2008 Season, Round 2- Blackhawk Farms Raceway, May 10 - 11

School was in session all weekend as I learned from some of the best. Andy Feuerstahler was there to represent the Dunlop effort in the MW club racing scene and it was a real joy to get to meet and ride with Andy a little bit. Andy was a NESBA CR back in the day, and true to form he gave me some CR'ing this weekend.

GTO (25 minute)

First race of the weekend was soon after lunch on Saturday. The weather was beautiful and all was right in the world. I got a great start off the line and went into turn 1 in the lead with a 4 or 5 bike gap over second place. I put my head down and lead the whole first lap and was building a small gap on the rest of the field. On lap 2 however, Andy Feuerstahler was able to get by a couple of guys that apparently were holding him up and he began to reel me in. As we exited turn 6 on the second lap, I turned in just a little early as we drove on to the back straight and this ever so slightly delayed me getting the throttle all the way to the stop as the bike ran a little wide out of turn 6b. Andy was on the throttle early and hard behind me and pass me easily going down into T7.

Class was now in session, Dr Feuerstahler presiding.

One of the highlights of my weekend was watching Andy run a couple 1:10's to open the gap up on me. Within a couple laps, he broke me as I could not get out of the 1:12's. As I settled into second place, I saw my pit board had me at a 13 second lead over third place so I backed it down a notch and brought it home for my best expert finish to date - second place.

Sunday, May 11

We should have gotten a garage spot, but instead we chose to do an awning. It rained all night and everything we had outside was completely soaked as we got up and got ready to start our day. It was cold. It was wet. It was miserable. I had three races today. Several racers simply packed up and went home. Andy was one of them, thank goodness. I really did not want to race either, but this was a double points weekend and not gridding up was just not in our vocabulary.

We dialed the suspension setup we had tested for wet racing into the back up bike, mounted up some old rain tires and took to the track for practice. Did I mentioned these were OLD rain tires? Big mistake, I was out of the seat twice as those rains were just not hooking up at all and as a result the big jiggy thou was doing her best to buck me off. I immediately headed to the Pirelli tent and got some new rains. We mounted the new rains, hoped for the best and huddled up in the truck to stay warm and dry until race time.

Unlimited Superbike (6 lap sprint)

My very first rain race - Oh joy! As if racing motorcycles is not crazy enough, we all decided to go out and see just how fast we could go on a rain soaked racetrack without falling down. Pure insanity, I tell you. I did a superb job of riding scared, not leaning the bike, not trusting the tires, running ultra defensive race lines and shamelessly motoring people for the entire 6 laps. I brought home another second place! But more importantly, I did not crash.

Unlimited GP (6 lap sprint)

The money race. Lots of fast guys signed up for this one in hopes of getting paid. I was just glad to see a dry line forming and we decided to risk it and run DOT race tires. Since it was obvious that racing on rain tires was not my cup of tea, I figured maybe I could do a little better by trying to stay on the dry line and tip-toeing through the sections that were still a little damp. My plan worked well, unfortunantly that was everyone else's plan too! Everyone lined up with race tires except one guy who chose to run rains, bad decision for this poor guy.

As the race started, I got a pretty good start but for some strange reason I didn't TAKE the line into turn 1 when I had the chance. As a result I wound up stuck behind a couple guys as Tommy Girard and Paul Ducato built a gap on me. After making some passes on lap 1 and lap 2, I spent the rest of the race unconvincingly reeling in the two leaders. At the end of the race I finished 3rd, just a couple of bike lengths behind Ducato and Girard. I was dissapointed in my performance. I could have rode better and I knew it. As I went back to my paddock, Brian Blume and Fred Duncan really encouraged me and helped me to get my head on straight for the last race.

Unlimited Supersport (6 lap sprint)

I lined up for this race with a new fire burning in my gut and an urgent desire to not lose. I was gridded on row 2 and got a decent start to the race but as we went into turn 1, I was pinched between Rob Oliva on my left and Super Dave on my right. While all three of us struggle to get through T1 on top of each other, Tommy Girard made a great move around the outside took off in the lead. As I struggle to find a way past Rob and Dave through turn 2, Ducato dove up the inside of me pushing me wide into Turn 3. Suddenly, I was in 5th place and we were not even 1/4 way through the first lap! I could feel the fire ragin in me and I yelled at myself in my helmet. I could see Ducato muscling his way mercilessly through Rob and Dave while Tommy Girard was getting away at the front. This race was quickly getting out of control and it was time to act.

It was now or never, no room for hesitation. Over the next lap, I got past Rob and Dave and set sail for Girard and Ducato. I remembered watching Andy the day before and I started applying some of the things I learned. I was reeling them in by bunches at a time. Ducato had already gotten past Girard, and I got a great drive out of turn 5 and was able to pass Girard on the brakes going into turn 6. Ducato was next, but he had built up a large lead.

I only had two laps left to get it done, CCS had shortened all the races due to to the inclement weather. With reckless abandon I was braking deeper than ever, scrubbing rearsets left and right and driving harder then ever before. I caught Ducato with less than a lap to go and he was visibly surpride to see me instlantly appear behind him.

As we went into the carousel, a drove hard around the outside but just could not get it done and had to back out at the last second. Ducato ran a defensive line into the bus stop and ran it in there too deep, so I was able to close half the gap back up on him on him through the tight section into turn 4. As we came out of turn 4, I squared up turn 5 and closed another large chunk of the gap to him as we went into turn 6. As we came down the back straight, I could see he had a little motor on me, so I knew it was gonna have be perfect through turn 7 to have a shot. I closed up on him on the brakes into turn 7 and carried good corner speed through turn 7, getting way off the bike and on the throttle early as we headed on to the front straight. I tucked in behind him for the draft as we headed down the front straight toward the finish line. As I clicked through the gears I could see the draft was starting to work and I was closing on him. Right before hitting his rear wheel, I swung out to the right and we went side by side, by the finish line. It was a phot finish and I could see my guys just going nuts on the wall as they were all pullin for me! I was less than the width of the front tire behind him as we crossed the line. Another second place, Arrrggghh! SO close, yet so far away.

Summary

The learning never seems to stop and I am loving every minute of it. Though I finished on the box every race this weekend, being defeated a couple times taught me several valuable lessons. I am being stretched a little more every race.

Mistakes matter, I simply can't make any mistakes and win. For me, I need to overcome myself first and foremost. Focusing on riding perfect laps, hitting my marks, getting that throttle to the stop early and often. Basically, overcoming my own tendancies toward several weaknesses. These things will yield the results I am seeking.

My first expert win eluded me this weekend, but as I left Blackhawk on Sunday evening I was a filled with confidence. I am a better, smarter and faster racer than when I arrived.

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CONTACT INFO: ron@ronhix.com or 630.430.7449