posted on June 05, 2010 22:33
Round 3 - Spokane County Motorsports Park
The weekend started with Jon Friesen treating the race team to a stay at the luxury hotel/casino down the street from Spokane County Motorsports Park - this was no Motel 6! Thanks Jon! We felt like rock stars!
On Friday, we headed out to the track for Mike Sullivan's open track day. I spent most of my time trying to figure out what gear to be in for each corner since I was running the R6 as a five-speed this year. When it came time to work on creating a new fuel map for the VP MR9 fuel, I discovered that my computer would no longer communicate with the bike through the Bazzaz software. We ended up using Jon's laptop to download a map for MS109 fuel, which had similar fuel/air ratio requirements. Strangely, his computer would not save any of the changes that I made throughout the day. Either way, the bike felt okay - I didn't notice any major stumbles or dips in the power while on the gas. We would settle with what we had for race day.
600 Supersport - You never know what is going to happen in this race. I pulled off a decent start, and I managed to work my way into 5th or 6th place, but a red flag caused us to restart the race. This time, I made the mistake of lining up directly behind Oliver Jervis who stalled his bike on the line. Everyone blew by us. In a raging panic, I desperately tried to make up positions since the race distance was shortened. Impatience would teach me a lesson as I came into Turn 7 too hard on the brakes while trying to pass on the outside of another rider. The front wheel tucked, and I hit the ground and slid into the infield thinking, "Nice job. That wasn't terribly productive..." I picked up my bike and eventually rode it back to the pits in frustration. Little did I know that I would have a chance to redeem myself with a THIRD restart to the race at the end of the day! This time around, I spent the race dicing it up with Brad DeLong. He blocked my every attempt at a pass, but I was giggling in my helmet the entire time! Ross taught him well! I finally crossed the line in 8th place.
750 Superbike. On Sunday, I found myself going backwards a bit during this race. Despite a decent start, I didn't feel as if I had the same level of grip from the tires. I at least stayed upright and finished in 11th place. Tom Young checked the hot pressures coming off the track, and he found the front tire to be 20 degrees warmer than the back. We were initially concerned of a leak, but the rear tire pressure remained stable after we adjusted for the temperature differences.
600 Superbike. My results always seem to improve when I stop trying too hard. I was not as tired in this race, and my lap times remained consistent. Furthermore, I actually managed to hunt several folks down and make a few passes. The tire pressure adjustments Dave Alexander and Tom Young suggested worked, because the Pirelli's had plenty of grip during this race. In the end, I crossed the line in 7th place, which was my best finish so far in dry conditions!
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