August 23/24th I had the opportunity to head out to some trackdays. There were some very specific things I wanted to work on, primarily gaining consistency on my lines in 11-15, and continuing to edge on my brakes and throttle. With clear goals after the last race round, I was looking forward to working on these things this weekend. I figured I could easily shed another 2 seconds off my race time, so that was the weekend goal, along with another silly goal, but one I wanted just for my own ego.
Friday night I picked up a fellow BARFer's bike, and headed up to Thunderhill. Saturday dawned with the promise of some perfect weather, got pits set up and prepped for the day. That morning I ended up riding the entire time with the exception of sitting out one session - I was helping friends in both B and C group, then going out in A group to work on my own things. By lunch I was already getting tired!
Ate, and then decided to pace myself a little more in the afternoon, heading out for one session per hour. On the 2 o'clock hour I went out and came across Shawn Reilly of Z2 on the track. Had a chance to follow him a bit, then he ducked behind and let me take the lead. WELL, let's just say we made goal #2 - even if it was a bit of a poser move :D
I had also met my time goals for the weekend, dropping another 2 seconds off my race time and putting down a 2:09...again, with some areas where I can continue to shave time, one tiny step at a time.
Doing all of this has made me realize the benefit of knowing laptimes once you've gotten beyond the basics - it provides a great opportunity to really measure if you are improving, and frees you up to shave time in reasonable increments, all the while KNOWING that you are getting better.
Saturday evening had the usual Z2 double-header party which is always a good time! Finally off to bed for some much needed sleep.
Sunday I was working grid and riding, so I mostly stuck to riding B group with a couple C group sessions for the ones I rode. Although I wasn't running the lap timer on Sunday, I'm pretty certain I shaved another second or two off what I was running by getting a little more aggressive on the throttle and trying to implement some of Shawn's suggestions from the previous day which helped on a couple exits.
Overall, it was a great weekend where I was able to accomplish my goals with flying colors! Coming up with smaller goals, and having more ideas on how to slowly accomplish them has been helping immensely, and I can't thank the instructors, friends, sponsors and others who are helping me accomplish this!
Friday night I picked up a fellow BARFer's bike, and headed up to Thunderhill. Saturday dawned with the promise of some perfect weather, got pits set up and prepped for the day. That morning I ended up riding the entire time with the exception of sitting out one session - I was helping friends in both B and C group, then going out in A group to work on my own things. By lunch I was already getting tired!
Ate, and then decided to pace myself a little more in the afternoon, heading out for one session per hour. On the 2 o'clock hour I went out and came across Shawn Reilly of Z2 on the track. Had a chance to follow him a bit, then he ducked behind and let me take the lead. WELL, let's just say we made goal #2 - even if it was a bit of a poser move :D
I had also met my time goals for the weekend, dropping another 2 seconds off my race time and putting down a 2:09...again, with some areas where I can continue to shave time, one tiny step at a time.
Doing all of this has made me realize the benefit of knowing laptimes once you've gotten beyond the basics - it provides a great opportunity to really measure if you are improving, and frees you up to shave time in reasonable increments, all the while KNOWING that you are getting better.
Saturday evening had the usual Z2 double-header party which is always a good time! Finally off to bed for some much needed sleep.
Sunday I was working grid and riding, so I mostly stuck to riding B group with a couple C group sessions for the ones I rode. Although I wasn't running the lap timer on Sunday, I'm pretty certain I shaved another second or two off what I was running by getting a little more aggressive on the throttle and trying to implement some of Shawn's suggestions from the previous day which helped on a couple exits.
Overall, it was a great weekend where I was able to accomplish my goals with flying colors! Coming up with smaller goals, and having more ideas on how to slowly accomplish them has been helping immensely, and I can't thank the instructors, friends, sponsors and others who are helping me accomplish this!
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