Sat. was the 1st day of archery season in Pa. I don't miss it unless something real import keeps me out of the woods. In this case,the last chance to hit the track until spring. Good thing I didn't spend the day in a tree, I would have been soaked! No body in their right mind would want to ride around on a slippery race track in the pouring rain in 40 something degrees(f).Good thing I'm not in my right mind!
I had 2 students,a guy about 50 on a borrowed RC51 and a pretty young lady on her Dad's SV650 race bike. The guy on the RC had a hard time keeping up,(sure he didn't want to scuff his pals bike) but he did look smooth and just needed a little advise not turning in too quick.
The young lady was keeping up so I picked it up a notch. I would let her lead,then pass and take her by slower groups and then let her lead again. She was having a blast!
I had some shagged DOT 003s on the bike and it was like riding on ice. So when lunch time came I switched to my street tires.Conti road attack 2 on the rear (almost new) and a Conti road attack on the front (not so new) The Conti was getting a lot more grip than the used up DOT race tire. But I could still feel my front slip a little on entries. But the pace was relaxed (for me) and wasn't too concerning. I would start out letting the RC lead after I'd do the 1st lap. Then I'd lead another and let the SV ride ahead.Then we would loose the RC and another controll rider would pick him up.The SV and I would work our way past a couple more groups. The 2nd from last session of the day,we got past a group on the back straight,go through turn 12 & 13 onto the front. I look back and she slowed way down. She had a scary moment coming into 12 when she missed a down shift. Her Dad was watching and said it was the save of the day! She was done for the day but was all smiles! Her Dad took a photo of her with me and the other guy in our group. It was awsome!
The last session, we pretty much let them go.And the track even dried out some. So I put in a few good laps,but retired early because I wanted to load up early and find someone to help me get unstuck. I had got the truck stuck 1st thing in the AM.It was like a swamp as soon as I got off the driveway looking for a place to park. But a army of racers pushed me back out.
No one in the instuctional class went down,just a couple in the open class but nothing serious. And a good time by all even though it was cold and wet.
Dan
Topic: The last track day of the season (Read 2171 times)