Unlike June, racing in Phoenix in November is
just about perfect. Some of my family seemed to think so as well. My
Mom, Sister, and Stepmom all decided to take a flight over from
Albuquerque for their first motorcycle racing experience. Needless to
say, the pressure was on, and I wanted to put on a good showing for
them. The weather remained perfect for the weekend even though my
racing was not. Changes to the bike were limited to an oil change and a
once over.
I volunteered my sister, Stacey, to come out early to the track and
help me set up. She's a good sport and came along with minimal
complaints. We got the pit set up with no problems (once I decided on
the spot to set up) and went out for practice. Practice was uneventful
and my times were down in the 1:18's. I new I would need to do a lot
better than that to be competitive for the weekend. Jess was supposed
to pick up my Mom's at the hotel on her way down from Prescott but a
drunk driver ran a red light and she T-Boned him and was delayed in
getting down to the track. (She and the other driver were O.K. but her
truck was not)
THUNDERBIKE
I got a decent start and fell into 2nd behind Bob for the first turn.
Jack passed me by mid lap and I stayed in third for a couple of laps,
trying to hang on to Jack. In New Mexico and Vegas, I had put a few
seconds between me and Doc. In between Arroyo and this weekend he found
some extra speed. He was on my tail the whole race and finally got by
me on the straight. I wasn't able to repass him and I finished the race
in 4th, with a fast lap of 1:16.455.
GT LIGHTS
There were 6 bikes registered for the race, but only 3 gridded for the
race. Wayne, Jack, and Me. Aaron had severely messed up his finger in
an accident in the Supersport race and he was done for the weekend. I'm
not sure where the other guys were. As usual, Wayne got the holeshot
and I fell in behind him for the first couple of laps. He slowly pulled
out a gap on me. I could feel Jack right behind me the first half of
the race. Just after the midway point Jack passed me and I used the
rest of the race as an extended practice session. I was working on
braking markers, looking through my turns, and being smooth. It seemed
to pay off as I ran a 1:15.422 and finished the race in 3rd.
SUNDAY
After getting in so many laps in GT Lights I was feeling confident in
the morning. I was feeling even better after lookin at my practice
times
and seeing that I was running consistent 1:15's. I figured if I could
run
1:15's in practice I could find another second during the race.
LIGHTWEIGHT GP
Wayne got the hole shot, but this time I was right on him. I didn't
feel like I was pushing to stay with him, but coming out of Turn 12 I
got on the gas too hard and the rear end stepped out. I made the
rookie mistake of letting of the gas and the rear hooked back up and
spit me on the ground right in the middle of the track. I got up and
just kneeled right in front of my bike as the other 10 bikes came
accelerating by. I got up completely pissed off at myself.
I wasn't the only one down however. I saw Ed's bike one turn back on
its side, but I didn't see Ed. I looked up in the stands and my family
was frantically pointing towards Ed's bike. I started over to the bike
and then saw Ed lying on the ground, not moving. I was at a full sprint
now and as I was running over I saw Ed's bike still running with gas
pouring out the tank. I quickly hit the kill switch and then kneeled
down by Ed. I was yelling his name but with no response. I could see
him breathing so I didn't do anything else. The first rule of a first
responder is to do no harm, and since I couldn't help him, I just
waited until the cornerworkers got there.
The race was red flagged and my bike was now spilling gas on the track.
I went back to my bike and started pushing it back into the pits. I
managed to get it the rest of the way around the track and as soon as I
was off the track Tim thankfully took over and got it back to the pit.
Tim and Paul (Ryan's dad), got to work fixing the broken left hand clip
on and left hand footpeg. By this time my thumb hurt like hell and was
twice as big as it should have been. I drank some water, took some
Ibuprofen and got ready to race. Tim
(dubbed "The Magic Man" by my sister) got the bike back together in
record
time and we actually made the restart of the race.
I was really hesitant the first couple of laps and my thumb really hurt
under braking. About halfway the pain started to subside and I put my
head down. I managed to pass 3 or 4 bikes and was working on catching
Doc. I
pulled within a couple of bike lengths, but needed one more lap to make
a pass. All in all, it felt good to get back out there and put in some
good
laps. I finished 5th with a fast lap of 1:16.346.
LIGHTWEIGHT SUPERBIKE
Ed didn't make it out for the next race, as he was taken to the
hospital for a concussion and possible broken bones. Aaron was also
absent from his accident the day before. It also turns out that Wayne
had dislocated his shoulder earlier, but he was able to fight through
the pain and make it out for the race. My thumb hurt even more than
before and I was just trying to circulate at a decent pace. On the 5th
lap I went to upshift on straight and
there was nothing there. My bent shift lever had broken off. I figured
this
was a sign and I pulled into the pits.
It was a rough weekend for the Lightweight crew. I didn't get the
results I wanted. But, it was great having the support of my family out
there for the weekend, and they seemed to have a good time. (Except
when I was crashing). My sister (Stacey Boyne Photography) is a
professional photographer and she took some FANTASTIC pictures: Enjoy!
