approximately 25-30hp compared to the Duc 749Rs that were out there.
My qualification laps put me into the 4th grid position and although I was saddened by the absence of Matt Calhoun I was at least comforted with the knowledge that he was alright. I got a fantastic start but the Duc just had too much grunt and Dave Hanig pulled into T1 ahead of me. I was able to stick with him in the turns but any time we got on the gas I just watched him recede into the distance. I tried to stick with him as best I could and in the process managed to turn my fastest outlap ever; 1:22.945. I was able to keep him in sight but every time we hit the front straight he would gain a large distance on me.
We hit the back of expert traffic midway through the 3rd lap which I hoped would slow him enough to allow me to catch up but he made his way through with ease. I caught up to fellow RSP teammate Brian Kelly but by the time I got around him, Dave had half of the straight as a lead.
On lap 5 things turned in my favor as Dave went off track in T6, I can only assume with a mechanical as I never saw him again. I finished the rest of that lap before it dawned on me that I was suddenly in first place! With renewed vigor I put my head down while also trying to relax. My times got better as I made an occasional pass but all in all it was pretty quiet until I got passed by Expert leader Rick Doucette (#6) on lap 11. I put my head down and did my best to try to stick with Rick but he was just too quick (not surprisingly) and was a speck on the horizon less than 1 lap later. Even still, I managed to turn out my fastest lap to date and met a long standing goal of breaking into the teens with a 1:19.123! Even after Rick was long gone I still managed to click off another 19 which made me extremely happy.
I finished the race in 1st place and as I pulled off the track they were waving frantically at me. All I could think was “great, what did I do now?” but they just waved me onto the winners circle where they handed me a cold towel, some ice water, and the coolest trophy I have ever won. My day was made even better when I saw that fellow RSP teammate Kevin Russell was pulling into the winners circle as well!
YouTube - ‪ASRAThunderbike2.wmv‬‏
In Closing
Wow, what a weekend. Despite the rocky start with the battery I managed two 2nd place finishes and two 1st place as well, including an ASRA Thunderbike win! I also met a long time goal and broke into the teens. I really couldn’t be happier with the results although I wish they didn’t come at the misfortune of others (crashes, mechanicals, etc).
HUGE thanks to my teammates, my sponsors, and my wife and family for all the support you have shown me. You all rock!
Some shots from the weekend...
My first time on the box
A little bit of lean
The bowl
The definition of "a good day"
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Originally Posted by nt650hawk
