So i decided to race 6 races opening weekend, as my bike is now a senior it qualifies for 2 more classes. Hey more classes more fun!
ok now for the races....
I decided to practice and race the whole weekend on one set of tires. Or at least say it.
Nawwww I really did do it, and It turned out ok, but when things are more jelled and I drop the 2 seconds a lap myself and everyone else gained over the long off season, it wont work as the temperature goes up and the times come down, but for now the Dunlops are working great for 6.... 12 lap races on a big twin... thats rad.
The bikes working great. So thanks Daric and Jeff at Cheshire Motorsports and Barry at KFG. Solid.
I decided to volunteer to help instruct for the New Racer School as well this year again, which is rewarding and fun, and everyone did great! I always learn a lot from helping/coaching, and we got a good group of novices this year in OMRRA that are quickly coming up top speed. As long as they remember their helmets.... Yes I had to loan my spare helmet to a New racer who left his sitting on the counter at home. But its ok, I remember doing that with my transponder just a couple years ago.
All and all everything went really great, but I think it was a little ambitious to say the least for me to race 6 races first thing out of the gate. Especially after not being on the bike for the very long off season that is the Pacific Northwests version of winter, even with the gym and training, I was hurting afterwards.
Friday morning, I get everything loaded in the truck and go to the gas station about 6 blocks from my house. I get my race can filled and I see the attendant is looking under my truck, he tells me I am leaking something.
Sure enough, I blew a tranny hose. Now I know what your thinking, pretty normal stuff for me...blowing a tranny......... hose.... but seriously, the Oil Cooler line for the transmission had popped off, but I couldn't find it, and more importantly, I didn't know that was the problem at the time, I couldn't see anything other than there was what looked like 3 quarts of blood all over the ground under my truck, and opening the hood produced spraying blood, and I got nervous as I do when that happens to me, blood spraying everywhere, so instead of shutting the truck down and fixing it there I ran home. I didn't want my truck broke down loaded up iwth motorbikes and tools and stuff like that. so I jumped in the thing and nursed it back home the handful of blocks where I could figure out whats going on. After breaking down 30 feet from my garage, and fixing the hose (or so i thought), getting more fluid and what not, I limped the truck to the track. I was a great day, sunny and in the low 50s.... first good day in a long time...
I was determined and I was gonna make the racers meeting and everything, no stupid truck was gonna stop me!
Tom Young from Pirelli was kind enough to donate a cardboard box to put under my truck as a stop gap type of tranny maxi pad action, and that is where that thing stayed all weekend, peeing blood as the hose was not quite ummmm how you say?... fixed....
My tent had suffered a turn over, getting blown into the hot pit because I forgot to tie down the other side. So in a few hours, I broke a rod or 2 on my tent that I have had forever, my truck blew up (kinda temporarily), my bike wont start due to a dead battery, I am turning 40 in 2 days, and maybe I shouldn't be here is what I am thinking. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
Then Jason comes by, I tell him I am a little girl, and he says "I know, I know what you need, "and gave me a big ole hug. He held me there in his safe arms for what seemed like seconds. Cause it was. Then he kicked me and I went back to being a man and got my bike and my pit sorted.
I intend to record all my races and have them with my race reports, but the one thing I forgot was my spare card the first day, and an emergency trip to fix an oil leak on my bike made me forget to bring the camera home between races days to remedy the full card situation, but hey, its a work in progress.
Here is the start of the Formula Unlimited race and a few laps until the card gets full.
My first race was Formula Unlimited. I have only raced it a couple times as it is the fastest men and women in our club, some on full on superbikes and I figured I wouldn't be competitive on my "boutique" 999. My Grid Position was on the 4th row, which they got off of my last finish last year which was like 16th I think? maybe 12? not sure.. so pretty far back.
I got a decent start, but its still pretty cold these mornings and the track is super green with dirt on it in places and its well damp. So it was hard to settle in. I was missing shifts, Braking 300 feet too early, in the wrong gear in the corners at times, sometimes i would have these problems all at once... I didn't really practice as it was cold and my charging system decided to go south on me, as the bike sat with a battery tender on it. Yes ...... it just seemed to be something at every turn this weekend, things were going just ever so slightly sideways.
I shoulda practiced, and I found out why in the race as you can clearly see, and hear in that vid...
I am sloppy, I am rusty, I am just missing shifts, hitting the limiter, braking stupid early, taking funky lines, and all sorts of embarrassingly silly mistakes. I felt like I basically forgot how to ride. I feel oldish and a little sleepy.
After making my one and only pass and Alan Schmit #1 and Tony Porter #2 crashing out in front, I was gifted 5th or 6th and feeling better as each lap went on. That was until I started going back ward with a couple laps to go.
As well as sucking tword the end of the race I was spinning the rear tire in 1 and 2, and 4 and 9 all the heavy lean angle right handers, not hugely, but enough that it felt like either my tires were at the end of their life (they were fresh) or I was really on pace, and that was clearly not the issue as I felt out of sorts.
here is the issue...
It wasn't a lot of oil, but that open clutch was just spitting it all over my boots and leathers and the edge of my tire, keeping me from feeding it power till I was more upright, I was spinning it up, totally controllable like when your just smoking your tires for fun at a track day or something, it wasn't out of control, it just slowed me down and gave me moments of pause... I am not a huge fan of thinking of what is wrong with my bike while I am racing. So I just rode thinking the track is green... spinning tire and spinning brain left me happily with a 7th in Formula Unlimited.
Next up was 750 SBK senior. I took the picture you see on my phone and sent it to Daric Cheshire. He had to stay at the shop that day to handle some stuff since he was racing the following day. I asking him what that was? He said Oil. hahaha! Its not pudding? Weird. Lol, he is messing with me... I had cleaned the clutch and oil off my bike, ran it in the pits, and no oil was coming out. Maybe this is good?
Daric says its a push rod seal over text. I text back, do I run or not?
We get last call waiting for him to reply and I throw my wife the phone... putting my helmet on, "Baby I am gonna do the out lap and see if it leaks...if it leaks I will pull in, if he texts, and says no go! give me a sign to pull in."
I do the out lap and no oil... I look over at my wife and she isnt telling me to pull in... so i decide to get on with it...
I get a good start from last on the 750 senior grid and am in to T 1 first, and stay there, keeping the revs lowish where I can just in case, and checking the wall each time I go down the strait for a sign to pull in and checking my clutch every lap on the strait, no oil, no sign. I go on to take 1st and never saw anyone but the hand full of people I caught from the 600 grid wave start.
I pull in and NO OIL! YeaH!!! problem solved. I think....
Next up... OPEN Twins! I am really looking forward to putting a shower of hurt down on my friend and nemesis the evil DR. Donald Von Headrick! number 69#!
He never gets to play with me though, as I find out later, he killed it on the start, hopefully with all the novices watching as he launched it to the sky and killed it. He is one of the lead Novice Instructors! HA!
It was really cool to look over and see 2 team Pro AMA Latus bikes on the Open Twins grid at the start, Ronnie and the team were getting in some practice and I got kinda nervous, and thought... damn, I am gonna get my butt handed to me. Luckily it was XR 1200s and not 848s...
The flag drops and I giv'er, then I see one of the XRs come up in my peripheral, so I decide to restart my start, even though i was well into it... and reapply, and feed in gobs of throttle and gobbs more clutch and I pull away escaping.
I watched Kopp rocket off the start on the 650 twins grid... brutally fast. wow. I was lucky to not get gobbled up and beaten into T 1...
I put my head down, still way off pace, but its starting to come back to me in little pieces, I tie a few good things together, and the others are harder to remember, somehow I take the win. sweet.
When I come in, there is oil again making it out of my dry clutch, my bike is morphing into a 848 or something, ok i have a wet clutch now.. but why is my bike so its heavy! HA!~
There is less of the oil at further inspection than before, and it didn't effect my tires, but it needed to be fixed.
the Evil DR Don Headrick my nemesis and OMRRA #69 gave my bike and I a ride to Cheshires shop since my truck was pretty much dead, bleeding out in my pit.
one day of racing down.. 3 races, i got 2 firsts and one 7th.
Day 2....
charge bike... practice, oil leak is fixed with a new seal and bearing in place thanks to Jeff and Daric at Cheshire Motorsports (and Don).
First up, 750 senior SS, I got a good start sliding between everyone once again from the back of the grid and got into the back of the next wave pretty quickly. With every race I am remembering the little things. My normal level of fluidity is far from found, but at least its a memory now, instead of a diseased amnesia taking its place. I am becoming somewhat lucid now, coming out of the dream of winter to the reality of spring and racing in Oregon. I am starting to relax, I am missing less shifts, moving the bike more aggressively, (My 999 is not a quick steerer/nimble bike, its rock solid stable however.... once turned over, it is super stable allowing great cornering speed, amazing lean angle, and extremely usable power, it makes it really easy to go fast in the corners if you can toss it around here and there.)
I started moving my lines 6 inches here, 3 feet there, ya know.. as needed, the last bike I raced was a scooter. This takes real work.
I figured I wasn't being aggressive enough, but I was also very very tired. It was my 4th race in 2 days with one extra day of Instructing before that, and a handful of laps for practice for 3 days as well, I was still not on pace, or at least where I thought I should be. I was tired as I can ever remember being, but I started making some things click and with every lap my previous bests were getting closer, maybe not this round I thought, 2 seconds is a lot to drop but reasonable seeing how green the track is on the first day of the year and how green i am, next round no problem i think.
I went on to take the win. But I was dead tired and race 2 for Formula Unlimited was my next race, in just a little bit.
I was gridded up close... weird. oh yeah! I got 7th last race! Sweet! But my happiness faded, as I got more and more fatigued and cramped mentally going backwards 2 spots from where I started to finish 9th after getting a pretty good start to 5th or 6th again, but I just didnt have any energy to throw the bike around. Still I was very happy to have had so many laps to look at Antons Butt number 114. So its a trade off.
Last race... Open Twins Super Sport.
I want to race Quentin, Ducati Rep for like 70 states. Ex 125 racer, I know he is fast. He had already posted times last year within half a second of my best, on a 848. He used to have him one those AMA type licenses. I took some time to meditate and relax, eat, drink tons of water, get out of my leathers, walk around and enjoy my time, chatting with my family, with fellow racers. It was a rad day. So thanks for that!
I go out and grid up, I am super stoked to have a three way with Quentin and the Evil DR Don..... what??... OHHH .. you know what I mean...
I go out and put my hand up.. I am sitting there on the grid waiting the wave start... do do doo... and I hear .. "DRAT NO WAVE!!" I am all " YEAH i like NEW WAVE!!" "NEW WAVE RULES!"
ohhhhh it dawns on me, we arent going to do a wave start, is that what I heard? .... the board goes sideways..
OH $*$(# I put my hand down and grabbed a gear at what seemed like the same time as the flag dropped..
i got a good start.....
Its Hairball... Quentin and I are deep into the back of the Open SBK grid with a quickness in T 1, Don has the best seat in the house... more on that later. <<<said like Groucho Marks)
The Details are fuzzy but Q and I give it and brake way in there in T 1 and carve thru a few and set off. My first impression was.. wow.. I am glad thats over as the bikes in front had turned what is normally a pretty wide out 3rd gear corner into a 50 mile and hour one... they had parked it on us, even though it was a green track and first lap it still should of been quicker goin in there and it caught me out a bit... we just should of been wave started imo. But we just wedged in where ever we could.... and set off.
Then I realize by T 4 i am right where i want to be position wise in 2nd behind Quentin, whats even better is I am breathing normal, like I am at home reading to my cats, if I had cats, or could read. Completely relaxed and full of energy.
More importantly I am in Quentin's back pocket. Quentin is a great rider, and that 848 is moving pretty good too, not to take anything from Quentin, I know he did the engine, but it doesn't hurt have Ronnie helping you either! I stuck on Quentin's tail and took some notes see where he is fast.
Honestly, I wasn't sure I could keep him in sight after my performance in FU. But this race, It was completely different, I was super relaxed and the bike was great..I was back to my old self and it wasn't taking any energy at all, I was moving the bike around good, but not using much energy, muscle memory is coming back! yay!!!!!
I started to make a plan... As far as plans go, it was a pretty good one. I know not to F with Quentin on the brakes. Those mono blocks work like mad and he is goin in deeper that I want to, I did think i had something for him for sure though, but I never got to execute a challenge. With a few laps to go, my engine light came on.. I noticed it right as I was rolling off for T 1. Man... I hate seeing crap like that when I am goin a milionty miles an hour...I got more important things to think about...
I pushed it out of my head and completed my braking and downshifting and made the turn, glancing to see if its still on as I got on the gas exiting T 1 just before breaking for T 2 and its off. yay! press on... until the back strait... it comes back on... oh man.... is my clutch oil seal problem back? no that would be the oil light right? well what if the light is broken and its starving? no its probably a faulty sensor... all of this is going thru my mind... throttle, shift.. brake... engine light....
I came around start finish at a diminished pace giving up my charge, and hoping to salvage second. I glanced down trying to get a clear view of my clutch... no oil.... ok... back on the gas.. engine light ..... I may of been losing power as well, but I could of been hallucinating after racing 6 races and feeling as good as I was... saving my engine and limping home I dropped 4 seconds a lap... Don was catching me in 3rd.... I went faster till the light came on and then .. would roll off, trying to nurse speed out of it directed by a little yellow silhouette of an engine, <<< said like Freddie Mercury...
listening for a sound or some kinda clue as to what was wrong.. if anything... I went a hair faster... it was too late..
Don over took me at the Start Finish line with feet between us... beating me, emasculating me. peeing on me in public.
I finished the day with a 1st a 9th and a 3rd
I had a blast, and it was a perfect couple a race days with great people and great weather. It was great to knock the dust off! I am am looking forward to getting back into the swing of it! Just gotta do some repairs and then its on!
Thanks to my Sponsors whom I understand will be paying me by the word, and gay jokes.
Special thanks to my newest one, Jason Merrit at Summa Real Estate, My oldest The BonFire Lounge, my main man Daric and my soul child Jeff at Cheshire Motor Sports , KFG/Dunlop, The Hilt Lounge, Stark Naked Pizza, the homos at Speedy Moto,
Drat Diestler - Imperial Tattoo, Todd at Advanced Motorcycle Gear/Falco Leathers, Gloves and Boots, The Bar of The Gods, Tinys Coffee, and all the little people. the melted ones, the little pieces of crayon, the loving friends, my puppy.
till next round ...... Ciao
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