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| MRA Race #6 - 7/25/2004 at SCR |
Tuesday July 27th 2004 9:59 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
I didn't do a writeup from the last race at SCR, mostly because it was fairly uneventful. I feel that my crash a couple months ago has done a fair bit to shake my confidence, and my results are showing it. It feels like the progress I've made early in the season was totally set back, so I'm having to work back to where I was earlier in the season.
Saturday was cold and drizzly in the morning, so I only got a couple practice sessions in before the afternoon endurance race. The sun came out for the endurance race, though, and the race went fairly smoothly. Several of the top placed riders crashed out, which helped improve my finishing position. I was following #717 for quite a while, until he ran wide in House Turn and I was able to slip by him. I pulled a gap on him over the next couple laps, but then on the last lap of the race my bike started acting up, the engine was stumbling and wasn't getting any power. I managed to limp around the track with my hand in the air and finish in front of #717 by about 10 bike lengths in 8th place. I tore the bike apart after the race to try and find the cause of the malfunction, but couldn't find anything really wrong. My latest hypothesis is that I possibly had some bad gas.
After getting the bike back together and new Pirelli tires from The Racer Supply Co mounted, I was ready to go racing on Sunday. Marcus McBain of Racing Performance Services wasn't able to make it this weekend, but my bike was still feeling really good from the previous work I've done with him. The first race was Middleweight Superbike, and there was a crash in front of me in the first turn which caused me to almost go off the track avoiding the downed rider, so I was towards the back of the pack. I followed #303 for several laps until I managed to get a good pass on him entering Spectator Turn, and began chasing down my buddy Jeff #277. I was gaining on him, but couldn't catch him before the checkered flag, and ended up in 18th place.
The next race was Amateur GTU, where I was gridded on the second row. I got an ok start, and was able to hold off Dave #420 into turn 1, but he slipped by shortly after. I got passed a few times, made a few passes, and ended up in 14th place. This is rather disappointing to me, as I'm really trying to excel in this class. I'm currently in 7th place in the points, but feel that a top-5 season finish is still within reach as I'm only 5 points behind 5th place.
My last race was Middleweight Supersport, where I was running towards the back of mid-pack, and eventually ended up being alone on the track for most of the race. I finished in 16th place, and was running mostly 1:13's and 1:14's.
I definitely had fun this weekend even though I'm not riding at the pace I'd like to be at. I think I know some of the areas I need to work on to improve my performance, and I have high hopes to do well at Pueblo as that pretty much my favorite track that we race at.
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| MRA Race #4 - 6/13/2004 at La Junta |
Sunday June 20th 2004 1:14 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
This weekend was race #4 of the 2004 season, and the only time this year that the MRA will race in La Junta. Due to this track being so far away, the turnout was fairly small compared to other race weekends.
Saturday practice was fairly uneventful, though I was having some wierd tire wear issues, so I worked with suspension guru Marcus McBain and Shane from Racer Supply Co. to try and get the bike adjusted correctly for this track. We got things set up pretty well, and I went out for the 1/2 hour Middleweight Endurance race in the afternoon. I got a pretty good start, and was running around 10th place on the first few laps before getting passed by a couple riders. As the race continued, I caught and passed a few more riders as well as working my way through the lapped traffic. With about 5 minutes left in the race, I was catching up to a rider that had passed me earlier, when suddenly something went wrong with his motor and he left a huge cloud of oil smoke streaming behind his bike as we raced down the front straight towards the 130+ mph turn 1. I could hardly see the track in front of me, and was afraid that he was dumping oil on the track, but I managed to make it through without incident. But at this point the visor on my helmet was covered with oil residue and I couldn't see very well, so I took a chance to wipe my visor which only smeared the oil everywhere and made it even harder to see. I pulled off the track onto the hot-pit lane where a couple friendly bystanders helped me clear my visor so I could go back out to continue the race, but the race was red-flagged due to oil on the track, so I ended up in 12th place, directly behind the guy who's bike malfunctioned and caused the race to be cancelled.
Sunday I started off with new Pirelli tires from Shane at the Racer Supply Co, went out for a couple practice sessions, and then was ready for my first race directly after lunch. I was feeling a little nervous before my first race of the day, as sometimes happens to me, so I had a fairly hesitant start in the Middleweight Superbike race. On lap two, I came around turn 4, looked ahead to the next turn and saw a bike tumbling end-over-end in turn 5. While the rider was relatively OK, the race was red-flagged due to the bike being in a dangerous place on the track, and we restarted a few minutes later. I was running towards the back of the pack in this race, but was having a lot of fun dicing it up with Jeff Brown #277, and ended up in 18th place. Middleweight Supersport was my next race, and was pretty much a repeat of the MWSB race, dicing with Jeff again and finishing in 18th place, however I turned my personal best laptime during this race with a :54.674.
My 3rd race of the day was Amateur GTU, I started in the middle of the second race, got a strong start, and held 3rd place into turn 1. I ran in 3rd place for about half the race, before a couple riders began to slip by me usually down the front straight. On the last lap I was running in 6th place, but #519 got a better drive out of the last corner and beat me to the finish line by a wheel, so I ended up in 7th place. I'm a little disappointed with my finishing position, I got a strong start and really wish I'd been able to hold 3rd place. However, I'm currently tied for 4th place in the season points, so I'm in a good position to continue to do well in this class.
Heavyweight Supersport was my last race of the weekend, and takes place directly after the Amateur GTU race. I was pretty tired at this point from having ridden my hardest during the previous race, so I basically just went out to ride and have fun. Not much eventful happened during this race, and I finished in 16th place.
All in all I'm pleased with my performance this weekend, and I've identified some areas that I can improve to hopefully end up with some better finishing positions. The next race weekend is quickly approaching, we'll be at SCR on June 27th, and I'll be ready!
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| MRA Race #3 - 5/30/04 at SCR |
Monday June 7th 2004 7:09 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
I had a pretty rough weekend, including a nasty high-side (a crash where the bike throws me forward over the handlebars) exiting the Rat's Nest on about lap 5 of the Middleweight Endurance race on Saturday. The rear tire spun up (not uncommon, happened to me many times before) but then it just kept coming around to what felt like sideways, abruptly regained traction and tossed me over the bars, where I landed heavily on my right hip and shoulder. Both the bike and I slid to the inside of the turn so luckily we were both out of the way of following riders. As I tumbled after landed I was able to look behind me and see that no one was about to run me over, so I hopped up, made sure my bike wasn't in the middle of the track, and limped off towards the tire wall where I collapsed. I was in so much pain I couldn't stand, and the corner workers were pretty freaked out. They moved my bike off the track, and after 30 seconds or so I stood up and moved to the better safety of the corner workers station. Glenn Conser (MRA President) arrived about then, and after checking I was ok he waved off the approaching EMT's.
I've got a nasty bruise with a small puncture on my right inner thigh just above my knee, I'm guessing I either caught something on my way up over the handlebars, or else something on the bike (footpeg?) hit me when I landed. I've got a matching bruise on my right hip, both ankles are sore, both feet are sore, and I think I pulled a groin muscle in my right leg. Damage to the bike was minor, I broke the left footpeg, twisted the left clipon in against the gas tank, punched a hole the size of my fist in the tail section, and some minor scrapes on the left upper fairing. I have to say I was pretty lucky all around, and give high regards to my quality gear keeping me safe.
Sunday was tough, I didn't make it out until the last practice session, and could barely lift my leg over the bike to climb on. I rode in 3 races, deciding not to race in HWSS which I usually run back-to-back with AmGTU. I was finding it hard to move around on the bike and couldn't really hang off very well, plus I was rather shaken up about the crash, so I wasn't running a very competative pace. Although, my laptimes were about in line with my previous times from last year, less than half a second off my previous best time (consistent 1:14's, with a best of 1:14.00).
For results:
MW Endurance: 25th
MWSB: 15th
MWSS: 14th
AmGTU: 14th
HWSS: DNS
AmGTU was particularly disappointing to me, as I've been doing very well in that class so far this year. I started on the inside of row 2, got a good start, and was 4th through turn 1. However I couldn't run a competative pace, and quickly dropped back in positions to finish 14th. The good news is that I'm still high in the points, and am currently in 5th place for the season.
I'm healing up pretty quickly, though, Monday evening I was able to climb into my truck without using my hands to lift my leg into the cab. I've got high hopes for La Junta, and am determined to overcome the mental barriers that slowed me down this Sunday.
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| MRA Race #2 - 5/16/04 at PPIR |
Tuesday May 18th 2004 9:22 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
I hadn't set explicit goals for myself for this weekend other than improve my times from last year (mostly 1:04's and 1:05's, as I recall) and improve consistency, and the 3 days of riding really helped bring things together. Friday I got 3 long practice sessions, making one gear change to try and get my shift points where I wanted them.
Saturday I got a new set of Pirelli tires and made another gear change, going the other way, which became the sweet spot for me. For MW Endurance I was gridded on the 3rd row, got a decent start and was 6th on the first lap. I fell back several places to around 12th or 13th while turning 1:03's-1:05's, then I picked things back up and ran 5 1:02's in a row, picking off several people and slipping by Patrick Lansu on the penultimate lap to take 9th place.
Sunday I got new tires again since I knew my current set wouldn't last through 4 sprint races. First race was MWSB, and I was fairly nervous, I still haven't gotten used to my new schedule of racing right after lunch and it's hard for me to eat. The MW classes are so competative, I'm finding it hard to be aggressive on the first couple laps, so I finished both races in 20th place.
Amateur GTU I started on the outside of row 2, was psyched up and ready to race. I got a decent start, was in 5th out of turn 2, until one rider slipped past me. Coming out of 6 onto the front straight, the guy in front of me tucked the front (presumably in the water, though I didn't talk to him) and I just ran smooth and hard and didn't get passed, to finish the race in 5th, my personal best finish in this class. A friend said that they were saying my name on the PA system during the racing, talking about me chasing down the lead pack.
HWSS was back to back with AmGTU, so Lynn met me at the hot pits with water and I hydrated while the others took their sighting lap. I got fairly tired during this race, and the water on the track was freaking me out a little. I got an OK start from the 5th row, but got killed by the 750's through turns 1 and 2. Fairly uneventful race, since I was tired I planned on just cruising around until I saw my friend Mike Vigil #33 right in front of me, got a great drive out of turn 2 and got past him on the brakes into turn 3 on the penultimate lap. I rode my ass off that last lap, trying to stay in front, and even saw a wheel in turn 5 of the last lap (thought it was Mike, but turned out to be #945), but managed to hold the position to take 16th.
My best lap time of the day was the last lap of the last race, I turned a 1:02.037. The highlight of the weekend was the Amateur GTU race, where I ran 9 laps in the 1:02's, all within 7 tenths of each other. It feels great to be improving and getting consistent, and I'm really pleased with the way my season is progressing.
Many thanks to Shane Stoyko of The Racer Supply Co for the Pirelli tires, and Marcus McBain of Racing Performance Services for tuning my suspension and having my bike handling so well. I also have to thank Lynn for turning out to be such a great crew chief, she really makes it easier for me to focus on the racing and not have to worry about all the little details like gassing the bike, tightening bolts, turning on tire warmers, etc.
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| MRA Race #1 - 5/2/04 |
Monday May 3rd 2004 8:21 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
The MRA had a great opening weekend at Pueblo! I took Friday off work with the hopes of heading down to Pueblo early for some practice, but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. So while it snowed outside on Friday morning, I finished packing and made the final few adjustments to the bike, then headed down and arrived around 6pm.
On Saturday we got to the track bright and early after a restful night at the Super-8 motel. The weather had cleared and the sun was shining, and the temperature rose steadily throughout the weekend to end up in the 70's. Saturday practice went well; I warmed up quickly, even though this was only my second day on the track since the last races back in October. Something new this year, I'm running the Middleweight endurance race on Saturday afternoon. This is a 30-minute solo endurance race, and turned out to be one of the most fun races I've had! I started on row 5 and managed to get a pretty good start, holding 7th place on the opening lap. 19 laps later of various passing and being passed, I ended up in 9th place. There were riders of varying speeds on the track, and I quickly caught up with lapped traffic, mostly novices. This was great practice for me, as passing has always been a weak area that I'm working to improve. All the passing exercise was an enjoyable challenge, and I had some really fun battles with other riders.
I got new tires after the endurance race so I could be fresh for the Sunday races. Sunday was even nicer weather than Saturday, and with the new tires the bike was feeling great. The endurance race from the previous day had helped cure me of my first-race jitters, so I felt pretty good at the start of my first race, Middleweight Superbike. This class is the fastest 600cc motorcycles in the MRA, and I got my butt kicked. I started the race from the 6th row, and ended up in 20th position. My second race of the day was Middleweight Supersport, and had similar results. I started on the 5th row and finished in 19th place. While my finishing positions are a little disappointing to me, I'm running lap times that are consistently faster than my previous best times at this track and the bike is feeling awesome.
Several more races go by for the other racers, and then my 3rd race of the day is up, Amateur GTU. This is a class I competed in last year, finishing the season in 11th place. Since I had points from the previous year, I got a great grid position and started on the 2nd row. I had a lot of fun in this race, got a decent start, and was running with the lead pack on the first lap. I gradually fell back a little, but ran some of my best laps of the day and finished in 9th place. After this race, I was immediately up for Heavyweight Supersport, the last race of the day, where I take my little 600 up against other 600 and 750cc bikes. I only had time to grab a quick sip of water on the hot pit lane before heading back out to grid. I was gridded on the 5th row in this one, and since I was so pumped up from the previous race I had just finished I felt like everyone was going very slow on the first lap, and know I could have made several early passes. However, I'm still hesitant to pass when there is a lot of riders clumped up together like at the start of a race, so I held back and was in the middle-back of the pack. I finished this race in 15th position, and turned my personal best laptime at Pueblo of 1:40.8.
This was a great weekend for me, I realised that I'm in pretty good shape for the year, considering that the Sunday races were the 3rd day I'd been on the bike for 7 months. My laptimes are consistently faster than my previous best times, and the bike is feeling amazing. I can't say enough good things about the suspension work that Marcus of Racing Performance Services has done on my bike. The bike feels like it has so much room to grow, and that I'm the slow one holding us back. This is really great, because by the end of last season, I felt like my bike had some limitations which were holding me back. The new Pirelli tires I had mounted up by The Racer Supply Co felt great, combined with the new suspension I had total confidence that everything would behave as I expected. They also seemed to wear a lot better, leaving me plenty of tread for the next Saturday practice and endurance race at PPIR on May 15th.
I had a great time, met up with a bunch of friends from last year, and met several new friends. Thanks to Lynn for being my crew chief, and congrats to Dan and Doug on their first weekend racing!
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| MRA Race #9 - 9/28/03 at Pueblo |
Thursday October 9th 2003 5:19 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
I was having bike trouble in the AM on Sunday, my fork seals were leaking, and the brakes are not working right, the front wheel won't spin hardly at all and the brakes drag like crazy. Things just felt wrong, so I pulled off the new tires that I had bought the day before and only had 1 session on them, and put my good condition takeoffs back on, planning to just cruise in the Novice classes and not race the Amateur classes in order to save my tires for next weekend at SCR. Well, I think the bike was trying to tell me something because she ran pretty good after that.
I rode hesitantly and reservedly in Novice GTO and got 16th place, turning 1:45's stuck behind Matt Whetten, while the top 5 (Tyler #491, Patrick #823, etc) were running 1:39's and 1:40's with their fastest times in the mid-low 1:38's. Novice GTU I got a good start, was 7th into turn 1 and held that for the rest of the race, running alone most of the time until Justin (172) almost passed me at the finish line when I got held up by a slow lapped rider on a green Kawisaki. I turned a 1:41.9 in that race, with consistent 1:42's and 1:43's. The fork seals had pretty much stopped leaking (I think due to temperatures warming up) and the brakes were still funky but working well, and the bike felt good.
Amatuer GTU was more of the same, good laptimes and the bike feeling good, and I managed to pass an expert (#292) on the next-to-last lap to finished in 13th. Amateur GTO I got a decent start but there was a logjam into turn 1, and all those big bikes get better starts than my little 600. I got stuck behind Matt (#333) again, until my buddy Mike (#347) came around me and then around Matt. I decided "I'm not letting Matt hold me up the whole race again!" and I pulled alongside him out of 10 and ran about 1/4 of the way down the front straight beside him just staring over at him like "Lemme by!" but of course his 1000cc R1 pulled away over my little 600. I went around his outside in turn 1 and took the inside line in turn 2 so he couldn't get by, then chased down Mike and ran with him the rest of the race trying to get by his 750. Mike and I had a great race, I couldn't catch him but stayed on his rear for the whole rest of the race. I think we ran 1:42's for the whole time together, and I ran my best lap time of the weekend on the last lap of the last race, with a 1:41.624 on 3-day old tires, leaking fork seal, and messed up brakes. I think if my confidence had been higher and I had been on new tires and not having those mechanical issues I should be up there with the top 5 guys in the novice races.
It was another great learning experience for me. I really think my bike was trying to tell me something in the morning, and I think she was saying "Hey, I've got some mechanical troubles right now, lets save our best efforts for next weekend and just run good today with what we've got." It sure seemed to work out, and after I make the repairs I expect to be running well next weekend.
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| MRA Race #8 - 9/14/03 at SCR |
Monday September 15th 2003 7:42 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
This weekend can be summed up in a few simple words -- my best racing ever!! It probably helped that I had my dad and a ton of other family and friends out to cheer me on, I had about 15 people in my pits and I cooked lunch for all of them as well as competed in 4 races.
Saturday was cold and overcast, the track conditions were so bad that I didn't even practice although I probably should have gone out for a couple sessions after lunch when it started warming up a bit. I just hung out with everybody and watched the other guys practicing. There were a few crashes, and some of the novices had to be told to slow down and be careful on the cold track with cold tires.
Sunday was cold in the early morning, but warmed up quickly as the overcast sky cleared. I had mounted new tires the day before and got my suspension setup for the track by Marcus McBain, and had a couple of good practice sessions that morning. The races were delayed a bit due to some more crashes during the practice session, and then it was time for my first race, Novice GTO.
I was gridded on the inside of the 3rd row, and was making extra efforts to stay focused prior to the race and while sitting on the grid getting ready to start. The starting lights were red, flashed yellow, and when they went green I had anticipated the light perfectly and got a great launch. I rode up between the riders in front of me with my front wheel a few inches in the air, and moved around the riders blocking my way. By turn one I was on the inside of number 823 and was the first into the turn. This was the first time I have ever led a race, and I didn't quite know what to do with myself, but I rode hard and tried my best to stay out front. I let the pressure get to me a bit and made a few mistakes, but managed to keep the bike upright and was making some great laps, including a personal best lap time of 1:13.7!! Most of the other laps in this race I was turning fairly consistent 1:14's which is a second or 2 slower than the other fast guys, but still decent. I held the lead for 2 laps, and on the third lap I got passed into turn 1 by the current points leader, number 491. A little later another top-5 rider (322) came by me late on the brakes into the last turn, but he ran wide and I was able to repass him out of the turn and hold him off down the straight-away. He then passed me again into turn 1, and later 2 other top-5 guys (347 and 404) got by me before the race was red-flagged on lap 6 due to a couple of serious crashes. They called the race as finished and I ended up in 5th place, my best finish ever! Getting a top-5 finish had been my next goal for the season, so now I've made a new goal -- I want a top-3 finish before the season is over. I've got 2 race weekends to do it, and I think it's possible.
It was such a great feeling getting the holeshot and leading the race for the couple laps that I did, it made me aware of the levels I'm able to take my bike, and I can't give enough praise for my bike, she rides so well and lets me make small mistakes without throwing me on the ground. This is due to the awesome Metzeler tires, great suspension support from Marcus McBain, and conscientous pre-race scrutiny of my mechanic and friend Dave. My friend Doug got the whole race on video, when I get a copy from him I'll be posting it here on the website for you to download. Everyone was cheering and going nuts in my pits as I came in from the race, and I was yelling in my helmet. Apparently the announcer had no idea who I was, since I've never been a contender before and it took him awhile to figure out my number and announce my name.
During the lunch break I cooked a ton of food for everybody and was talking with a bunch of the other racers, sharing stories and exulting in my awesome performance. A while after lunch it was time for my next race, Novice GTU. I put a bit of pressure on myself, wanting to get a repeat of the previous race since I was gridded in the same spot, and I got a good launch off the line and was 4th into turn 1. Being bunched up with a few other riders had me riding more hesitantly, and I got passed by a few other guys before the race was over, but finished in 8th place which tied my previous best finish in this class.
An hour or so later was the Amateur GTU race, with combined experts and novices. This class is always a little more intimidating due to the super fast experts who ride more aggresively than the novices, and I got bunched up with a number of other guys and wasn't able to make up many positions. I finished this one in 11th place, which is still a decent finish. I mostly run the Amateur races for fun and more practice with faster riders, but I'd really like to get into the top 10 in this class before the season is over.
My last race is also the last race of the day, Amateur GTO. This class is tough because of all the bikes that are bigger than mine, it's really hard to pass them coming out of turns so my best bet to get by is on the brakes into a turn or hope they make a mistake. I was hesitant off the line and was about mid-pack into turn one with a bunch of jockeying for position going on in front of me. I settled in behind 2 guys on bigger bikes and waited for a chance to pass, as they were going slower than I wanted to through the turns. About 2 laps in they red-flagged the race due to a big crash in turn 1. We restarted the race with a fresh restart in our started positions, and the start was pretty much a repeat of the previous one. I got stuck behind number 333 on a 1000cc bike who is a fair bit slower than me through the turns, but he is very difficult to pass due to the power his bike makes, I was struggling for several laps and getting very frustrated because every time I'd try to get by he would out-accelerate out of the turn. On about lap 6 I went around his outside through the Rat's Nest, the tightest turn on the track, but I went a little too wide and he was again able to squirt by me. This got me upset and frustrated because I knew if I could just get by him I could leave him behind. On the next turn, I went wide again trying to move beside him so I would have the inside for the following turn, and I hit a ripple in the pavement and my right footpeg scraped along the pavement, lifting my back tire off the ground. It was a very scary moment, but the rear tire regained traction and I was able to keep going with a minimal loss of speed and time. At this point I decided to settle down and just follow him, hoping to set him up for a pass in the last turn of the last lap. I got a good drive on the last turn, but crossed the finish line about a bike-length behind him, finishing in 12th place.
I've been on a high ever since the amazing first race, things could only have gone better if I had been able to hold the lead for longer. This whole season has been about me improving my skills and preparing myself to race as an expert next season. I've set incremental goals for myself that were attainable and not outrageously out of reach, and I've reached them all so far. I'm top-10 in the season points in both Novice classes, I've gotten multiple top-10 finishes, and I met my latest goal of a top-5 finish. Now I want to get a top-3 and take home a trophy, that would totally be the icing on my season, and I've got 2 race weekends left to try and do it. Even if I don't reach that goal, I'm happy with how much I've improved and feel well prepared for next year.
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| MRA Race #6 - 8/10/03 at Pueblo |
Monday August 11th 2003 7:34 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
This turned out to be a pretty interesting weekend. After meeting Marcus McBain last race and getting the trackside suspension support from him, my suspension settings were way different at this track than SCR. Pueblo is a much faster track, so the bike's suspension needs to behave differently than it does at a smaller, tighter, slower track like SCR. The first practice session of the day the bike felt just wrong, it was hopping over the bumps in turns, and the rear tire was spinning up while accelerating out of corners and sliding midcorner. I went and talked to Marcus again immediately, and in the course of attempting to tune my bike we realized something was seriously wrong with the front suspension. The forks were sticking badly, and it was impossibly to get the same measurements twice in a row. We decided to do the best we could for practice on Saturday, and then that evening I removed the forks and took them to Marcus for a rebuild and oil change. It turns out the forks were sticking so badly due to jammed fork seals, and the bushings needed some cleaning up, not to mention my fork oil was in dire need of replacement. I have now learned the necessity for fresh fork oil frequently!
Sunday practice was much better, but we had over-compensated with the rear suspension on Saturday to try and make things work, so the rear tire was still spinning up badly and causing me to be very hesitant in getting on the gas while exiting corners. This is a crucial time to be on the gas because it sets up your drive out of the corner. Through the 2 morning practice sessions and the first couple races we fine-tuned things, and by the last 2 races it was feeling pretty good.
The first race of the day was Novice GTO, and I started on the outside of the 3rd row. Surprisingly, this class is the one I'm doing the best so far, even though it is an Open class which consists of 750 and 1000cc motorcycles, along with other 600's like mine. I got a decent launch, and it was a race down to turn one at the end of the 1/2 mile straight. I was running pretty well, and then I had a huge slide of the rear tire coming out of turn 3 which scared me a little as it could have resulted in a unpleasant crash. This caused me to slow down a bit since I really didn't want to crash out. When my pace slowed down a little, 2 or 3 other riders got around me, and I ended the race in 11th place, which I'm relatively pleased with, but I know I could have finished a couple places higher if I hadn't had those issues.
My second race was Novice GTU, the class I want to do my best in because it all 600's and smaller bikes so my bike is more evenly matched. I started this race in the middle of row 4, and I got what I thought was a good launch, but my buddy TC (#124) blew right by me from behind! He's awesome at the starts because he has been drag racing his bike for years at the local drag strip. So I'm following him around for a couple laps, then we're hauling ass down the front straight which is a half-mile long and we end up at top speed, maxed out in 6th gear (about 150 mph). We have to brake reasonably hard to make turn 1 which is about a 4th-gear decreasing-radius turn, but I missed my brake marker and went into the turn way faster than usual. I had a moment of panic about whether to try and make the turn or just keep going straight and take the run-off, but I decided to lean it over and take the turn. I start flying up on TC and blow by him about 3 feet away, it scared me a little because I was worried that it would distract him or piss him off, but I held my line tight and got by cleanly. I then led him around the track for a couple laps until we started hitting the lapped traffic. Working the lappers is sometimes difficult, because they're typically going 10-20 seconds slower a lap than us, and if I don't get around them quickly then somebody behind is going to pass both of us while I wait for an optimal place to pass the slower rider. A couple guys got around me while I got stuck behind a lapper, but I managed to keep TC behind me. A lap later we lap my friend Hanna who is only in her 2nd race weekend, and as I go by I stick my hand out and give a little wave. I almost immediately regret that because I'm afraid I will distract her, but I talk to her later and she said it actually made her feel good to have someone being friendly out on the track and not just pulling the paint off her bike as we pass. The last lap is a drive to the finish, but there is a waving hazard flag warning us of some debris on the track so I slow down slightly, afraid it might be oil. It's illegal to pass under a waving flag, yet a rider goes by me right at the flag, and finishes a place in front of me. I was pretty bummed about that but didn't want to protest because it was a borderline call. I ended up finishing the race in 12th place, with TC a spot behind me. This race taught me a few things, because when I went to apologize to TC for passing so close to him he told me a few places that I could go faster, and learning that I could carry so much more speed into turn 1 really helped me go faster there in later races. He wasn't upset at all, in fact he praised me for making a clean pass and holding my line so well, even if we were so close to each other at 110+ mph. :)
In that race I was still having issues with my rear tire spinning up under accelerating while exiting turns, so I met with Marcus again and we made a few more tweaks which finally settled everything down and got me riding smoother. The next race was Amateur GTU, another 600's and smaller class. I'm again gridded in the center of row 4 for this race, and get a pretty good start. I'm not having the wheelspin issues anymore and able to lay down some very consistent lap times, in fact I turned my personal fastest lap time of 1:42.93 seconds! To put that into perspective, the track record was broken 3 times on Sunday, with the new record being set at 1:29.6, so I'm nowhere near the fast guys but I'm definitely improving as last time we rode at Pueblo was my first race ever and I believe I was running 1:48's. I rode really well in this race, with only a few guys passing me and most of them were experts (the Amateur classes are combined Novices and Experts) and I finished in 11th place.
I got about a 20 minute break and then it was time for the last race of the day. By now I'm getting tired, it's been blazing hot all weekend but luckily some clouds were out which blocked the sun a bit and cooled things off. Staying hydrated is critical, I've heard of guys losing 5-7 pounds of water weight in a single race! I'm again gridded in the center of row 4, with Doug the Track Marshall gridded right in front of me. I get a good launch, but Doug pops a huge wheelie and has to set it down, which causes me to have to slow down to avoid hitting him. This really sucks because it allowed a bunch of guys to slip by me, this is why I hate being gridded in the center, if you're on the outside you can just move over and go by when somebody does a mistake like that on the start, but in this case if I were to have tried to move over and around him it's likely somebody would have ran into me from behind. As we go through the first few turns there's a mob of guys running nose to tail, and even though I wanted to go faster I just didn't feel safe trying to move up through them, so I hung back and let the pack thin out a bit. I got into a nice rhythm and was mostly riding by myself after the first couple laps, since I was tired I was content to just run my own race and wasn't pushing very hard. I was turning some very consistent laptimes, in fact 5 of my 7 laps were within 1/2 of a second of each other, in the low 1:44's. On about lap 5 I was running through the exit of turn 1 at probably 80 or 90 mph when my front tire hit a rut in the asphalt and lost traction. I was leaned way over, the front tire started sliding, and I felt the sliders on my knee and boot dragging against the asphalt. Luckily I didn't panic and kept constant throttle, and the front tire regained traction and I rode out of it. Whew! Quite a moment, but exciting at the same time since it was so near a crash but my instincts were good and I didn't crash. :) When I crossed the finish line for the last time I was in 16th place and there was a huge gap back to the riders behind me, at least 10 seconds.
This weekend was quite a learning experience for me. They have all been learning experiences, but I'm really learning more about my bike and how the setup affects how I ride. I'm noticing improved tire life from the suspension work I've been doing, and my confidence increases with every weekend. I still have my goal of getting into the top 5 at least once before the season is over.
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| MRA Race #5 - 7/27/03 at SCR |
Monday August 11th 2003 6:52 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
To be filled in...
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| MRA Race #3 - 6/15/03 at La Junta |
Tuesday June 17th 2003 5:51 PM |
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Posted by: Alex
Well, I had a mixed weekend. Got 13th (unofficial, final results won't be up until the end of the week) in Novice GTO (open class with 750's and liter bikes) after starting at the front of the second wave. I got the holeshot for the second wave, and held it for about 3 laps, and then one person got past me. I worked my way up through a few guys from the first wave before the race was over. That was definitely one of my best races to date as far as my riding. Oh, and my helper at the race said they announced my name over the PA during the race, talking about how I was leading the second wave and chasing down the first wave pack, wish I could have heard it.
Novice GTU (600's class) I was gridded on row 3, was up front with the fast guys for the first couple laps, then went into turn 2 a bit hot and instead of trusting my bike and leaning it over I decided to take the runoff and lost about 2 dozen places. That really upset me because it was totally my fault and I shouldn't have made that mistake.
Amateur GTU (mixed experts and novices on 600's) was fairly uneventful, I took my time and just rode my own race. However I got passed under a waving yellow on the last lap, kinda pissed me off that he didn't let me back by...
Amatuer GTO (mixed experts and novices on open class bikes) I got stuck behind my buddy Bryce for several laps, and my little 600 just couldn't power past his 750. So I finally decided to stay on the gas longer and started going around his outside in turn 1 (topped out in 5th gear) and as soon as he saw me he womped on the gas to stay in front of me. As I was braking for turn 2, I missed a downshift, and whoops took the runoff again in turn 2.
I'm looking at it as a learning experience, I didn't place nearly as well as I would have liked, but the Novice GTO race I feel like I rode really well, and I feel like I learned from the negative experiences.
On Saturday I did some cornerwork for the endurance races to work off some of the mandatory 4 hours of service required of all novices. I was working corner 3 when my pit buddy Geoff crashed in turn 4, but unfortunately I couldn't go over there because I was flagging the corners to warn the riders about the crash.
La Junta is sort of an agricultural utopia in Colorado, as it is heavily irrigated from the Arkansas river. It's also crazy hot there, I guess that helps all those melons and stuff grow. The track is built on an old airfield, so it's crazy hot on all that pavement and concrete. The really fast guys take turn 1 in top gear WOT, I was rolling through there about topped in 5th with full throttle, didn't have the balls go much faster since it was only my first time there.
I'm still looking for my first top-10 finish, and hope to make the podium at least once by the end of the season. My lap times aren't too bad, I just get really nervous in heavy traffic. Plus these have all been new tracks to me, hopefully I'll do better as I get more familiar with the tracks.
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