The CEO Rookie Weekend Report
 

Cliff notes:
Made an ass of myself in the rookie race.
Took two podiums aka two trophies
Took 4 top 5 finishes.
Took 1 DNF on a stupid mistake that would have gotten me another podium.
GT race had epic fun on the way to a 2nd place, clicked off a 1:21.1 and know I can do better.
I have no fucking idea how to race start a motorcycle and will work on that before next race weekend.
Next weekend I want teens and a 1st place.
ROTY 2009 here I come.
HUGE THANK YOU to all my Zip Tie teammates and the whole Boston Moto crew, especially my pseudo crew chief Degsy.


Full report:

Friday went up for open practice to shake the bugs out. Took two sessions to get back up to previous track day pace. Improved a bit from then through the saturday morning practices.

Saturday:

Rookie race: As many of you have seen by now, I made an ass of myself. Stalled on the start, restarted the bike, wheelied the shit out of it and off to the side a bit so my legs flailed. Clicked off a couple easy 27's to go from 15th to 6th and save myself any further embarrassment.

Race #3 MWGP: Big grid in this race, about 26 I think. A piss poor start, went into turn one around 15th place. Spent the whole race battling up through the ranks to finish in 3rd place. My first race, my first podium, my first trophy! Woot! Best time was a 1:23.2.

Race #12 HWSB: Another shitty start, went into T1 around 14th place. Spent the whole race battling upwards again, and took the white flag (last lap) in 2nd place, 1st place had already checked out. Just had to finish. Came into T3 a little too fast... looking up at the cone in 4 across the bumps, knee down... that beach is getting awfully close... don't look at it... then I looked at it. Fucking stupid mistake. Went into the sand, held it up, rode over the curb back out onto the track and the R6 bucked me off like a bronco. Bike and me were both fine, with 150 bucks and some help from Derek it was easily thrown back together and ready to race for Sunday. Clicked off a 1:22.3 before making that stupid error.

Sunday:

Practices saw me pretty much right back up to pace.

Race #1 GTO (20 minute race): This was the single most fun I have had in my entire life. I get a shitty start again (see a trend) but a little better. Go into T1 in 8th, first couple laps are spent picking through the field again, get up to 5th. Red flag, shit. Come into the hot pit and Boston Moto is there with my stands and bottles of water... talk about good friends and good service!

We grid back up and I get another shitty start, worse than the first. Go into T1 in 8th (which is now a worse position due to crashers). Grab a couple positions over the first two laps. I catch up to a guy who gets a great drive out of 2 so I figure he's fast... then he brakes going into 3 like a red group track day and I was stupidly lined up behind him... wail on the brakes, rear wheel up in the air, I hit him and we go wide... he gets it back together and so do I, I just give a little wave backwards up through T4 and leave him behind probably with shit in his pants... sorry pal.

Spend the entire rest of the race battling up again ... I get 100% focused and put my head down and go for it, times are dropping, brake markers moving forwards, rear tire is sliding around driving out. Each lap seeing my friends and teammates on the straight going more and more crazy cheering me on and telling me what position I was in, I felt like it was motoGP. Amazing feeling.

Two laps to go I am in 3rd, chasing a gixxer 1000 who I know I am better than up by the treehouse. I go hard on the gas knee down through all of 8 around the outside of him and we both stand it up next to eachother, I throw it into 9, shutting the door on him. Then he outmotors me on the straight and holds it into T1. Shit. Final lap... Put the same move on him again by the treehouse. Get a great drive out of 10, then come onto the straight in the wrong gear and the 6 bogs... I just tuck in and hold it WFO and he can't make up the gap I put on him, I get 2nd by a tenth of a second. My friends on the hot pit go nuts, I'm exhausted and pouring sweat, but I'm so full of adrenaline I am shaking and couldn't sit down for 30 minutes. Amazing feeling. And among several 22s, I click off a few 21s including my personal best, a 1:21.1. :beerbang:

Race #8 HWSS: The GT endurance race took everything out of me. I get a shitty start and battle up again into 4th. Two guys I have been smoking all day are battling in front of me and I can't seem to force the issue and they don't take each other out. I settle for the 4th. Best time is in the low 23's.

Race #13 MWSS: I'm beat tired and having trouble getting back in the zone for the start. I get a poor start and go into T1 near the back. Battle my way back up to 6th and get my head a little more in the game. Move up to 5th and I am getting quicker but the damage is done. I click off some decent laps including a 1:21.7 but stay in 5th. I am happy with all my finishes and too tired to make a stupid mistake at the end of the day. HUGE props to bergs who was having trouble getting into his groove and absolutely ROCKED this race. He got the eye of the tiger and won this bitch! It's going to be fun as hell racing with him and James this year.



Overall I certainly can't complain, I had an awesome weekend... placed 2 3 4 and 5, got two trophies, times in the very low 21's, bike is fast and set up and feels awesome everywhere on the track. At the same time I know I can do better. I've been trying to get my thesis revisions finished for publishing and am not well rested at all, and have been very stressed. Thesis will be done this week, I will be able to rest up and practice my starts (Jesus Christ do I need to do that, huh?) before the next race weekend and I will be able to do both open practices. I intend to dip into the teens and get myself a 1st place.

HUGE thanks are due to my teammates in Zip-Tie Alley racing for their advice, assistance, friendship, and good times and laughter. HUGE thanks to Boston Moto who provide not only the best rubber, but the best service. Extra thanks to Denno for advice and special thanks to Degs for all his help and giving me confidence in my skills. Thanks to all my sponsors as well (in sig).

Nice meeting lots of folks and others I forgot, and all the nearby friends of the alley (seth and alex and co, jiggaWatt, etc etc)

And holy shit, I thought track days were addictive? Fuck track days! There is nothing I can say to even describe racing. Here's to a great 2009!!!! And a nice pic of the beast before heading up this weekend (both wheels down this time):

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...03419Large.jpg

And I'm still waiting on pictures but I got a nice preliminary one driving out of turn 10 after an outside pass in 9

http://jaubs.com/gallery/loudon_409/...g_DSC_7787.jpg

Good on ya, Bro! Have you considered getting up to the drag strip to practice your starts? It does help. Good luck on the rest of your season. Hopefully I'll be able to say, "I knew him when..."

about damn time douche

good job, keep it up and stay out of the sand

Yes actually I am planning on that before the next race weekend. I am going to practice them either tomorrow or saturday with a buddy. If that doesn't help one of my teammates said he would go to the strip with me.

They really are terrible, like embarrassingly bad.

It's funny to think back in intermediate group in track days when you thought you were moving quickly, and you would think your rear tire was moving around. That shit is laughable now!

Yea it's tough and I'd imagine much worse on a bike like an R6 than anything I've ever run. Then you have to remember that you've done so much to the bike since last season. I wouldn't get down on myself too hard, Bro. I sounds like to me that you're doing great and that you'll be a permanent fixture on the podium if you can get this aspect down. :rockwoot:

:dthumb: Nice man... good read and all...

impressive buddy, wouldn't expect any less out of you though to be honest.

Good shit Boss...Bike Looks Sexy as Fuck to.

Damn Ceo, sounds like a blast, glad you found soething you enjoy and have the ability to do it, See you in on the tv I hope one day.

BTW when you're right, you're right! It's a long story but I got rid of that shock I had and later when I went to replace my spring, I found that the threads were stripped! FUCK! So I got on EBay and bought one, in pristine condition, off a bike with under 6,000 miles, including the linkage for ......... $10! I shit you not! So you were right Sir!

Very awesome. Congrats.

Great job, dude :rockout:

I dunno bro... From my perspective your first start ever was amazingly awesome. C'mon... post the pic :D

Asside from your launches you looked fantastic out there. You're gonna do well, w/o a doubt. You've come a long way since that first track day, it's been fun watching you progress. :)

ooo, pic of it, it's probably on the new england board

Yeah.... Probably definitely :D

Thanks guys... seriously most fun I've ever had. Ever.

And just for some background, the rookie race is an LRRS formality, basically you need to ride 3 laps without crashing and you're officially a 'racer'. Doesn't count for anything, no points, doesn't affect index, nothing.

But it's always heavily spectated because they tend to be funny. I held up that tradition :lol:

Plus, since I was holding the bike up with one foot, the wheelie went up to the side and my legs flailed everywhere... hilarious. And there are glorious pictures. :lol: Gimme a minute

:panic::panic::panic::panic:

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...on/CEOGoof.jpg

That is a great pic! :dvrofl:

Congrats on phenomenal first weekend. :dthumb:

What revs are you launching at? As backward as it may sound, I find it easier to keep the front end down at higher revs than lower.

lol yut ugh

Fuckin hilarious picture. Great job man. Congrats.

Basically I think I am not getting the clutch engaged hard enough quick enough.... and then after that, I'm letting the clutch out too quickly so the bike bogs. With this bike you really need to rev the piss out of it to launch it correctly... when the 2 board comes out I'm settting my rpms around 14k.

Also I think once I start letting the clutch out I need to give it more gas as the rpms drop to to clutch disengagement...

Anyways... gonna work on it.

edit: after that incident my issue isn't keeping the front wheel down, it's more of not launching hard enough.

Good luck with it.

The best advice I can give is to keep the revs way up and modulate with the clutch.

Once the clutch is fully disengaged, you should be able to be at WOT without worry of a wheelie. (Say that 5 times fast.)

:as: .......Just kidding!

Chris, if ya want some help just lemme know & I'll see if I can come out there with ya on hot pit or something. I'm no pro, but I did get some pretty incredible launches that surprised even myself this past weekend.

... but of course words can only do so much for ya, you really just gotta get out there & do it. When you go out for practice, pull over, practice a start, pit-out onto the track, go around, pit right back in & repeat.

Good report, man. Good luck.

damn bro... good job!

congrats

that pic was hilarious.

you might go thru a clutch trying to figure it out, but if you can find a track thats not crowded so you can make alotta runs in one day, you'll have that launch perfected buddy.

only advice i can say is dont be scared of it, alil wheelspin, or pullin the wheel up 2-4inches is much better than bogging the motor down

whats it like trying to race with shit in your leathers after every start? BTW that pic is too great and is not my backround consider yourself on my wall of shame

Fuckin' Eh man!




Great job CEO! Congratz!


.... but try not to be such a douche next time, mmmmkay?

Yeah I ended up doing that on the warm-up laps too. Helped a little bit for the second day but still not enough.

I just need to find a good parking lot and do it for an hour, planning to do it sometime this week before heading back up to Loudon. Hoping the weather stays clear for the races!
I'm not worried about the clutch, mine was toast so I replaced it with a full Barnett kit, both sets of plates and springs. Should be good for at least the whole season.

I think I'm just going to do a parking lot or something for starters. I think the strip requires the bike to be plated... mine's not street legal anymore.
will do, turd burgler.




Found another picture, looks like coming out of the bowl T6 driving towards T7...

http://www.eck-racing.com/OnTrackMed...42609c1377.jpg

Congrats! The pics are awsome. Good luck to you! I bet we'll be watching you on the boob tube soon :rockout:

Chris, ya don't need a plate to bring it to Epping. Ask Oxx.

I agree, everyone trailers to the drag strip in case of mechanical.

take that shit to the track and learn somethin homie

a parking lot will only get u so far. strip is prepped - parking lot is dusty, lacking traction, and lacking space.

Breathe slower, don't blink for the last 5 seconds and tell yourself to ease it out and be smooth. The frogs around you will jump and look like they are leaving you, but that only lasts for a second, then you will see them go back the other direction. When it seems slower, you will be faster and the lines between them become clearer.

I'm with Dnyce on this one. Parking lot hardly seems safe...and you're going to draw attention to yourself. If the strip was good enough for Reg Pridmore, it's good enough for you.

A drag strip is an excellent place to practice starts. It they have a Test & Tune night you can usually get a lot of runs for not much money, no cops, no worries and concentrate on what you are doing.

Plus the lights will simulate actual race conditions.

On monday went with my buddy to the lot near his house. It was deserted and not dangerous, and we checked with a nearby baseball game that they wouldn't mind.

I would go from the back of the lot towards the access road, which was used for runoff and slowing down. All I needed to do was get to the top of first gear.

My buddy used his phone as a timer and turned it like it was the 1 board, and swung a rag as the flag.

Worked great, and I got a lot better. My technique really just wasn't right at all, I needed to roll into the throttle more as I modulated the clutch, to prevent bogging.

As I got quicker it did get a little hairy with the tires being cold though :lol:

Hopefully I can do what I did towards the end of Monday's session this weekend and I will have a chance at some 1sts.

practice makes near perfect, can't wait to hear the race results. Just remember on race day you will be pumped so don't let the adrenalin pulls an "Ebbs"

everyone try'n to be like me... :lol:

Congrats on the great weekend! It sound like you will be just fine if you can catch up to them the way you are. Once those starts get better, you will have fewer people to pass. :rockwoot:

Piz, pick a day out of the schedule and let's go watch this fool. You're being the umbrella girl. My body's not ready for bikini season yet!