Race Report CCS at VIR Jun 09

[redbean]

CCS Round Two at VIR North, Partly Cloudy / 75/91 deg
Results:
Jun 20/21 2009, Thunderbike -7th of 12,
LWGP – 10th of 13, LWSB - DNF, LW F-40 - DNS
Best Lap: 1:41:442
Ave Lap: 1:43:263



Friday: My pit crew (wife) and I got on the road around 2:40 PM and where immediately welcomed to the 95 with 10 plus miles of bumper to bumper traffic. I don’t hate traffic, I hate the hour plus it adds to my already long ass drive. Say-La-V, just suck it up and drive. We arrived at the Virginia International Raceway around 7:30 and after driving around to find a spot we finally started setting up. You know the usual stuff, unloading the hauler, getting the easy ups and awning up, and getting power connected. It’s at this point I discovered that the trailer is drawing to much current and is tripping the breaker at the power box. Da@it!!!! That means I have to run the generator for two days straight. Grrrrrrrrr. Going to have to figure out what is drawing the current before we go to NJMP Lightning in July.



Sat Practice: 1:44:642. Saturday started with two 15 min sessions which turned out to be one 15min session and one 12 min session. I tend to come in after 10 minutes anyway so it really didn’t matter. The first session was great. I took it easy the first three or four laps as I had just replaced my rotors and pads and wanted to break them in. The last to laps I turned up the volume a little to see what would happen. I was happy with the session; I got down in the 1:44’s which is the fastest Id run there and knew I’d get faster during the race. Second session was more of the same and I got within .002 of my first session times. Not fast enough to win but it would put me mid pack in my races over the weekend. I was good with that.

Sat Thunderbike: 7th with a 1:42:9. Got a great start and was in the lead pack at the first turn but by the time we headed into turn seven I had gotten passed by a couple FAST guys and was now back into 8th or 9th. As we made our way around the first lap Tony, #28 and I got pasted a couple Buels but it slowed us down enough that we would never catch up with the others. That left us battling for 7th. Tony got under me in 7 on lap 3 and I returned the favor on the next lap. With three laps to go I put my head down and rode as defensively as I could. He showed me a wheel into one and then again into seven but I was not going to give it to him. If he wanted it he was going to have to take it.  He decided to try to get passed me on the final straight but I had too much of a drive and he couldn’t make up the distance. I crossed the start finish with a solid seventh. I was very happy that I beat my best time by almost 2 seconds.



Sunday practice: 1:46:00. Because of the tight schedule and the running of a Team Challenge race, Sundays practice was limited to one 15 min session. I had changed my sprockets Saturday night to a 16/44 to give me more top end in 6th. The calculator gauged a 25+ MPH gain at 10,00rpm. I decided this morning session was going to be a refresher to shake off the overnight cobwebs and get a feeling for the changes the new sprockets. My session was interrupted in the third lap when I got squeezed in turn 3 by two guys deciding the wanted to get through faster than I was going. One went under me and another went outside me. Now I have been passed close before but never so close on both sides at the same time. I held my line but it rattled me a bit and I decided to come in and shake it off. Besides I needed to save my tires. I know I’m a Puss.

Lunch time craziness: Well according to the schedule the Team Race was first followed by three sprints. I was pretty happy because my races where 5, 8 and 10 of 12 races. That meant I was going to be on the road at a decent time. Getting home at midnight sucks when the alarm is going to get me up at 5:30 am. As 0900, 0930, and 1000 o’clock went by I started to get concerned that they would not make it through the morning races. It was at this point the announcement was made. “Riders meeting.” It was decided that because of the morning delay, what ever they where, all the races would be run in the afternoon in the order they where on the schedule. Meaning the 65 lap Team Race was first followed by 12 sprints. Holy Crap!!! There went my hopes of an early departure. Lets just say there where a couple protest filed. People running around with pink forms and then packing up and leaving. Lots of drama.



Light Weight GP: 10th (5th???) with a 1:42:9. As with the first race I got a great start. And was again mid pack at turn one. I was staying with in sight of the leaders and was happy with my riding. On the second lap I was passed in turn seven, AGAIN, I’m going to have to work on defensive lines there. Anyway, I spent the next lap on his rear wheel and found myself pulling past him on the outside on the front straight. I was definitely going faster than I have in the past. Yeah gear change!!! The problem was I didn’t change my break marker. Do you know what happened next? I will give you one guess. Yep off I went. LOL I was cursing. Bad gearing, Bad gearing. I kept it up and got back on the track but not before I had fallen to last place and was now third in the amateur pack. With two laps left I was able to get out of the Amateur group and catch up to the last expert. What really sucks is that if I would have not blown that turn I would have finished fourth or fifth because three of the lead bikes went down during the race. There goes my name in Road Racing World.



LW Superbike: DNF with a 1:41:4. Three races and three great starts. I was actually with the lead bikes, screaming around the track. I was having a great time. It felt good up there. Then it happened. No I didn’t crash; I got passed in turn seven. Crap. Same guy who passed me in the last race. Feeling good I stayed with him for another lap trying to set him up down the straight because I knew I could draft and pass him, this time on the inside so I could defend the turn and break sooner. So as we approached turn 14 I knew I wanted to be on his ass going down the roller coaster thought turn 17 onto the straight. Then it happened; LOL yep this time I did crash. I had a momentary laps of judgment and decided it would be a good idea to touch my front break while in a full lean. The problem was my front tire didn’t think it was such a good idea and showed me by planting my shoulder squarely on the race track and taking the both of us off into the grass. The corner workers let me get the bike up and reenter the track but my right peg was hanging and my break lever was gone so I pitted and put the bike up. No other damage except my pride. Man!!! That race was going to be my best ever. The first lap was under 1:42 and the next two where in the 1:41’s. I was just a dummy and blow it.

Overall this was one of the best race weekends Id ever had minus the company of the bigheadz racing team out in SoCal. I did worry my pit crew when she didn’t see me on the laps following my low side but I was forgiven. Thanks to Bigheadz Racing Pit Crew, LP, Dunlop and ACT Racing leathers, for sponsoring me and providing support. See you all in NJ the last week of July.

[Kurt'sSV]

Nice report, dude. Great pics. Sucks about the crash, but at least they always create an opportunity for a learning experience.

[redbean]

Originally Posted by Kurt'sSV

Nice report, dude. Great pics. Sucks about the crash, but at least they always create an opportunity for a learning experience.

Thanks, I do so enjoy righting them. Not as much as riding but its fun looking over my weekend notes and reliving some of those molments. I do agree that Every LAP there is a chance to learn something.