For round 6 I decided a week ahead that I was only going to do the Saturday races which meant AM Heavyweight Supersport, Unlimited GP and Middleweight GP. I figured this would be easier to handle as I was never really a Sunday racer from the get-go. Did I mention I also forgot to sign up before the deadline and got hit with immense fees for all my races and had to pay the entrance fee as well?! Learn from my mistake, sign up before the deadline!
It was a chilly Saturday morning after an awful night’s sleep where my air mattress decided it was a good time to implode on itself. I decided to sleep in a little bit later than usual and needless to say that backed up my morning quite a bit. Late to tech and scrambling to get out for first practice, man Group 1 practice is surely a stinker, when I heard on the PA system that the legends car spilt oil from turn 3 all the way to the apex of turn 6, fantastic. With the practice delayed for the cleanup I manage to catch up on all my morning’s rituals before rolling the bike out onto track.
No one was thrilled upon first entry from pit-out onto track. There was a solid white line filled with detergents, dust and debris from the track marshal’s attempt to contain the spill. Whenever someone was in front of me on the line they would kick up dust and all of that goodness went right up underneath my helmet via chin port. It was awesome, sarcasm intended, full stop.
We made do with what we are presented though and practice went smoother than expected. I wanted to test out a new camera angle to capture some of the knee dragging action happening out there. It’s sketchy mounting the GoPro onto my swing-arm but I have full faith in those little 3M sticky bases, they haven’t failed me yet, nor did the angles:
With practice in the books I sat around and chit chat with the other guys until it was race time. First on the menu of my packed race day was AM HWSS where I had a mediocre start at best and found myself in the entire race just getting up to pace. My bike would not shift into fourth gear for its life so I was the guy plowing down the front straight banging on the limiter of third gear, I could only imagine what people were thinking! I tried to clutch into fourth a few times but it felt like I was hitting the proverbial seventh gear wall. It just would not budge. Frustrated was one way to put it as I should’ve have gone over the bike with a fine comb after the last round’s crash fest. I finished tenth with a best time of 1:21.021.
Race 8 was Unlimited GP and it marked the one year anniversary of my waving to my boss that resulted in my highside up turn 4. Good times. He was also in this race so I was weary of a repeat needless to say. Pedro lined up in front of me and over the last couple of round’s he has certainly gotten faster. My goal was to keep him in my sights for as long as possible. Off the line I was behind him and a couple of other guys going into turn 1, so things were going good. I knew I didn’t have the pace whatsoever to maintain top three so a top five finish was more than attainable. Lap two and Pedro was still there beyond my belief. Lap three and the smell of the plantains was still in my nostrils. It was around lap four that he started to pull away but by then I was happy to keep him my horizon for that long.
I felt really good this race, comfortable yet not making many mistakes. BRAAAAAAAPPPP I hear. Oh boy here comes Eric. Of course in true fashion he blew past me, looked back, waved, moved on, slowed down, waved again. Why must he torture me so. I will say it is all in the efforts to make me a better and faster rider. Being behind someone faster has always been a good way to learn to how to go faster yourself, doesn’t hurt that he’s your boss either.
I finished fifth this race, top five acquired, but it wasn’t until later that someone congratulated me on the third place. I was so confused as Pedro finished fourth and another rider third. Race direction thought otherwise as they saw them jump the start of the race. Not the way I wanted a podium for sure but what that shows is you should never give up during a race and keep on chugging on. Never know when you’ll be on one of those steps. Third place with a best time of 1:20.002, yes 19s were only two thousands of a second away! Something to work towards for the last round to accomplish a goal I set for myself this year.
The last race was MWGP something I always look forward to as mentioned in my last post because no experts are there to blow the doors off my bike! It was a lackluster race as now I am on a plateau of my riding. Faster than the slower guys but slower than the faster guys. After the start I am now usually racing around by myself in the middle of two packs. I have to start dabbling in more trackdays and racer practices to hone down the basics of riding, hoping to improve and bring the fight to the front runners in my class. I finished where I started, thirteenth with a best time of 1:21.514.
Next week marks the last round of LRRS for the year so I am looking forward to finishing on a high note!
The Noodle Racer 