My second road race, and first as an expert. Flame suit on: Jake Lewis Endurance Pit Change, nice look at Tryce's ass sweatin' (I did not race Saturday, so wisely enjoyed a few beers while filming. You will know it.): http://youtu.be/qZ57VMdyWS0 What poetry in motion does NOT look like. I swear I got better by race 4, but at least I didn't loop my first attempt at this on the Triumph: http://youtu.be/n-_XMFgnoTI Best lap was 1:36.1, I think that would have qualified me for the AMA Supersport race back in June (if they allowed crusty old booze hounds to do such a thing), but not 100% sure. I ran against the fastest riders in the WERA club racing world who will be, and have been, seen racing on TV.....and duly got spanked. But I will some day say I raced that world champion once. WERA Expert C Superbike and Superstock, Expert B Superbike and Expert Senior Superbike are the races I contested. Best finish of the day was P6 in Snr. Superbike where they gifted me a reprieve from a jumped start. I didn't gain any ground, but also did not return to my initial position. Thank you Mongo!!! Best race of the day was B Superbike Expert. I caught a guy on a GSXR750 and proceeded to battle all the way to the line for tenth place. I did not even see the half way flags, or as it turned out, the checkers. I finally stuffed him into turn one and thought I owned him, then I realized the corner workers were giving me hand signs to do another stand up wheelie. Shit, I missed the flag! P11 it is then. This is when I truly dropped some time and got down to that 36.1. I would not have believed anyone who said that was going to happen before the weekend began. Until racing I was happy, make that ecstatic, to pick up a second over a weekend. Dropping four and knowing I left some out there even in those laps was mind bending for me. Best moment.....Scott Russell riding my left shoulder in practice for a lap, then shooting the peace sign and dropping the hammer on me. He came by after and gave me thoughtful and relevant riding advice that heavily influenced my weekend and moved me forward. Total class act and some day I will get him drunk as a thank you. He has only won 5 Daytona 200's, so I know it was a bit of a gamble to take his input. Lucky for me it panned out. Best friend this weekend......Hand's f'n down Marc "the Man" Perrone!!!!!!!!!!! At great peril to his marital bliss he came over Saturday evening from ATL and forced himself to have a good time, for my sake, by drinking my beer and telling me to pull my granny panties up (point taken buddy). He was the only thing that kept me from going into a total nervous breakdown between races. He handled everything under my tent including gas and tires, which isn't much until you have 10 minutes to swap them and your helmet and gloves are still on and you can't catch your breath. He is a HUGE part of my doing only as crappy as I did. Team SAE homes!! Best racer I saw, hmmmmmn.....Garrett Gerloff won all the head to head races this time out and earned them, Kudos to him, but, I am firmly in the Jake Lewis camp. He raced like a demon and showed class in his defeats. His entire family, from flirty granny to Mom and Dad (and even Tryce), are why people want to be at a race even if they aren't racing. They shared time and energy they certainly could have used elsewhere, salt of the earth and great friends, although a bit grabby when it comes to undefended coolers full of beer. The GNF will be insane racing I am sure. Getting blitzed by a pack including the Herrin's, Lewis, Gerloff, Elena, et al, was something I will never forget. Jake Lewis is a friend, but what YOU need to know is that he will be an AMA champion within 24 months, mark my words please. Best sponsor (ok, only sponsor): FTWCO. Much love to the D.M. Crew who make my ugly ass at least a little less offensive to the world. Cheers you puds, I did my part, left my mark and moved on. More stickers is what I'm getting at....pretty please! Cheers FTWCO Racer and WERA Expert #410 PJ Doran http://www.ftwcompany.blogspot.com/ P.S. If you want to see pics find them here, there will be an open gallery of my shots, no password required. Updating now so may be a bit, obviously I am 410. http://studio819.smugmug.com/WERA/9-11-11
It is always a blast & highly entertaining pitting/hanging with you PJ ... and it was so good to see you again *hugs* Race more
It hasn't gone away yet. I am still reliving the whole weekend. It was awesome to see Nikk mentioned in Roadracing World's race report.
Thanks Dilly, likewise.:up: I came to the immediate realization that I need someone as positive and supportive as you in my pit/life, Joe's got solid talent and a great Crew Chief. Hopefully I can address that weakness first, then maybe some more racing will be possible. I am wishfully thinking I can find some more speed and actually race with your man next year, he is definitely rolling on.
Thanks Tryce. Best of luck at the AMA National. I hope to see you guys around GNF time, if only in passing. Jake is the man to beat in my book, I know he has the heart and the help to pull it off. Did you see that Shayna Texter was making some history at Knoxville while we were rolling at Barber? She won the AMA Pro Singles Main from behind. Absolutely killer race video on you tube. Check it out, I know you like watching girls kick some flat track tail! At risk of a banning: http://youtu.be/UAFXWUr-sec
