It has been three races since I last blogged. A Nelson Ledges round, Beaver Run in Pennsylvania and another round at Grattan.
Nelson Ledges I had my first racetrack off. It happened in the first practice, first lap, third turn. I do not know if the case was a cold tire, wet patch... the rear end slipped out but re-caught. I did not go down on the track but the slippage pushed me off the track where I was doing 60 in wet grass, I got it slowed down using the rear brake to about 15 mph but the rear end swung around 180 degrees and the bike fell. Fortunately, the only damage was the right clip-on was push up a little. The corner worker came running, a high school kid, and said "Dude, you almost saved it". I picked the bike up and it restarted. I rode it back to the pits, fixed the clip on and re-teched. Practices and races went on without any problems the rest of the day.
The race at Beaver run was another sterling example of me needing to be more aggressive. Nothing major stood out except my slow laps and my lack of aggression.
The next Grattan round was different because the course went clockwise instead of counter clockwise…. so essentially a new track. I had a slipper clutch this time and seamed more eager to go fast than usually. The slipper clutch is worth the money. Hands down. Going into hard breaking situations with a two down gear changes was so much smother. The bike was stable and supper easy to turn in. Without the slipper clutch, the rear tire would bounce and skip, unsettling the bike. Now I am much less scared of the bike when downshifting. One of the 2008 Red bull rookies cup riders was racing at beaver that weekend and pitted next to me. He gave me a bunch of pointers, no kidding, that lead to at least 5 second drop in my lap times. Cool kid.
http://us.redbullrookiescup.com/riders_detail.php?id=38
Next race is at Mid-Ohio on the 25 ant 26 of July. This just popped up because originally, AMA Vintage racing was an event on its own. But WERA will be working the races now and offering up points in the classes I am racing with. This thrills me to no end because I have done numerous track days there and I can go to a track and not have to learn it.
