If you have read any of my race reports in the last three years, you have probably noticed two common themes: I always seem to be learning or relearning tracks and I am really bad at race starts. Well not much changed this weekend at VIR.

 

Prior to this weekend, I’ve ridden VIR three days, one day at each North Course, South Course, and Full course. However, all three of those days were track days and the latest (South Course) was all the way back in July 2010. The last time I was on the North Course, which is the course WERA races on, was some time in 2009, so just like most of the year, I had to relearn the track, and fast. For this round, I didn’t have the luxury of taking Friday off to do the practice day, so the only practice I would get would be Saturday morning practice sessions before the races in the afternoon.

 

By the end of practice on Saturday, I came off the track with a best lap time in the 1:44 second range. I turned as many laps as they would let me, and I did my best to learn as much of the track in that short amount of time as I could, but a 1:44 second lap would maybe make me competitive in the Lightweight novice classes, but certainly not in the 600cc expert classes. Still, that wasn’t going to stop me from gridding up. As worried as I was about my pace this early, I was also really excited to be back on the grid with good weather conditions. I knew that my results on Saturday would probably look pretty bad from an outsider’s perspective, but I was going to take every opportunity I could to learn the track and how other racers get around it quickly.

My first race of the weekend was the C Superstock class, one of the most competitive races on the schedule. I started from the third row, and there were around 25 riders gridded up to race, which is the largest WERA grid I’ve ever raced in. Thinking about the start of the race made me nervous because I knew my pace and everyone else’s pace, I was concerned about holding people up, but more importantly, I was worried about either causing a crash or someone crashing me just due to the difference in lap times. Once I gridded up, all of that anxiety went away and my mind was clear, I hadn’t felt like that on a race track in quite some time. I got a pretty crappy start like normal, but this time I wasn’t trying to make up ground on everyone after the start, I was just trying to keep up. I ended up finishing 21st (which was the first time I’ve ever finished outside of a points-earning spot) with a best lap time of 1:41.2. It was nothing to write home about, but I was happy to have knocked three seconds off of my practice times.

 

The second race of the day was B Superstock, and I started on the second row. Once again, my start was pretty pathetic and I never really challenged for a podium spot, but I was able to knock three more seconds off of my pace turning a best time of 1:38.5, and I finished 8th. Again, nothing to get too excited about as far as my performance, but my progress was encouraging.

 

The third race of the day was C Superbike, and again I started on the third row. So far during this entire event, I was using old Michelin Evo take-offs from an earlier event. I knew that my pace early in the event was going to be pretty slow, so I decided to save my new tires for later in the event/season and decided to stick with these older, worn tires. Up until this point in the day, I hadn’t even noticed the tires moving or giving any indication that they were older tires because these tires last a nice, long while, and let’s be honest, my pace wasn’t blistering fast so I didn’t need the absolute best grip the tires offered earlier in their life. During this race, however, I did feel some pretty hefty rear end slides cresting the hill in T7, so I wasn’t able to really push much harder in this race. My best time in this race was only a 1:39 flat, which I was a little bummed about, but with the tire starting to tell me it had had enough, I didn’t want to push it past that infamous line. I would finish the race in 11th.

 

The last race of the day for me was B Superbike. I started on the first row and still wasn’t able to get a very good launch off the line. I changed the rear tire prior to this race, but because I haven’t raced much since May, my body was at the point where it had had about enough for the day. I got back into the 1:38’s and finished 9th. I wasn’t exactly happy about my results from the day, but I was happy to have made progress throughout the day and I was excited about learning the track even better on Sunday.

 

Sunday’s practice gave me hope that the day’s races would be better, as I was able to turn a faster lap in Sunday’s practice than I had all day on Saturday with a 1:37.2, and that was on the worn rear tire from Saturday’s races.

 

The first race of the day was CSS again. However, because of my poor showing on Saturday, instead of starting on the third row like Saturday, I started from the fourth and again got a pretty questionable start. Even though I was riding faster, so was everyone else, and I was never really able to gain ground on anyone. However, on Sunday I would finish in the points in this race with a 15th place finish with a fastest lap of 1:36.9.

 

The second race of the day was BSS again, and again I’d start from the second row, and yet again I seemed to have a hard time getting off the line. I did my best to latch onto some faster riders, but I just couldn’t get close enough to challenge them for their position. During the entire race, I was within striking distance of the next three riders in front of me, but I just couldn’t seem to find a way to challenge them. I would ultimately settle for 10th with a best lap of 1:36.3.

 

The last race of the weekend was CSB, and it was back to back with the BSS race. I started on the third row, but this time I decided to try something different. I always start once the flag is flown, but I always seemed to be left at the line by everyone else. For this race, I decided to go once the “1” board went sideways, since the starter is always consistent and drops the flag just a beat after the board. I didn’t get the best start of my career, but I didn’t lose any spots so I was happy with my start. Since I got a much better start and went into T1 in about 4th place, I got to latch on to some of the faster riders, and was able to turn some faster laps. I would ultimately take 13th place, but my lap time got down to 1:35.7. This isn’t exactly fast as you can tell by how I placed, but considering I was turning 1:44’s the day before, I was really happy with that progress. I think that by the next event at VIR, I'll have enough laps there to start being more competitive and hopefully be able to challenge for podiums.

 

Without the help of some wonderful people and companies, there's no way I'd be able to compete at this level. My wife, Denise, is my biggest fan and I can't thank her enough for all that she does to help me throughout the weekend. Her parents, Dave and Dianne came out to VIR for the second event in a row, and I really appreciate all of their support, it can't be easy supporting a hooligan in-law having never been exposed to this sport "pre-Eric." Each of my sponsors is top notch, I wouldn't associate with them if they weren't. Sportbike Tire Service gives me the best (Michelin) tires out there. Sidi boots protect my feet and ankles better than any other boot on the market, and the exact same goes for Shoei, you can't get a better helmet. Moto-D Racing's products and customer service is top notch, and PopShadow Decals is the whole reason the bike looks as good as it does. Spiegler Performance Parts help me tune the bouncy parts on the bike, and provide me with the very best brake components. Vortex has perhaps the best customer service of all time, and great products to complement that. Core Nutritionals helps me push myself in training to be the best athlete I can be, and The Motorcycle Factory, Inc. is a group of some of the coolest motorcycle enthusiasts in the Northern Virginia area and have some great prices on parts and bikes. Thanks to all of you, I look forward to the next round!