This early September weekend is historically a chance for us to cool off
after the summer rounds up at Thunderhill. Typically, Sonoma has nice, cool
weather that makes for a very pleasant weekend. The weather gods had other
plans in mind this year, however, and the weekend started to look like a
scorcher with temps well over 100 degrees.
Since it was a holiday weekend, things were pretty quiet at work on
Friday and I managed to sneak out to get loaded and off to the track for the
weekend a bit earlier than I originally had hoped. Even in where I live, where
it is typically one of the coolest areas in the bay, it was hot. I was soaked
with sweat just loading the truck!
I made my way through holiday traffic and got to the track a little after
4 and got started setting up for the weekend. I knew my suspension needed some
help, so I headed over to Catalyst Reaction and paid Jim for some help for the
weekend. He is familiar with me and my riding, so I figured it was a good place
to go since he’d know what I, as a rider, needed in a set up. Sure enough, he
tweaked things a bit, offered a couple suggestions, but the big things like
spring rates were about where they needed to be with some minor changes –
either way, it was close enough that we could work with it for this weekend.
Saturday was looking to be the hottest day of the long weekend, with
predicted temperatures soaring well above 110 degrees. I skipped my first
practice session to get a massage before starting the weekend, something that I
have definitely needed but have been putting off. I made it out for my next
practice session, and the bike felt pretty good, and while my times were
immediately where they had been the previous trackday, they were still pretty
dang slow even for me.
My third session got lost due to a red flag which delayed things and I
decided to get my tires swapped while I could. I finally made it back out for
the fourth and final session to scrub in the tires and make sure I was on point
for the race that afternoon. By this time things were HOT – it was 106 degrees
in the garage! Thankfully my Skratch Labs were doing their job, and I wasn’t
feeling overheated.
Races kicked off on schedule, and after helping teammates make it out for
their races, I got ready for my AFemme race. This year, this has been the only
class I’ve been reasonably competitive in, and I was relatively confident I
could make a fight for the win – I knew it wouldn’t be an easy win by any
stretch, but it felt like it was within reach. Last call finally came, and I
headed out to the grid donning my new AGV Pista GPR which I have fallen in love
with.
We gridded up, and since I was sitting in second for the season, had my
spot on the front row. The green flag dropped and I had a good start. For a
moment it looked like Valentine might get the hole shot, but a wheelie on her
part gave that spot away and I was able to take the lead. The other 3 ladies
were all right on my tail though, and I knew I needed to work to keep them back
there. Open track in front of me with competitors behind are always my best
laps, so I knew this could be a good race. For the first couple laps I could
see Valentine behind me as I was going through 11, and knew I couldn’t let up.
Eventually we started to hit lap traffic from the waves behind us, and I had a
chance to use some of the new techniques I had asked an experienced racer about
earlier that day. Sure enough, I had a couple opportunities to use the slower
bikes to my advantage and get the space between Valentine, Jennifer, Daniela,
and myself, and I maintained my front position for the entirety of the race,
coming home with the win.
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| Photo by 4theriders.com |
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| Photo by 4theriders.com |
Saturday night had the usual shenanigans, and I eventually headed off to
bed in hopes of a better night’s sleep. Sunday dawned hazy and smoky, and my
blood shot eyes showed just how badly the smoke and heat had irritated them the
day before. Thankfully wearing my contacts didn’t bother me, so no issues
there!
My first race on Sunday was Open Superstock. Due to making most of the
rounds this year, I actually had a grid spot on the second row (not because of
any spectacular finishes). They launched, and since the grid was packed with
those chasing championship points, they took off. My leg was, unfortunately,
giving me some major issues on right hand corners, and I was really struggling
through that. I still finished the race in similar laptimes to the day before,
but I wasn’t able to squeeze more out.
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| Photo by Oxymoron Photography |
Next up was Open GP, which I had a fresh rear tire on for. Since Jennifer
had moved back to an R6, I was without my “battle buddy” and figured it may
prove to be a slightly boring race. I tried to hang with the front runners as
best I could, but that leg just wasn’t going to let me do what I needed, and I
couldn’t make up for on the few left turns this track has. I still had a couple
bikes I was racing to the end, and finished my weekend as strong as I had
started it. At one point during this race I had thought I had hit my right foot
peg on the curb on the exit of turn 7, causing a near high side that had me
cooling my jets in right handers the rest of the race. As it turned out, I
hadn’t done that, but instead had been hit by another rider who nailed my rear
tire – I and the bike were fine, he apologized, the only thing that bothered me
is I had finished the rest of the laps thinking it was something I had done and
was riding accordingly!
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| Photo by Oxymoron Photography |
Oh well, it was a hot weekend at the track that has historically been my
worst. I took home a win, and finished my other races. I had a good time
hanging with friends, racing motorcycles, and getting more comfortable on my
bike. I didn’t quite squeeze out that personal best I was hoping for, although
I was within striking distance. I’m looking forward to Thunderhill where there
are fewer rights (so my leg will have fewer opportunities to hinder my riding).
Overall I had a good weekend, one I am satisfied with, even if I’m not “happy”
with it.
Unfortunately, one of my fellow female racers had a bad crash on Sunday,
and my thoughts go out to her as she begins what is sure to be a long and
miserable recovery.
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| Photo by 4theriders.com |
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