06/24/2015
We knew that we were starting off at a disadvantage at NOLA Motorsports park before the green flag even waved when our endurance fuel tank with quick-fill developed a leak and we had to revert to a standard tank. So instead of 10-15 seconds in the pits for fuel and rider change, we'd be over a minute standing still. Add a relatively long pit road entry, long main pit road, and 30 mph speed limit, each stop would cost us over a full extra lap in time by the time we were back up to speed.
Braeden Ortt started the race and had the 2nd fastest lap time behind a liter bike and had us up as high as first place when at lap 16 a malfunction in the shift mechanism left him stuck in a single gear. Fortunately he was able to make it back to the pits but the resulting 15 minutes lap time pushed us back to 25th position by the time we fixed the issue, refueled, and got the bike ready to go back out.
Gavin Williams took over and ran consistent laps for about 40 minutes getting us up into the 23rd spot with no further issues other than the oppressive heat and humidity that everybody was facing. At lap 37 he pitted for fuel and a much needed break and Sloan Essman took the controls. We only lost 1 spot during the fuel and rider change so Sloan went out in 23rd position and ran some reliable laps, slowlying improving his lap times and personal best times for the track until a short red flag halted the race for about 20 minutes at lap 46. Fortunately the rider wasn't badly injured and the race got back under way with Sloan continuing on the bike after the unexpected rest. Finally around lap 62 the heat and effort had taken its toll along with a rear tire that was going away so Sloan signaled that he needed to come in after getting the Furian Racing R6 up to 19th position.
After more fuel and a fresh rear tire, Braeden went back out and got the motorcycle up to position 17 and our best lap of the race of a 1:49.133. Gavin again took over for his 2nd and final stint at lap 90 preserving position 17 in the process and finally pitted after lap 112 in 16th position. Sloan then went back out for his final stint losing 1 position during the stop but gaining it back by the time he pitted for his final time on lap 132.
Being the most youthful of the 3 riders by a WIDE margain, Braeden was the lucky rider to claim the final stint to close out the race. We had him pit at lap 138 for a fresh tire and a fuel top off to make it to the end of the race. When it was all said and done we finished in 16th overall after running 159 laps. We had hoped for better of course but still managed to counter the obstacles we faced as they were thrown at us. Without the short mechanical issue we likely could have pulled off a top 10 overall but we're not going away discouraged. We'll be ready to give it another go at Cresson in August and with any luck the high humidity will stay to the South!
