08/21/2023
Welp, Race 2 didn’t go as well as Race 1 unfortunately.. I got a good start once again but got parked a couple times on the first lap allowing the people I battled with yesterday to gain a little gap that I couldn’t close. They went faster, and I went slower by probably .5s+ a lap slower - just didn’t feel like I had it again today. Today was incredibly hot, my forearms were screaming, and I was just flat out tired. Like I mentioned yesterday, I’m certainly not in this kind of racing shape and have to ride super hard to keep up with the faster bikes. It was a long, lonely, painful race 😂
I feel like I’m getting to the point where I need to start making changes to the bike to have it easier to ride to pick up more time. I’ve run the same settings (except front preload to prevent bottoming out) for the last 4 years no matter the track, tire size, bike characteristics, etc. The SV felt incredibly heavy to quickly transition from side-to-side which smoked my forearms with bar inputs by half race distance.
Even though I was disappointed with how Race 2 turned out, it’s hard to be disappointed with how the weekend went overall. Most laps I turned during the races were well below my old PB, I learned a ton and got better as a rider, qualified for the show, didn’t finish last, didn’t get lapped, didn’t go the slowest, and most importantly brought the bike home in one piece.
Ive gotta thank everyone for the support I’ve gotten over the last few weeks leading up to the race.. it’s been an incredibly cumbersome and even more expensive experience, but was awesome to finally partake in an actual pro race with the fastest twins riders in the country.
Once again, I’m super thankful for Jenna Marie, Samson West, my dad, and Tim Dobbertin for babysitting while I raced. They were incredibly helpful with everything this weekend.
I also really have to thank Barnes Bros. Motorcycles & Off-Road and Karns Performance for their continued support for gear and mechanical needs.
