NV #969 - 5/19-20

[sdog30]

First race weekend (skipped the first weekend due to personal obligations) and boy was it alot to digest. Huge thanks to Scotty Greenwood for taking me under his wing and letting me hold up in his garage. Thanks to my other garage mates. Big "Thank You" to Graham for let me use his tire warmers.

Good job Penguin on getting me prepared for what to expect on my first race weekend. It's definitely different than a track day. I entered 4 races not including the rookie race.

Rookie race: I basically treated it as a fast warm up session and a "dress rehersal" like my Penguin instructor suggested. I just didn't want to crash. That was kind of one of my goals for this weekend. Ended up 4th out of 4...didn't crash...mission accomplished.

Formula 1: Okay, horrible launch. Not sure why I never thought to practice that before this weekend. I was really slow, too. Ended up 7th out of 10.

Formula 2: Better launch, but still ended up in the back. Bigger field was a little intimidating and if I remember right, we were mixed in with AM, so good practice being passed. Finished 14th out of 16.

Rookie 2: Definitely felt more comfortable on Sunday. Not as nervious, no rookie race to do at 12 like on Saturday, so not as rushed in the morning. Good launches, just have to practice getting around people going into turn 1. Ended up finishing 11th out of 12.

Starter 2: Ended up 7th out of 8.

So to wrap up, I was a little disappointed with my lap times. I was off my times by 4-5 seconds, but have to take into account first time at the track this year and in a different way than just doing a track day. I had two goals for the weekend, not to crash and to not be last. I achieved both of those goals, but mostly due to others crashing or not starting. Grant it, I'll take the 61 points I earned. My new goals are faster lap times and passing someone. Probably sounds dumb, but just trying to keep my goals small and attainable.

Again, big thank you to everyone for being super helpful and real encouraging. I don't have any sponsors, so thanks to myself for busting my hump so I can afford to do this. See you all at the classic.

[csmutty]

Hey good to see you again dude! Don't worry about being slow, I've been there. Just get a little more time racing and the lap times will come. Hope the track time on Monday and Tuesday helped!

[sdog30]

Hey good to see you again dude! Don't worry about being slow, I've been there. Just get a little more time racing and the lap times will come. Hope the track time on Monday and Tuesday helped!

Thanks, bro.

Yeah, it definitely helped. I really felt like everything clicked end of Monday. Felt good Tuesday, too. I was dragging my knee consitently through turn 1 with Power Ones on in the wet, so yeah...I was feeling good.

[PainfullySlow]

Congrats on surviving your first weekend I will give you a little secret: very few people are happy with their lap times. My advice is to get used to it and use it as motivation to improve =)

We didnt get the chance to meet but if you find yourself by the RSP Racing/MTAG Pirelli garage please stop by and introduce yourself, I always like to meet the new folks!

[sdog30]

Congrats on surviving your first weekend

We didnt get the chance to meet but if you find yourself by the RSP Racing/MTAG Pirelli garage please stop by and introduce yourself, I always like to meet the new folks!

Yeah, thanks. That's pretty much how I felt about it. Got the first weekend out of the way, now time to grow. Thanks for the invite, btw.

[loudog]

Great meeting you this weekend Sam! You look really smooth out there, the lap times will be coming down fast.

See you next round!

[Rada]

Great to see you on the grids this year too.
It was good to shoot the breeze again.
See you in June Sam.

[sdog30]

Thanks guys.

[CBR929RE]

Mike is right, no one is happy with their lap times unless they are setting a lap record. just keep pushing and the lap times will come. as for passing its basically just committing to it and taking the position. If you get stuck behind some that you know you are faster than find the spot where you're most comfortable and/or their weakest spot and stick it in there. inside of T3 is one of the best and easiest passing spots to learn. get next to them on the inside in the braking zone before tip in and the spot is yours.

[loudog]

Also Sam, I'm not sure if you got a chance to run the timer on Tuesday, but there are some sessions here if you want to see what other riders are doing.

Comparisons have helped me tremendously.