Round 2 was on the Modified Track at Grand Bend. Things started off looking bad with some mechanical issues but it all got sorted quick and I managed to make qualifying on Saturday and both sprint races Sunday. Results pretty much on target, including a podium in Battle of the Twins Lightweight. Feeling great with my first real sprint races under my belt.
Round 2
Round 2 was June 14 - 15. I skipped Friday practice since I already had some experience on this layout (Modified Track), and instead hit the road before 5:00 am Saturday morning. Arrived at the track at 7:00 to find my two Prairie Dog Racing teammates fast asleep in the trailer. Woke them up rudely then got the bike unloaded and ready for tech. So far all according to plan.
Saturday Practice and Qualifying
First practice session...and the bike breaks on the first lap. Just started running on one cylinder. Rode it back to the pits in a FURY. Parked it, yelled some obscenities, then started preparing the "For Sale - Cheap" sign.
Eventually I calmed down, got out the diagnostics equipment and isolated the problem (injector lead again). Fixed it in no time and got back on the track before the morning practice ended.
I eventually got my practice times down to what I was hoping for. When I wasn't in traffic 0:59s were easy, and there were some low 58's in there as well. Excellent - right on target. I was pretty much correct with predictions on where I could make up some time, especially in Turn 1.
Qualifying for the BOTT LW race was interesting. Our class was combined with Lost Era Heavyweight, with the Lost Era guys in front of us because they are faster. BOTT LW qualifying quickly became a battle between myself and Alex on his 748. I basically followed him around for all 6 laps, never getting close enough to pass, but taking note of where he was faster than I was, and where I could make time on him. I qualified just behind him in second. I was very pleased with this, as it was confirmation that my bike could be very competitive in this class, as I had expected.
My Rookie 600 qualifying race was the very next one - I literally pulled off the track from my first qualifier, then did a U-turn and joined the mock grid for Rookie. I was a bit tired and started riding kind of ragged. I did make up quite a few spots working my way through the back of the large field (17!), and probably could have caught one more but then I screwed up the entry to Turn 2 and ended up running across the grass. I ended up 9th.
Here are a few photos from Saturday qualifying.
Saturday Endurance Race
Our 3-h endurance race went pretty well. I only did two stints while Steve and Allen each did three. We messed up our fuel calculation and ended up having to refuel twice instead of once. The GTU class is *very* competitive. We finished last place (fourth) in GTU, but only one team in GTO turned more laps than us, so we were fifth overall. Pretty respectable all in all and we are all getting faster.
Battle of the Twins Race - Sunday
I really botched the start in the twins race, sending the front wheel sky high in a completely uncontrolled wheelie. In the end it didn't matter though because I caught up to Alex quickly and eventually passed him under braking into the carousel. I led for a few laps but didn't really have a feel for how far behind me he might be...and then out of nowhere he gets me back in exactly the same spot! As you can see in the video I had a plan to try to retake the position, but unfortunately I got lapped by the leader of the Lost Era race on the last lap, and so our race was shortened by one lap and I never got the chance to challenge Alex again before the finish. I was happy with second but my intention is to fight harder for first in Round 3.
Rookie 600 Race
I was a bit nervous about the Rookie 600 race because there were 17 on the grid, with me about midpack at position 9. Honestly, I got another pretty awful start but at least I didn't pull another wheelie. Things didn't really spread out much midpack for the first few laps, and at one point I got behind a bit of an incident where the rider in front of me was forced to brake really hard to avoid the bike ahead of him entering Turn 2. I kept my nose clean but lost a pile of positions. That actually turned out all right because then I had the fun (and practice) of re-passing all of those guys. I swapped places with one fellow in particular multiple times. In the end, after all that action, I finished right where I started: 9th.
I was actually pretty happy with the way the bike performed in the race, against machines with quite a bit more motor. The Ducati is very stable under braking and can carry a lot of corner speed, so I was quite often able to pass people entering the faster corners at the end of both straights. I made a lot of passes into Turn 1 which gave the people in the grand stands a nice show. The race was a lot of fun and has convinced me to stick with the rookie class for the rest of the season to see if I can move up the rankings a bit. I will never turn the times that the front runners are capable of, but upper third of the pack should not be out of reach if I can dig a little deeper. I did get faster over the course of the race, eventually turning low 58s consistently. Video:
Summary
Having now completed my first real sprint races, I have to say that I am enjoying myself and am pleased with my progress. Such a relief after the disaster of Round 1! I even earned a little tire contingency money for my second place BOTT LW finish (thanks Bridgestone and RIPP racing).
Reviewing my goals for Round 2:
1. Don't crash - Check!
2. Don't miss any qualifying or sprint races due to mechanical issues - Check!
3. Get average practice lap times down to 0:59.x, and turn at least a few 0:58.x - I did better than this, putting in a pile of 58s and one 0:57.94.
4. Podium finish in BOTT LW (why not?) - Yep! Hooray!
5. Mid-pack or better finish in Rookie 600 - Not quite (9 / 17) but close enough.
6. Have fun - Most certainly.
