CPM F4
11-21-2005, 01:56 PM
Wow! What an incredible weekend! Mikey and I met up with Allan and Jeremy on Saturday to start New Racers School. Me, Mike and Allan were taking the school and Jeremy was there for support which we all really appreciated. At the track, we set up next to Jerry and Steve and got our tent city going. Then it was off to tech and then the school.
The school consisted of classroom sessions where the instructor talked about the race lines, safely exiting the track, race starts and rules of getting out of novice class as well as racing in the expert classes. This was mixed in with on track time where the school staff both observed the lines people took and timed our laps. They wanted to see consistency in the lines (meaning you were taking the proper lines into turns, hitting the apexes and coming out correctly) and times under two minutes.
In NRS there were riders of all different skill levels, ages and careers. We had a bike cop, a surgeon and his wife and even Dustin Coyner's dad who decided to get back into racing after taking a few years off. There were people who hadn't done many track days and others that the instructor considered professional track riders or track day junkies. What we all had in common was that we wanted to take it to the next level and see what it was like to race.
Once we passed the class, then the really fun part began. Race starts.
There were a total of three race starts which were an optional part of the class. The first two starts were for one lap around the circuit each time and then you stopped at start/finish to be gridded up again. The nice part about that was that they put you in different spots every time so that you could experience starting from different parts of the track. The third time was open track time. After the start, you could run the track until the checkered flag came out. It was so much fun duking it out with all the riders into turn one. You had to pick your way through the field, squeezing into spots and beating people into the turn or getting them in turn two after they got you in turn one. Roger Ebert gives it a two thumbs up. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
At the end of the day, we all headed to Ramon's for some Mexican cuisine. Apperently it was my birthday that night and I didn't realize it. All the waiters came out, put a sombrero on my head, gave me flan with whipped cream and a candle on it and sang Happy Birtday to me in Spanish. Ha, ha! That was too much fun. Thanks Jared and Steve for setting that up.
Back to the motel and as soon as our heads hit the pillows we were snoring like lawnmowers. That was around 7:30. Could you tell we were beat?:)
We were back to the track before 7 on Sunday morning. Allan and I had to swap out our tires and get our bikes reteched. Although we passed the day before, this time we had to go back and do more safety wiring. Both of us were scrambling to get it done because we had to hit the second of two practice sessions to scrub in our new tires. You've never seen two Asian dudes work faster getting our bikes up to snuff.
The rest of the day was spent going to the riders meeting, eating and watching the other races. We watched Kenny Kopecky clinch his division title and other exciting competitions. After race 14 we started to get ready for our Middleweight Novice race which was number 17 on the docket. As first call came around, the nerves started to go. Breathing became heavier and the mind started to tune everything else out. As we went through check in and waited to do our warmup lap, things became even more intense. Around the circuit and then I gridded up in 12th position which was four rows back and on the outside, a nice place to start my first race. Need to check my breathing. Slowly in, slowly out. Deep breaths. Relax. RELAX! As the flag man held up the number 2 board, the heart started to pound and the revs came up. The board was flipped to number 1 - clutch was let out some. Board turned sideways - Get ready to go. Green flag! GO! GO! GO!!!!!!!!!!
I got a so-so start but decided to stay on the outside because everybody was going to dive inside for turn one. I was able to move around a few riders on the outside and then drag raced down to two staying inside. As riders went in, I stayed a little wide taking them on the outside. I was able to keep a good pace duking it out with a couple of riders throughout the race. I passed one rider in turn one, late braking him after we raced neck and neck down the front straight. I was able to pass another racer on the outside of turn two which has to be the coolest place to pass because you can see just how far you're leaned over as you come up on the rider.
I finally passed a racer in turn 8 that I was chasing down for two laps. That was when the white flag came out. I went into one too hot, ended up going wide and off the track. I couldn't get back on until the field had gone by. It was a really disappointing finish to what was a really great race for me. Overall though, I am happy about how I did throughout the weekend. I was able to build up my confidence to push my self harder and go faster bringing my lap times down and I moved up five positions in my race before I went off. I am looking forward to the December races and being out there with everyone. A nice topper to everything was having Jerry and Jared come in 1st and 2nd in our race. Congrats guys! That was awesome.
Many many thanks to the Buymoto crew (Bryant, Jae, Mikey, Becky and Jeanette) and Alex Weathersby for their support in putting my bike together; Jason, Jared, Jerry and Aaron for giving me advice on setting up the bike and on how to go fast out on the track; Jeremy, Mikey and Jenn for pitcrew "duties"; the Cycy crew (Arnold, Sean, Chucky, Roda, Sang, Robert, Giovani) for cheering us on; Allan, Mikey and Steve for taking NRS with me. December races here we come.
The school consisted of classroom sessions where the instructor talked about the race lines, safely exiting the track, race starts and rules of getting out of novice class as well as racing in the expert classes. This was mixed in with on track time where the school staff both observed the lines people took and timed our laps. They wanted to see consistency in the lines (meaning you were taking the proper lines into turns, hitting the apexes and coming out correctly) and times under two minutes.
In NRS there were riders of all different skill levels, ages and careers. We had a bike cop, a surgeon and his wife and even Dustin Coyner's dad who decided to get back into racing after taking a few years off. There were people who hadn't done many track days and others that the instructor considered professional track riders or track day junkies. What we all had in common was that we wanted to take it to the next level and see what it was like to race.
Once we passed the class, then the really fun part began. Race starts.
There were a total of three race starts which were an optional part of the class. The first two starts were for one lap around the circuit each time and then you stopped at start/finish to be gridded up again. The nice part about that was that they put you in different spots every time so that you could experience starting from different parts of the track. The third time was open track time. After the start, you could run the track until the checkered flag came out. It was so much fun duking it out with all the riders into turn one. You had to pick your way through the field, squeezing into spots and beating people into the turn or getting them in turn two after they got you in turn one. Roger Ebert gives it a two thumbs up. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
At the end of the day, we all headed to Ramon's for some Mexican cuisine. Apperently it was my birthday that night and I didn't realize it. All the waiters came out, put a sombrero on my head, gave me flan with whipped cream and a candle on it and sang Happy Birtday to me in Spanish. Ha, ha! That was too much fun. Thanks Jared and Steve for setting that up.
Back to the motel and as soon as our heads hit the pillows we were snoring like lawnmowers. That was around 7:30. Could you tell we were beat?:)
We were back to the track before 7 on Sunday morning. Allan and I had to swap out our tires and get our bikes reteched. Although we passed the day before, this time we had to go back and do more safety wiring. Both of us were scrambling to get it done because we had to hit the second of two practice sessions to scrub in our new tires. You've never seen two Asian dudes work faster getting our bikes up to snuff.
The rest of the day was spent going to the riders meeting, eating and watching the other races. We watched Kenny Kopecky clinch his division title and other exciting competitions. After race 14 we started to get ready for our Middleweight Novice race which was number 17 on the docket. As first call came around, the nerves started to go. Breathing became heavier and the mind started to tune everything else out. As we went through check in and waited to do our warmup lap, things became even more intense. Around the circuit and then I gridded up in 12th position which was four rows back and on the outside, a nice place to start my first race. Need to check my breathing. Slowly in, slowly out. Deep breaths. Relax. RELAX! As the flag man held up the number 2 board, the heart started to pound and the revs came up. The board was flipped to number 1 - clutch was let out some. Board turned sideways - Get ready to go. Green flag! GO! GO! GO!!!!!!!!!!
I got a so-so start but decided to stay on the outside because everybody was going to dive inside for turn one. I was able to move around a few riders on the outside and then drag raced down to two staying inside. As riders went in, I stayed a little wide taking them on the outside. I was able to keep a good pace duking it out with a couple of riders throughout the race. I passed one rider in turn one, late braking him after we raced neck and neck down the front straight. I was able to pass another racer on the outside of turn two which has to be the coolest place to pass because you can see just how far you're leaned over as you come up on the rider.
I finally passed a racer in turn 8 that I was chasing down for two laps. That was when the white flag came out. I went into one too hot, ended up going wide and off the track. I couldn't get back on until the field had gone by. It was a really disappointing finish to what was a really great race for me. Overall though, I am happy about how I did throughout the weekend. I was able to build up my confidence to push my self harder and go faster bringing my lap times down and I moved up five positions in my race before I went off. I am looking forward to the December races and being out there with everyone. A nice topper to everything was having Jerry and Jared come in 1st and 2nd in our race. Congrats guys! That was awesome.
Many many thanks to the Buymoto crew (Bryant, Jae, Mikey, Becky and Jeanette) and Alex Weathersby for their support in putting my bike together; Jason, Jared, Jerry and Aaron for giving me advice on setting up the bike and on how to go fast out on the track; Jeremy, Mikey and Jenn for pitcrew "duties"; the Cycy crew (Arnold, Sean, Chucky, Roda, Sang, Robert, Giovani) for cheering us on; Allan, Mikey and Steve for taking NRS with me. December races here we come.