My Customary Birthday Trackday With FastrackRiders!

Although I usually ride on my birthday (which was Sunday) I switched with one of the other registration girls whose birthday was also on May 22.  I was going to be at the racetrack both days anyway so she might as well get out and have some fun away from the smell of exhaust,  race fuel and trackfood–which I find palatable–on her own birthday.   I am thankful to be able to ride AT ALL so I was game.  I’m so glad we switched!   The weather was perfect!

We got there at about 7 AM and looked for a garage space.   We wound up pitting near the fast kids: Lex and Heeney at the far end.   We shared the garage space with three bikes and I was thankful for the hospitality as the guy next to us decided to take an entire space to himself, including a playplace for his kid to play.  I didn’t want my bike anywhere near that.  I think I am going to pit on the end from now on, nice and quiet.  Shawn and I set up the pit area and then took off to the meeting at 8 AM.  David Pyles (the owner, my boss) was giving the meeting that day so this was a change.  It reminded me of a pep/strategy talk to a race team and I rather enjoyed it.  Not to say Dave Shaverdi’s is bad

Shawn took my bike to tech.  I still had my race Dunlops on the bike, a DOT rear with barely any tread on the right side and a DOT front with some life left in it, which I did not want to waste.  I needed it for my next event.   Tires aren’t cheap, ya know!  So, Shawn took off the wheels and we brought them to Dale to replace with my pretty darn old Pirelli slick rear.  I was really not happy about using Pirellis because of the carcass flex but more so because that rear was a year and a half old,  has been heat cycled several times and has sitting around in my garage ever since Buttonwillow in Feb of 2010.   Shawn had found me a front take off at Willow so at least I had rubber to ride on.   Now, I haven’t been on Pirellis since Button so this was gonna be interesting.  Yay!  Suspension Party!  Bleh.

So, he got them back on the bike, made some adjustments, but not too many. I skipped the first session as usual (let everyone else clean the track, lol), plus the tires weren’t warm yet (my front warmer is not working properly it seems).  I wasn’t going to go be stupid on cold slicks on a cool, damp morning.   We used the extra time for Shawn to get the data acq set up and I spent my time really doing nothing more than stretching and putting a few decals on my newly painted bellypan.  I looked like a complete rookie with probably 4 stickers, collectively.  No WERA decals or anything,  I still had Dunlop decals on the front fender, yet I was running Pirellis.  It was comical.  Whatever.  I also forgot to safety wire one caliper because apparently I thought I was on the Buell.  Sure, it was tight, RTVed, etc. But I forgot which is bad in itself.  Shawn didn’t think it was necessary at all to wire for a trackday but I am anal about it usually. The front was not getting warm enough so we fiddle with it and make sure to turn it up to high.  Well, now it is working enough.  It was almost time to go out and I reminded myself to take it easy, the tires were going to be greasy. 

Session 1
I go out late and get my half lap and 1 complete transponder lap, just enough to check the settings and clean the tires.  I am NOT thrilled.  I am not accustomed to the flex and it was driving me crazy.  We were only slightly higher than the recommended psi and I realize I cannot go up anymore or I will sacrifice grip.  And the grip wasn’t that great as it was.  The suspension was cold and was acting funky.  My only complete lap, not up to speed or temp, is a 2:00.57.  Painful, but calculated.  I came back in , we put them back on the warmers, I describe what was going on out there and Shawn makes some changes.  I want my Dunlops.

10:36:05.6 1 2:00.570 70.764

Session 2: The Pink Carrot
I go back out and start out slow for a few laps to test the changes and grip.  That is, until I see pink.  It’s Sheila Sinapi in front of me on her R6.  YAY!   So I chase her around.  My suspension is still not warm and the wag in the rear every time I get a drive out of an exit or pin it on the beginning of a straight is annoying as hell  Tough.  Get used to it, I think to myself.  I follow her around for a lap and a half and I just can’t seem to get around her.  So close, yet so far.  So I take note of the points where I feel I have a chance and I wait.  In the mean time, I am on her butt on the front straight and I go to hit the front brake before T1 and my bike is not really stopping.  It is surging!  My throttle seems stuck so I consciously back it off manually.  I am really close to her rear tire and I think for a second to blow T1 so as not to have a really bad day but the rumble strip is right in my way.  I’m not in the mood for a launch or a possible blowout and I see that my engine braking is enough and she is now exiting out of T1 so we are good.  I pin it in the T2 sweeper because that little brake issue sets me back.  I catch up, pass her in the entry to T3, she passes me back in T 5/6 (one of my weak areas) and then we both get stuck behind a slow bike.  We pass the bike and are now battling for entry into 8 / 9.  I hit the dip in the apex of 9 and I lose the rear, I think Oh Crap!!  But at this time I am in front and am not going to give up.  The rear steps out, I slowly back off the throttle and stand up the bike and drive out onto the back straight with no hesitation.  We pretty much go back and forth and have our little fun.  Eventually I just put my head down and keep going until the checker.   I wait and see Sheila behind me as we’re exiting the track, but she doesn’t slow down.  I was going to do the woo-hoo-fist-tap-that-was-awesome motion but she passes me and exits off pitrow and I don’t see her again all day.

11:24:47.1 1 1:57.431 72.655
11:26:43.0 2 1:55.916 73.605
11:28:35.2 3 1:52.166 76.066
11:30:26.4 4 1:51.176 76.743
11:32:15.8 5 1:49.411 77.981
11:34:05.8 6 1:50.080 77.507
11:35:57.2 7 1:51.353 76.621

When I get back to the garage I see that Shawn is talking to some guy and I’m disappointed because he didn’t get to see any of that.  He admits he is glad that he didn’t.  We check the times on Fastrack’s site (times are now uploaded almost immediately after each session s that anyone can use a smartphone without the long trek to registration).  I see that I have turned my personal best at ACS, a 49.411!!  I am thrilled.  Shawn is thrilled and not thrilled simultaneously.  It’s like he wants me to go faster but he doesn’t because he doesn’t want anything to happen.  We check the Data Acq time and it is showing 2/10s faster, but we go with the FTR transponders.  I tell him about Sheila and I and I had the whole woo hoo trackday face going.  I know she is faster than I am (her times are pretty consistent and she dips into the 48s 49s a few times that day, yes, I stalked her times hehe).  But she pushes me to do better and I can learn from her so I enjoyed riding near her.  I wish I could have thanked her.

 I tell him about the stuck throttle and he sees my grip is slipping again so he safety wires it.  We make some more changes, lower the pressures and I go out. 

Session 3
The flex is typical but I get used to it.  My wrist really starts to hurt in the beginning of the session.  I make a mental note to remember not to use the clutch for the upshifts, I always forget I can do that.  I remember on the front and back straights but around the infield I forget.  I am really stiff on the bike (that and old injuries) and I feel as though I can barely pull in the clutch anymore   It is really affecting my times as it is taking considerable effort to downshift.  I am pulling in the clutch all the way instead of only partially for downshifts.  Mental note: adjust clutch lever.

12:26:29.1 1 1:53.095 75.441
12:28:23.3 2 1:54.141 74.750
12:30:19.3 3 1:56.036 73.529
12:32:13.1 4 1:53.790 74.980
12:34:05.1 5 1:51.962 76.204
12:35:58.0 6 1:52.911 75.564

I come in and see my times and I am floored. OMG.  Am I really going this slow???  Although the bike is acting better, I am not.  I go on a search for Advil with no luck.  Shawn adjusted my levers.  He changed the clutch depth and brake lever height just in case I am putting pressure on the throttle when squeezing the front brake (which I am).  He reminds me that I only have to pull in my clutch for downshifts just partway. 

I go back out and my braking, blipping is extremely jerky, basically causing the front to dive TWICE on the fast entries after the straights.  My wrists are shot.  The suspension is actually pretty good, the wag is no problem.  But I literally cannot pull the clutch in anymore.   I cut my session short and am off to look for Advil again.  Lex’s dad gave me some Advil and I am forever grateful.   I took a break and did some wrist therapy exercises and mulled over the data.  My entries and drives were horrid. 

Looking back at the pics from the 1:20 session, it seems as though I am either towing another bike or riding someone two-up.  It turned out to be Ian, who finally got around me on the outside before T7.  Then I pulled off after only 5 short minutes on the track, my wrist could not take it anymore.

13:30:13.0 1 1:55.519 73.858
13:32:08.5 2 1:55.504 73.868
13:34:01.7 3 1:53.203 75.369
13:35:55.2 4 1:53.510 75.165

We decided to take a lunch break and let the Advil kick in.  I am feeling sluggish and am desperately in need of a Monster.  We got back to the track in time for another session, the last transponder session of the day.    I can’t break a :50 to save my life.  The Advil hasn’t touched the scope of the discomfort.  I am bummed and am thinking about packing it up.   My next session times were equally as poor and I am *this* close to calling it a day and not go for the last session of the day.

15:26:47.4 1 1:55.616 73.796
15:28:41.4 2 1:54.010 74.836
15:30:34.9 3 1:53.545 75.142
15:32:27.6 4 1:52.655 75.736
15:34:19.1 5 1:51.492 76.526 
***Transponder Turned In***

Of course I was hard on myself,   Shawn wanting to make a few adjustments so he wanted me to try them out.  Why not.  I wasn’t expecting much since it was clearly the rider’s problem, not the bike.  So I went out for my last run.

And then I find another carrot (I wish I knew who it was, I know it was a guy on an R6).  Wrist?  What wrist??  We don’t need no stinkin wrists!  We diced back and forth all session, it was so much fun.  Here comes the checker and I stay in front for the last lap. YAY!  He catches up as we pull off the track and I get the thumb’s up.  YAY again!  It’s good to have fun with no attitude because we’re really are out there to have just that, fun.  Everything was smooth, too.  I never lost grip once and the flex wasn’t as noticeable, or I was used to it by now, or the suspension was sufficiently warm (or all three).  What a great session!!!    I even start considering running Pirelli’s again.  After all, they are not as expensive haha!

I go back to the garage and my left wrist is shaking from fatigue when trying to pull the clutch in to take it out of gear.  Shawn was smiling and said he had enjoyed watching the show.  He takes the bike to back it in the garage and I can barely unbuckle my helmet.  He said he can’t wait to see the data, I am expecting MAYBE a :50.2 and didn’t really care.  He looked at the data and tells me I did my best time of day and personal best at ACS. :48.99.  I tell him he’s lying, lol.  I have FINALLY made it to the :48s, granted by a hair!   I then remembered that the GPS is 2/10ths off from the FTR transponder and I decide to say who cares, I’ll take it!  2 Seconds is a great B-day present. 

Conclusions, I am comfortable once again on Pirellis, Shawn is a suspension genius, and I need the proverbial carrot to go faster lol.   Oh yeah, and I must strengthen my wrist or begin physical therapy. Again.  This is the worst it has ever been since I was 20 years old.  For a few days afterwards I couldn’t even hold a pot or coffee cup without cramping or almost dropping it.  It is getting better, however.

Next trackday? June 8th!