I decided to do something a little different this round. Usually I stay at a hotel with whoever I'm traveling with, girlfriend, racing partner, whatever, but this time I was solo, and I didn't want to spend the $150 on hotel money. made the decision to sleep in my 92 Nissan Pathfinder. Now understand I'm not the camping type. To me ruffing it is staying at Motel 6. So this was going to be a whole new adventure in racing.
Friday night I night I hauled my now trusty Kawasaki EX650 up to Thunderhill around 7pm, and the temperature was still in the 90's when I got to the track. Ouch! My buddy Robin was already there, and had a place for us all picked out. I set up my pit area, and was seriously considering getting a hotel. How can people sleep in this heat? Robin and I grabbed some dinner in town, and then back to the track to chill out with some beers, and stars. It was really cool just chilling at the track with all the other people. I've always stayed at a hotel, and in the 5 years of doing this I think I've been missing out on something. Everyone is just kinda milling about, drinking beer, riding their pit bikes from pit to pit chatting hanging out. It was a good time.
Thunderhill was completely repaved 4 weeks ago, and the track was going to be very green. I had been warned that the new surface was really abrasive and chewed up tires quickly. What I was more concerned about was that all the track surfaces I had been using as reference points where gone. Later I would come to the conclusion that this was a good thing as I was just making the same mistakes over and over, and now I had a chance to make all new ones!
Saturday morning and out I go. Wow, the track looks different. I spent the day trying to find new braking points, turn in points, and any visual information I could to navigate my way around this newly minted tarmac. By the end of the day my times where around were they where at race pace last time we where here. That is a good thing, but I still need a couple more seconds per lap to not embarrass myself again. We'll see what today has instore for us. Meanwhile I sit here watching the sun crest the horizon, listening to Stephane Pompugnac's Hotel Costes Vol 3.
I think today will be a good day.
Sunday has come and gone. Morning practice went well. I did the exact same times I had been doing the day before. Not as fast as I'd liked, but considering all the traffic I couldn't complain.
Race 1 650 Twins. I was gridded 13th farthest right on the 3rd row. When the green flag flew I got a great start, and pulled up even with the front 10 or so riders. As we came out of T1 and stood our bikes up to drive down the small hill towards T2 someone passed me on my right, and before they where fully by me they started moving over to their left, and hit my front wheel. My handle bars began shaking violently back and forth in what we call a tankslapper. As I tried to regain control I began to move to my left, and into the bike next to me. I had the presence of mind to lift my elbow so as not to hit the riders brake lever. I got it back in shape and turned in T2. I gained a couple of spots going through the off camber section of T3, a place many riders aren't comfortable with. As we crested the hill of the tight T5 someone came from my right, again hitting my front wheel, and sending me into a tank slapper as we went down the hill. I regained control just in time to not plow into the bikes at the bottom. Ouch tough first lap. After that we mostly settled into a rhythm. I knew if I was going to keep pace I'd have to find some speed in places I had been struggling with. T9 is a struggling point for me, and as we crested the hill of 9 I was right on the backs of the bikes in front of me. OK good sign. The T11, 12, 13 combo is another weak area, and as we came out of that section onto the back straight I lost a few bike lengths to the pack in front. OK I know I can make that up. I've been struggling with brake fade since I bought this bike, and I finally replaced the last possible thing, the master cylinder. Now I have great feeling brakes, and I used them to their best getting on the brakes really late to make up the last ground coming out of 13. For 5 laps this would be the story, I would lose ground in T2, and the 11- 13 combo, and make it all up entering T5, and T14. However if I made any little mistake anywhere else that would be ground I couldn't get back. And as such whenever someone would pass me, I could hang with them for a little while, but I could never get back around them. Thus I ended the race in 17th place, 3 back from where I started. I must have gotten passed 8 times.
Formula IV. Green flag flies, and I think everyone was a little more conservative. We got cleanly through the first 5 turns. I made a couple of passes, got passed a couple of times, and settled in for 6 laps of battle. I was keeping much tighter with the lead pack, and I thought I might be able to hand with them. I did for the first couple of laps. I think I lap 2 or 3 coming down the hill from 5 the rider in front of me ran wide and into the dirt, I stayed on the racing line and continued on as normal. The rider without looking came back onto the racing line, and directly into me. My mad skills kept us from actually colliding. Would you be surprised to know it was the same rider that hit my front wheel at the start of the first race at the top of T5? Once again I regained my composer, but lost some bike lengths to the guys in front of me. Later in the same lap we where coming up on the back of the previous wave which where a couple of Ninja 250's. Ouch talk about closing speeds. Well in an attempt to not be a dangerous ass like other riders had been earlier today I didn't stuff the poor Ninja 250 coming into T11, but that slowed me way down, and as we came out onto the back straight 2 riders passed me, and I was pissed. On the next lap we came up on another 250 in a bad place and I lost another position. In the end I finished 18th, which was disappointing considering I was staying with the faster group.
It was a fun weekend hanging out at the track. The new brakes are great, and will come in really handy at Sears Pt where there are three serious braking zones, and 3 minor braking zones. I think I will do much better next time.
As always Thanks to the people that help me go faster.
Jennifer at Werkstatt Motorcycle Repair
Dave Moss of Catalyst Reaction
Dunlop, and Terry at Sport Tire Services
Paul Fine of Fine Design
Julio from Tommy's
