two points - no more no less

[svsrevlis]

So finally after not racing for 6 months I was able to get back out there this weekend. Here is the scoop:

Practice session 1 – I was excited to get going and was the first person lined up to go. Just getting reacquainted with things and focusing on riding smooth I ticked off a few 1:40’s. My tires were old and had a lot of laps on them and I could feel them moving around on me.

Practice session 2 – My tires were toast…even at a slower pace I felt the front slide in both T1 and T2 and the rear slide out in T9. From there I decided to just go easy and work on my lines.

Race - After practice I replaced my Bridgestone DOTs with slicks. I was gridded 11th and got a good start, but once the 600’s got wound up a few of them came flying by me. I had forgotten how much of a rush it is to charge into turn 1 like a swarm of angry bees. As lap one proceeded I watched people pull away from me and was passed a few times. The last rider got by me before I finished the first lap. I tried to stay with them for a while but I just didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. Turn 8 seemed especially funky and T2 was off as well. Once I realized I was dead last it was just a practice run. I finished and got my two points.

The scoop - I am not pleased at all with my race, but will take a crack at it next month if I can make it out there. I still don't really know why I felt so uncomfortable on the bike in the race, but something is certainly wrong when your race times on brand new tires are considerably slower than your practice times on old tires. I did discover after the race that my suspension had been bottoming out...maybe the heat thinned the fork oil out too much. I still haven't gotten my laps times down to where they were before my crash last year, but I feel like I am riding more comfortably and make smart progress.

Thanks to the West Coast GP Cycle crew for getting my rear spring fixed. I will be in touch soon about my front bottoming out.

[morbidelli17]

Finishing is more than the club champion did on Sunday! Well done and welcome back ...

[svsrevlis]

Originally Posted by morbidelli17

Finishing is more than the club champion did on Sunday! Well done and welcome back ...

Yeah good point. Quite a few of the fast guys went down out there.

[Monsterdood]

Hey Matt, good job finishing on a tough day and not pushing beyond where your bike is telling you is okay.

I would say if you are sliding or spinning tires doing 1:40's your sense of sliding is off, your lines and reference points are bad, or your setup is off. Maybe you are pushing in the wrong places, or getting into the corners too early and forcing a tighter line than is needed. Or maybe the spench is so far off, no one could go much faster.

I recall riding my SV through turn 8 and it dancing out from under me and feeling unsteady and then with some setup changes it got to the point where I can go WFO through there. Still with a little dancing, but now going faster.

I've had that base setting for almost a year now and I really haven't touched it and the bike has stayed pretty good for me.

I will say that if the bike isn't happy going through turn 8, don't just open the throttle and hope it gets better, listen to the bike and figure out what it "wants" to go faster

Good luck out there, it will get better... I guarantee that....

[svsrevlis]

Thanks Chris. I am glad that I didn't push beyond the comfort zone. There is a distinct difference between pushing things a bit and between the bike just feeling like something is out of whack.

Now I just need to figure it out. I am hoping that it gets better. I have noticed that I certainly don't have near the amount of aggression I did when I first started racing last year. That was what got me into the crash mode though. Learning to ride with more emphasis on being smooth and letting things happens takes patience...not to mention sometimes makes you feel like a pansy. But I am committed to getting my times down in baby steps which will hopefully avoid any big or nasty surprises.