This marked my first day back for the 2007 track season. I was joined by Ryan (RyanNJ) and his brother Matt again as well as meeting up with Ken (NYCSTRIPES) who had made the trip down from New York. Ryan and I arrived early enough to get a few good spots and have Ken pull in when he arrived. Since rain had been hampering a few of the earlier track days on the east coast this was going to be a ‘first of the year’ for a lot of other riders and I mean a LOT of riders. The grid was packed and even the Art Basic class had its own run group (usually mixed in with the beginner group).
This day would bring a new personal best time but also an early end…
Session I: Ryan led the way out for the first run of the season. I set in to get a feel for the bike and the new brakes. The bike felt good but the pilot needed a little work. This run was cut short after 3 laps due to a disabled bike parked ¾ ways down the main straight. The restart to the session didn’t go well and the remaining few laps were sketchy at best. But, I was knocking the cobwebs out of the system.
1:27.90, 1:30.31, 1:27.70 1:27.23, 1:25.88, 1:28.66
Session II: I found some speed but also found a bit of traffic. My form and movement on the bike were working in harmony. Ryan got past a few riders before I could and I soon lost sight of him. This did however allow me to concentrate on what I needed to do when riding alone and not keeping pace behind another rider. I found myself carrying a lot more speed through T1 and the rear tire let me know just how much more as I found it moving out on me a lot more than normal. It never stepped out unexpectedly; rather, it was just reacting to the additional throttle hit after the apex for a controlled slide. I’d have it under control before continuing through T2. When I looked at my lap timer at the end of the run I couldn’t believe my eyes… A 1:24.45, a new personal best!
1:31.97, 1:29.38, 1:24.45 1:29.77, 1:27.75, 1:31.08
Session III: Enter the rookie. Over the weekend I had dumped the extra fuel from my gas can into the TLR so I could fill the can up with fresh fuel for the track day. What the TL was holding now wasn’t much more than what I had put in it and when running through T3 on the first lap out the TL just didn’t go. As soon as the bike was upright the remaining fuel flowed again and I made it back to the pits for a ‘splash-and-go’ (thanks for the hand Craig). Unfortunately I only got three laps in before the checkered flag fell. I needed to change the bulb for the low warning light!
1:29.14, 1:29.45
Session IV: This is where my note taking for the day stopped… I do remember this was a good full session from start to finish though.
1:30.12, 1:26.82, 1:31.25, 1:26.68, 1:25.76, 1:25.65
Session V: This is where pushing to hard would catch up with me. I had found a good rhythm and the speed was there to back it up. Ryan was a bit ahead of me but I pushed to catch up with him. Going through T4 I committed to making my move around him. Braking into T5 I had the line and went cleanly through. I was set for T6 and entered in on-line. I knew I was pushing harder but my line was on target and I was settled on the bike. Then it just let go… In what seemed like without warning the rear tire just slid out followed quickly by the front and it just slid away from me. I’m a little confused as to why since the feedback from the rear was spot on when sliding out of T1. This time it was like I just rolled off the end of it.
1:28.79, 1:26.30, 1:26.12
Even though the day ended a little abruptly, it was still a very enjoyable day. I was able to catch up with a number of riders I hadn’t seen for a while and give them hell… and vise versa. The bike isn’t in that bad of shape and I see no reason why I won’t be ready in 3 weeks time for my next scheduled day on March 12 at the Shenandoah circuit at Summit Point.
Summit 'Main' Review (23/Apr)
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