Wade's Second Race Weekend of The Second Season, May 1999
Friday I took the Penguin Advanced class. Jerry Wood gave us some pointers in the classroom about bike/body preparation, and then took us on a trackwalk, showing us the lines he uses. There's good info to be had from this man. Then alternating track-time & track-side discussions, this time with Rick Doucette leading the little pack of which I was a part.
Some of it was dull, but there was much to learn, also. I'm still trying to apply the things he suggested. My laptimes did come down a bit Saturday, but then went back up on Sunday. Go figure.
Friday, the first open practice included all juniors & experts together. It was a madhouse, and I was probably the slowest person on the pavement. I was getting tired, and got sick of being stuffed by bigger & much faster bikes, so I called it quits, pulled in, and pulled off the leathers. A little later, they decided to split the practice to get the 600cc+ bikes together, and us little bikes together. That would have been much better, but I was already out of the leathers, so I didn't go out any more. Instead, I went up to registration with a beachchair, and staked out first place in line, since I failed to preregister. After I registered, I went home.
Saturday, May 1
I set my tire pressures to 28 and 30 today. About the same as last weekend. Turns out this was too low, I think. I'll shoot for higher next week: 31 and 32 to start. I changed the rear tire, and now have a 140/80 Metzler, with 13/42 gearing. This gives up some top speed in favor of acceleration. But it also means I have to shift more often. I find I need to gear up a shade. I'll have a 43 rear on next weekend. The vintage guys were up here this weekend, sharing practice with us. We had real problems with one or two bikes, either Amature or Vintage, oiling the track. The cornerworkers were hard pressed to keep up with the long streaks. After practice, I discover that I'm not gridded at all for either race. I never learn why, but the Media center folks get me gridded. Once again, I'm dead last on the grid. A row all to myself behind everyone else. This sucks.
My first race, #4, LW Sportsman. We had a real grid this time: 15 entries. I think I made it to about 8th on the start, then gave up a few places through the race. I turned 1:37, 1:35, 1:33, then a 1:32.4 on the last lap. I'll have to live with that progress. Arthur Wagner on the HD-1200 wins it, with a Hawk 650 second, and the Honda Ascot taking third. Matt Lai (the fast EX-rider in the junior class this year) has to settle for fourth. I finished 10th, for 3 points.
My second race was the GT3. We had thirteen entries, another decent grid, which is nice. Again, a good start buys me positions: I was 7th into T3. Steady 1:33 plus or minus one second laps (low time = 1:31.12) gets me across the line 5th for 8 points. One place out of the trophies. D-oh! I spent 8 laps watching BJ Worsham disappear around T3 as I got onto the back straight. The gap didn't get bigger, but it didn't get smaller either. Matt's best lap was 1:28.5. Very impressive. He said later that he was following the Ascot, who dragged him along for the high lap times, but Sunday he did two more mid-28 laps, on his way to another win, so the boy is fast all by hisself! Congrats! I got caught behind traffic at a few places, and determined that my passing technique is holding me back. Competitors slightly ahead of me get around slower riders better, and I lose ground deciding what to do about passing. Something to work on. I also decide that the 42 rear is too low. I need a little more speed along the front straight as well as over the hill in the back. No time or ambition to change that Saturday night, so I'll deal with that for next race weekend. I also have begun braking hard enough into T1 to get the front wheel hopping. Time to brake less and go faster, I guess. %^/ The rear also wiggles during downshifts as it spins some into T1 and T3. I'm getting used to that. I don't think I'll ever be able to rear-steer the way real racers, do, though.
SUNDAY, MAY 2, 1999
Only one race today. I skipped the first practice, it was kinda cool out. I puttered around the second practice to make sure everything was working, logging one 1:32 lap, then came in.
My only race today was #2: Prod Twins. Again, I'm in my own row at the end of the grid behind 8 spaces with 7 riders (one gridded rider is a DNS). This still sucks. I think I made it to about 6th off the grid, but it was hard to tell, as we were part of the wave including LWSB. My laps times were medium slow: 1:32, and 1:33s. I got hard on it in T2 trying for a drive under the guy ahead of me about lap 5, and broke the rear really loose, then the front started to slide a bit. Then they all hooked up again, and I kept going without falling down. Scared me good and proper, slowed me down by two seconds. Garage-rumor later had it that one person leaked some oil for about a lap before pulling off. I don't know if this was true or had any relationship to this incident. I was just glad to finish the race in one piece. I would have been last in my race (ahead of a couple LWSB riders) except that BJ wound up in the weeds off T9, turned around and came back. That cost him enough time that I got ahead of him, to take 7th for 6 points. Looks like I'll be the slowest expert on the track in about three more weekends. %^/
Summary
Costs:
Garage: $30 ($90 split three ways)
Cocoa & food at the track: $15
two sprint races = $100
one GT race =$80
Pit pass = $25
Gas truck/bike = $15
One 10th of 15 for 3 points
One 5th of 13 for 8 points
One 7th of 9, for 6 points
I have 6 races and 30 points toward the 13 races / 65 points needed to move to Expert.
BIKE SETUP:
Final drive 13/42
rear tire=moderately good 140/80-16 Metzler
front tire=decent 120/80-16 Metzler
29-31psi for everything: set higher than this when warm!
temp=60F, dry
mesh air filter screen
Mystery front end: reportedly gold valve emulators, with UNK springs.
UNK fork oil weight
Sunday works performance rear shock
Sintered EBC-HH
Telefix forkbrace
89 Octane pumpgas
Rearsets, stock-mount lowered bars, stock windscreen, stock seat
