Monsterdood
Tue 8/22/06, 4:02PM
Disclaimer: This accidently ended up long. I'm not good or clever enough to shorten it up so here it is.
Well, I got my SV back this month from Zoran with an engine that doesn't leak water and forks that don't leak oil....yay. I also replaced my 6 piston GSXR 1000 brakes with some 4-piston GSXR 600 brakes to hopefully give me a little more feel on the brakes (since my one crash on it was under the brakes in turn 3).
I also did some minor crash repairs to the EX from my dirt tracking experience last month. Realign the handle bars to the wheel, a little fiberglass repair and some touch up paint and she was good to go....
So Friday night, I get the truck and trailer all loaded up and head to the gas station to fill up so I can get a fast departure in the morning. It's 11PM at night, I just finished filling up the truck, and I go to start the truck and with a bright flash of the lights, the truck flat out dies. I turn the key off and the dash lights gradually come back on but when I turn the key, everything goes dark..... the battery had obviously taken its Metamucil because it just took a fast dump.... I had my tools in the truck so I whip out a volt meter and confirm the battery is kaput... 5 volts and change....
So I'm stuck at the gas station :dunno: with my bikes and gear wondering how much practice time on Saturday this will cost me and then someone offers a jump start. I try it and the truck starts but idles rough. I turn on the lights and the engine starts to die so I turn them off real fast. I get going and then turn on the lights and limp the truck home working purely off of the alternator. As I roll to a stop in front of my house, the engine starts to die and then nothing.....
I can't find a 24 hour store with batteries so I have the idea to put an old (and tiny) Mazda Miata battery in the Landcruiser. I charge it all night and then plop it into the huge battery box under the hood. It looks like you just installed a AAA battery into the space for a D battery but it started! I figure I can buy a full size battery up in Lancaster, but I just want to get up there first…. (note the Miata battery worked all weekend up there and back… amazing!)
Why this huge lead-in? Because this is the life of a lowly club racer, one small challenge after another that the pros never even think about much less have to deal with.... It would be nice to just arrive and ride, but that is not the life of a club racer... we have more drama.
Hey, so on to the racing.
First race is 550 Superbike. I get an okay start but bounce off the rev limiter in 1st and 2nd gear (the bike is still pulling hard at redline) and I lose a few positions. I settle into a nice pace and Ryan Sturz passes on the outside into turn 9 but doesn’t get away. I decide to follow him for a while and see where he’s strong and wher he’s not. He’s definitely faster through 9, but I might have him a few other places.
I can almost pass him, but I decide to hold off until later in the race because I am not going to catch anyone else and my best finish possible would be just in front of him. At one point I catch a glimpse of Angel getting close to me going into 3 so I take a more defensive line and pick up the pace a little to get even closer to Ryan.
With 1 ½ laps left, I decide to make my move through 7 and into 8 where I’ve got a little bit of speed because I keep getting a better drive out of 5 and 6 than he does (and an extra 10-15 HP probably :) ). I get in front of him and go deeper into 9 and stay farther outside where he passed me last time. That lap turned out to be my personnel best of 1:32.6 and I tried to do the same thing on the final lap.
I’m smoking through all the turns, but have a huge rear wheel slide coming out of turn 4B. The rear steps out, I roll off the throttle and the bike snaps to attention wanting to high side me off to the left. I come off of the pegs and the seat and am doing a gymnastic pose over my left handlebar; the bike wiggles a bit more and stabilizes itself. I fall into the seat dragging my feet behind me, pick them up onto the pegs, and get back onto the throttle hard into turn 5.
I let up a little through 8 and 9 not sure what my rear tire will do, but manage to stay just ahead of Ryan and beat him by a few bike lengths at the finish for 5th place out of 19. When I saw my lap time, I could not believe it, I dropped a full 2 seconds off of my previous best! In fact, the idea of me doing 32’s scared me a little and I decided a slightly slower pace was more appropriate for the next race to make sure I bring the bike home in one piece.
So in Formula Twins Lightweight, even though I got a great start and was in 3rd place going through turn 2, I knew some faster guys were behind me and gave them room to come by on the inside. Too bad Kurt already committed to passing on the outside so I made it a really wide turn 2 for him…. That should have taught him to stay to the inside later in the race but unfortunately he went soil sampling while passing a lapper on the outside in lap 6.
I settled into a nice pace and kept checking behind me to see if anyone was coming. I saw someone (Charles Abdi) maybe 20 bikes back and just kept my steady pace (1:35’s or so). I came up on Tim Martinez who is normally fast, but he seemed to be putting around out there for some reason and I was able to easily pass him through turn 8. I wasn’t going to catch the lead group so I just maintained that pace and was able to finish in front of Tim and Charles with a comfortable pace and a comfortable margin. I was pretty proud of going just as fast as I needed to get the best finish that was possible. Turns out Kurt’s crash caused a red flag on lap 6 and I finished 4th out of 8 (with Kurt getting a DNF even though he didn’t directly cause the accident).
500 Mod Prod on the EX, more racecraft…. I am not as fast as Sturz, Angel, and JC on their FZR’s but I was chilling in 5th. I rode nice and steady and saw Jane catching me and she was able to power by me through turn 8. I decided to just follow her around for a while and make a move later in the race rather than let her follow me around and make me the prey. I was faster than her through 2 and into 3 and I showed her a wheel on the 7th lap around the outside of turn 2. That was probably a mistake because when I was going for the real pass on the final lap, she picked up the pace a bit through there and I could only get next to her. She ran the exit pretty wide but had to set up a little for turn 3 and I went deeper than her on the brakes and got in front. I upped the pace and was just able to stay in front of her by about 0.4 seconds at the line for a 5th place finish. Again, I went just as fast as I needed to get the best position possible. No way I could get 4th, but I felt like I earned my 5th.
And finally, the race of races, Battle of the Twins LW. I have a 1 point lead over Michael and he brings out his secret and brand new class killer SV500. I’m on pole position and he is right next to me and we’re off. Larry Cochran got his usual hole shot on his 600cc single (light weight equals fast acceleration off the line). I tuck in behind him through turn 1 and was able to pass him going into turn 2 and try to check out a bit. I start to check out but also start to feel my tires squirming around. Ghosts of the rear wheel slide form earlier or something real? I try to keep a constant gap and seem to extend it a little up to lap 3. I run into some lappers on laps 4 and 5 and get held up a little and WHAMMO, Michael comes flying by to take the white flag leaving us with one lap to go.
I know I used to have turn 1 corner speed over him but don’t catch up much at all. Ditto through turn 2, but he drifted a little wide on the exit of 2 and I got a good drive out of it. I reel him in a bit and decide to go for it under braking into turn 3. He goes a bit wider than I was expecting on the entrance to 3 so I go up the inside for the lead. I’m going a little slow for the 4th gear I am in and the bikes bogs a little, I grab 3rd and take off. I guess I got a good drive out of 5 (again) and although he reels me back in through turn 9 as we are both avoiding oil dry on the track, I beat him by 0.14 seconds at the finish to take my 4th victory in the class this year. Turns out I lowered my lap time by about 3 seconds on that last lap so it definitely takes a little head to head competition to get my best.
So some drama to get to the track, a new best time of 1:32.6, 1st-4th-5th-5th, I keep a small BOTT LW point lead, extend my rookie expert point lead, and I got to practice some true racecraft. Not a bad weekend….
Well, I got my SV back this month from Zoran with an engine that doesn't leak water and forks that don't leak oil....yay. I also replaced my 6 piston GSXR 1000 brakes with some 4-piston GSXR 600 brakes to hopefully give me a little more feel on the brakes (since my one crash on it was under the brakes in turn 3).
I also did some minor crash repairs to the EX from my dirt tracking experience last month. Realign the handle bars to the wheel, a little fiberglass repair and some touch up paint and she was good to go....
So Friday night, I get the truck and trailer all loaded up and head to the gas station to fill up so I can get a fast departure in the morning. It's 11PM at night, I just finished filling up the truck, and I go to start the truck and with a bright flash of the lights, the truck flat out dies. I turn the key off and the dash lights gradually come back on but when I turn the key, everything goes dark..... the battery had obviously taken its Metamucil because it just took a fast dump.... I had my tools in the truck so I whip out a volt meter and confirm the battery is kaput... 5 volts and change....
So I'm stuck at the gas station :dunno: with my bikes and gear wondering how much practice time on Saturday this will cost me and then someone offers a jump start. I try it and the truck starts but idles rough. I turn on the lights and the engine starts to die so I turn them off real fast. I get going and then turn on the lights and limp the truck home working purely off of the alternator. As I roll to a stop in front of my house, the engine starts to die and then nothing.....
I can't find a 24 hour store with batteries so I have the idea to put an old (and tiny) Mazda Miata battery in the Landcruiser. I charge it all night and then plop it into the huge battery box under the hood. It looks like you just installed a AAA battery into the space for a D battery but it started! I figure I can buy a full size battery up in Lancaster, but I just want to get up there first…. (note the Miata battery worked all weekend up there and back… amazing!)
Why this huge lead-in? Because this is the life of a lowly club racer, one small challenge after another that the pros never even think about much less have to deal with.... It would be nice to just arrive and ride, but that is not the life of a club racer... we have more drama.
Hey, so on to the racing.
First race is 550 Superbike. I get an okay start but bounce off the rev limiter in 1st and 2nd gear (the bike is still pulling hard at redline) and I lose a few positions. I settle into a nice pace and Ryan Sturz passes on the outside into turn 9 but doesn’t get away. I decide to follow him for a while and see where he’s strong and wher he’s not. He’s definitely faster through 9, but I might have him a few other places.
I can almost pass him, but I decide to hold off until later in the race because I am not going to catch anyone else and my best finish possible would be just in front of him. At one point I catch a glimpse of Angel getting close to me going into 3 so I take a more defensive line and pick up the pace a little to get even closer to Ryan.
With 1 ½ laps left, I decide to make my move through 7 and into 8 where I’ve got a little bit of speed because I keep getting a better drive out of 5 and 6 than he does (and an extra 10-15 HP probably :) ). I get in front of him and go deeper into 9 and stay farther outside where he passed me last time. That lap turned out to be my personnel best of 1:32.6 and I tried to do the same thing on the final lap.
I’m smoking through all the turns, but have a huge rear wheel slide coming out of turn 4B. The rear steps out, I roll off the throttle and the bike snaps to attention wanting to high side me off to the left. I come off of the pegs and the seat and am doing a gymnastic pose over my left handlebar; the bike wiggles a bit more and stabilizes itself. I fall into the seat dragging my feet behind me, pick them up onto the pegs, and get back onto the throttle hard into turn 5.
I let up a little through 8 and 9 not sure what my rear tire will do, but manage to stay just ahead of Ryan and beat him by a few bike lengths at the finish for 5th place out of 19. When I saw my lap time, I could not believe it, I dropped a full 2 seconds off of my previous best! In fact, the idea of me doing 32’s scared me a little and I decided a slightly slower pace was more appropriate for the next race to make sure I bring the bike home in one piece.
So in Formula Twins Lightweight, even though I got a great start and was in 3rd place going through turn 2, I knew some faster guys were behind me and gave them room to come by on the inside. Too bad Kurt already committed to passing on the outside so I made it a really wide turn 2 for him…. That should have taught him to stay to the inside later in the race but unfortunately he went soil sampling while passing a lapper on the outside in lap 6.
I settled into a nice pace and kept checking behind me to see if anyone was coming. I saw someone (Charles Abdi) maybe 20 bikes back and just kept my steady pace (1:35’s or so). I came up on Tim Martinez who is normally fast, but he seemed to be putting around out there for some reason and I was able to easily pass him through turn 8. I wasn’t going to catch the lead group so I just maintained that pace and was able to finish in front of Tim and Charles with a comfortable pace and a comfortable margin. I was pretty proud of going just as fast as I needed to get the best finish that was possible. Turns out Kurt’s crash caused a red flag on lap 6 and I finished 4th out of 8 (with Kurt getting a DNF even though he didn’t directly cause the accident).
500 Mod Prod on the EX, more racecraft…. I am not as fast as Sturz, Angel, and JC on their FZR’s but I was chilling in 5th. I rode nice and steady and saw Jane catching me and she was able to power by me through turn 8. I decided to just follow her around for a while and make a move later in the race rather than let her follow me around and make me the prey. I was faster than her through 2 and into 3 and I showed her a wheel on the 7th lap around the outside of turn 2. That was probably a mistake because when I was going for the real pass on the final lap, she picked up the pace a bit through there and I could only get next to her. She ran the exit pretty wide but had to set up a little for turn 3 and I went deeper than her on the brakes and got in front. I upped the pace and was just able to stay in front of her by about 0.4 seconds at the line for a 5th place finish. Again, I went just as fast as I needed to get the best position possible. No way I could get 4th, but I felt like I earned my 5th.
And finally, the race of races, Battle of the Twins LW. I have a 1 point lead over Michael and he brings out his secret and brand new class killer SV500. I’m on pole position and he is right next to me and we’re off. Larry Cochran got his usual hole shot on his 600cc single (light weight equals fast acceleration off the line). I tuck in behind him through turn 1 and was able to pass him going into turn 2 and try to check out a bit. I start to check out but also start to feel my tires squirming around. Ghosts of the rear wheel slide form earlier or something real? I try to keep a constant gap and seem to extend it a little up to lap 3. I run into some lappers on laps 4 and 5 and get held up a little and WHAMMO, Michael comes flying by to take the white flag leaving us with one lap to go.
I know I used to have turn 1 corner speed over him but don’t catch up much at all. Ditto through turn 2, but he drifted a little wide on the exit of 2 and I got a good drive out of it. I reel him in a bit and decide to go for it under braking into turn 3. He goes a bit wider than I was expecting on the entrance to 3 so I go up the inside for the lead. I’m going a little slow for the 4th gear I am in and the bikes bogs a little, I grab 3rd and take off. I guess I got a good drive out of 5 (again) and although he reels me back in through turn 9 as we are both avoiding oil dry on the track, I beat him by 0.14 seconds at the finish to take my 4th victory in the class this year. Turns out I lowered my lap time by about 3 seconds on that last lap so it definitely takes a little head to head competition to get my best.
So some drama to get to the track, a new best time of 1:32.6, 1st-4th-5th-5th, I keep a small BOTT LW point lead, extend my rookie expert point lead, and I got to practice some true racecraft. Not a bad weekend….