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We had our 3rd MCRA track day this past Sunday at Gateway International Raceway, and it was a blast!

First off – full props to all the trackday participants. We’ve had some issues at the past couple events with riders riding over the limit, bikes coming together on track, etc. – just too many “incidents”. So the club responded by implementing a few additional rules to keep things safe for everyone. The riders responded well – we only had one red flag (stoppage of a session due to a crash) all day, compared to 4 or 5 at our last event! Big improvement.

As a Control Rider for the Novice and Intermediate sessions, I help both chaperone and instruct riders in those classes. I made a mental note to try to help at least one rider in every session I was out in, instead of just cruising around chaperoning. It worked, I think – in every session I would have 1 or 2 guys follow me for a couple laps, showing them the race line and trying to get them to follow it. Results can vary, but I saw definite improvement in a couple or riders, and that’s the whole point, so I felt good about that.

After riding every single Intermediate and Novice session until lunch, after the lunch break I sat out a bit. I did about 4 laps in the first Expert session just to make sure I got a few laps in at near race pace for our club race at the end of the day, and after that I did a few sessions as a CR, but not every one. It was 90-something degrees and I wanted to make sure I had energy left for the 25-minute race at 4:30.

I had pole position in the race – because I was the first rider to sign up for the race months ago. I actually got a great start in the race – I was 3rd exiting Turn 2, and was still with the front group by Turn 6. The first two guys – wicked-fast J. Quillman and J. Selbert – were gone within a lap. But here’s where things got interesting..

At the last two events, I was able to hang with the lead group (or, well, the group fighting for 3rd, behind the 2 fast guys who had sailed off into the distance) for about 1 1/2 laps, and by that point I’d lose touch with them and would just ride my own race. But this time was different.

After Selbert and Quillman had checked out, there was a group of 3 riders battling for 3rd – and I was right with them. They’d pull me a bit on the front straight (they were riding a 636, 750, and 1000, and I was on my 600), but I was able to close up in the corners – mostly Turn 2 and Turn 6. I stayed with them for 2 or 3 laps, and thought “I’m still with them! That means I can STAY with them!” Never underestimate the mental aspect of racing, kids. Because from that point on I was stuck to them. I had the same mental conversation at the 1/2-way flag – “I’m still here, I can stay with them”.

Despite a couple small mistakes (getting a little sideways exiting Turn 2 once, and getting in a little too deep into Turn 7 a couple times) I was able to stay about 1/2 a second behind the group FOR THE ENTIRE RACE. I was riding hard, no doubt, but I was not out of control.

At the end of the race I got 6th, but it may as well have been 1st, because it was such a huge mental victory to be able to stay with the fast guys for the entire race. I knew I’d gone faster then my best lap before, but I didn’t know how fast. I was in for a pleasant surprise. My previous best lap at Gateway was a 1:11.5 or 1:11.6. Well, a 1:11.6 was the SLOWEST lap I turned in this race! I was turning consistent 1:10.2s and 1:10.4s, with a new personal best of 1:09.9. That, friends, is progress.

It may have been the new tires, it may have been the new brake pads, it may have just been getting a good start and believing I could stay with them. But for whatever reason, I went faster then I’d ever gone before, and was completely stoked at the end of the race. Completely exhausted, yeah, but stoked.

Another bonus for me was that Seda was the one taking my lap times. She was so excited/happy for me to have reached one of the goals I set before the race, it was great having her there. It’s funny, she asked me what my goal was before the race and I said ”I’d like to get a 1:09, but if I can turn 1:10s consistently I’ll be happy”. Well, I did both, and she was almost at happy as I was! 

Thanks to the MCRA for putting on another great event. We have one more left, on Sunday October 14th – should be fun! 

Also, I thought this pic Seda took of my dad and I was great. 

The annual Hop in the City beer festival, put on by Schlafly beer (aka The Saint Louis Brewery), was a couple of weeks ago, on September 15. The short review - a fantastic time as usual. The longer review:

For those not familiar with this event, every year Schlafly brews 40 different beers for this festival. They put a couple giant tents up in the parking lot of The Tap Room restaurant/brewery, hire a couple local bands, and charge $25 for each participant. Your $25 gets you a tasting glass to keep, a full menu of all the beers, and unlimited access to all 40 tasty brews from Noon until 5:00pm. Truly a bargain, in this authors opinion.

Every year they brew a new festival beer for this event. This year’s beer was a French style, that, well, I wasn’t a fan of – too fruity. But it was the only beer I tried that I didn’t like!

We headed to the show this year with our pals Craig & DiDi and Mike & Melissa. Melissa was our designated driver, so needless to say we owe her thanks and a Team Player salute!

The weather was perfect, the beer was great, and the 2nd band was good, so it was a stellar experience as per tradition. On a side note, the first band was a punk-ish group, full of angst. Really, it just didn’t fit the Beer Festival vibe. I mean, seriously, how can you be full of angst and angry at the world when you have 40 outstanding beers to try, it’s sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you have 5 hours remaining of this situation?

Great beer, good people, great weather – truly a great way to spend a September Saturday. Now we start planning for next year…

I spent most of Labor Day weekend in Hastings, Nebraska, racing at Motorsports Park Hastings. Although it was a LONG drive to get there, it was definetely worth it! The weather was beautiful both days, and much fun was had by all.

There were a few STL racers representing - Dad and I vanpooled with my Buell-racing buddy Dave (his van, my trailer), and there were several other STL guys there who we pitted with, so we were among friends. Saturday was a practice day, which was great for Dave and I, as we’d never been to this track before, and it took a few sessions to get it down.

The track is really fun, a mix of all kinds of turns and very smooth with lots of grip. The front section from turns 2 – 4 is all about speed, including a right hander you take flat out in 4th gear (easily 110 MPH+), then the middle and last section are very tight, technical sections that reward precision. These two tight sections are broken up by another couple of medium-fast 4th-gear corners to keep it interesting. The technical sections really require hitting your marks – if you blow Turn 5, for example, you find yourself completely off line for Turn 6, which means you don’t get a good drive into fast Turn 7. Make one mistake in a slow corner and you just ruined your lap time! A track map is here for those interested.

By the end of Saturday I was turning consistent 1:38 lap times, which felt pretty good considering I’d never seen the track before, plus I felt really good on the bike. Then I checked the fast guys’ times – 1:32s and 1:33s. DOH! Stupid 600 expert class…

Sunday I was entered in 4 races, and did okay; 9th in GTU, 6th in HWSS, 14th in MWSS, and 9th in MWGP. In my first race I turned a 1:37.8, so I was a little faster than Saturday. My best lap time of the weekend was a 1:37.21, which I turned on the last lap of HWSS. In my final race of the day, I got a little tired, and was turning consistent 1:38s (instead of the consistent 1:37s I was doing earlier in the day) and recorded a best of 1:37.7. But I had no real drama (other than one slide in Turn 2 during practice Saturday), so I couldn’t complain too much – although it would have been nice to get a 1:36!

Not to make excuses, but I was have a few small problems with the front end of the GSX-R. First of all, the fork seals were leaking, which meant that the damping was suffering a bit – hard on the brakes, the front end would dive more than normal, resulting in the rear tire wagging around. Not the fastest way into a corner. I was also having braking issues. On the warmup lap and the first lap or two, the brakes felt perfect. But in every race, after about 3 laps, I was getting serious brake fade – I was having to really pull the lever hard to get the bike slowed; instead of just a little pressure, I was pulling it back probably twice as far towards the bar as normal. My two braking fingers were actually the only sore muscles I had on Monday!

As we were packing up on Sunday, I spent a few minutes taking to a faster rider who had followed me in a few races, and was turning 1:35s and 1:34s. He said “Basically, you’re braking just a little bit early in EVERY SECTION”. He said he caught me a few times, but it was really hard to pass me in the middle or the exit of a corner – he said the only way he could pass was on the brakes. The positive from this was that I figure with new brake pads that work the way they are supposed too, I should be able to drop my times a bit. I ordered a new set Tuesday…

Overall I had a great time – it felt really good to get back on the GSX-R and racing again. Now I look forward to our last two MCRA track days at Gateway in STL, September 23 and October 14.