Masters of the Mountains Race Round 5

Another round of racing in the books and, as usual this year, it was another good one.  I must admit, however, after seeing the gap that could potentially develop due to high-dollar machines making their way on the grid was a bit of a motivational killer during the week before the race.  I was getting a little bummed and psyching myself out by worrying about the high-level I'd have to ride at just to match my competitors at a rider to rider level, but how much deeper I would have to dig to overcome their machine advantage.  I was not sure I was up to the task.  If a result on the racetrack is the sum of rider skill, machine setup skill (making a bike work for the rider with suspension, geometry, gearing, etc. adjustments), machine capabilities, and luck; I'd have to maximize rider skill and machine setup and hope for some luck in order to achieve a good result in the races.  There was a lot of pressure, because huge leaps in rider skill isn't something I can summon over the course of a few practice sessions, and I was responsible for much of the setup on the machine (with Jason from Corporate Suspension helping me remotely, of course).    

Plus, my mom had come all the way from Chicago to visit and watch me race.  This applied its own pressure.  First, because I wanted to do well for my mom.  I know she'd be proud of me, regardless of where I finished, but I still wanted to put the bike on the podium.  The other reason for the added pressure is the Mom Curse.  Meaning, when your mom visits the races, you crash.  Apparently, many people suffer from this, because more than one person said they hoped I kept it on two wheels when I told them my mom was in attendance.  I even have a friend that has a similar curse, but his wife brings about the curse.  I'm not inclined to study the Mom Curse, but I'll acknowledge and respect its existence.  

The drama started Friday night as I was making some last minute prep on the bike.  Simple stuff, just an oil change, a wash, grip replacement, and a fork fluid-level adjustment.  You can probably guess what went wrong.  Basically, I exploded the plastic spring spacer when compressing it to get the fork disassembled.  I dropped the fork leg and spilled a bunch of the fluid out--fluid I don't have in my garage.  So, after an emergency call to Jason at Corporate Suspension and a quick drive over to his shop, the problem was resolved and I was packing the van in an hour.  

Saturday practice started off cold, so I skipped the first session.  I went out in the second session on a totally shagged set of tires just to get things warmed up.  I did a respectable lap time and came in to change to a fresh rear for the next session.  Throughout the day, I fiddled with the suspension to get it to where I felt best.  I made a lot of small changes that, by the end of the day had resulted in a very positive step forward and got me down to a lap-time just over a second slower than my fastest time ever--all of this on a front tire that had 100+ laps on it!  (Respect is due to those Michelin fronts).  I also followed Chad (one of my main rivals) for a session and was able to hang with him pretty comfortably. So, Saturday ended up really positive.

Sunday was cold again in the morning, so I skipped the two warmup sessions and only went out during the King of the Mountain qualifying session (it was actually just a practice session, because there were so few people signed up for the race).  Everything worked well, so I was feeling good.  After the session, I did a tire change, fueled up the bike, and made whatever final changes necessary, so I'd be ready to race in a couple hours when I gridded up for the King of the Mountain-GTU race.  

Right on schedule, first call for the KOM-U race was given.  Carrie and Tarik made the final checks on the bike and warmed it up while I got my leathers on and made sure everything was in order with me.  Second call, I put the earplugs and helmet on and get ready to roll out at third call.  Third call is given, I give a glance over to Chad in the next garage, thumbs up from both of us and we roll out to the pre-grid area.  When I get there, I see the regulars--Jeff Stern, Scott Decker, Chad-- but, I see another rider that, I have to admit, caused a bit of a gut-check in me: Jesse Sherstan.  Jesse is our current Number 1 plate holder, meaning he's he club champion in our KOM class for the 1000cc bikes.  I remember watching him win when he was on 600cc bikes.  He was an Expert and I was a Novice back then.  Last year, when I moved up to Expert 600cc, he moved on to 1000cc, so I never had a chance to line up in a race with him.  Jesse had an engine problem in his 1000cc bike this round, so he was riding his 600cc as a backup to salvage some points.  I guess he was using our race to practice up for when he'd have to race against the big bikes later on in the day.  Anyway, here he is in pre-grid and I'm thinking, "great, another dude to beat me..."  

The let us out onto the track for our warmup lap.  I ride pretty hard to get the suspension, brakes, and tires warmed up.  I grid up in third position and focus on the flagger.  After a normal starting procedure, the green flag flies and I get a great launch.  Jeff Stern got a slightly better start and was leading by half a bike-length headed into the braking zone for Turn 1.  I pulled up right along side him in the braking zone, stole his line and tipped it into Turn 1 in first position.  I rode hard and managed to keep the lead for the whole first lap, but got passed by Scott Decker on the straight at the start of Lap 2 and he built up a 2 bike length advantage.  Shortly after that, Jesse and Chad both came by me into Black Rock Hairpin.  I had a short mental battle with myself, whether I could stick with them or not and decided I could and that I just needed to focus and go through the motions of a fast and smart lap.  

Those two gapped me a little at first, but their battle between themselves helped me catch up a little.  Chad was leading us, Jesse behind him, and me behind him.  The three of us were behind the leader, Scott Decker, by a far margin, but we were far ahead of the other racers.  So, for the next 7 laps, we were locked in our own battle.  Jesse's bike was giving off a huge amount of heat and my bike was running in the 230 degree range behind him.  I didn't want to relent, so I would make sure to pull out of his slip-stream on the straights to get some cooler air though my radiator and kept an eye on the temp gauge.  After a couple laps, the temp went back down the 200-teens temp range.  Jesse made a move on Chad into Black Rock.  I passed Chad shortly after, going into the Triple Ds.  The next lap, I started lining Jesse up in Turn 2 for and eventual move in Black Rock.  All I focused on from the exit of Turn 2 to the brake zone for Black Rock, was to stay on the gas as much as possible.  I did that, pulled along side Jesse right before the brake zone and finished the pass on the brakes.  I barely held him off into the next turn, but managed to cement the pass by stretching a little gap through the Triple Ds.  I hung on for the next two laps to finish 2nd and took another half second off my fastest time.  It was awesome.  

After the race, Jesse came up to congratulate me and so did Scott Decker.  For those that don't know, Scott is (was, now) someone at the race track that I didn't like.  I made a mistake in Round 2 and crashed in front of him.  He said some mean things and I pretty much wrote him off as a total douche.  However, his congratulations after the KOM race and his sincere apology later in the day for what he said to me during Round 2 softened my harsh feelings.  I also learned that he has been donating his winnings from the KOM class back to the racing club (the UtahSBA, the people that run the race series) for the last two years.  I find that quite respectable and can say, I've got no more ill feelings for him.  

The next race was Middle Weight Super Stock and was quite uneventful.  Scott got the holeshot and little by little, extended a gap over the next couple laps.  Chad also came by me within a few laps and I couldn't do anything to stay with those guys.  I had some rear tire grip issues and kept spinning on corner exit.  In hindsight, I think I should have let some pressure out between races and went into the MWSS race with a bit high of a pressure, which caused some over-inflation issues.  I didn't really care, I had to accept what was going on and just brought the bike home in third to hung on to the lead in the championship by 2 points over Chad.  So now, whoever wins between Chad or I will win the overall MWSS championship at Round 6. 

That's it.  Another successful weekend at the races.  Huge thanks to:

• Carrie for everything she does and being the Number 1 Fan
• Tarik and Honda Suzuki of Salt Lake for all the support at and away from the races.  Some previous wise-words from Tarik are what motivated me to dig deep and fight back in the KOM race.
• Jason at Corporate Suspension for all my suspension success and saving my ass on Friday night
• Scott Larsen from Fastline Tire for everything he does for everyone.
• Brian (and Brooke) from MOTY Design for the new tire warmers (they were the final line of defense against the tire-tearing issues I've been working on lately)
• My fellow racers (all the bros from my NRC, the current guys, and the upcoming racers!)
• Kim, Trevor, and Scott for coming out to watch.
• And last but not least, my Mom.  I didn't crash and I hope I made her proud.

More later.

Cheers,

-jerry