This round was one that I wasn't sure I'd be able to make...with rounds 5 and 6 being so close together, combined with a trackday in between there, finances were not looking good - however, I was also in the process of getting a new job, which would mean a big vacation payout from my current job. Everything was getting down to the wire, but in the week preceding Round 6, everything came together and I was able to make things work for the race round, even if there was some stretching going on.
Since this round was at the relatively close track of Sonoma Raceway, I headed out Saturday morning with bike and pit in tow. Made it there plenty early, got set up, went through registration and tech, and prepared for the rider's meeting and the starts of practice. Thankfully I was in practice group 1 - while that may sound weird, I was glad to be in the slow group. I've only had one day at Sonoma on this bike, and it was months ago - and I hadn't felt that great on the bike that day. This meant that the races were only my second time really riding this bike at Sonoma. While I've been getting far more comfortable at Thunderhill on the bike, that's only one track with a lack of variety. Sonoma is completely different to ride, and there is a lot of braking if you want to get around it quickly - and that was still my weakest thing with this bike.
I spent the majority of the first 3 practice sessions (which were short - of the 4 sessions I got, I got 6 laps in 2 of them, 4 in 1 and only 3 in the one they cut short) just trying to figure out what gear I wanted to be in for most of the track. I finally settled on what I wanted, and while a little more shifting probably would have helped with drive, a little less made me more comfortable so I went with that. I had started the day doing a 2:19....pretty sad time for Sonoma, but I was comfortable with what I was doing and steadily improving which has been my goal all summer.
Finally practices were over and it was time to relax before my race. My pit buddy (who wasn't able to race the round) arrived and helped me get ready and saw me off. Out to the hot pits for a few practice starts and to be sure the bike and I were warmed up. We were racing in AFemme Novice, and soon it was time to head over for our warm up lap. Out we went, and found our grid spot #6.
Two board went up, 1, sideways - GREEN! I had a MUCH better start this time, and off we went! Things were going fairly well, I was feeling comfortable on the bike and while we had a lot of places I know I can go deeper/faster through eventually, I kept it comfortable and relaxed. Eventually I started hitting lap traffic..this gave me some opportunities to practice some of the tips I had gotten after my last trackday. I tried to carefully set up my passes without killing my speed or being a spaz about it. A little bit of planning went a long ways and my passes felt controlled and easy. I had a few lines that I kept messing up a bit, but nothing that a trackday or two wouldn't sort out. Finally the white flag was out and we were on the final lap! Finished working my way through traffic and up to the checkered flag!
I knew I wasn't putting down the times I had been on my old bike, but I also knew I had made a lot of progress during the day, enjoyed the ride, and finished the race. Again, I wasn't concerned with getting faster - I KNOW that will come quickly as has been experienced consistently at Thunderhill. I returned to the pits, put the bike up and stripped down to check results - I was pretty sure I had held 3rd place....to my surprise, one of the faster ladies had DNF'd and that gave me 2nd place!
My times had worked down to a 2:04...again, nothing to brag about at that track, but it was a huge improvement over where I had started the day. I also had VERY consistent lap times throughout the race, which was another good thing...I can build from that very easily.
With my times being where they were, I decided to skip any Sunday races - had I gotten down to sub-2 minutes I would have done a race or two on Sunday, but I knew where I was at wasn't quite there just yet. No worries, I know it will get there with another day or two on that track!
I went out Sunday to watch and enjoy the races, and had a great time. I'm looking forward to a quiet month in September so I can focus on getting the new job going and recovering financially a bit, so while I'm sure I'll be stir crazy by the end of the month, I'll at least go into the last round ready to GO!
Since this round was at the relatively close track of Sonoma Raceway, I headed out Saturday morning with bike and pit in tow. Made it there plenty early, got set up, went through registration and tech, and prepared for the rider's meeting and the starts of practice. Thankfully I was in practice group 1 - while that may sound weird, I was glad to be in the slow group. I've only had one day at Sonoma on this bike, and it was months ago - and I hadn't felt that great on the bike that day. This meant that the races were only my second time really riding this bike at Sonoma. While I've been getting far more comfortable at Thunderhill on the bike, that's only one track with a lack of variety. Sonoma is completely different to ride, and there is a lot of braking if you want to get around it quickly - and that was still my weakest thing with this bike.
I spent the majority of the first 3 practice sessions (which were short - of the 4 sessions I got, I got 6 laps in 2 of them, 4 in 1 and only 3 in the one they cut short) just trying to figure out what gear I wanted to be in for most of the track. I finally settled on what I wanted, and while a little more shifting probably would have helped with drive, a little less made me more comfortable so I went with that. I had started the day doing a 2:19....pretty sad time for Sonoma, but I was comfortable with what I was doing and steadily improving which has been my goal all summer.
Finally practices were over and it was time to relax before my race. My pit buddy (who wasn't able to race the round) arrived and helped me get ready and saw me off. Out to the hot pits for a few practice starts and to be sure the bike and I were warmed up. We were racing in AFemme Novice, and soon it was time to head over for our warm up lap. Out we went, and found our grid spot #6.
Two board went up, 1, sideways - GREEN! I had a MUCH better start this time, and off we went! Things were going fairly well, I was feeling comfortable on the bike and while we had a lot of places I know I can go deeper/faster through eventually, I kept it comfortable and relaxed. Eventually I started hitting lap traffic..this gave me some opportunities to practice some of the tips I had gotten after my last trackday. I tried to carefully set up my passes without killing my speed or being a spaz about it. A little bit of planning went a long ways and my passes felt controlled and easy. I had a few lines that I kept messing up a bit, but nothing that a trackday or two wouldn't sort out. Finally the white flag was out and we were on the final lap! Finished working my way through traffic and up to the checkered flag!
I knew I wasn't putting down the times I had been on my old bike, but I also knew I had made a lot of progress during the day, enjoyed the ride, and finished the race. Again, I wasn't concerned with getting faster - I KNOW that will come quickly as has been experienced consistently at Thunderhill. I returned to the pits, put the bike up and stripped down to check results - I was pretty sure I had held 3rd place....to my surprise, one of the faster ladies had DNF'd and that gave me 2nd place!
My times had worked down to a 2:04...again, nothing to brag about at that track, but it was a huge improvement over where I had started the day. I also had VERY consistent lap times throughout the race, which was another good thing...I can build from that very easily.
With my times being where they were, I decided to skip any Sunday races - had I gotten down to sub-2 minutes I would have done a race or two on Sunday, but I knew where I was at wasn't quite there just yet. No worries, I know it will get there with another day or two on that track!
I went out Sunday to watch and enjoy the races, and had a great time. I'm looking forward to a quiet month in September so I can focus on getting the new job going and recovering financially a bit, so while I'm sure I'll be stir crazy by the end of the month, I'll at least go into the last round ready to GO!
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