What was your favorite and least favorite parts from your GNF?

As always an awesome freaking weekend but there's always some ups and downs in everyone's pits so synopsis please. Top answers only.

Best for me: Seeing people I'd tweaked suspension or offered advice giving me a headshake "yes" down the front straight or stopping by to show me a trophy!

Least: Getting woken up at 6:45 by someone "asking" (I use that term loosely) me to move a car / trailer that wasn't mine because it was blocking the other 1/2 of the power pole I was using that they wanted to use. They didn't like my answer.

 

The good: My bikes went fast as hell. Free beer bought by Dave Stauffer.

The bad: I wasn't riding them when they went fast. The drive home...

 

Seeing Jackson mix it up with some very fast SVs and finish 4th.... It was a victory to us.... and his lap time in that particular race was his fastest all weekend.

Didn't really have a "bad"... I wish the kids could have played soccer and rode bicycles without security having a talk with them... but I completely understand the reason. Me, Ashton, Jackson, and Trevor had a pretty good soccer/football match going.... Ha ha ha...

 

Huey - I can't get a read on ya. You look all serious and stressed out in the pits. Buzzing around on your scooter with a scowl, then you go up during the awards presentation and give a sappy speech on the core virtues of racing. Do tell.

Good - Clean, fast racing. Great group of guys to race against. Definitely makes you faster.

Bad - The tiles. I'm sorry.

WERA's organization and running of the event overall was top notch. Thank you.

 

Bad : Circulating the track on an SV that seemed to have about 32 HP. Anyone want to buy an SV?

Good : The weather was nice

Good and bad : Watching a kid stall the start in the mini race Saturday but didnt get hit (good). Then gets help from an official who tried to help but both ended up on the ground (bad).

 

Good: Top ten finishes in all my races. First GNF since 2003, first race season since 2004 and actually being competitive after a long absence. Not crashing. Lowering my laptimes as the weekend progressed. Getting to race with some extremely fast guys. Knowing I still got Nola to race in Nov.

The Bad: Waiting in Lot G on weds. Getting bumped off track after the start in T1 in 5th place and re-entering in 18th position but super happy its paved out there beyond T1. Racing against faster bikes than my stocker. Having a fork seal puke during a race. Buying a stack of tire$. Having to wake up Tuesday and go back to the real world.

 

good: having fun on the bike again and my dad watching me racing for his first time. and of course seeing Jeff finally getting on the box! and dropping a second to May despite the condition.

bad: having to haul back saturday night and missing the LWTSS race.

 

Lot G was a bit hectic, to say the least.

Agreed on having to go back to the real world. Would have liked to stayed for Sunday as well.

 

Thanks for reminding me. I was having a hard time coming up with something bad.

On a good note, he got a second chance Sunday and nailed it.

Other good - watching 40+ bikes doing the synchronized racing ballet coming out of the last turn and onto the front straight in a few races. Awesome.

 

I have RBF: Resting Bitch Face. Hahahahah
Think about it: at the track, y'all are all in my shop. Hahahah If I'm in my pits or screaming around on the scooter I'm usually working. And all of y'all are my customers and I take all of that very seriously.
I need to wear my cap backwards when I'm effing around or something so you'll know! Hahahaha
You can always stop me with a cookie or a beer.
And for what it's worth I'm 98% sappy.

 

good: weather, racing endurance on my favorate track on a fun, fast bike. No crashes or bike/hauler issues.

bad: not being able to better my laptimes at Barber with 40 more HP, first time getting wicked arm pump and hand/wrist issues, not having a LW bike to play with. Knowing that I probaly won't be on a racetrack again for a long time (especially in Endurance)

 

Agree. Don't like the tiles at all. Also, no #1 plates for the champions this year. Boo...........:down:

 

I'm with Eddie on this.. Some really tough racing and your reward is a tile lol..

Anyway, on to the good and bad!

Good: In the top 5 all weekend long with two 3rd place finishes on Sunday, dropped down to 1:36.4, the weather, and just hanging out with everyone in the paddock.

Bad: I got meatballed for a jump start that was utterly ridiculous on Saturday, almost crashed in turn 1 after a false neutral after working my way up to 4/5th position, and had to extinguish the bbq that i just fired up saturday night (rules are rules though).

although the track officials did come by to apologize about the bbq thing on sunday and offered to buy us lunch

 

no comment

 

Best Part - Not spending a boatload of money on racing
Worst Part - Not racing! - 2015 awaits me.

 

Favorites:

1. Grom.
2. Close battles with some good dudes.
3. Seeing and hanging out with friends.
4. Getting some cool wheelies out of the T5 and over the Bridge.
5. Grom.

Bad:
1. Getting the worst launches in the history of Sportbike racing. I suck so bad at it. A result that reads "started 4th, finished 5th" doesnt seem very exciting. But in reality, I was 18th or some shit exiting T1 in just about every race and had to work my ass off to get back to where I was.
2. Arm pump. I was good for about 2-3 laps, then faded. By lap 6 my right hand was swole up the size of a basketball and i couldnt feel/work anything. I was rolling on the gas by using my palm and pulling down with my whole arm. I had those surgeries on my left hand/arm, but figured the right would be ok. I was wrong.
3. Starting the bike Friday and finding a hole in the radiator. It must have happened during the last race at Road Atlanta (last time the bike was rode). We found another radiator and Livengood got it installed in time to race, but it was damaged and didnt flow properly and the bike kept overheating. Had to have a local shop overnight a new one and got it installed Saturday. But the bad part was that we didnt get to practice on the R6 and we chased setup a lot during the races.
4. The big "crash" that occurs when it finally hits you that the GNF is over and the season is done. I have been in a shitty mood for 2 days. Im getting ready to go ride Grim around town to see if it will cheer me up.


Overall it was a great weekend. WERA put on a good show, the Registration Ladies and Officials were great as always and the weather was absolutely perfect. I would have liked to have went faster, but that is every weekend. I am never satisfied with my riding and will probably never be. But as far as the event as a whole, it was excellent.

 

The Good: Watching all you effers on the Mylaps thing go whizzing by as I watched on the ol laptop while sipping some beers and yelling at the computer.

The bad: Me not being there to give out beers and man hugs.


You all done good.:up: