So as some of you may or may not know, I recently finished my first regional race weekend at Shannonville and it was a complete blast. I've been doing trackdays for the last 4 years, but racing is a other demon
Here's a (somewhat) quick writeup of how it went...
-arrived late thurs. night after some issues leaving and loading
-friday morning Mau and I almost didn't get our race licenses because we didn't bring our FAST certs. luckily our buddy Rahul helped bail us out by talking to the lady who signs the racers in.
-had a minor low side spill friday because I didn't check my tire pressures after getting new tires installed (they were at 45 psi!)
-first qualifying on sat. was a heat race, pretty cool as it's a short 4 lap race to determine grid position for sunday. I started near the back because this was my first race, start was ok, luckily it wasn't great as the guy in front of me was in neutral and didn't move when the lights went green... I narrowly missed crashing into him. finished 16th out of 24, not great but not bad, I know I need to work on my passing as I was held up a bit in the race.
-second qualifying was better, it was a timed session so I was out there doing my own thing, qualified 13th for the race on sunday.
-Sunday was race day, the 2 practice sessions I got in the morning went well, I was able to follow someone higher up on the grid and follow their lines so I felt good about that.
-race #1 novice 600 was a little bit of a screw up, I didn't know where to line up after the warm up lap so I just lined up where there was an open spot, my bike wasn't lined up properly and I couldn't quite see the starting light, I managed to get an ok start though and made some positions going into and out of turn 1. Got into a rythym after the second lap and even made a few more passes along the way. The last lap though is were the excitement started, I was tailing a rider through the last lap flag, I was right on her going into turn 1 and made a pass in front of her going into turn 2, went in a little too hot and she got around me coming out of T2, I stayed with her all the way through the Fabi course and was thinking of where I could pass her, couldn't really find a spot so I thought I'd give it a go on the last corner. As we hit the brakes going into the left hander before the long right going into the Nelson straight, I backed of slightly to try a different line and get a better drive, she takes a tight line through the exit and I go wide, but I'm able to get on the gas earlier and go around the outside, we both drive towards the finish line and I'm on the outside, she starts drifting wide as she doesn't know I'm there until we're side by side, I put out an elbow to keep some space and cross the finish line half a wheel ahead of her... needless to say I was estactic!
Got back to the pits and everyone was there cheering, what an awesome feeling... finished 11th from 16th so I was happy...
-race 2 was a little less exciting, I started the race 13th and actually found out where I was supposed to start this time, got a decent start, but because I in the middle of the row, going into turn 1 was a little nerve wracking, it's a little intimidating going 3 bikes wide into turn 1 and being in the middle. race went well and I managed to make a few good passes coming out of turn 1 and into turn 2, finished the race in 9th, so I was happy with a top ten for my first race. I got my best lap of the weekend on the last lap of the last race so I know I was getting more and more confident on the bike.
All in all a great time, great company and support the whole weekend and I can't wait to get out there again next year!
A big thanks goes to Rahul for letting us use his truck, Dex for lending his trailer and helping out in the pits, without these 2 Mau and I wouldn't have made it to the race... to Franz for the coaching, Chantal and Natalie for the food, Grant for providing shelter, and to Glenda, Justin, Mike, Fred, Ronnie, Christie and Del for coming to the race and cheering me on... you guys are awesome
A special thanks to Mau for being a great teammate the whole weekend, we did our first trackday at FAST at the beginning of the year and we ended it racing at the last race of the season, great riding season buddy!
notice how unproperly I'm lined up
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photo finish!
my first (and hopefully not last) race weekend...
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