MRA Race 1 2009 PMP

MRA Race #1: Pueblo Motorsports Park
4/25-4/26
Wyeth Jackson MRA #145

Finishes:
Novice GTU 3rd of 39
Novice GTO 4th of 42
LOR 2nd of 5
Amateur GTU 9th of 35
Amateur GTO 6th of 28

What a great start to the 2009 season! Saturday morning we woke up to cold overcast weather, it was in the low 40’s as we drove into the pits. Since we rode Friday practice, we opted to skip the early practice sessions on the cold track and pulled wheels for new tires, then went to check preliminary grids. The MRA had a near record New Racer School this year, 75 students, and there had already been talk of needing heat races to thin the grids in novice. Thankfully we were just under the entry limit, so no heat races but big grids. I’m novice #145 running a ZX6R.

My first race: starting 4th row of the 1st wave of Novice GTU—14 rows total in a 2 wave start. On pre-grid I was looking around to see if I knew any of these guys. Hmmm, I know almost no one, I guess I’ll just go aggressive into T1 and see how the pack settles out. Off for the warm up lap and around to the starting grid for my first race! It’s here! I’m starting 11th of 39 riders

I get a pretty decent launch out of my new bike, going through guys ahead of me, and I make some more passes into big fast T1—I think I’m up to 6th place on the exit of 1?! I see the 3 lead bikes already starting to gap the guys in front of me, I need to make these passes in a hurry and catch up to the leaders. Head down. I get the first guy into T4, an overtaking entrance pass, then start closing on the next guy. He’s all over the place, riding hard and blowing his entries. I know I can get by quickly cause he’s pushing too hard. I watch him pick up his back tire into T9, then close up in the short shoot to T10 and tuck in behind him for the draft down the straight. Maybe ¾ of the way down I pop out and sling by very close, passing into the entrance of T1. Now I think I’m in 4th but not sure. I see a green bike up ahead and push to catch him—is he from the lead group or is this already the back of the 2nd wave? Ok, I’m catching him but not super fast, I think he’s a rider from in front of me, could this be 3rd place?? We go past the crossed flags and I need to get him soon, some lapped traffic would really help about now. Yes!, we’re into the back of the 2nd wave and he’s not getting through well, I know I’m going to overtake him in traffic. As a lapper, the green bike, and I pin it down the back straight I watch green bike close up behind the lapper entering T9. He’s blown his drive and is bunched up with the lapper. I enter T9 hard and drive out into the short shoot before T10, I’m going to outbreak both of them into 10. Green bike starts to drift out to go up the inside of the lapper and suddenly realizes I’m there—I fly under both of them and put my head down for one more fast lap. Yes, checkered flag! I come in and I’ve finished on the podium for my first race of 2009! 3rd out of 39

After a short break Novice GTO is my next race, this class has 15 rows in 2 waves and I’m starting on the 5th row, 15th out of 42 riders. Unfortunately we have a nasty starting grid crash on the first try, ala Scott Russell at Daytona. Clean up and re-grid. I kind of bog the bike off the second start and guys are passing me down the straight, dangit! This is the liter bike class but many 600s ride up like myself, so it’s hard to know whether I’m chasing fast 600 guys or big bikes down the straight, we’re all mixed together and go flying into the first turn. T1 is really crowded and I can’t see the lead group, I have no idea where I am in the pack. Head down, start working through traffic. Halfway through we’re into the back of the second wave and I’m trying to keep my rhythm as I flow past people. I’m having trouble with one last bike I want to pick off before the end of the race, this guy was in GTU so I figure he’s riding up like me, but he’s running a lot better in this race. His drive onto the front straight is killing me and I’m pushing deeper into T1 to run him down. I don’t remember exactly where I catch him, somewhere on the back side cause my crew said I popped out into spectator view suddenly in front. We race through the last few corners and I throw the bike into T10 to drive hard to start/finish—yeah! I held onto my position and it turns out I’d made it up to 4th place! I’m even more pleased when I find out that last bike was a GSXR1000, no wonder he was out driving me onto the straight. 4th out of 42 this go round

BTW, this is Aaron’s first time ever racing, he finished 8th in NovU and 10th in NovO. I’m so proud of him, you rock babe! Aaron was going to race MW Endurance Saturday afternoon, but we realize after NovO that his radiator is holed and leaking, probably hit with from debris from the NovO grid pile up. We spend the rest of the afternoon pulling the radiator and getting it fixed trackside by Dennie Burke, super fast expert and owner of Brighton Radiator. Thank you Dennie, you saved our weekend.

On to Sunday’s races, I head out first for our women’s class, Ladies of the Rockies. I’m a little disappointed to have only 5 gals on the first weekend’s grid, but I hear more will be coming to the next event. This is a great class to showcase the women racers in the club, not to mention get some more contingency $! So I have to be honest, I went into this race all wrong. The reigning LOR champion is Donna Turner, an expert middleweight rider. I looked at her times from yesterday’s Middleweight Supersport race and she was not running well, I was doing faster times in my novice races in traffic. So I roll up to our women’s grid over confident, thinking I’ve already got this race won. Lesson learned! J I holeshot the start and drive into T1 first, leading the first lap, I don’t hear anyone and I don’t look back. Then as I exit T1 for the second lap and start to tip into 2, who pops under me smooth and collected but Donna. And she’s really moving, she’s got her head down and she’s putting in fast laps. Donna dropped her times significantly from Saturday and took the LOR win, it was a great ride. I finish in 2nd, my second podium of the weekend, yay! Interesting that my slowest times of the weekend were in the women’s class, in retrospect I believe I went into the girl race thinking it would be cake and didn’t focus. I got second place because of it, but next time I’ll attack this class more seriously.

On to Amateur GTU, another big grid with 13 rows, 35 riders, I’m starting from the 5th row. The MRA’s Am classes are comprised of any novice plus the experts who don’t run the premier classes. Amateur GTU is a fast, hairball class and these guys are not going to scare off their lines like the novice class did. I get a decent launch but I bet wrong on the entrance to T1, going up the inside. EVERYONE tries to go up the inside and I’ve got guys leaning in on the outside and guys showing me a wheel on the inside. Let’s all get out of turn 1 alive and I’ll be happy! Again I can’t see the leaders; I’m caught up in the pack and have no idea what position I’m in. I make a few passes and suddenly break out into a gap in traffic, up ahead I see Donna dicing with another expert and a novice, all 3 of them started ahead of me on the grid so this is a good sign. I give chase. Suddenly going into T2 a white plate sneaks under me, #60. I’ve been doing the passing this weekend, I haven’t been getting passed much—I don’t like it! I go after the guy and get back by him, but he comes right back around me and starts to pull a small gap. I’ve been distracted by my battle with #60, and as I look up I see that one of the guys with Donna is gone, the other guy is fighting to get around her. #60 and I are closing on them both but we just saw the white flag! Dangit, I want to catch that group but I’m running out of time. The second guy gets by her at the last minute, putting #60 right behind her and me behind him. We cross the finish line in that order, I’ve come in 9th in AmU. 9th of 35, not bad for a fast class, and I’ve improved my starting position by 2 rows for next race. Woot!

Last class on the weekend schedule is my final race, Amateur GTO. I’m tired and I don’t want to race this stupid class! Why did I sign up for the last race of the weekend? Again this is a liter bike class but lots of 600s ride up. I’m back on row 5 again, 28 riders starting on this 2 wave grid. I get a KILLER start this time, and drive hard down the front straight, I’m moving by people so smooth into T1 and then suddenly I realize I’m the tail end of the lead pack! They’re right there, strung out neatly in front of me middle of T1, I’m tucked in on the end of the train. The leader pack is flowing fast and I start looking for how to get around the guy ahead of me, I’m probably in 8th or 9th position in the group. I pass one guy going into T4 and refocus on the next guy in line, they’re really cooking up the hill into 5. Pretty soon I’m right behind Steve, one of the guys I was chasing in AmU, but I’m catching him this time, I’m going to pass him. Suddenly who should pop by on the brakes but my new friend #60. Dangit! Hmmm, he makes nice passes I have to give the guy credit. I chase through T10 and draft him down the straight, passing him back into T1. He comes right back by in 2 and although I show him a wheel in 3 he sticks his line and I don’t get through. He quickly runs down Steve in front of me and I’m trying to do the same, but then another guy shows me a wheel! I stick my line and the challenger gives way, tucking in behind me. We’ve only got a lap and a half, I’m not giving up a position and I’m determined to get one more spot! We’re in lapped traffic and I’m close, Steve’s riding hard defensive lines and I should just bull past but I hesitate cause it’s going to be ugly. I don’t want to squish Steve! Into T9 and I’m right on top of him but I can’t quite beat him in the short shoot to 10. Oh no, he’s driving hard to the finish line, he gets it with me right on his butt. Nice race Steve, way to hang on! I hold off the guy behind me as well and finish in 6th place. 6th of 28, my final finish for the weekend.

I’m really pleased with the first weekend results, I rode well, kept improving and had zero ‘moments’. Now I’ve got good grid position in every class for race #2, our first race at High Plains Raceway, the brand new technical track. I think I’m going to do awesome at that course, I’ll find out in 2 more weeks. --WJ