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Once again, this one is long. Cliff's Notes: Bring on Round 6!
After last weekend, when some changes in my attitude and some changes in my focus led to some hefty improvements, I was eagerly looking towards this race weekend. To top that off, my teammate Keith Draghi(769)<catahoulabulldog> was not going to make Round 5, so he offered to let me try out some components from his Supersport SV. His cartridge forks, Brembo master, and wave rotors were a sure improvement over my damping rod forks and stock brake system.
Friday - race practice
Wanting to get a feel for the new setup, I signed up for race practice Friday. Even though I waited as late as possible to sign up(watching the weather), it turned out to be a poor decision from a dollar/lap standpoint. I got 2 dry sessions(15 mins each), and then it poured rain. Once the rain started, lightning shut the track down for awhile, and when it reopened they kept to group practice(as opposed to going to "open swim" where anyone can go out anytime due to the small number of people riding). This meant I got one more session, in pouring rain, in the afternoon. I at least had time to identify some things I would need to work on, mainly braking and corner entry, because Keith's front end allowed for much harder, later braking, and using my existing markers I was slowing way too much before the apex in almost every turn.
Saturday
The announcer made an error with the calls for first round of practice, so as he was calling Group 5, it was really time for Group 6(my group). I wasn't watching the board, so I got out late and barely got one lap in. Second practice I was watching the scoring tower like a hawk, got out early, and managed to do a series of 24's. Since I was focusing on sections instead of laps, I was happy with that.
Lightweight Grand Prix
Nothing too exciting. I ran a good race, but did so mainly alone as the front 4 were all doing 21's and my entire race was in the 23's. Finished 5 of 6, with the racer behind me far enough behind that there really wasn't a battle on either end of my position. I did get more comfortable with the setup, and was happy to just roll out and run consistent laps in a race setting.
Sunday
First practice was once again not with me, as my SV wouldn't start. The problem was (I suspect) a tipover sensor tripping, as disconnecting/reconnecting the battery resolved it. Nothing spectacular in second practice, just kept plugging away at going deeper on the brakes.
Lightweight Supersport
I didn't get a great start, but I was Lou Peck(212)<loudog> wheelie a bit and I was able to get off the line ahead of him, and then was able to go pretty deep into T1 and get in front of teammate Bill Coolahan(447)<Mustang>. This left me behind #276 Shane Lewis, who I knew was right ahead of Bill in the points in this class. A brief moment of guilt quickly resolved itself as Bill got around me. Realizing I was in 3rd, I knew I'd need to use every trick I had to keep that position, as Lou has been running faster than me pretty consistently this season. I feel that I ride better when I can feel someone putting pressure on me, so I probably have Lou to thank for this race. More than once he showed me a wheel, and more than once I thought he was going to squeeze by, but I was able to clear the line .2 seconds ahead of him to take 3rd, my first podium all season, and to set a new personal best of 1:21.7 on the last lap of that race.
Lightweight Superbike
This promised to be another fun one, as I was gridding up with a few more people, including Jay Ameno(978)<JettaJay> on his motard, and of course Lou again, who I knew would be looking to get out in front and run away from me.
I got a decent start, but not good enough, as I couldn't get out front. I did, however, manage to get around the outside of a few bikes(including Lou) in T1, but couldn't hold that lead for long. Once Lou, Shane and Ben Travisano(130) got around me, it was down to a battle with Jay...and it was a fun one. Once he got by me, he spent most of the race in front, but I did manage to show him a wheel a few times, including getting by him in T1 once, close enough that the announcer apparently thought we made contact(good thing my sister didn't come up after all!). Talking to Jay after the race, he said it was clean but close, and he though I might have contacted is handlebar. Since it's a motard...I probably would have hit it with my shoulder, so it's quite possible I did and just didn't notice.Jay was able to get back around, and after that he protected the wall down pretty deep down towards 1, stopping me from pulling that move again. We finished .25 seconds apart at the line. Great race!
Overall, I had another really fun weekend, had some great races, and set a new PB. Following it with 2 Tony's Track Days left me even hungrier to get back on track for Round 6.
As always, I'd like to thank all my sponsors, specifically this round Dyno Solutions for giving me a strong custom map. With an improved drive out of T12 and deeper braking into T1, I'm up to a max speed of 112.xx on the straight, from 110 last weekend. I thought my SV was just out of speed, but it keeps pulling as long as I can manage to hang on to the throttle.
There's always more people to thank than space to thank them, so please if I forgot you don't take offense:
Center garage neighborhood crowd - all my friends who make the off track part of racing just as fun as the on track part. You all know who you are! This of course includes the people who come up to hang out and support us; my fellow competitors families, and our friends who came up early for the TTD.
My RSP teammates - all of them, present and not - for the constant and continued encouragement and support. I'm just now starting to get my momentum swinging in the right direction, and it makes it all the more valuable to me that you guys have helped keep me sane and keep me in the game.
Tony - for a couple tips throughout the weekend and Monday/Tuesday that helped and I think will help even more in Round 6.
And, once again, the thank-you MVP award goes to Keith. Not only for the advice this weekend and helping me keep a level head while I was at the track, but for the loaner front end, which helped not only boost my confidence and allow me to make gains in a lot of areas, but also has convinced me that I need to upgrade my equipment over the winter. :thumbup:
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