TRACKDAYRIDERS.COM :: FASTTRAX Round #2

One thing I'm noticing about Nelson this year - nothing goes as planned.

Tom, Teacoach and I arrive at the track Saturday morning for practice. It was around 8:30 and the skies didn't look promising. We take our time unloading, then head over to registration and have the bikes tech'd. At 9:00, the first Advanced group heads out. It was raining off-and-on so we decide to relax and get our equipment organized. The skies began to clear and we each get a couple of good sessions in before lunch - rotating riders between the two bikes. After lunch, we each get a couple more sessions before a massive thunderstorm moves in. The storm passed by around 3:00 but most of the other riders decided to pack up and call it a day. We waited the storm out and Tom and Teacoach each get one more session in before the track closed down at 5:00.

We checked into our hotel, clean up, then headed out in search of dinner. We end up grabbing pizza, some beer, then hang out with Team Empty Pockets at the track.

Sunday morning, Paul arrives at the track early and takes one of the bikes out on his own for open practice. The rest of us arrive around 10:00 and get the gear organized. Sprints begin and run smoothly. We decide to use bike 675 for the endurance and change over to fresh tires. The skies were cloudy but began to clear as the day went on.

3:00 comes and we decide the rider order will be Paul, Ian, then Tom. It's now sunny out and beginning to feel pretty hot and humid. Paul takes the bike out for a warm-up session to scrub the tires, then pits in for about 10 minutes before the 5 minute board comes out. Paul grids up and gets a good start. The only other team in Lightweight is Team MTB. Paul rides well and gets lap times around 1:19 - 1:18.

About 30 minutes in, team MTB is a lap or two in front of us, then someone goes down and a red flag comes out. It takes about 15 minutes before we re-grid, so everyone re-fills their tanks and takes care of any minor bike problems. I notice a missing bolt on the left fairing and we repair it with about four zip-ties.

The 5 minute board comes out and I'm the next rider up. I take a lap and grid up only to find that the 2 minute board is already up. Seconds later, the one minute board, then the green flag. I get a decent start - my second ever, but fall behind quickly after turn 4. The bike feels good and I gain confidence after a couple laps. About 20 minutes into my session, I'm distracted by a cat walking across turn 12. I've seen wildlife on the track here before, but this was a first. After 30 minutes, Teacoach calls me in and we're about 3-4 laps behind MTB. My times were around 1:26, which wasn't great news.

Tom heads out and is holding steady times of about 1:20. Because of the lost time due to the earlier crash, we decide cut our sessions down to 25 minutes each.

Tom pits in and we refill the tank - adding only 1.5 gallons before Paul heads back out. We're using RMON to monitor lap times and realize we're gaining about 15 seconds on MTB each pit-in. Pauls session goes well and he maintains steady lap times around 1:18 and gets his best lap of 1:16. He manages to hold steady with team MTB and we're still only about 4 laps behind.

I head back out for my last session and feel much more confident with the bike. About 15-20 minutes in and the fuel light comes on. I know there's at least one gallon left and I feel like my times are improving, so I try not to think about gas. Teacoach calls me in and I'm once again disappointed to learn my best time was around 1:25.

Paul and Teacoach refill the bike, but were unaware that I nearly ran out during my session - they only add one more gallon of fuel. Tom heads out and gets some of his best times ever. He finishes the race and we're 5-6 laps behind MTB. Second place. Tom pits in and tells us the fuel light had been on - flashing - for nearly his entire session.

We pack up and head home. Next race is on June 6th.

Congrats to MTB on a great race. I'm sure I'm forgetting some details here, so feel free to leave your comments.