Monsterdood
Mon 4/16/07, 4:42PM
Well, there was 2 races at Willow this month, one at the 1.8 Streets course and then one at the 2.5 mile classic course. In a nutshell, I did 7 races, got 3 podiums and had one crash... It was a decent month.
I had an okay race at the Streets to start the month. I got the hole shot in Formula Twins LW and in 550SBK and though I couldn't keep the lead, it's always fun to head into the 1st turn with open track in front of you.
In the 550 SBK, I blew turn 4 on the 1st lap pretty good, almost went dirt farming but kept it on the track and dropped to 3rd. JT Wood was able to get by me but not get away, but I couldn't get back by him and finished in 4th.
In Formula Twin LW, I got the hole shot again, messed up my entry to the bowl, and Dave Raff got by me (he would have got by me soon enough though). I was able to hang onto a solid 2nd place for my 2nd trophy ever on the SV. Kurt didn't race this one and would have taken 2nd if he had, but oh well for him.
On the EX500, I had a forgettable race in 500MP.... oh wait, except for the fact I backed it into turn 2 on the opening lap trying to pass someone on the inside. This RS250 had passed me on the outside of the gentle turn 1 and then started braking a little early so I gave an inside pass a go. I didn't have the pass made when he started towards the apex and I had to squeeze the brakes that much harder and start leaning the bike in to avoid hitting him and viola, the bike angled slightly and the rear wheel slid out a bit just like the pros, I thought to myself "wow, I'm backing it in...crap think about the race stupid...." Other than that, I got beat by a bunch of faster bikes...
And then in BOTT LW, I was able to hang onto Kenny Kopecky for the 1st lap and thought I had something for him... until I lost rear in the sweeping left turn 3. I had zero warning from the tires and just chalk it up to the poor tire selection that I moaned about last month. The bridgestone DOT's don't fit my rim right and don't give me the grip when leaned over and that's that. Plus, I think my mind was used to the corner speed from the SV and wasn't recalibrated for the EX. Oh well...
So at the big track this month, the EX stayed at home all broken and I focused on the SV650 for once.
Long story short, it paid off with two 2nd places and a couple of contigency checks. It was hella windy (for all those of Nor-Cal persuasion) and times seemed to be 1-3 seconds slower than normal. That made my 1:33 in BOTT MW look pretty good and could be my best lap time after adjusting for the breeze factor.
I got 6th out of 13 in BOTT MW and had some really good racing with a Harley 883.... yes that's right a Harley. The thing looked like a wet noodle coming out of every corner with the rear tire protesting being mounted on such an obsolete frame, but the engine would say shut up and let's go and go he did beating me to the line by 1 second.
In formula Twin LW, the race was red-flagged twice. Once for a smoking motor from a guy who would have beat me, and the 2nd time when Andy went flying up into turn 3..... I mean literally flying. I was close behind and had a direct view of his high-siding bike, the sparks, and crazy crash dance moves and am just happy to not hit him and add injury to injury. With two fast dudes on the sidelines, I just had to beat Johnny Rocket and Chris A. which I was able to do so yay for me....
The big news of the day was the clever racecraft that left Kurt languishing back in 3rd place in 550 SBK. My extra 2 races in the wind seemed to help me find speed a little better than him in his one race only mode. He had a chance at beating me for sure and got in front on lap 4 but after I repassed him to start lap 5, he probably did us both a favor by not pushing a pass in a tough place with all the wind. My crazy wind pushing me wide entry to turn 9 gave me the drive to hold him off at the line for 2nd place.....
So I gotta throw a shout out to Andy at West Coast GP cycles again because ever since he tweaked my damping settings last month, I've picked up some speed and got some podiums on the SV. Sorry about your crash(es), hope you heal up fast, and thanks for helping make me a little faster. And West Cost GP Cycles sponsor the Formula Twins LW class so a double thanks to them. And thanks to Dunlop and Golden Cantina in Rosamond.
I had an okay race at the Streets to start the month. I got the hole shot in Formula Twins LW and in 550SBK and though I couldn't keep the lead, it's always fun to head into the 1st turn with open track in front of you.
In the 550 SBK, I blew turn 4 on the 1st lap pretty good, almost went dirt farming but kept it on the track and dropped to 3rd. JT Wood was able to get by me but not get away, but I couldn't get back by him and finished in 4th.
In Formula Twin LW, I got the hole shot again, messed up my entry to the bowl, and Dave Raff got by me (he would have got by me soon enough though). I was able to hang onto a solid 2nd place for my 2nd trophy ever on the SV. Kurt didn't race this one and would have taken 2nd if he had, but oh well for him.
On the EX500, I had a forgettable race in 500MP.... oh wait, except for the fact I backed it into turn 2 on the opening lap trying to pass someone on the inside. This RS250 had passed me on the outside of the gentle turn 1 and then started braking a little early so I gave an inside pass a go. I didn't have the pass made when he started towards the apex and I had to squeeze the brakes that much harder and start leaning the bike in to avoid hitting him and viola, the bike angled slightly and the rear wheel slid out a bit just like the pros, I thought to myself "wow, I'm backing it in...crap think about the race stupid...." Other than that, I got beat by a bunch of faster bikes...
And then in BOTT LW, I was able to hang onto Kenny Kopecky for the 1st lap and thought I had something for him... until I lost rear in the sweeping left turn 3. I had zero warning from the tires and just chalk it up to the poor tire selection that I moaned about last month. The bridgestone DOT's don't fit my rim right and don't give me the grip when leaned over and that's that. Plus, I think my mind was used to the corner speed from the SV and wasn't recalibrated for the EX. Oh well...
So at the big track this month, the EX stayed at home all broken and I focused on the SV650 for once.
Long story short, it paid off with two 2nd places and a couple of contigency checks. It was hella windy (for all those of Nor-Cal persuasion) and times seemed to be 1-3 seconds slower than normal. That made my 1:33 in BOTT MW look pretty good and could be my best lap time after adjusting for the breeze factor.
I got 6th out of 13 in BOTT MW and had some really good racing with a Harley 883.... yes that's right a Harley. The thing looked like a wet noodle coming out of every corner with the rear tire protesting being mounted on such an obsolete frame, but the engine would say shut up and let's go and go he did beating me to the line by 1 second.
In formula Twin LW, the race was red-flagged twice. Once for a smoking motor from a guy who would have beat me, and the 2nd time when Andy went flying up into turn 3..... I mean literally flying. I was close behind and had a direct view of his high-siding bike, the sparks, and crazy crash dance moves and am just happy to not hit him and add injury to injury. With two fast dudes on the sidelines, I just had to beat Johnny Rocket and Chris A. which I was able to do so yay for me....
The big news of the day was the clever racecraft that left Kurt languishing back in 3rd place in 550 SBK. My extra 2 races in the wind seemed to help me find speed a little better than him in his one race only mode. He had a chance at beating me for sure and got in front on lap 4 but after I repassed him to start lap 5, he probably did us both a favor by not pushing a pass in a tough place with all the wind. My crazy wind pushing me wide entry to turn 9 gave me the drive to hold him off at the line for 2nd place.....
So I gotta throw a shout out to Andy at West Coast GP cycles again because ever since he tweaked my damping settings last month, I've picked up some speed and got some podiums on the SV. Sorry about your crash(es), hope you heal up fast, and thanks for helping make me a little faster. And West Cost GP Cycles sponsor the Formula Twins LW class so a double thanks to them. And thanks to Dunlop and Golden Cantina in Rosamond.