Round 5 of WMRRA was to be a big weekend. If I performed well in my evaluation and was able to finish the two novice heats  that were scheduled, I would be eligible to graduate and start racing in the expert classes.

 

This would prove to be a fairly difficult proposition. All of the sprint races were scheduled on Saturday to accommodate the 6 hour endurance race on Sunday. I would have only a single early practice session in the morning to get up to speed. To compound this, I was still recovering from a  crash the  previous week while participating in a track day at SCMP. 

 

I had grabbed too much throttle on the exit of Turn 7 and spun the rear up, in a panic move, I chopped the throttle and the bike high sided. I was tossed off and landed quite unceremoinsly in the middle of the track on my right hip. I was able to hobble off the track, but the bike was done for the day. I had destroyed the kill switch, throttle and master cylinder and put a good dent in the tank. Worse, I had bruised my hip badly and pulled a groin muscle. After 8 days of taking it easy, I was still having trouble walking, but I was able get on the bike with a little assistance, so I was determined to go out and perform well in my heats.

 

I headed out to my one and only practice session with SV guru Tom Marx, who helped show me some great lines that I had been missing. I was very tentative and turned mid 1:50’s in the practice session. 

 

The first heat of the day was soon after the morning practice, so I had very little time to dwell on my poor practice. After a quick warm-up lap, I took my place at the very back of the 35 bike Novice grid. I got a decent start, but hesitated to pass in to turn 1. I maintained my position as a back marker for the first lap and began to try to reel in a few riders as I got up to pace. 3 laps into our 6 lap sprint, I exited the bus stop, and my right clip-on rotated down until it was pinned against the frame. I had adjusted the thing between practice and this heat and I had failed to adequately torque the bolts down. Needless to say, I backed off and finished the last 3 laps well off of my normal place. Unfortunately, a bad battery in my transponder prevented any times from being recorded. My mistake brought into sharp focus, the need to throughly check every single component on the bike before every race. 

 

I spent the next few hours preparing for my final heat. I would be observed by the WMRRA officials for my technique and my ability to race in the expert class safely. I knew that after my  dismal showing in the practice and first heat, I would really need to step it up if I was to have any hope of graduating. I made a quick call to my mentor Jim Vollbrecht and that helped boost my confidence enough to get out there and really give it my best. 

 

The second heat was later in the day so the track was dry, and the weather fair. Again, I gridded in the back along with a fellow SV Novice, Eric May. Eric and I have been  in a few great battles this season and I was hoping for more with this final Novice sprint. 

 

I got a good start passing 5 or 6 people, but my early braking for turn three put me back into the rear of the pack. I was determined not to finish last again. I saw Eric and another SV rider Ken Buckner ahead of me and put my head down in an effort to catch them. I stuck with eric and Ken for the first 3 laps each of us running consistent 1:49’s and 1:50’s. going into the 4th lap Eric made a great pass on a rider ahead of us and promptly threw down a 1:46. I would not be able to catch him. Coming through the bus stop on lap 5 I was right on the tail of Ken. I put my head down and was able to pass him on the gas just after the chute. We finished off the final lap, and headed back to the pits. I was ecstatic. After a dismal morning, I had regained some confidence and dropped back down to 1:49 laps, which while still not enough to make me a danger in any of the expert classes, was enough to graduate. 

 

This season has been an incredible learning experience for me. I have learned a great deal about racing, improved my lap times and met many wonderful people. I am looking forward to once again racing in 2009.