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MARCH
13-14, WERA West / USGPRU This was also the inaugural
WERA West race for the new series. We were
excited and appreciative that FasTrack and Dave Pyles brought the
series to the West coast. Only the AMA raced this track
previously, so most of the racers were new to this track. |
 Old Bessie was up for the challenge |
| California Speedway has
the plushest garage pits in the nation: There is electricity, air,
tables and TV in every garage. Saturday morning there was a photo shoot
for a
poster I was supposed to be in at the Speedway, and the girls in the shoot held a garage for
us. We arrived just before
7:30 giving me a little bit of time to participate. Or so I
thought. Practice started at 9am...we had to register and tech and we
were good to go. JM stood in line and I joined the girls for some
photos, only to arrive as JM was leaving the registration line. Then I
stood in line for an HOUR and a HALF. There were fewer than 15
people in front of me. I decided NOT to take this as an omen and
actually made it to three practice sessions: One on the 125 (consisting
of 2 whole laps) and two one the 250. Then the races began! |
 Turkey: It's what's for dinner. |
| USGPRU
holds qualifying races for grid positions. Usually it is 20
minutes, this was shortened to 15. I qualified terribly as I had no
idea
which gear I was supposed to be in where on the track... subsequently I
was gridded
15th out of 19. Not so hot. One of the regular USGPRU racers even said
"oh well, at least you are out here". SHeeesh. Then I had a 16 lap Lightweight Solo race on my 125 that helped a lot. I placed second behind Bradley Adams (WSMC fast guy's kid). I was getting progressively faster until around lap 11 where I then got progressively slower because my stick-on seat started un-sticking and rolling forward. The glue stayed on the seat and THAT stuff is STICKY. Everytime I went to hang off, what should be a split second move took around two seconds because I first had to unstick my butt from the seat and then move. Plus the seat rolled all the way forward and made a lump right under my crotch so I couldn't sit on the bike properly. I was laughing as this was happening because it was so ridiculous, but there was nothing I could do to fix it. I had a good lead on third place so I could afford to slow down in that respect, although it kind of shot my lap times. Sunday went far smoother. We did not have to tech again and made the two practice sessions. My races were numbers 3, 8 and 15. Race three was D SuperBike and the grid was tiny. I placed second on my 250 but had forgotten to move my transponder from my 125 to this bike and was almost disqualified, but instead they gave me fourth (last) place so at least I got some points. The Big Race: Race number 8 was the big race for me, 19 125's on the grid and some of the fastest guys in the nation to contend with for 14 laps on a 2.5 mile course. I was gridded row 7, way behind the pole. I put the hammer down for the practice lap to get my head into it and got a great start: I was 5th into turn one! Halfway through the first lap I was passed by a one of the fast guys and on lap two, Josh Herrin, who won the race, passed me. My bike felt great, and earlier JM had noted where I could go faster on my 250, so I used those tactics on my 125 and they sped me way up. I could see Jeff Lim who is a pretty quick guy and I started chasing him down. I passed him going into turn 3, a 180 left hander and held sixth position for a while until around lap 10, where I felt my tires start to go. You can't slid tires on a 125 like you can on bigger bikes...there isn't the horsepower to hook them up again, so it is likely you will get launched into a huge highside when your tires start going. Needless to say, I slowed down some even though I didn't want to. I got passed back by Lim and number 182, and then slowed even more but placed 8th. I had dropped my lap times 4 seconds from my best practice lap and 6 seconds from qualifying! Considering a year ago in this race at Streets of Willow I was lapped twice by the front runners, and that this is my first expert year, mid pack was a respectable finish and I feel like I am back on track to getting faster. The last 6th months I haven't gotten any faster because my crash and bike problems, though I think this is a turning point. My last race was D Superstock, and I placed second on a small grid. I ran the same lap times as the winner on a few laps but I still have not come to terms with this 250. I changed the front profile tire and that helped, changed the gearing, made some suspension changes, but overall it's a slow bike. I will keep running it this year because I think it will make me ride harder and will help my riding overall. I want to thank CRS Tires for the Pirellis for my 250, working on finding the leak in the front tire, and general niceness :) Brienne Thompson for sticking around all day Saturday after the photo shoot and helping me with tire changing and teching my bikes. And finally, Dr.Know for working on my bike Saturday night with a growling stomach, and all the coaching on turn 5! |
 125 qualifying, look for 82 midpack  250 on the track  Why I oughta.....Peanut at the pit wall |