KBOlsen
05-13-2004, 12:34 PM
Ahhhhh... another wonderful weekend "down on the 'Farm"!
Around 11:00 on Friday morning, I must've used an Ex-Lax candy instead of an earplug... cuz all of a sudden all the crap drained right out of my head and riding actually became FUN again! Started hacking away at all those pesky extra seconds that the bike had picked up over the winter. Had a great day.
Saturday started out even better... Woke up to cloudy skies that opened up right before the track went "green"... I threw on my rain tires and had two awesome practice sessions. Rain is a great equalizer, and probably the only time where street-riding skills come into play. Rain rewards those who are smoothest on the throttle and brakes. We were doing the "rain dance" in the paddock but the skies cleared up well before my only race of the day - the 30-minute GTO "mini-endurance" event. My DOT Michelin tires had been wrapped in their warmers on "simmer" all morning and it felt great going out on nice toasty buns!
Because of relatively light attendance, Sunday's practices were combined and there was enough time to run three sessions. My times continued their gentle downward trend and I was excited about the SuperTwins race. Had Mark Bernard and his M2 Buell to chase for most of the race, until we were separated by lapping traffic. All was good.
Rain moved in early in the afternoon but it was just an isolated shower... and the track was bone-dry when we gridded for Race 12 - Heavyweight Super Sport. I knew #940 Robb Punzel, my "arch-rival" was gridded behind me, and my sole objective was for him to finish the race in that same position. He made it into Turn 1 ahead of me but I stayed on him... watching... waiting... like a cat playing with a mouse. I was chafing against the bit behind him through the carousel in Turn 3 - a multi-bike pileup brought out the waving yellow flag, turning it into a no-passing zone... he would pull away slightly through 4 and 5 but by 6 I was right back on his tail... figured I'd be patient... take him on the front straight but missed a downshift heading into 7! RATS! I was screaming in my helmet as I pinned the throttle and my Angry Kitten came ROARING to life... caught him but my ovaries just weren't big enough to stay in it from my position on the inside. ARRGH! Another agonizing lap followed, this time I got the drive but my um... whateverr shriveled into tiny raisins at the crucial moment.
NOW I was pissed. We were on the third freaking lap and the rest of the pack was fast disappearing. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I tucked down tight behind the fairing, sucked it up and swore that NO MATTER WHAT, I WAS GONNA COME OUT OF TURN ONE IN FRONT!!!!
So I did. And never looked back. I raged at the empty track in front of me, knowing that I had an enormous gap to close before catching the next rider. About two laps later I saw Robb climbing over the tirewall at the exit of Turn 4 - apparently a faster rider had made contact with him, sending him off the track. I did manage to somewhat close the gap between myself and the rest of the pack but the checkered flag was waving and THAT would have to be a battle fought another day.
Our next roadrace event will be at Blackhawk Farms over Memorial Day Weekend.
Would have had a drag race report from yesterday at Union Grove but the opening night of the "Harley Shootout" bracket racing series was rained out.
Around 11:00 on Friday morning, I must've used an Ex-Lax candy instead of an earplug... cuz all of a sudden all the crap drained right out of my head and riding actually became FUN again! Started hacking away at all those pesky extra seconds that the bike had picked up over the winter. Had a great day.
Saturday started out even better... Woke up to cloudy skies that opened up right before the track went "green"... I threw on my rain tires and had two awesome practice sessions. Rain is a great equalizer, and probably the only time where street-riding skills come into play. Rain rewards those who are smoothest on the throttle and brakes. We were doing the "rain dance" in the paddock but the skies cleared up well before my only race of the day - the 30-minute GTO "mini-endurance" event. My DOT Michelin tires had been wrapped in their warmers on "simmer" all morning and it felt great going out on nice toasty buns!
Because of relatively light attendance, Sunday's practices were combined and there was enough time to run three sessions. My times continued their gentle downward trend and I was excited about the SuperTwins race. Had Mark Bernard and his M2 Buell to chase for most of the race, until we were separated by lapping traffic. All was good.
Rain moved in early in the afternoon but it was just an isolated shower... and the track was bone-dry when we gridded for Race 12 - Heavyweight Super Sport. I knew #940 Robb Punzel, my "arch-rival" was gridded behind me, and my sole objective was for him to finish the race in that same position. He made it into Turn 1 ahead of me but I stayed on him... watching... waiting... like a cat playing with a mouse. I was chafing against the bit behind him through the carousel in Turn 3 - a multi-bike pileup brought out the waving yellow flag, turning it into a no-passing zone... he would pull away slightly through 4 and 5 but by 6 I was right back on his tail... figured I'd be patient... take him on the front straight but missed a downshift heading into 7! RATS! I was screaming in my helmet as I pinned the throttle and my Angry Kitten came ROARING to life... caught him but my ovaries just weren't big enough to stay in it from my position on the inside. ARRGH! Another agonizing lap followed, this time I got the drive but my um... whateverr shriveled into tiny raisins at the crucial moment.
NOW I was pissed. We were on the third freaking lap and the rest of the pack was fast disappearing. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! I tucked down tight behind the fairing, sucked it up and swore that NO MATTER WHAT, I WAS GONNA COME OUT OF TURN ONE IN FRONT!!!!
So I did. And never looked back. I raged at the empty track in front of me, knowing that I had an enormous gap to close before catching the next rider. About two laps later I saw Robb climbing over the tirewall at the exit of Turn 4 - apparently a faster rider had made contact with him, sending him off the track. I did manage to somewhat close the gap between myself and the rest of the pack but the checkered flag was waving and THAT would have to be a battle fought another day.
Our next roadrace event will be at Blackhawk Farms over Memorial Day Weekend.
Would have had a drag race report from yesterday at Union Grove but the opening night of the "Harley Shootout" bracket racing series was rained out.