Monsterdood
Sun 11/19/06, 8:12PM
SV650 classes: Brant Wiwi, part-time AMA racer comes in and cleans up 550 SBK and Formula Twins LW and leaves all of us retarded kids to pick up the scraps.
I holeshotted the 550SBK race and led all the way to turn 3 when Whittington and Rogers came by on the brakes. I chased as well as I could, but on the 2nd lap, I had Wiwi speed through turn 1 and apparently I am not Wiwi because I took a good 4th gear trip through the dirt. Kept it up (thank you Supercamp), got back out there and passed a few people to end up 12th out of 21 or so. Nice salvage....
500MP was pretty uneventful on the ninja 500, just wanted to get a feel for the bike and the Michelins I just started running last month. 6th out of 9 with the KTM (in a different class) costing me 5th by stuffing me into turn 1 every time....
Formula Twins LW was pretty uneventful for me too, 8th out of 13. Consistent 37's with an odd 36 thrown in and I just wanted to keep it together before I had the big race...
BOTT LW where I have a 5 point lead. I will leave the extraordinary literary devices to Morbidelli, but here's the short of it....
My EX500 was sputtering on the starting grid (shouldn't have used the 3 month old racegas) and the bike bogs and won't accelerate off the start. I'm watching Michael get another great start and about 6 monkeys in between him and me.
I was able to pick everyone off one by one and was in 2nd place by the end of the 1st lap... I was on a mission. The KTM showed me a wheel on the outside of turn 3 and I held my line and kept 2nd and then Thomas passed me going into 8, moved over towards me to make some more room for him. The worst case scenario is for someone to finish between me and Michael. I can live with him beating me, but not someone taking more points from me with my miniscule 5 point class lead.
I swoop in super deep on the iniside of turn 9 while he is setting up from the outside and never look back, only forward to Michael. I spend the next 4 laps racing like I haven't raced in a while and his 40 bike lead becomes 30, then 20, then 15, and then 5 on the last lap. I have a big rear wheel slide coming out of 4 trying to set up a turn 5 pass and couldn't quite get there, but he leaves room on the outside of 5 and I take it and beeline for the turn 6 apex while he sets up wider. I take his line, take the lead, and need to hold on for a half a lap.
Deeper than deep into 9, a little towards the middle to proect the line and then dirt track style, one arm behind the back to the finish. Last month, same scenario and he drafts me for a win by 0.15 seconds. It looks like I might hold on this time and here comes Michael inches to my right. I look at our wheels as we cross the line and think I have it by 1/2 wheel.
I'm stoked, I extended my lead, I had some smoking laps, and was able to cement the class lead. We exit the track and find out I was 0.003 seconds ahead at the scoring line and Michael is gutted. I feel for him, but I felt happier for me....
BUT the timing line is not the finish line, the finish line is 10 feet further. I find this out an hour later when I go to pick up my 1st place trophy and they tell me the manual scorers had Michael ahead at the finish in a 4-0 decision (4 people hand score every race and all 4 said he beat me). The race director thought I might have had it but had to defer to a unanimous decision. I would love to see a true photo finish and I may always wonder, but I'll trust the scorers and a 4-0 decision is good enough for me.....
Congrats Michael, your earned the shit out of this one!
December will be the big showdown, my lead is down to 3 points and I must finish ahead of or immediately behind him for the class championship. Not sure how that impacts race strategy, but we both have to get out there next month and get it done....
I holeshotted the 550SBK race and led all the way to turn 3 when Whittington and Rogers came by on the brakes. I chased as well as I could, but on the 2nd lap, I had Wiwi speed through turn 1 and apparently I am not Wiwi because I took a good 4th gear trip through the dirt. Kept it up (thank you Supercamp), got back out there and passed a few people to end up 12th out of 21 or so. Nice salvage....
500MP was pretty uneventful on the ninja 500, just wanted to get a feel for the bike and the Michelins I just started running last month. 6th out of 9 with the KTM (in a different class) costing me 5th by stuffing me into turn 1 every time....
Formula Twins LW was pretty uneventful for me too, 8th out of 13. Consistent 37's with an odd 36 thrown in and I just wanted to keep it together before I had the big race...
BOTT LW where I have a 5 point lead. I will leave the extraordinary literary devices to Morbidelli, but here's the short of it....
My EX500 was sputtering on the starting grid (shouldn't have used the 3 month old racegas) and the bike bogs and won't accelerate off the start. I'm watching Michael get another great start and about 6 monkeys in between him and me.
I was able to pick everyone off one by one and was in 2nd place by the end of the 1st lap... I was on a mission. The KTM showed me a wheel on the outside of turn 3 and I held my line and kept 2nd and then Thomas passed me going into 8, moved over towards me to make some more room for him. The worst case scenario is for someone to finish between me and Michael. I can live with him beating me, but not someone taking more points from me with my miniscule 5 point class lead.
I swoop in super deep on the iniside of turn 9 while he is setting up from the outside and never look back, only forward to Michael. I spend the next 4 laps racing like I haven't raced in a while and his 40 bike lead becomes 30, then 20, then 15, and then 5 on the last lap. I have a big rear wheel slide coming out of 4 trying to set up a turn 5 pass and couldn't quite get there, but he leaves room on the outside of 5 and I take it and beeline for the turn 6 apex while he sets up wider. I take his line, take the lead, and need to hold on for a half a lap.
Deeper than deep into 9, a little towards the middle to proect the line and then dirt track style, one arm behind the back to the finish. Last month, same scenario and he drafts me for a win by 0.15 seconds. It looks like I might hold on this time and here comes Michael inches to my right. I look at our wheels as we cross the line and think I have it by 1/2 wheel.
I'm stoked, I extended my lead, I had some smoking laps, and was able to cement the class lead. We exit the track and find out I was 0.003 seconds ahead at the scoring line and Michael is gutted. I feel for him, but I felt happier for me....
BUT the timing line is not the finish line, the finish line is 10 feet further. I find this out an hour later when I go to pick up my 1st place trophy and they tell me the manual scorers had Michael ahead at the finish in a 4-0 decision (4 people hand score every race and all 4 said he beat me). The race director thought I might have had it but had to defer to a unanimous decision. I would love to see a true photo finish and I may always wonder, but I'll trust the scorers and a 4-0 decision is good enough for me.....
Congrats Michael, your earned the shit out of this one!
December will be the big showdown, my lead is down to 3 points and I must finish ahead of or immediately behind him for the class championship. Not sure how that impacts race strategy, but we both have to get out there next month and get it done....