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So this is basically the best thing ever. I had no intentions of being able to race in YEARS following my semi-retirement last year. Luck has it that a super nice guy by the name of Chris Dove allowed me to race his baller CBR1k this past weekend and a killer dealership by the name of Central Mass Powersports is standing behind both of us this year at the podium. Both of you are completely awesome and this weekend could not have been better and was pretty much a dream come true. (I'm not an emotional guy so if I didn't show that I was having fun...I really was).
So anyways. I headed up to the track at 6AM on Friday to try out this machine and try to get a feel for it. I got up to the track around 9AM and got settled in garage 9. I flittered around being a social butterfly for way too long before I registered for practice. Tanya (Chris' GF..) had said I should get out there while it's dry but I procrastinated further and took my time... Yeah. That was the last dry session. I decided to go out in the wet anyways with the DOT's haha.
So for Saturday I had completely written off racing with the impending weather forecast. I went to stay with KB Friday night for some hot chocolate and cuddles. Woke up in the AM and looked at the weather....damn...it's going to be nice. I rushed back to the track and finished drilling for safety wire to get through tech, rented a transponder, bought an eject, and signed up for all 4 races I was eligible for. By the time everything was ready my practice was already past. Oh well...guess GTU will be my first time riding the bike in the dry.
GTU - Needless to say I had a friggin awesome start. Never thought to do a practice start...well...frankly because I was always pretty good at them and had never done one so I had no idea where to go, etc. So after the epic start I brought up the rear of the pack and actually felt pretty at home on the bike. It was a bit hard to turn in but once turned in it was extremely stable and predictable. 2 people ended up crashing out of the race so I came home with 4th place turning a 1:18.9. My goal for this race was to get into the 19's so mission accomplished!! If you didn't see the start by some rare miracle...
UGP - Chris said that starting in 2nd might help this time off the start so I tried that this time. Same hilarious bucking reaction haha. Annalisa thought I was going to get thrown off. Shaking my head I made my way into T1 last again haha. I put my head down and started to work through the pack. By the time I got by Kasperuk about half way through the race the pack in front was too far gone. So I settled into 6th and finished there. My goal this race was to break into the 17's. Close...but no cigar, as I came in with a 1:18.1. Damn.
Sunday I decided to skip practice as it was a little too chilly for my fair weather semi-retired and now back self.
USB - Now for this start my new strategy was so slip it into the friction zone at a low rpm then hammer the gas once the clutch was released. It worked better but I still think I was last into T1. I made up ground pretty quick but had problems getting around John Grush for a few laps. After I got around him the pack was gone again like UGP. No improvements in lap times in this race but goal was still to hit 17's. Finished 6th.
USS - Last race of the day with my buddy Justin Pallein. This was going to be a fun one. Lined up in the second row with Justin off to my right and Doucette and Greenwood in front of me. Actually got a pretty good start by slipping the clutch at low rpm (4k) then revving it to 8k just as I entered the friction zone. Was still last into 1 but was right on the pack. Justin pushed me faster than I had been on the bike to keep up, which still wasn't very hard as the Pirelli V2 rubbers never showed a sign of traction loss. I finally reeled Justin in and managed to get by him on the straight with a good drive out of T12 and a 1000 motor haha. Put my head down and continued to push even with the symbol on the front straight that I had a gap. It wasn't until the last 2 laps that I felt more comfortable after still getting the same symbol that I slowed down a bit in the back section. Came home with a 3rd place podium and a new PB on the bike of 1:17.803!! Super stoked that I met my goal by the end of the weekend!
Once again I really need to say thanks to Central Mass Powersports for the awesome support - really could NOT have done it without you guys. Chris Dove for being AWESOME enough to let me shake down his white weapon. Pirelli for the great new rubber...now I know why people have been raving about these tires. You don't even think about them being there...because they stick. And to ECK Racing for just the ti....err...tips and help. Can't wait for the classic!!! Giggity.
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Originally Posted by Tas
