From June races:
Am Thunderbike Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2bJthrO99s&feature=youtu.be
Am GTU Video
July…
So does this mean the season is half over?? I hope not, I’m starting to really get into things now. I’ve got some trips I’d like to do and other tracks I wanna go visit, but of course as it always does, it comes down to money. Things aren’t looking as great I had hoped they would. People have been laid off at work, no raises this year, and no more OT. That last one is the killer for me. OT was how I funded most of my traveling.
So I’ll just have to make sure I throw everything I can into racing with SMRI. With that in mind, I wanted to continue with the things I learned at the last race weekend. No more not putting 100% into the races, I wanted consist lap times for the entire race and I wanted to better my personal best time. So I managed 2 of the 3 things… the 2 more important items too.
Am Thunderbike being the first race of the day, seems to usually be my best race of the day. I was determined for that to not be the case this weekend. Not sure what has changed, but my launches have just been stellar. I launched into 3rd place as we all hit turn 1. I lost a position on the exit to a liter bike (twin). I held that right up until the 4th lap when I missed a down shift going into the hairpin, that allowed one of the guys to get under me and push me out on the exit. I spent the rest of the race trying to get back around him, since I knew that I was a little bit faster. I just couldn’t get it done before we came up on some lap traffic. At that point I lost too much ground when I was stuck behind one of them for a turn and he made clean before the turn. I had to settle for 4th. The upside was that more consistent times then I have, until the traffic got in the way. I was still pleased with it.
Next was the Am U race, it was already getting miserably hot out and I haven’t been doing very well with the heat. I considered not going out, but figured I go and see what I was able to do. I hit turn 1 in 4th place again, and coming into turn 2 almost ran into the back of the guy in 3rd, it spooked me enough to allow the guy behind me to get by me. The three of us spent the whole race looking for ways to get around each other. It was a fun race and it ended with me disappointed that I hadn’t been able to get clear and go put down some faster lap times. Once back I checked on the lap times and they were consistent but just a bit slower then I know I can go. I’ve now really got to work on taking the pass when I see it and not over thinking it so much.
After lunch and cooling down a bit I had MW superbike. I was determined to not let that guy get in front of me again. Esp not after his 4 year old was talking smack about her daddy was so much faster then me and I was really slow…. I just couldn’t take that… 😛 I had a great start, I was shocked, third one in a row!!! I knew that I was ahead of Doug and that was the goal, I just had to focus and not make a mistake this time that would let him by. After lap 4 I could see him on the back straight as I was entering turn 5. I knew there was no way he would be able to catch up at that point and when looked again on the white flag lap he was no where to be seen. I was pretty pleased. The laps where consist and roughly the same pace as my first race of the day. Yippieee! I knew that I could work on finding some places to drop time now that things are more consistent. I get back to the pits and Doug is there, what? He had pulled off on lap 5 because he knew that there was no catching me. 😀
Last race of the day, Formula Femme and thanks to my giant goof up last time I was on the outside of the first row. Not where I like to be. So the start was going to be critical to my success. I did okay, and hit turn 1 in third again, again almost running into the back of 2nd in turn 2 because they drifted over and then tipped in. I knew that as early as they tipped in I could get a better drive to turn 3 and if they took their usual line I’d be able to get them coming out. I did. From that point on I focused on consistent and as fast a laps as I could. No repeat of the last race. I really wanted around the Modern Vintage guy in front of me, since he was holding me up, but his unpredictable and strange lines made me too nervous about passing in the spots where I could have and then since he was on a liter bike I couldn’t get him on the straights. Frustrating. I saw by lap 6 again that the girl behind me was still on the back straight as I was entering turn 5 so I got comfortable with not worrying about riding defensive line and try to figure out how to get around bizarre line dude in front of me. I had it worked out until we hit the lappers and then he gapped me on the last lap so I couldn’t. In all the plan worked and I have new things to work on.