11-04-07

Round 7 - Firebird Main, November 4, 2007 

            This last November race was pretty rough. I didn’t do very well, I stayed up, but it drew a lot of questions into my mind about where I want to go with my racing, and whether or not I’m ready to compete on my new middleweight bike. But, for as ominous as this sounds, it by far wasn’t all bad, and actually started off quite well.

             I decided to get a way from school a day early and came down on Thursday afternoon. I was able to spend the day with my family and Michelle, and it served as a nice break from the intense amount of work I had to do for my classes. Because I was home early I got to use all of Friday to get the bikes into proper order and prepare for the races on Sunday. During my work I was able to make a butt pad for my R6 to keep me from sliding back so far during it’s lightning quick acceleration. It was a nice day, and I got a lot done, it was satisfying to have things be so simple and completed. After the bikes were all loaded into the trailer, my Dad and I ran over to Firebird to drop it off.

            Saturday morning came and we headed over to the track. We went through the usual motions and got the bikes ready for practice. I pulled a superman that day, running double sessions each hour, one on the SV and the other on the R6. Things were going fairly well, considering that this was the first time I had been at speed on the track since my crashes the year prior. To say the least I had a lot of demons to shake out of my head during the day. By the time the sun was setting I was running quick and confident laps, I felt like I was in the right places on the track and that I was running at speeds that would, at the least, be competitive.

            When Sunday came, I was feeling fast but not totally confident, and I think that came out during my riding. The first race of the day was Lightweight GP.

            As usual I was in first on the grid, and had a decent start. From what I saw I was the first one to tip the bike into turn one, but then, out of no where five other bikes shot past me and before I knew what was happening I realized I was in 6^th place. I tried to keep up with them but Matt, Ted, Mark, Wayne and Joe were going faster than I knew how to deal with. I felt like I was running like I used to but I just didn’t have the speed or the confidence in the corners, the SV didn’t feel like it used to. Unfortunately Joe crashed out and I crossed the line in 5^th place.

            My second race for the day was Lightweight Superbike, and I began in P1. Learning from what I had seen in the previous race I decided that I was going to go deeper and hotter into the first corner. For the most part it worked. I was able to commit to the corner in a firm third place. But as the race continued, not only was I passed but the leaders once again began to step away from me. Despite all my best efforts I wasn’t able to bring the competition. I was running pretty well in fourth place, until, from no where, Steven Hymer shot around me and gave me hell for the last three laps or so, ultimately relegating me to a 5^th place finish. Needless to say I was disappointed, but not disheartened. I was more sad than frustrated, because I had no idea what was contributing to my slow laps.

            In the end my Dad and I figured that the extra turns of rebound damping we added the previous day were contributing to a low quantity of grip in the corner, slowing my down, so before the final race on the SV we took the turns out to see if things would improve.

            In the final race, much to my delight, the fix we made had quite a bit of difference.  I went into the first turn in fourth place behind Matt, Ted, Mark and Wayne. I was able to keep up with them for a while, but by the end of the race they had pulled a sizable gap and I finished in a firm fourth place. Funny enough, I ended up being officially awarded third place, because the winner of the race, Matt Hartleib, failed to show up for SuperSport tech inspection and was subsequently disqualified.

            My last race of the day was my only race on the Yamaha R6. I was placed into the 10^th spot and for absolute fear of my life made sure I went into the first turn at least that far back. I had never seen so much chaos and intensity flowing into a single corner of a racetrack in my life. I was impressed. I stayed back a little and took the first couple of laps easy, because I know how these middleweight GP races tend to go, and following my prediction there was a red flag crash turning onto the straightaway that lead to a re-start. Fortunately the fellow who went down was unhurt, but his bike was another matter.

            On the restart, feeling more confident I went into turn one a little hotter and was able to hold my own for a couple of turns. After things settled down and spread out I felt comfortable enough to open up and lay down a few fast laps. It was a good time and I was feeling more confident on the R6 than ever. About two laps before the end of the race, the leaders came up to lap, and all passed me with amazing speed and precision, once again I was impressed. Anyhow, the rest of the race was pretty uneventful, but my Dad did get some pretty neat shots of me doing power wheelies on the far side of the track. I crossed the line in 9^th place.

            So, like I said before, it was a rough weekend but I had fun. I think I’m at a crossroads where I need to either pick to be more aggressive and fast, or simmer down a bit, collect myself and set a few more reasonable goals. Honestly I have no idea where I’m headed, I suppose the next round will tell, but the most important thing is that despite how things go, in any direction, the most important thing is to enjoy myself. And I think it’s safe to say, that at this point I couldn’t ask for more.

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09-30-07

Round 6 - Firebird East, September 29-30, 2007       

            Okay, so this report is really, really late, but in my defense I’ve been super busy with school, traveling to New York and dealing with all of my Resident Assistant type work. Unfortunately, because the September races were so long ago, I’m going to really have to strain to remember the details, and the result will most likely be a short report. So, enough with the excuses and on to the report, here it goes…

            I left Flagstaff in the morning on Friday the 28^th, and made my way down to the Valley. There wasn’t much to do in the way of bike preparation thanks to my father’s efforts. I was pretty nervous about the weekend considering I hadn’t been on a bike since the race in May. I was wondering if I still had what it takes to be competitive after such a long hiatus. However, all my doubts were lost when my parents surprised me with an incredible 2005 Yamaha R6! I was absolutely speechless. They purchased the bike from a fellow competitor Ray Thibedeau, so that I would have a middleweight bike to compete on next year. After staring at the bike for an hour or so, we loaded up the trailer and headed over to Firebird to drop it off.

            The next morning I went through my usual routine of pit set up, registration, riders meeting and bicycle warm up. The first couple of practice sessions I was riding nice and easy just to get back into the swing of things. After a session or two on the SV I decided to take the R6 out for it’s first ride. The Yamaha is hands down the best motorcycle I have ever ridden. It steers like nothing, has more power than I know what to do with and behaves in the corners exactly like a race bike should. It was the most thrilling and smooth ride I had ever been on.

            So after my six or so joy laps on the Yamaha I came in to continue to make adjustments on the SV. We determined that we should add another four clicks of rebound damping in the back to help the bike from losing traction in the corners.

            After the adjustments it was time for my races.

            The first race of the day was Lightweight GP, and I was in P1 on the grid. I had a mediocre start and went into the first corner a number of positions back. I worked my way through the field and came up right behind Ted Rich, but for the life of me, I could not catch him. I was gaining on him for a while, but then my brakes started to fade and I went really hot into a couple of corners, and considering it was my first race of eight, I decided to take it easy and settle for the second place.

            The next race was Lightweight Superbike. Once again I was placed in P1 and went into the first corner in fifth or so. I was able to make my way through the crowd but by the time I was in third place, Ted Rich and Matt Hartleib were too far ahead for me to catch in such a short sprint race.

            The final race of the day was Supersport and seeing that neither Ted Rich nor Matt Hartleib pulled up to the grid I figured I had a first place in my pocket. I got the hole shot and ran a couple of really fast laps into a comfortable first place. I continued to ride and enjoy my time in first place. However, this weekend was the first weekend in my career where I had a pit board to display my lap information. On the board it stated that Mark Kochman was .3 seconds behind me, and for whatever reason I interpreted that as a lot of distance, and then out of no where he passed me going into turn one. I was flustered and caught off guard and couldn’t make the pass back for the victory. I was pretty upset, but had no one to blame but myself. So I put the issue behind me and viewed the day as successful on the whole.

            I also decided to enter into Unlimited GP on my R6 to get a bunch of practice time and see how the bike handled at race speeds. In the end I took 7^th place out of 7 riders, but I still had fun and had a good ride on my new bike.

            The next day of the twin sprints weekend I saw as an opportunity to redeem myself for the previous days faults. However, the results of Sunday were much like that of Saturday. In LWGP I took third behind Ted and Matt, the same followed for LW Superbike. For supersport I took 2^nd behind Matt, but pulled off a 4^th place in Unlimited GP and managed to make myself some money, needless to say I was pleased.

            On the whole the weekend was a success. I finished a lot of races, I kept the rubber side down, I moved forward in my Class Championships, and I had fun. What more could I ask for?

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05-13-07

Round 5 - Firebird East, May 13, 2007

            Round five has come and gone, I made up four points on second place, and now I’m on my four-month break for summer. Despite it being the HOTTEST race weekend yet, I would have to say; under the circumstances it was my best performance yet. I had to do a lot of hard work and racing, but it all paid off, and I think I gave my Mom a pretty nice mother’s day gift.

            I finished my first year at NAU Wednesday morning, and made my way home later that evening. I took the next two days to unwind, unpack and relax for the races on Sunday. In preparation for the weekend, I changed the oil in both my race bike and our generator, and drank tons of water to help fight the dehydration I was going to face. Fortunately I’ve been really on top of my racing chores this year so I’ve not yet had to pull an all-nighter to get my act together to race. Anyhow, things were going smoothly and I was in a great mood to see what I could do over the weekend.

            Saturday rolled around and my Dad and I shot over to the track to claim a pit and get our canopies up before the sun killed us. We set up our area next to Jason, Julie,(GothicBeast & KurvyGirl) and Alan, so we had the benefit of their shaded trailer and precious air conditioning. To them, infinite thanks, you probably saved me from dying, no joke! I set my tire pressures a couple pounds higher than normal, to compensate for the heat, and then relaxed until my first practice session. As usual my first time out I simply putted around, taking it easy and warming up.

            The previous race weekend my Dad added a half turn of pre-load in the rear to help combat a squatting issue I was having, so for the sake of testing we added another turn to see if I would further benefit from the adjustment. I’m pleased to report that the impact was profound and the bike felt better than I ever remember. It was absolutely great to be able to get on the throttle as soon as I was comfortable, as hard as I wanted and not worry about the front end pushing away. In an attempt to even further improve the suspension we also added a quarter turn of rebound damping in both the front and back, however, this change, for as significant as it was did not help improve the suspension of the bike. From that point in the day I focused on my throttle control. I wasn’t trying to twist it faster to reach full gas sooner, but to start the application earlier. I figured that if I reached full throttle at the same place I would be fine, but if I could manage to begin the process maybe a half or even quarter second sooner I might improve my drive. I think where this change helped me the most was coming out of turn ten onto the straight, I was able to develop a much stronger drive which aided in my times dropping, which is always a good thing.

            The other thing I was really working hard on was putting down fast lap times in practice to simulate pressures of a race. I wanted to discover if there were any things that my bike did at race pace that it might not do at practice speeds. In doing this I intended to be able to adjust the bike in a manner that would most benefit both the suspension and myself at full tilt speeds. In all the trackday was good and I was feeling very confident for the race day to come.

            Sunday morning I was at the track around seven and began to set up for the races. I made it out to my first two practice sessions and skipped the third to change my tires for the races. I once again entered the Unlimited GP as a grid filler to help with purse payout, but what I hadn’t thought about was getting my tires mounted fast enough to make it out for qualifying. There was a bit of a last minute rush to make it out and I still had to spend three laps getting my tires up to temperature, but once I did I laid out some decent times adding up to an 8^th position on the grid.

            My first race of the day was LW GP, for which I was placed in pole. I had a decent start but went into turn one in second behind super speedy amateur Mark Kochman. I began to get a little panicked, but then calmed down with the knowledge that I was absolutely able to pass him, and it was a 12-lap race so I had plenty of time. I spent the next three laps getting really close to Mark so the minute I saw an opportunity to pass I could take it. It just so happened that I got a really nice drive and a bit of a draft and was able to pass him under the brakes. From that point I was able to open a sizable gap and take my first victory of the day, with my hot lap at 1:01.8

            The second race of the day was LW SBK, for which I once again had pole position. My start wasn’t bad but Joe Devine was on my inside and ran deep into turn one placing me in an awkward position, allowing Matt Hartleib to shoot by both of us and proceed to issue a spanking. I made an attempt to close the gap, but I had absolutely nothing for Matt and settled into second place. To add insult to injury, talking to Matt after the race he said that the mounting bolt to his master cylinder had come out and he was busy tightening it on the straights so he could have brakes. That, I thought, was absolutely insane, and amazing. Oh well.. haha

            Right after the SBK race I gassed up and shot out for the Unlimited GP race. I had my best start of the day and went into the first turn ahead of a number of riders. However that whole 120-140 hp difference thing lent pretty well to everyone shooting by me not too much later. The race was interesting however because there were a lot of mechanicals, crashes and pull offs. Consequently I finished 4^th overall!!! To say the least I was astounded.

            My last race was the LW SS where I once again went head to head with Ray T. He took the hole shot and I followed a close second. It took me a little while to get into the groove and maintain his pace but I was staying with him for a while. However, I had a shifting issue four times which allowed Ray to step farther and farther away until I no longer had a chance to contest for the victory. I finished the race with a solid and pleasing second. After the race though I found out that Ray was penalized three positions for passing under a waving yellow. From my understanding of the circumstances it was rough call, and Ray got the short end of the stick, but I wasn’t going to complain about the first place I was given.

            In the end I walked a way with a bunch of purse money and a number of contingency checks coming my way. So I would have to say with resounding enthusiasm that it was a great weekend. It was hot but I had so much fun, and am pretty bummed out that I’m going to have to wait another four months before I’ll be out there again. Oh well. I hope everyone can make it out to the races in September, they’re going to be awesome, and hopefully I’ll be able to put on a good show!

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04-21/22-07

Round 4 - Firebird East, April 21-22, 2007

            The race competition got really hot and I ended up losing one place in the overall but I had a really great weekend!

            I was pretty upset about my finishes last month and it really hit my confidence. I knew I needed to get over it and really look ahead to the next round of racing. So I put it all behind me knowing that Ted Rich and Ray Thibideau were going to be out there and that they would provide some pretty intense competition. Where as last month I was dreading to see how I would stack up, this weekend I looked forward to my chance to ride and compete with some really skillful and fast riders. I believe it was this attitude that made my weekend so successful!

            I drove down from school Thursday night so I could be at the track on Friday to get some practice laps in. It was not until ten that night that I was informed that the trackday was not an AZTrackTime (my sponsor) event, so I would have to pay to ride. I decided to take the day off, and it worked out because I was suffering from a nasty cold and it gave me another day to recover.

            Saturday morning I made it out to all three of my practice sessions and was glad that I felt so natural on the bike. In fast right hand corners I was getting a little front-end chatter, but I wrote it off as rider error and decided to not make any changes to the suspension. I also chose not to look at my lap times from practice, because last time I got really worked up about how much faster everyone was than I, and I think it showed during my races.

            After the practices were over I went out for my first race of the day Lightweight GP. I got a phenomenal start and went into turn one with the lead. A few laps later Ray T. passed me on the inside during the carousel, and I believe the same lap Ted passed me under braking going into turn one. You could really see Ted’s ZX front end working for him, he could stick lines I couldn’t with my SV forks. From there the two of them stepped away and I spent the rest of the race by myself trying to go as fast as possible. After taking third I saw that indeed I was going pretty fast with my quickest lap time being a 1:02.6, my best yet this year. The next race was Lightweight Supersport and after passing Joe Devine on the brakes into the first turn I lead the next number of laps trying to make it hard before Ray passed me once again and took the victory. No whining allowed, man he is just fast!

            The last race of day one was Lightweight Superbike. I was looking for vengeance, and because of it I got an awkward start and went into turn one in third place. Going into the turn three carousel I was nicked by Ray on the outside trying to pass. After some panic on my part (I had never been bumped during a race) I made the mistake of running wide and dropping all the way down into ninth position! Panic now gone, I was pissed. The last round of racing I made the mistake of letting my emotions get the best of me and it showed in my riding. Instead of getting faster, being mad made me be sloppy. So I cooled down and saw it as a chance to have a little fun. I managed to pass all the riders through fifth place to what ended up being my fastest laps of the day. I finished the day with a Third, Second, and a Fifth.

            Sunday came around and I was feeling great looking forward to some more racing with Ray and Ted. Practice went fine, and I continued to get some front-end chatter, but I ignored it and tried to do my best to ride around it. Day Two of racing had the same order as day one so my first race of the day was Lightweight GP. I got a pretty good start and took the holeshot again only to be passed by Ray and Ted a few laps later. I was working as hard as I could to make a good show of it but still ended up in third.

            The second race was Lightweight Supersport and I pulled up to the grid in Pole position. I got a great start again and lead the first few laps. Once again Ray passed me, but much to my delight he didn’t manage to get away from me so fast! I was actually hanging with him and in a number of places making time back up. Unfortunately that front-end chatter I was getting in practice was more than just rider error. As it turns out, under acceleration the rear end was squatting too much causing me to lose front end grip and subsequently drive, allowing Ray to get away. I took second, but even better than that, was the fact that my hot lap was an astounding 1:01.6!!!! my absolute fastest ever. I was so pleased.

            To try to stop the squatting issue my Dad and I went to talk to Kris Gilbert. Since my Penke shock does not have two-way compression damping adjustment, Kris recommended that we try adding half a turn of preload at the back, hopefully making the chassis behave better under acceleration in a turn.

             The last race of the day, Lightweight Superbike, Ray T. was a no show so it was going to be just Ted and myself. After an O.K. start, my worst of the day, I found myself in second place behind Joe Devine going into turn one. Then Ted got passed both Joe and I in a hurry relegating me to third. After that Ted started to get away and I knew that I had to get around Joe fast if I was going to challenge Ted. Still being somewhat cautious about passing, it was three laps or so before I managed to get by Joe. There was a number of times I could have stuffed Joe, but that just isn’t smart racing. I want to ride clean. By then it was too late to make a charge at the lead. I put my head down and rode as fast as I could. My Crew Chief (dad) said I was making time up on Ted, but on his worked SV he was only turning 1:02’s so he was clearly taking it easy. I’m happy to say that the chatter was nearly gone from the front end which was great, but my fastest lap was only a 1:02.1, but hey, I’ll take it and another second place! Day Two yielded a Third, a Second, and a Second.

            Overall I had a great weekend, and a ton of fun, which is what racing is all about. I am currently in first place in all three of my Lightweight Classes. Also a big thanks to all my friends who came out to watch me race. It’s nice to know I have so much support. I’m truly excited for the May race, I think that by then I’ll be able to give Ray T. a run for his money, and hopefully provide some interesting racing for the fans! As Rossi would say "Make for a good show." See you all May 12th!

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03-25-07

Round 3 - Firebird East, March 25, 2007

            So the racing season continues and things seem to get only more interesting. Because I have been putting up such a good show for the overall expert championship many a competitor have come out of the woodwork to challenge me. For as flattering as this was, it put a huge mental strain on me, and I was stewing about the races the entire previous month. In the end however, my nerves got the best of me and I had one of my most personally disappointing race weekends ever! Oh well.

            I came down from Flagstaff the week prior to enjoy my spring break at home, so there was no rush to get things sorted out with my bike. There was one issue, however. As it turns out after my incidents with the ground, I bent both of my fork tubes. My father discovered this when he took the front end apart to change the fluid. So between Monday and Tuesday we had the entire front-end components straightened and trued. After my bike was in working condition it was loaded into the trailer and I waited for the weekend.

            There was limited space in the paddock for the weekend, so my Dad and I were sure to get out there super early to secure a decent spot for the weekend. After setting up, going through registration, and tech, I got ready and headed out on the track. The bike felt fine and I was taking it easy letting the track warm up before I decided to do any kind of hard pushing. As the day progressed my times dropped down, but to my disappointment the fastest I ever managed to get was still three seconds off my fastest lap from the previous year. This fact in conjunction with the knowledge that a lot of very fast racers were going to be in my class gave me the jitters the whole weekend. I was really stressing out about not being as fast as I wanted, or even as fast as the other racers in the field. I tried my best to push it out of my mind and rest assured in the knowledge that my pace would pick up the following day during the races.

            I was feeling good and confident Sunday morning and was nervously awaiting my first race. All the practice sessions went just fine despite not making any huge improvements or drops in lap time. Not long before the Unlimited GP qualifying there was an announcement made that they were one rider short of being able to pay contingency down to 10th place. So I decided that upon the seat of a borrowed bike I would act as a grid filler for the benefit of the group. I qualified on Scott Ladd’s Suzuki GSX-R 750, only to find out that I was running three seconds off my pace on the SV, which ultimately led me to do the race on my bike despite the lack of 100hp.

            As soon as that was over I got ready and went out for my first important race of the day, Lightweight Supersport. I was first on the grid and also the first into turn one. I led the next three or so laps before Ray Thibedeau got around me and started to pull a gap. I put my head down and went to school watching his every move hopefully able to make up some time. I was pleased when a few laps later I managed to pass him coming out of turn two. I wasn't’t able to hold it, and one lap later he shot by me again and started to really pull away. I was astounded how fast he got away from me, which then left me to a decent finish in second place.

            My second race of the day was the same story. I was first off the line and into the turns, but Ray got by me a few laps later. However, this race was Lightweight GP, and some of the guys from the USGPRU were competing and throwing all kinds of wrenches into the works. Two guys on 250cc managed to get by both Ray and I, leaving me with a disappointing 4^th place finish.

            The last race of the day was shaping up to be my chance to redeem myself from my other two finishes. I once again had pole and was feeling confident that I would be able to win this race. As the flag dropped I was first off the line and things were looking good. However, when I tried to shift into second, nothing happened. I tried again, and again, but it was stuck in first and I was furious as I saw five other riders shoot by me before entering the first turn. I finally managed to get it into gear, just in time to down shift once again for the turn. The race became a game of catch up, and I had little to lose. Lap after lap I was working and setting up other racers for the pass. Two laps from the end I was in fourth place and not far from third. I had two chances to pass for the position but I was cautious and backed off, figured better to finish in fourth than to crash and lose all the points together.

            With all of my races out of the way my final challenge for the day was the Unlimited GP upon my little SV. Because there were so many riders I wasn’t too far from the pack going into the first turn, but I was sure to take it way easy, the last thing I wanted was to be collected into a crash with a bunch of liter bikes. I just hung in the back and did my own thing. I had totally clear track and was able to cleanse my mind of the disappointments of the day with a seemingly deserted track. Scott Jensen, who won the race, lapped me twice, but most of the rest of the field never got me. It was really nice to be out there simply having fun and enjoying riding on my bike.

            In all, it was a rough weekend and rather disappointing. But this way all the pressure is off; once again I’m the underdog, which I think I prefer. Anyhow, the way I see it things can only go up from here and I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve gotten over worrying about beating other riders and truly feel what I’ve been saying all along, that despite my finishes, I just love the race. I’d rather take second, third, or even fourth in a good race than be handed a victory. I can guarantee it, this season is going to be a good one!

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02-18-07

Round 2 - Firebird West, February 18, 2007

After my performance, in the first round of racing, I was very nervous for the second race. I realize that I did fairly well in regards to finishing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had merely been granted the finishes due to the rather foul weather. I was really looking forward to the weekend, to get some laps in and to see how I would measure up.
My Dad and I arrived at the track at six on Saturday morning to set up our pit, and the vintage area for the weekend. After the usual preparations of bike and tech, I got ready to head out on the track. My first session felt a lot like the way I was riding the previous race weekend, hesitant and scared. But I felt my pace quickening by the end of the session and was looking forward to warming up and improving the rest of the day.
I was ecstatic when I looked at the time sheets I saw that my times droped from mid 1:14’s to low 1:09’s, and was eagerly anticipating the races on the next day.
On Sunday morning, I was able to sleep in longer than the previous day, which I greatly appreciated because I was absolutely exhausted after Saturday’s endeavors. We had our quick practices and I was glad to see that my times had dropped further to 9’s and 8’s. Which became especially important when I saw that my competition was running in the 5 to 6 area.
After the Unlimited GP qualifying, the Lightweight GP was the first race out on the grid. We were placed on row six, starting in the same wave but technically different race as the Supermotard class. Off the line, I got ahead of the SV group and went into turn one ahead of my competition but behind the first place motard. The next few laps, I maintained my gap with the Motard but was unconcerned, because I knew I was winning my race.
The only thing I found disconcerting was that Tom Boge was right behind me and was most likely going to make a move for first position. Soon enough, my predictions came true when Tom passed me on the outside of the final turn before the start/finish straight. I spent the next few laps chasing him down and preparing for a re-pass. I managed to get around him, (thanks to some lapped traffic), but lost the lead again because of other lapped riders. On the second to last lap I was able to shoot by Tom on the inside after turn one and managed to maintain my lead through the rest of the race to my first victory of the weekend.
My second race was the Lightweight Supersport which took place just after lunch. Because Wayne Neilson wasn’t racing this weekend, I was awarded pole position due to my second place finish from the round prior. I was able to make good use of it by taking the hole shot and leading the next three subsequent laps. Unfortunately, there were three crashes on the second lap, one of which caused a red flag and a race re-start. I’m glad to say however, that everyone was okay and walked away from the incidents.
Anyhow, on the re-start I had a pretty crappy start and went into turn one in second. After a few laps I was able to size up and pass the leader and pull a decent gap leading to an uneventful finish.
The last race of the day was Lightweight Superbike, and probably the most stressful. From the start I was in the lead, and lead every turn until the finish to a victory. As incredible as it was, I have to say it stressed the hell out of me. I find it really hard to concentrate on what I’m doing without any knowledge of what is going on just to my rear. I have a pretty strict no look policy, so I often wonder how close second place is and find myself inquiring about how hard to push. I guess the best thing for me to do is just focus on what I am doing and run perfect laps. I figure that if I can do that, there shouldn’t be any way another person could get by me, it’s a curse I think I should suffer from more often.
So this weekend tied with my most successful weekend ever, (last season in Vegas). Hopefully I can pull off a hat trick again next month at the East Track. I’m having a ton of fun this season and hope to see you guys at the races!

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01-21-07

Round One - Firebird Main, January 21, 2007

Hey all, thanks for coming to my site at the beginning of this 2007 racing season! I have a lot in store and plan to make a bunch of changes for the benefit of my racing and career. It is truly an exciting year because not only have I decided to re-work how I go racing, but the very organization I race with has changed as well!

I want to start off talking about the new face of Road Race Southwest. For many years now the Stems have run all racing here in the southwester part of the U.S. and any success that the organization has had is entirely due to their incredible efforts to keep racing alive. However, after clear channel decided to drop the southwestern region from its support, the Stems took on the daunting task of running the whole program all by themselves. They did a wonderful job, but felt that they were not able to meet the needs of the racers and decided to step down from the role to hand the program to another.

Road Race Southwest is now owned and run by Jack Frost, and John Jewett respectively. They have made a lot of changes to try to hone the program into an efficient, fun and profitable for all organization. We’ve switched from a two-race day format to a practice on Saturday and races on Sunday. They’ve re organized the classes and managed to gain a huge amount of support from retailers and vendors making every class a sponsored event, meaning more money for the racers.

Along with the changes Road Race Southwest has made, I too have decided that I need to re-organize and tackle the way I go racing. My new team name is now “Sirius Racing” with none other than the "Dog Star" as my logo. I have a new paint job and a bunch of new sponsors. I am going to more actively seek support from sponsors and plan to create a very professional set up to represent them accordingly. I’m really excited with my new attitude towards the sport, and I am sure that it will show through in my performance and end of the year outcome.

As for my physical and mental abilities, that’s another story.

Saturday was my first time back on a race bike since my lowside in turn four at the Firebird Main Track. Of course, I was tentative. Only to compound my anxiety about riding, the weather conditions were less than desirable. The ambient air temperature was super cold, and there was a dense fog setting a nice slippery surface of water on everything, including the already slippery racetrack. I was in no rush to get onto the course after seeing Danny Demel lowside while perfectly up and down on the straight away. When I did get out onto the track I was sure to take things nice and slow, just to work up to my speed. I was holding nice lines and making my turning and braking markers, but I was not using much throttle, or accelerating very hard. I think, mostly due to my reserve about crashing again I was very conservative in every corner with regard to my lean angle, just barely scraping my knee in one or two of the corners.

It was frustrating to say the least. I wasn’t making any real mistakes, I was simply going slow and could not work up enough courage or the mental status to travel at the speeds of which I know I am capable. After a couple of the practice sessions, I went over to the registration trailer only to see that I was running times a good 15 seconds off of my best times. I knew it was good to take things slow and just let them come back to me, but in light of the fact that I had three races the next day, I just could not get my head in the game. I guess more than poor performance, the whole exercise was extremely frustrating. But I did the best I could to push it out of my mind and psyche up for the races on the following day.

The next morning, I was really excited to get to the track, set up and get into the races. During practice I was able to pick the pace up quite a bit shaving about 8 seconds from my times on the previous day. Feeling better, but in no way ready I waited for the race.

Just as luck would have it, during the Unlimited GP qualifying, it started to rain. On any other racetrack this would mean the use of rain tires and a little caution under braking. However, Firebird Main is not just any racetrack. The straightaway doubles as a quarter mile drag strip clad in burnt rubber and slippery VHT. In rain, VHT isn’t just slippery, its barely not ice, it’s even hard to walk on. After a riders meeting it was decided that we would wait one hour to see if the rain would clear and what condition the track was in after.

Once the period was up, Rory Palmer and Ray T. went out on the track to give it a shake down for safety. What they decided was that the final turn before the straight was to be coned in such a manner that it would set us up to go right down the center of the strip where no rubber or VHT lay, making the corner much safer.

After this was announced race number one, the lightweight GP, was just a few minutes away. I got ready and headed out to the track. During our sighting lap I discovered that most of the track was just fine, but a lot of caution would be needed to get around the final corner. Once on the grid, the flag dropped and I shot off the line taking the hole shot and gapping the rest of the pack. As I went around the track I was feeling faster, but was holding quite a bit back to make sure that I could complete the race safely, I’d rather come in last than crash. Coming around the tower turn I slowed way down and prepared to navigate through the section. I was easing along, but was really surprised when the rear tire, despite my efforts began to step out. To save from a low side I straightened the bike up and ran just outside a few of the cones and once again joined my race line.

While on the straight I took a minute to glance back to see if anyone was near, only to see that second place was a good six or seven seconds behind me. With this in mind I settled down and began to just cruise around the track to complete the shortened, five-lap race. On the while flag lap, I looked back once again to see if I was still safe only to see that Steven Hymer on this Honda F2 had closed the gap to sit right on my tail. I put my head down and started to try to ride fast. But I was too stressed out to really pick up my pace. I was lucky though to manage to cross the line in first without a challenge from Steven.

Despite my efforts, I learned after the race, I was docked three positions because I ran outside the cones, thus creating a "potential hazard" for other riders (you know, the ones that were no-where near me!). I went around to the staff trying to have the decision overturned, because I felt it was entirely unfair, but after much discussion it was decided that the ruling stood and that I, officially came in fourth place.

I was really disappointed but had to keep looking ahead to the other races, the Lightweight Supersport, and Lightweight Superbike. In both of the races I managed to get off the line in first but, because of my hesitation in the wet conditions, I always went into turn one in second behind Wayne Neilson. From that point on Wayne would just shoot away and I felt there was little I could do than try to ride my own race. In both of the events my position was never challenged so I never really put my head down to race. Looking back on this, if I were too have been passed it probably would have helped me significantly to jump back into my old speed. But I can’t complain too much with two, second places on my first race weekend of the year.

In all, the weekend was a success, I finished all my races, with decent positions, and most importantly I didn’t crash. I just can’t help to shake the fact that I feel I performed really poorly. I think the best thing for me is to put it behind and look ahead to round two. I am determined to do well this year and am going to keep myself in shape in every way to do so. Probably more important than physical conditioning is my confidence, I’m sure with just a few more practices I’ll be back to my old self to kick ass and take names! Until February, keep the rubber side down!

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