So begins another year of exciting thrills (and hopefully no spills) at the track!
April 5th gave us fantastic weather at Pacific Raceways; perfect for shaking out the cobwebs and dusting off the skills.
I, Cogs #40, hit practice feeling pretty slow and rusty. Tamra #440 took it easy and concentrated on smoothness. Tamra’s engine has an ominous knock-yowling sound and I was sweating bullets hoping it would stay together. The bike runs perfectly, however and didn’t stop her from just concentrating on her riding.
I had a blown shift which necessitated use of the Turn 3 escape road, a couple of close-calls with other riders (neither was my fault) and general unease about the session.
The first race was like a personal track day for me, caught in a dead zone between the two fastest guys and the rest of the pack. Tim O’Mahony (#220) and Tom Deem (#500) have incredibly fast bikes this year and will be virtually uncatchable for me seeing as how they motored away from me. I rattled off some 2:02’s and a 2:01–very quick times that at one time seemed stratospheric–and it put me way out front of any other takers, but I couldn’t even keep the top two in my sight. I was really pressing and it seemed like I should have been hitting 2:00 flats, but it just wasn’t there. My best time ever was a high 1:58 and I have run several 1:59’s. I guess I’ll get back there as the season goes on and the rust wears off.
The second race I was able to hang with Tim and Tom a little better. Some real hard charging on my part led to a couple of bobbles which allowed Troy Knapp (#341)–a veteran racer but newcomer to the class–to pass me by. I stuck behind him and gauged where I could make my move. I really can’t even remember where it took place, but I did get him back and got another solid 3rd. Overall, I was very pleased with the results, although there’s some juice still out there on the table.
Tamra slipped right back into form with 2:14’s and 2:15’s. Very respectable especially considering her limited experience. I have spent a lot of time watching her progress and monitoring her lines. She looks great; just needs to brake later and gas earlier–the lines are definitely there. Fortunately the motor held together just fine. I’m thinking it might be a clutch basket issue, especially since it’s worst when feathering it from a stop. I also think I am cheating her out of a couple of seconds on the straightaway with gearing that is too low. Due to low rider turnout Tamra came in last, but judging from past results with larger grids of around 18-20 bikes, her 13th place finish would be very admirable!
