Saturday started out unusually, I was prepared and not rushed for time. I got to the track early, got through tech and got ready for practice. With my new gearing, slightly shorter, and all new forks I had some testing to do to get grooved in for Sunday. I got out in my first session and began to acquaint myself with the new gearing when I was struck by another rider entering the turn 9 chicane. Apparently the rider had lost his brakes or came into the corner much too fast, as he was fully upright when he struck me at the apex of the first corner of the chicane. The impact stood the bike straight up instantly and I was almost knocked off. I nearly managed to save the bike from crashing before falling in the dirt. Luckily, there wasn't any major damage to the bike, and I only had a bruised right ankle that didn't affect me while on the bike. So, I fixed the bike with spares on hand, and got to finish practice incident free for the remainder of the day. In the last session of the day I put in some fresh brake pads and was able to get in a rhythm with the new forks and gearing. Best time of the day from the last session - 1:46.5 or about .5 sec off of my previous best time at the track while on shagged tires. In the last session when I was finally back up to pace I had front end chattering issues. The bike was bottoming out hard on the brakes, so changes would need to be made Sunday to try and fix the problem.
Sunday morning I arrived bright and early and got the bike through tech and ready for the warm-up. I made some large changes to the forks in an attempt to find some stability while heavy on the brakes. The changes paid off and I was able to brake more aggressively while maintaining more stability, and not bottom out. Best time in the warm-up - 1:47.1 still on the practice tires used all day Saturday.
Race # 7 - 600 Production
I had an excellent grid position of 7th for this race. I had fresh tires mounted up and was feeling very good entering this race. I got off the line decently but lost positions heading up the hill into T2. I was in 10th or 11th exiting T2. By the middle of the first lap there was about 6 riders in front of me, all similar in speed and trying to pass each other. I jumped onto the back of the pack and began picking riders off one by one. Adrenaline was high and I worked my way up to 5th place. With about two laps to go I began to have cramping in my shifting foot, and began to struggle with down-shifts. On the last lap I missed a shift entering the carousel, and it cost me drive on the exit of th
e corner. I came out of the carousel one gear too high and was passed on the exit. I was unable to regain the position before the end of the race and crossed the line in 6th. After the cool down lap Tech officials were stopping every rider exiting the track to look for equipment that wasn't production legal. One rider that finished ahead of me was disqualified so I gained one position and finished a personal best 5th place! Personal best race time - 1:45.3Needless to say I was pumped with not only my first top 10 finish, but my first top 5 finish to date. I was ready for the next race and feeling very good on the bike with fresh tires.
Race # 12 - 600 Superbike
I was gridded 8th for this race, another excellent 2nd row starting position. I got a much better start in this race and gained a couple spots heading up the hill into T2. I tried my best to hold on to the leaders, but they were maintaining a fierce pace at the front. My only goal for the race was to beat the rider that had passed me on the final lap of the previous race. At one point in the race he passed me on the brakes and pulled a slight gap on me. I settled into a rhythm and began to hunt him down, capitalizing on any mistake he made. On lap 4 I had an excellent line through the carousel, which allowed me to get back on the gas and drive out much sooner. I pulled alongside him and passed him down the back straight, despite being underpowered by almost 10hp. Once past him I put my head down and settled into an excellent relaxed rhythm. For the remainder of the race I made virtually zero mistakes and never looked back. I finished the race in 6th place with another personal best finish for the class and another top 10 finish! Beat my previous best race time with a 1:44.915
I want to give a big thanks to Dave Moss and Jim Williams of Catalyst Reaction Suspension Tuning, without their support this wouldn't be possible.
Feel free to forward this report to anyone for any reason, any exposure is always appreciated and I am always looking for support for my racing efforts.
Thanks for your time and interest!
-Michael Pesicka
AFM# 417
No comments:
Post a Comment