Team Daemon Racing '99

Race Report for Week 1: April 10-11, 1999

This weekend was a good start for the team, which had to overcome both cold, unpredictable weather conditions and instincts grown rusty from the long winter's layoff. Bruce put up the best results, a combined first in the Scorpion Cup/second in the GP Singles class. Racing on new bikes for the first time, Paul and Rob were also successful. Both showed steady improvement in their lap times during the course of the weekend. Kit spent most of the weekend getting her street bike in shape to race, but got in a couple of practices and successfully finished her first race of the year.

The weather was a mixture of sun, clouds, light rain, heavier rain, and snow, which caused temperatures to vary from below freezing at night to almost 60 during sunny midday periods. The pit crew rejoiced that we weren't running any two-strokes, which would have required jetting changes every twenty minutes. The tire warmers which Bruce and Paul used were very useful (though Paul still lowsided in the first very cold practice on Saturday). Though he doesn't have tire warmers yet, Rob brought a portable heater and became an instant hero to the other shivering members of the team. In between races and during wrenching sessions the team gathered around the heater in the garage to warm their hands and praise the sponsors.

Race 1: GTU Jr/Ex Paul was the first TDR member to turn a wheel in anger on Saturday afternoon. GT is 30 minutes of racing, long enough for the weather to go from sunny to sprinkles to brief downpour to sunny to cloudy. The schizophrenic weather probably bothered the shivering spectators more than the racers, who just put their heads down and rode as well as they could. The Fog City faceshields from New World Ventures allowed TDR's racers to overcome the usual shield fogging and poor visibility that comes from rapid cooling.

Paul was toasted during the start (he is heading to the drag strip to practice next weekend) by a large group of riders, coming out of turn 1 in about 15th position. He continued through the first lap and made a pass up the inside of turn 10, gaining 3 positions. In heavy traffic on an unfamiliar bike, Paul turned laps in the 1:25 to 1:26 range for the first 5 laps. In the meantime a group of 5 riders broke away and put some distance on everyone else. The race as a whole was suprisingly crash free except for one crash during lap 14 which caused a waving yellow in the infamous Turn 3 hairpin. By lap 6 Paul started to increase his lap times into the 1:24's, but he was already 14 seconds down on the lead pack of riders. He made an excellent pass on the brakes going into turn 3, a very brave move considering his morning crash there. He settled in between the lead group and another large group about 30 seconds behind the leaders, dicing with a few other riders for the 10th through 15th positions. Lap 13 was Paul's best, a 1:24:07. A brief downpour and the turn 3 crash slowed the race for the next few laps, and most of the racers began to find out how out of shape the winter layoff had made them. Paul relaxed a little at the end and allowed one or two racers by, ending up 12th out of 22.

Race 5: LW Sportsman Am, MW Superbike Am: Bruce went out on the familiar MuZ Skorpion for his first race of the year. Though a new team member, Bruce raced the bike last year as well, so he had less of a relearning curve than the other team members. He pulled 7th after the start of the race, dropping to 9th after the first ten turns. Traffic in this race never really spread out, so Bruce got to practice some close quarters combat throughout the race. A good pass going into turn 1 brought him back up around 7th in lap 3, but later he was passed going into turn 10 by a couple of riders. He finished 8th out of 23 with a best lap of 1:38, which was better than his morning practice times. A good start to his season.

Race 7: MW Superbike/LW Superbike Jr/Ex: Paul was 12th after 3 turns. He never really got into gear in this race, his best lap being a 1:25.1. He ended up 15th out of 23. The shorter 8 lap sprint races make a good start very important since there is not much time to gain lost ground. Paul is still working on fast starts with the new bike.

Race 8: LW Superbike/Production Twins/Formula Forty Am: Rob's first race of the year took place in very cold conditions as the temperature dropped and large black clouds rolled in. On the warmup lap a pristine 1999 Ducati 900SS with street plastic went down in turn 3. This dampened the enthusiasm of the entire field considerably. There were many entries to the race, and traffic was heavy throughout. Rob improved from a 1:50 on the first lap down to a 1:42 final lap. He placed 6th out of 12, just missing a trophy for his first race in Production Twins. (Pitcrew member Tim also deserved credit for Rob's finish since he found a loose axle bolt during a pre-race inspection that might have cause a world of hurt if it fell off. This was yet another benefit of having a whole team to check each other's bikes and a garage in which to work on them.)

Race 11: MW Supersport/Supertwins Jr/Ex: On the first lap there was a big crash in 1 which caused a red flag. Paul and the other riders went back to the grid, but the cleanup took at least twenty minutes and two ambulances. A few of the riders got their tire warmers out, but the team didn't realize that this was allowed so we didn't get Paul hooked up. The riders were allowed two warmup laps, during which Paul could feel his cold tires sliding around a lot. Paul held back during the race to avoid crashing twice in one day, and finished 17th out of 22 with a best lap of 1:25 flat.

On Sunday the racers awoke to more frost and even ice on their tents. It didn't warm up as much as Saturday, but practices went well for Paul and Bruce. Kit also went out for her first practices of the year.

Race 1: GTO/GTL Am: Bruce did not get to start from the grid due to a late 3rd call. He went in from pit road and ended up 8th out of 14 for the 30 minute race. Lap times ranged from a best of 1:35 to 1:42. Showing increased confidence, Bruce did a nice pass going into turn 3, his old nemesis from last year (multiple crashes).

Race 4: HW Superbike/MW Grand Prix Jr/Ex: Paul scored 4 points for a 12th out of 30 riders, his best finish of the weekend. His best lap was also recorded, a 1:23:47. Paul was able to get down into the 1:23's for several laps during the race. He was definitely starting to get used to the new F4, and expects his lap times to keep dropping rapidly.

Race 5: GP Singles Am/Jr/Ex: This was Bruce's best race of the weekend. Though lacking horsepower on the front straight, he kept outbraking the competition going into turns 1 and 1a and making up the distance. He rode consistent 1:36 times with a best of about 1:36 flat. A well timed pass on the last lap netted him 2nd place overall and 1st place in the Skorpion cup for the amateur class. See his firsthand description below for more details!

Race 10: HW Superbike/LW Supersport Am: Kit rode her first race of the year in excellent new yellow leathers after working all day Saturday to get her bike ready. She concentrated on smooth transitions and netted consistent times in the 2:00 range. See her report below for a new racer's perspective.

Race 11: UN Grand Prix Jr/Ex: The "Dash for Cash" race at the end of each day is the only race with a winner's purse. Paul decided to give it a go and learn from the really fast guys. He turned a best time of 1:24:22 on the way to a 16th place out of 21. He was able to practice dicing and countermoves in the turn 3/4 area.

Special thanks go out to Woodcraft and Street and Comp for supplying replacement parts for Paul's bike after his Saturday morning crash in practice. Thanks to all the sponsors for their generous contributions to the team. We couldn't do it without them.

Individual Racer's Reports

Paul's Report

I got the crash out of the way for the team. Saturday morning, wet track, very cold, new tires. Went out for my first practice, lap one. Take it really slow,
through turn 1a, then turn 2, speed up a bit, slow waaay down for turn 3, get off the brakes, lean the bike over, WTF? I'm on the ground. Broke both front
and rear brake levers and the right footpeg.

Got the bike all squared away before the next practice, and the rest of the weekend continued without incident. Quick summary:

- 12th in GTU (MW Endurance race)
- 15th in MWSB
- 17th in MWSS
- 12th in MWGP (Fastest lap 1:23.47, over a second better then my previous
best!)
- 16th in UNGP

The F4 is an insanely fast bike, I am able to spin the rear tire at the exits of turns 2 and turns 4 at will, and can pull monster wheelies over the turn 5
crest. I am confident that I will be able to get my times down into the low 20's without too much effort.

The weekend started with Thursday practice. Headed up to the track in the late morning, and got 2 hours of practice in. Still running the OEM tires, but the
bike is feeling really good.

I went home Thursday night, and returned Friday am. I helped Sandy in the am, and corner worked the rest of the day. Kit showed up in the late afternoon, and
took over the corner I was working , to let me register and get new Michelin Pilots mounted.

We went into Concord for dinner, and on the way home we could see wet snowflakes mixed in with the rain. :( I went to bed fairly early, electric blankets rock. :)

Saturday am, wake to overcast, grey, cold morning. Finish up with the bike, and get it teched. Bruce showed up with Kits bike, and Rob showed up soon after
that with the new EX. The very first person to go out for morning practice, lowsides in turn 3, so we know its cold, wet, and very sippery out there.

I go out for my first practice. I'm on brand new tires, on a new bike, it's cold, and wet, so I'm taking it very slowly. As I enter turn 3 for the first
time, I slow way down, get off the brakes, lean the bike over, and I'm on the ground. :( Simple lowside, but broke my right rearset, the front brake lever,
and the rear brake lever.

I get the bike back to the pits, get a new front lever from S&C, they don't have an F4 rear lever, so I get an F2 one and make it work. Eric hooks me up with a
new set of rearsets, and I'm back in business for the next practice, which goes much better.

Race 1 is GTU, mw endurance. I'm gridded on the 3rd row, but get a bad start, and go into turn 1 in about 15th position. I'm feeling good for most of the
race, making some good passes, but around lap 1, I start to get tired, and make some small mistakes. At some point Tony I. passes me, but I quickly repass
him. A lap later, thinking that he just put me a lap down, I let him pass again. Much to my dismay, I later find I was racing him for position! I finish
12th out of 22 entries.

Next race is race 7, MWSB. grided ont he 4th row this time. Once again, get a poor start, and have to start playing catch-up. Finish 15th out of 23.

Last race of the day is MWSS. Right off the bat, the race is red flagged due to 2 juniors getting tangles in turn 1 on the start. We are forced to regrid, and
sit, while our tires cool down. On the restart, they give us two warm up laps to heat up the tires. As I lap the track, I feel the tires slipping ever so
slightly, never really getting up to temp. I get a bad restart, and it takes a few laps before I have confidence in the tires. I finish 17th out of 22.

Saturday night is spent doing maintenance on the bikes, getting them ready for the next day.

Sunday. Sunnier, but still cool, but at least it is dry! Practices go well, I'm running consistently in the 25's and 24's. My first race in race #4a,
MWGP. I get an OK start, but am still starting in about 12th position. I make a few passes, and get passed a few times during the race. In the closing laps,
I get passed by #51, a Duc 748, and he pulls a little distance on me. Soon after, #106, Mike Niska passes me. I stay right on his tail. #51 slows waay
down, and that allows me to pass 106 going into turn 3 ont he last lap. I sit ont he tail of 51, and should have passed in in 9 or 10, but don't quite have
the drive. I make a small mistake in turn 12, which gave the position to 51. I finished 12th.

Last race of the weekend was UNGP, #11. I get a bad start again, and start off near the back. During lap 3, I get passed ont he inside going into 3, but I get
the position back up the hill. Coming out of turn 6, #13, a TZ passes me. I stay on his tail, and pass him under braking going into 1. He has a tight line,
I have the outside. As I dive into 1, I feel him make contact with my rear wheel. Hoping he didn't go down, I continue. He was fine, and the passed me in
turn 3. Near the end of the race, #27, Steve Aspland passes me. I sit on his tail, but can never get the position back. I finish 16/21.

A great weekend. I posted my fastest time ever, a 1:23.47. Having a garage rocks. Having a pit crew rocks. This is going to be a great year!

Bruce's report

Saturday morning and it's cold and wet. Finish loading up and get to the track a little before 8am. By the time I finish unloading
and get the bike tech'ed my first practice is already starting. It's still cold and wet and I have new tires... I decide to sit out the
first practice. By the time my second practice arrives the track is mostly dry and my tire warmers have had a chance to do their job.
I turn 1:4x's. Not great but an OK start to the weekend. Thanks to Modern World Ventures and their FogCity shield, visibility is not
a problem. Last year I had to resort to using little rolls of duct tape to keep my face shield open a tiny bit.

LW Sportsman

Fairly uneventful. I get a so-so start and start working my way up. I'm still not good in traffic but I manage to pass a few
bikes and even catch and pass some bikes from the first wave of MW Superbikes. I end up 8th out of 20+ and get down to 1:38's.

Sunday morning and it's cold but not so wet. Electric blankets are a good thing. I get in both morning practices and I'm feeling
pretty comfortable out there.

GTL

Thanks to a late 3rd call, I and about 10 other riders miss pre-grid. We enter the race one at a time from pit road after the rest of the
field has cleared T2. I'm starting close to a half lap down. I'm not happy and I'm pushing hard. I touch a peg in T9. I remind myself
that this is a 30 minute race and get my head on straight. I pass a few people and eventually catch up to a friend. I pass her coming
out of T2 and wave as I go by. I think that motivated her. :) She follows for a lap or so and then goes by on the front straight. Damn
EX500s. Must find more HP... I'm able to catch up by T12 but lose ground on the straight. Lather, rinse, repeat. I end up 8th and
manage a best lap of 1:35.xx. Most encouraging is that at the end of the race I'm not completely dead. Last year I did a GT my first
weekend and could barely get off the bike when I was done. I'm riding more relaxed, I'm not scaring myself, and I'm running just a
bit off last year's pace. This is good.

GP Singles/Skorpion Cup

This should be fun as I know my fellow MuZ riders. Mark and Kevin were both faster than me at the end of last season and Mark is now
running as a junior. Kevin has a built motor but loses much of the extra HP to the fact that he outweighs me by at least 50#.
Paul is a bit off the pace. There's also one other amateur on an RS125. Last year the grid was completely mixed. This year they
have the experts up front followed by juniors and then amateurs. I'm second to last going in to T1. Only the RS125 is slower off
the line. I get by Paul coming out of T3. I don't remember when I get by Mark but my focus is now on Kevin. At some point the
RS125 goes by and disappears. Kevin is a hair faster down the straight but I'm on him by 1a and pull even coming out of T2. Again
he has a bit more for the 2-3 straight and is probably a little later on the brakes setting up for T3. I'm back on his rear wheel
by T9 where I stay until the front straight where he extends the gap again. Lather, rinse, repeat. I know I can take him around
the outside of T9 but I'm not sure I can pull away once I do that. I bide my time. Galen on his MuZ and another expert on an RS125
lap us and the white flag is shown. Now or never. Drag race coming out of T2, stay close..., T9 and I make my move around the
outside. I make it stick and take the checkered just in front of Kevin. Mark must have been right behind the whole time as
his on-track time is the same as Kevin's. I get the second place trophy for GP Singles and contingency money from Bikeworx/MuZ
for the Skorpion Cup win. We run consistent 1:36s with my best lap at 1:36.00.

A good start to the season.

Big thanks to Tim and Jodi for coming up on Saturday and Sunday respectively and the rest of the team that was there all weekend.
Having a pit crew makes a *huge* difference in being relaxed before the start of a race. And of course thanks to all our
sponsors... but Tim will put that in the full report for all of us.

Rob's Report

Saturday: Driving up, there was snow on the ground. Snow. The track was cold and wet. I got a late start that morning and got to the track around 7:30, just in time to wait in the registration line for half an hour and miss my first practice. Since I didn't know what the weather was going to be like on Sunday, I only signed
up for Am. Production Twins. Got to the garage ( man, its nice to have a garage space... ), Kit, Paul, and Bruce were busy getting prepped for their practices. Paul was the first to go out for practice, and the first to greet the pavement in turn 3. Not a good start for the morning.

Thinking that there was only two practices in the morning, I was in no rush to get ready, but when a third practice was announced, I zipped out there on the
EX. First lap of practice, cold tires, wet track, I was taking it easy. Coming out of three for the first time, roll on the gas slightly, back end steps out BIG time. Let off the gas, rear tire hooks up again. Not a good sign. Practice continues, and I start to find my braking and shift points. I'm slow, but I stayed upright.

When race 8 rolls around, my stomach starts churning. I wasn't anywhere near this nervous for my first USCRA race. I was gridded in row 7A, the third row of wave 2. the A column was what I was hoping for, since its on the inside of the track, and the inside of turn one. The first wave takes off, I rev the EX to 6K. Board turns sideways, I lean over the tank. Green flag, guy in front of me pops the biggest wheelie I've ever seen. I zip between him and the cones, passing most of the pack. I go into turn one in third or fourth place. I'm holding my position all the way to turn ten, where I proceed to overcook it a little and shoot right across the grass to the oval. By the time I get back on course, four racers go past. During the next few laps, I manage to pass two other racers, one that was held up by a lapper coming out of turn two and the other through turn nine. Trying to outbrake another in turn 3 has me running wide as my EX pops out of second gear into neutral, and he passes me back on the inside of four. I spend the rest of the race trying to catch him, with my times getting lower each lap. I ended up getting 6th out of 12 in the Production Twins class, one place away from a trophy. Not bad for my first LRRS race.

I decide to camp over at the track with the rest of the team saturday night so I can do the sunday morning practice. Cold. Woke up with ice on the tent. When to go take a shower. Cold. No hot water. Sit in the garage, in front of the heater, waiting for practice, munching on breakfast. Spend the rest of the morning helping out the team, taking pictures, cheering, etc. I'm hooked. Really hooked. I'm already looking forward to next race weekend. I really need to enter more races next time...

Kit's Report

Hey, It's Racing Season!
(Thoughts from a Rank Amateur)

Thursday - April 15, 1999

Tax Day. Do I have time to get my taxes in *and* prep for the race weekend? Paul's already at the track; he can't take my bike up. I can't really ride the bike up and still get all my race gear there, so I'd better just pack up for corner working/pit crewing and be done with it.

Despite folks being gone this weekend already, there's a bit of conversation on the Team Daemon list today, and people crawl out of the woodwork to give me options for getting the bike to the track. Yay Team Daemon! ;) End result: Bruce is going to try to take my bike up on his trailer Saturday when he comes up. Excellent!

Friday - April 16, 1999

I leave work early to get to the track. I call Paul before I depart to see if he needs anything brought up. He wants me to pick up the goped trailer, but I don't leave work *that* early. Oh, well.

I get to the track and find Cooch in the garage. Wow, we have a garage! I don't know where to put anything, because back when we didn't have a garage, everything had its place - right next to our tents. I run back and forth between the garage and Paul's tent for awhile before I give up and decide to set up later. I take Cooch for a walk and then go talk to Paul in Turn 3. He's got work to do on his bike, so I take over his corner while he runs off to Street&Comp, and some Penguin student immediately crashes. Hey, it's racing season! We're baaaaack!

Saturday - April 17, 1999

The bike is in no shape to race. It's been in a wet garage all winter; parts are rusting, parts are inexplicably broken, it needs new tires, and in general needs a whole lot of lovin' maintenance.

I guess it's time.

I haven't decided yet if I'm ready to race. I'm not feeling like I'm quite in the place I need to be to get out on the track, and even corner working seems a bit much right now. However, if I decide tomorrow I'm ready, I'd better have a bike ready, too.

I spend the day moving pretty slowly, helping Paul, Bruce, and Rob get ready for their races, and working on my bike here and there when I have time and motivation. I keep looking at that rear tire and hoping it will have gotten rid of that flat spot from highway commuting by the next time I look at it. (Last year, Peter Kates said one day I'll have to make a decision about whether or not this is a touring/commuting bike, or a race bike. I expect that my first crash will make that decision for me. ;)

I clean a lot of bits, and discover that there is metal under much of that grime, and under that rust which happened when I wasn't looking. (Now that I've finally acquired a garage, the next step is acquiring a garage door.) I get a metal brush and scrub all the rust off my relatively new chain, give it a good lube, and then later clean and lube it again. Eventually I bite the bullet and go over to Street&Comp to see if they have a rear tire that will fit my bike. I decide on a Pirelli Dragon instead of No Chance Of Racing This Weekend (I wanted a Metzeler MEZ1), and after I retrieve it, Tim puts the tire back on for me before dinner.

At the end of the day, Rob helps me drain the anti-freeze, and Paul and Bruce re-do the safety wiring that had been undone for all the previous work. I put numbers on the bike, putter around some more, and go to bed, figuring I'll decide on racing in the morning.

Sunday - April 18, 1999

I wake up at 5:15 am to find a sheet of ice on my tent. I figure this is bad, except that it prevents me from getting wet as I crawl out from under the rain fly, which makes me very happy. I scrape the windshield and driver windows of my car and head for the showers. The hot water is broken, so I head for another set of showers, which are locked. I go to the third set of showers and find slightly warm water. An inauspicious start, but I'll take luke-warm water over cold any day. I grab Cooch, and rush out to registration only to wait in line until 7:30 for them to open. I run into Galen, who's just coming up for the day, and chit-chat with people and shiver until I can register for my race.

Evidently I forgot that I wasn't ready.

Back in the garage, I realize that I have very little time to tech and still get into my new Vanson leathers before 8:00 practice. Rob offers to go to tech for me, but I figure I have *just* enough of a window to do it. Over at tech, there's a long line, and a tech inspectors' pow-wow going on while we all wait nervously and look at our watches. Finally they let us through, and Bob Perkins reminds me that I have a new tire and to take it easy until it's scrubbed in. I assure him that I'll be careful, and get myself back to the Team Daemon garage quickly. I do the "ouch! that armor sure hurts my chins" dance on Bruce's convenient little changing carpet and throw my corner worker jacket on over the leathers to cover the perf holes. (How did I not notice these leathers are perfed when I bought them? It's 40 degrees! Gack!)

Final call for Amateur Red practice. Rob and I head out, and try to avoid the puddles of water everywhere in the pits. As I ride out pit road Iremember what it's like to be on the track, the excitement and the slight nervousness of really Being Out There. Dick Jalbert gives me the customary thumbs up, and I move into Turn 1A. All of a sudden, I'm losing traction, at about 25 mph and hardly leaned over at all. Whoa, this new tire is *slick*! I ease off the throttle and keep it more upright going aroundTurn 2 and Turn 3. I want my tires to warm up a little so I twist the throttle a bit; I know that most people scrub tires about 30 seconds faster per lap than my best time ever, so I should be safe. Tire's a little slippery still in Turn 10, so I decide to stay steady for 3 entire laps. I begin to get the feeling for the track again, and I forget about the nervousness I had on pit road. I try to lean more in each turn, to make sure the tire's scrubbed in everywhere I intend to use it later. (I still intend to learn how to race before I learn how to crash.) Before I know it, the checkered flag is out, and I head back in. I wish I'd had another hour to keep going around, but I'll have to wait until my next fifteen minutes of practice.

Second practice, a lot more people on the track. The day is warmer, the track is warmer, my tires are scrubbed. I decide to practice racing, this time. Smooth first lap, no real shifting, no real acceleration, just moving with the bike and feeling good about riding. Second lap, try to maximize speed by keeping good lines, and hanging off. I don't really have the knack of hanging off; every time I try it I destabilize the bike some. I think I need to find someone good at this who rides slightly faster than I do, and follow them around. A few times, people pass me in the slightly straight bits and I get to follow them around corners. I seem to be better at carrying my speed through the turns than a lot of other new racers, and my lines are also keeping me in the right place most of the time to get the most out of them.

I do not like to go fast.

I like to be smooth - it feels... more right, to me. My heroes are Doug Chandler, Jason Pridmore, and Eric Wood. Somehow, though, they manage to be smooth *and* fast instead of just smooth. I guess I'll get there.

It occurs to me that I need to remind myself to Use The Throttle in places where I actually can do that (back straight, exit of T4, exit of T10), but I seem to only remember that option on the front straight, long after I should have downshifted and opened it up exiting T11. See, I know how to ride, I just don't know how to race. But that's what I'm here for, to learn how to race. I practice accelerating, and it's surprisingly fun. I'm still trying to hang off, and I'm attempting to be stable and consistent. I look down at my duct tape on the tank which reads "TT" and "B" (advice from Race Control for chick racers ;) and try to do that, too. My brain is juggling a lot of extra things for this little racing exercise, and I hope that I am up to the task of getting it all down. It's like learning how to ride all over again. I pass someone for the first time ever. It's trivial, which surprises me. But there are only two of us - we have a lot of room. Rob passes me and I decide to follow him around the track. I come up on him really fast in Turn 3 and I wind up taking the entire turn with the clutch in. Sigh. That's my scariest turn, and I was hoping to get one more run at it while feeling good.

Practice is over... that was way too soon. Again.

During the day, while I help the guys with their races and consider my afternoon race, I think about being competitive. I don't really have the inherent drive to be competitive - it's just not in my basic nature. (Don't tell me it's a female thing - most women I know are competitive, they're just not usually testosterone-laden about it. ;) I realize that in a lot of ways, I'm better than a lot of the people I'm on the track with, in terms of smoothness and concept of where to be and when. (I guess all that corner working has done some good in that regard.) And from this I realize I have a building block for the competitive edge. If I really am better at some of these things, shouldn't I be beating some of these people around the track? What's holding me back? It's certainly not my skill, nor is it my bike. The big barrier here is my brain, and acceleration is the first step in getting over it.

I get a little nervous before my race. I discover that the two classes in my race are heavy weight super bikes and light weight super sport. My corner working experience has taught me to fear the amateurs on the big bikes, and I don't want to be on the track with them. I especially don't want them lapping me, since I'm in the second wave and they're going to catch me. Well, I have armor this time, so if I do get tagged, I'm less likely to get hurt.

Race time: I'm gridded next to Paul Conley from Motomarket. That's kinda cool. He's a real sweetie and I feel more at home while we're chatting
before the five minute board.

The race begins. First wave is off, and I look for our green flag for the second wave. I catch it a moment too late and I'm off to a slow start. This doesn't bother me too much, as the big bikes are just now entering Turn 1A and I know what a mess that usually is. Indeed, as I approach Turn 1, there's a yellow flag waving. I slow down and try to figure out where not to go as I enter the turn - I don't find anything and try to get back to the idea that this is a race, not an accident scene that I have to deal with. As I come around Turn 2, I see another yellow flag waving; someone's down in Turn 3. I get around that situation and continue with the race. For awhile, the track is my own, and then I come up on someone. The guy immediately ahead of me is Not Very Good. I decide to try to pass him - he goes faster than I do, but he's kinda sloppy. I feel the competitive urge hit, and I chase him for awhile. Then I realize that my riding is getting sloppy, too, and that I'm headed for disaster if I don't start thinking about riding instead of passing. I start concentrating again on riding well and I forget all about the guy ahead of me. (Later I reflect upon how the competitive drive made me stop thinking, and I wonder about how to balance the urges so that I want to *win* but I don't stop being smart about it.)

Soon, I come up over Turn 5 and I see all the big bikes entering 3 below me, out of the corner of my eye. I start thinking about them about to pass me, and I don't want that to happen - they're fast and inexperienced, a combination I don't like. I get rattled and start to slow down, and then I realize I *really* don't want them to pass me in the beautiful section of the track that is Turns 6-10. I gun it to get through there, hold everyone up in the chicane between Turns 11 and 12, and let them all pass me on the front straight. Whew. Somewhere during that stretch between 6-9 I've realized that I need to ride *my* ride, not anyone else's, and I stop paying super-close attention to what everyone else is doing.

I try to push myself some more without being stupid, with some small success. As I've been reminded a couple of times already, it's a better race when I Just Ride, so I concentrate on that. I have a couple of scary moments when someone passes me on the outside in 9, and someone else comes up almost immediately and passes me on the inside, where there is really no room for that. I stand it up a bit and hope that nobody is on the outside following the first guy by my tires, and I drop anchor some as I enter Turn 10. I think this is the last lap, anyway, and people are pushing for position, so I let them do that and try not to get in anyone's way. I cross the finish line and remind myself not to blow Turn 1 just because the race is over, and to wave at all the corner workers as I go around for the cooldown lap.

I come into the pit and realize I really liked that. Heh.

Later, I check my lap times and I've dropped 2 seconds off my best from last year, and 20 seconds since this morning's practices. I came in 11th
in my race.

I gotta do this more often.