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Peanut's
Race Reports
peanut,
britt bohannan, britt
arechiga, 125gp race, wsmc, peanutbritt, littlebig racing, little big
racing
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December
18-19 WSMC
This was the last
race of the
season. If you have been reading my reports diligently, which I
know you all have, since it was assigned to you as homework, you'll
know there were some bike problems as well as a couple of missed races
for both good and bad reasons. I think I have done well to resolve my
bike problems. The last of which was a tire compound which had too much
grip for tracks out here. It took a few races to figure out what the
problem even was, but now at least I know. My frame and front axle were
also bent, and I think they were bent since June last year when I
crashed hard.
The most frustrating thing though, was trying a stiffer shock spring
that caught plastic spring casing without our knowing it, and limited
the travel severely. I ran two races like this. If I had been more
experienced, I would have known something was very wrong, but I didn't
know to look for something like that and you couldn't see it until you
took the shock off. I just thought the spring was far too stiff,
which it ultimately was.
But this weekend my bike felt like my old bike again. Finally. First
practice session of the day
saturday and I was within 2 seconds of my best time, and it was
freezing cold outside. I felt great all
weekend and I couldn't wait to race. I was one point behind Kevin
Murray for the class championship and I knew I could win it. My dad
and our friend World Superbike Champ Doug Polen came out to see my last
race of the year, so I put even more pressure on myself to run a great
race. I was nervous in a very good way, the kind that energizes
you when you are confident and feel good.
There were a few new people on the grid: a couple kids from CMRA and
Boyd Bruner, a fast 125 racer who is now sporting Alpinestars custom
Jumpman leathers, and Mark Watts on Joel Manes's RS125, along with
the usual suspects, minus Sharyn Namnath who crashed in November and
seperated her shoulder. |
Doug Polen instructs me: "go fast, don't
fall down"
JM airs
his armpits to the dismay of his audience
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I did a fast warm up lap and was gridded second to pole. I always get
good starts, but for some reason not today (Blair Sullinger asked if I
saw the green flag...screw you Blair!) I was midpack into turn one,
passed into
third place by turn three, and was right behind one of the new kids on
a 2004 RS125 and Mark Watts. Going up the hill into turn four, I
see the 04 Honda nearly highside the kid off as his engine seizes. I am
directly behind him and grab a handful of brakes and lift the rear
wheel off the ground as I swerve left to avoid pile driving him. I move
to go around him, and he lets go of his clutch and nearly highsides
again! I stoppie again and he turns in front of me to get off the
track. Everyone goes by, including Kevin. I am nearly stopped, in first
gear, with a foot on the ground and in last place. Without thinking I
race to catch the last place rider and continue the race. I pass
a couple more people on lap two.
By lap three I see I am catching Kevin and Jay, who are in third and
second place, respectively. I am kind of surprised to see I am catching
them after being so far behind on the first lap. I put my head down and
gain a little more ground on both Kevin and Jay on each lap. My bike is
not fast enough on the straights and the race is too short (6 laps) to
catch him and pass him though, and honestly I could have taken turn
nine faster than I did. I finish behind Kevin, fourth place, and second
in the class by three points. Mark wins the race by a quater lap, which
isn't surprising in the least. That guy is quick.
After the race, I find out that the kid who seized had missed the warm
up lap. Had he made it out in time, he would have seized on the warm
up. He comes by with his brother (?) and we talk to him. I scold him
for turning in front of me and letting his clutch out after he already
stuck a piston (ok not really scold, but I let him know).
Kevin graciously comes by to say good save, nice try for the
championship, and asks me for some money I owe him. I fork over
the cash and tell him congrats on the championship. This is a guy who
deserve it anyway. This is a guy who qualified on a stock 125 the last
time Moto GP was in the US. It was 1994 at Laguna Seca and Honda gave
him a stock customer bike to run against the Moto GP 125s. He qualified
and raced in a fricken Moto GP race. Go Kevin.
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I don't know what the hell is going on
Telling
Kevin
and his fiance that the check is in the mail.
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