LOUDON, NH (August 9, 1998) - This was the first of two back to back combined FUSA/LRRS events. Paul hadn't planned on running with the FUSA bikes, but as it turn out; he did, and didn't do too bad, either! The Short Version Paul was the only one racing this weekend for Team Daemon Racing, with Adam still on the west coast and Kevin stuck in NYC, but it was still a successful weekend. With only one practice on Saturday, Paul managed to pull out a 10th place finish in GT2, out of a field of 23, with the total number of bikes on the track reaching 45! On Sunday, due to administrative snafus, Paul got no practice, and didn't get to qualify, so he started at the back of the grid in the FUSA 103 HP race, but still managed to work his way to a 21st place finish, out of a field of over 40 bikes! The Long Version Arriving late Friday night, Paul and Kit set up shop, setting up the pit, and getting the F2 ready for tech then next morning. As soon as they got everything set up they hit their tents, to get a good nights sleep before the start of a busy weekend. Saturday morning, the team wakes to a hot, humid, summer day. Paul runs to register for his 2 normal races, GT2 on Saturday, and MW Sportbike on Sunday. The MW Sportbike race was being combined with the FUSA 103HP race, a fact that would cause Paul some grief later on as the weekend progressed. After registering, Paul got the bike teched, and waited for his *one* practice. Due to the FUSA practices and qualifying, the LRRS practices had been cut. Kit ran off to cornerwork for the day. The first practice went OK for Paul, not pulling any blistering times, but good nonetheless. It would have been nice to have had a second practice, but what can you do? Paul's first and only race Saturday was GT2, a 30 minute solo endurance race. Due to post-registering, Paul started from the 11th row, second wave (experts were wave 1, juniors wave 2). YUCK. The experts got the green flag and were off. As the first wave entered turn 1, the "1" board went up, and Paul prepared to for the second waves green flag. Paul got an ok start, and started working his way through traffic, and there was a lot of it! When all was said and done, he managed to work his way up to 10th place. Not great, but his times were very consistent, and the team was happy with the finish. Sunday: Once again, Paul only got 1 practice due to the FUSA practice and qualifying. As he was heading out for practice, Paul heard his name over the PA. After the practice is done, he checks with the FUSA official. Turns out that he was running the 103 HP race, and not just the LRRS race, so he had to fill out a whole bunch of paper work. What was worse was that he should have practiced with the FUSA guys both on Saturday and Sunday, not to mention gone out for qualifying. As a result, he was gridded dead last, in a field of 41 bikes! Since he was going to run the Pro-Tek, Paul decided to put fresh tires on the bike, so during lunch, he ripped the wheels off, and had new tires mounted. Got the bike all set up, put the tire warmers on, and got ready for the race. Race time. Paul heads out and takes the warm-up lap, comes around to the grid, and get ready for the start. Green flag drops and they're off racing. Paul gets a good start, and is able to get past several bikes before entering turn 1. On lap 3, the race is red flagged, so the field returns to pre-grid. This actually worked to Paul's advantage. The grid positions on the restart would be based on the positions at the time of the red flag, so Paul was now starting from the 7th row. While sitting on pre-grid waiting for the US Marshalls to clean up the track, Bruce Leung ran out to give Paul water, cold towels, and top up the gas, to make sure he would be able to go the distance. Paul was very grateful for all Bruce's help. (Maybe we'll let him join the team next year.) On the restart, Paul was able to improve his position even more, and ran solidly mid-pack the whole race. He was only lapped by one rider, Eric Wood, and only on the last lap. Not bad for his first time out with the big guys! Paul finished 21st out of a field of over 40! Overall, another great weekend for TDR!