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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
Arrived at the track Monday evening, and set up for the 3 day August TTD event. Tuesday rained, and I had plenty of work to do, so I didn't ride even once. Rode a decent amount Wednesday and Thursday, got some good track time in and had fun doing laps with some friends. Took Friday off to just relax.
Saturday:
Up early, and some heavy fog was present, which ended up delaying the start of the morning practice sessions. They announced that first practice would be shortened and second practice extended, so I elected to sit out first practice and just go out for second. Rolled out, practiced a start, and rolled around for a few laps. No spectacular lap times in practice.
Race #6 - Lightweight Grand Prix
I was gridded on the front row of the AM wave for this race, but I knew there were some real fast guys alongside and behind me. Earlier in the day, all the guys I knew in this race were running very strong in LWSB, so I knew I was in trouble...
I got a great start, and led the pack into T1. Pretty good feeling, as I know how important a good start is in these large grids. In the first lap, #352 Wes Perry got by. He's a fast guy, but definitely has some strange lines in some areas. It turned out not to be a problem for me, since his pace immediately ruled out me having to worry about passing him. With a 25.5 outlap, I held off eventual winner #142 Matt Calhoun until the 2nd lap, and was then passed by #501 Brian Cooner during the 3rd. In the 4th lap, #565 Chuck Boucher roared past me down the hill into T6, really showcasing the strength of the personal training he had received from Gino at Thursday's TTD. I still had some areas I felt as if I could get by him, but not getting a signal from the wall that I had anyone close on my tail and knowing that Chuck could get back by, I decided to bide my time. On the last lap, I was able to outdrive Chuck exiting T10 and stay in front entering 11, basically controlling our speed through 12 and onto the straight. I was worried he would get a good drive and out motor me to the line, but I was able to finish the race .5 seconds ahead of him for 4th place. Best lap of the race(and the weekend) of 1:22.238.
Sunday:
Having some things I wanted to try in an effort to break that 21.xxx barrier today, I decided to buck the trend and do both practice sessions. In each, I practiced a start and rolled around doing some easy laps while trying a new entry into T1, and an additional shift into/out of T6. Neither proved to be usable for the day, so I shelved them until I could get some practice at the next TTD.
Race #8 - Lightweight Supersport
The race preceding ours was delayed for almost an hour and forty-five minutes due to rain and lightning. Fellow competitors Keith Draghi(769) and Bill Coolahan(784) had switched to rains, but because I didn't have rains on spare wheels and had already packed away the Pirelli equipment, I waited most of the delay out. By the time the lightning had subsided, the track brought out the sweeper(to clear washout debris) and the jet dryer(to remove puddles). This left me feeling as if my DOT equipped bike would be a good fit for the race, as the sun had come out and I was hoping for a dry line. As I rolled to pregrid, I realized that 3 of my direct competitors were not gridding up. All said and done, myself and 2 other racers were on DOTs, the rest of the grid on rains. Rider #71 was gridded in the wave in front of me, and summed it up on pregrid when he looked around and shook his head.
Since all the days remaining races had been shortened to 6 laps, I knew a good start could make or break this race. I put my head down and started like I would in the dry, and took the holeshot into T1. In T2, my rear tire got a little loose and shook me around a bit, but I kept it off the wall. I did lose all my momentum though, and both Keith and Bill railed by me. I actually had to downshift just to drive down the chute towards T3. From there, I ran around at a very slow pace, eventually being passed by #276 Shane Lewis on the third lap. On the last lap, as I was coming into T6, I saw a couple of the back of the pack experts and...one yellow plate! Not knowing who it was, but knowing they were in my race and in third, I decided to give a go at trying to get them on the second half of the last lap of the race. As I came around T8, I lost the rear, and lowsided, ending my race. As it sat, the bike slid and hit the tire wall on the inside of T9, and I slid and hit the last piece of airfence on the inside of T9, just before the tire wall. Even though the tires did quite a number on the SV(along with all the flipping over), I'm a bit happier than if I had impacted the tires and the bike had been cushioned by the airfence. I walked away fine, with just some sore areas the next morning and some burns on my right hand from not getting my gloves off quickly enough(metal studs in the palm to reduce the likelihood of tearing). I haven't fully evaluated the bike yet, but a quick once over says it needs, at minimum: gas tank, fairing stay, bodywork, right rearset, right clip on, radiator.
Pictures of the bike as it came in on the wrecker:
Video of the LWSS race start/end:
(coming soon)
As always, I want to thank my RSP Racing teammates, and all my friends and fellow competitors that make the LRRS community such a fun thing to be a part of. Also MTAG Pirelli for the sticky rubber and Dyno Solutions for giving my stock SV enough grunt to beat superbike spec machines to T1, along with all our other sponsors listed in my signature. I'm looking forward to Round 7, and hoping circumstances allow me to get the bike back in shape before then.
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Wow, that sucks. Awesome start, saw your save in T2 from the stands as I was leaving, had no idea about the rest. Glad you're alright at least.
