Race reports

May 29-31: Summit Point

Andy #327

GTU amateur, saturday May 29 - Went to registration and shit only to find out that CCS lost my Pre-Registration even after I got confirmation that it had been processed.  Yep you guessed it, I had to Re-register and start in the rear just like VIR. I Pre reg'd April 14th... I bitched and they would not change my position. "Grids are too full" they said to be shoving you in somewhere... I guess you have to be a (white plater) to get action on a problem. So I pay AGAIN and rush my ass to Tech, get signed off to hit the track. I get ready to go out for my 1st practice and remembered that I did not set up my susp at all. I go out to see how she feels and of course it was SHITTY.! Jumped off, grabbed a straight slot and ran all setting all the way in and backed them out 1.25 turns and went back out. Once on the track I was able to make 3 laps before it was done. The adjustments I made put her on rails and I left the susp alone. Second practice I had a best of 1:30.11 which is pretty good for my 1st time @ Summit. 1st RACE:....GTU -- I was gridded 2nd wave 12 (E)...(Thanks CCS)...I got a shit start, lost like 4 positions going into T 1. I wicked it up a bit after things got going and started picking off the pack 1 by 1 making forward progress ever so slowly. just as the pace was quickening people started crashing out in T 3, T 5, T 6, T 7 & T 9. no red flags though. I had the same guy in front of me @ VIR that held me up in the roller coaster in front of me by lap #2. He bobbled going thru T 5 and I set him up for T 6 and took him on the inside and checked out. I was dicin' with another guy for like 7 laps that was a graduate of the MARRC school that day. He raced me real clean holding his lines consistently until he heard the old Gixxer Growlin at him, he choked and missed a shift in the carousel and I about put my front between the pipe and swingarm. I ducked to the inside and checked out from him again. I ended up finishing 24th out of 37 and a starting position of 33rd or so...  My best lap was a 1:30.13 so, at least I was staying consistent...

Middleweight SuperBike amateur, sunday May 30 - Practice went well, no changes in times or anything just worked with some new lines I picked up on from a few of the faster guys in the group. chilled out in the pits trying to get my mind RIGHT before my race. Backed the start like a NOOB...  and just let the maylay leave without me into T 1. I stated picking off a few in T 6, up the back straight until it seemed like I stopped moving forward then I came up on another guy on the back section and had a T 7 slide w/ both wheels ( Pucker factor of 7 ) lost my concentration for about 1/2 a lap and got back in it. Back in the groove I came into T 10 and...you guessed it I had a BIG moment...the rear spun up, stepped out, hooked up and I came about 8" out of the saddle at full lean puck on the tarmac...Glad it was the last lap when that happened...I ended up finishing 32nd out of 41...Lap times remained in the 1:30's. Went to the Pirelli trailer to purchase my rains in preparation for mondays weather. Moose took good care of me. Moose also told me that they have done some testing concerning the balancing of tires for race bikes. The info from testing revealed that you can't feel any difference in the tire until you require MORE than 2 oz of weight to balance it out.

Heavyweight Superbike amateur, monday May 31 -Went out for practice and felt like it was going to be a good day -- until the rain started falling and they declared it to be a wet event...I Rushed around the pits changing tires @ the last moment cause the rain let up for a while then started coming down 10 min before my race. JP and the wife helped me out getting them changed and wired up just in time to make 3rd call. It was a pretty big field for a wet event. All sprints were shortened to 5 laps due to the weather. I was gridded Row 7 out of 9. I got a killer start and shot up the inside going into T 1 and stuffed like 10 guys killing their drive for T 2. I was a lil unsure of the rains cause I have never been on them before but, once I seen the other guys on rains go by me I said: "If they can do it so can I" I put my head down and headed to the front in a BIG way, passing like 3 & 4 bikes at a time in T6 on the outside where nobody wanted to be so, I made it work to my advantage. I was railing around that place like a madman on a mission and all of the sudden it got REALLY LONELY on the track for about 1 lap and I started to catch the 2nd place guy and went by him just after start/ finish line like by a wheel and left him in search of the leader until I got to T 7 and there was a waving RED and a Debris flag simultaneously due to a bike in the track. So I ended up with my 1st podium in the rain@ SLIPPERY POINT which was not all that slippery to me. I physically won 2nd place but due to the red flag they reverted to the last full completed lap when I was still in 3rd place. I was running 1:42's. This was my 1st time at Summit and 1st time in the rain...It feels GREAT to lay claim to my 1st wood as well as claiming some nice contingency...