I questioned even writing this post as I have a very mixed bag of feelings on how my weekend went. So, let's just start with the facts.
I had attended two track weekends at the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park prior to showing up for a race there. The first weekend I was experiencing bike problems most of the weekend, and my times were downright pathetic (~12-14 seconds off my goals). Because of the bike issues and just never really getting comfortable with a few things, I decided to stretch the finances and make the weekend the end of June, just before the WERA races over the July 4th weekend.
That second weekend I dropped some time, but nothing like I was hoping for - only a few seconds off what I had been doing the prior weekend. I was getting more comfortable on the bike, and getting it dialed in, but I was still - off. I hoped that a race, getting a green flag and launching would help me get over the mental rut I seemed to be stuck in after not being on a track for nearly 9 months and the stresses in my personal life during that time.
So I showed up to BMP for my first WERA round. I knew almost no one - only one or two people I've met briefly, but not really anyone I knew well enough to go hang out with them. Thankfully a few folks from CMRA/Texas came up for this round, so I had some people to pit with and hang out with, which was awesome. They are fast guys, so I hoped maybe I could latch on a couple corners and follow them for a bit.
Saturday morning I was so slow - the second practice session my best was what I had been doing the previous weekend. Things were not looking good. 1:41s is a long ways from even being in the mix of - anything.
We headed out for our first race, A Superstock, which has a 2 wave (expert and novice) start. The races were short (6 laps), so I wasn't too worried about my endurance. I had another rider I was able to catch and dice it up with a little bit, but then I was off on my own again. I found about a second and a half, but still a long ways off the mark. Best lap was a 1:40.0.
Next up was the Senior SB class, were I dropped a little more time, into the 1:39s. My final race of the day was Formula 1, and found another second, making it into the 1:38s.
During all of this the bike was pretty good, but I had to add some preload to the front as I was picking up the pace - which was good, but I was starting to use what my current springs were capable of.
Sunday I had the same 3 races. I missed the first practice session because something in my suit came apart and I couldn't fix it while wearing it, so at 2nd call I was still getting out of my suit rather than into it and I just did not feel like rushing THAT much since at 3rd call I was just getting my legs back into the suit.
In A Superstock I was feeling better, and had my BMW "battle buddy" there. He passed me at one point, but I was hanging on and a little faster in a few places, so was trying to set up to pass him in a spot where I knew I was quicker. He knew I was there though, and took a very defensive line, blocking the pass I was setting up for, holding his position across the line. Got down into the 37s that race, so I was hopeful that maybe - just maybe - I could reach my goals for the weekend.
That was not to be. In the Sr. SB race, I was in my head pretty bad and trying to force my riding. Caught myself making some small mistakes, so eased off a bit and just tried to hit my marks. I was pretty much riding by myself, and my times didn't improve at all.
I had some time to relax, cool down, and focus before my final race of the weekend, F1. I got a good start and tried to hang as long as I could, chasing who I could, but I was getting tired and just didn't pull anything new out, in fact, going a bit slower than I had been.
My end of weekend summary looked something like this:
I love racing, I'll be out there regardless, but definitely going through a moment of "homesickness" for my race team, friends, battle buddies, and just friendly faces who I know in the pits. There are friendly people here, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same when you don't have that history together and you're just the "new girl" out there.
So that was my weekend. Very thankful to all my sponsors for the continued support, and will have some video up soon!
I had attended two track weekends at the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park prior to showing up for a race there. The first weekend I was experiencing bike problems most of the weekend, and my times were downright pathetic (~12-14 seconds off my goals). Because of the bike issues and just never really getting comfortable with a few things, I decided to stretch the finances and make the weekend the end of June, just before the WERA races over the July 4th weekend.
That second weekend I dropped some time, but nothing like I was hoping for - only a few seconds off what I had been doing the prior weekend. I was getting more comfortable on the bike, and getting it dialed in, but I was still - off. I hoped that a race, getting a green flag and launching would help me get over the mental rut I seemed to be stuck in after not being on a track for nearly 9 months and the stresses in my personal life during that time.
So I showed up to BMP for my first WERA round. I knew almost no one - only one or two people I've met briefly, but not really anyone I knew well enough to go hang out with them. Thankfully a few folks from CMRA/Texas came up for this round, so I had some people to pit with and hang out with, which was awesome. They are fast guys, so I hoped maybe I could latch on a couple corners and follow them for a bit.
Saturday morning I was so slow - the second practice session my best was what I had been doing the previous weekend. Things were not looking good. 1:41s is a long ways from even being in the mix of - anything.
We headed out for our first race, A Superstock, which has a 2 wave (expert and novice) start. The races were short (6 laps), so I wasn't too worried about my endurance. I had another rider I was able to catch and dice it up with a little bit, but then I was off on my own again. I found about a second and a half, but still a long ways off the mark. Best lap was a 1:40.0.
Next up was the Senior SB class, were I dropped a little more time, into the 1:39s. My final race of the day was Formula 1, and found another second, making it into the 1:38s.
During all of this the bike was pretty good, but I had to add some preload to the front as I was picking up the pace - which was good, but I was starting to use what my current springs were capable of.
Sunday I had the same 3 races. I missed the first practice session because something in my suit came apart and I couldn't fix it while wearing it, so at 2nd call I was still getting out of my suit rather than into it and I just did not feel like rushing THAT much since at 3rd call I was just getting my legs back into the suit.
In A Superstock I was feeling better, and had my BMW "battle buddy" there. He passed me at one point, but I was hanging on and a little faster in a few places, so was trying to set up to pass him in a spot where I knew I was quicker. He knew I was there though, and took a very defensive line, blocking the pass I was setting up for, holding his position across the line. Got down into the 37s that race, so I was hopeful that maybe - just maybe - I could reach my goals for the weekend.
That was not to be. In the Sr. SB race, I was in my head pretty bad and trying to force my riding. Caught myself making some small mistakes, so eased off a bit and just tried to hit my marks. I was pretty much riding by myself, and my times didn't improve at all.
I had some time to relax, cool down, and focus before my final race of the weekend, F1. I got a good start and tried to hang as long as I could, chasing who I could, but I was getting tired and just didn't pull anything new out, in fact, going a bit slower than I had been.
My end of weekend summary looked something like this:
- I dropped 4 seconds off my previous track day pace. Good.
- I was still 2 seconds off what I expected out of myself by this point. Bad.
- No crashes, no major "oh shit" moments, and I was confident in what I was doing with the bike. Good.
- There are a few (generally minor) tweaks to the bike that I think will assist me in getting the time I am missing. Neither good or bad, just one of those things as you drop time, changes need to be made.
- I know where I can get the two seconds I'm expecting. Good.
- I don't know where I can get the 5 seconds I want. Bad.
- Weather and track were pretty darn excellent. Good.
- I was still last or fighting for "not last." Bad
I love racing, I'll be out there regardless, but definitely going through a moment of "homesickness" for my race team, friends, battle buddies, and just friendly faces who I know in the pits. There are friendly people here, don't get me wrong, but it's not the same when you don't have that history together and you're just the "new girl" out there.
So that was my weekend. Very thankful to all my sponsors for the continued support, and will have some video up soon!
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