Pictures
We closed the
Mid-Atlantic Championship in style by taking 3 victories, 2 second
places, and 1 third place finish. It was memorable for sure! I
had a lot of family and friends on hand to watch me win my first
championships and I have to say I was a little nervous. I was
worried about my Ducati 998 being able to finish the races for me
since I have done a lot of repairs to it recently. She treated me
good. Saturday started with the Middleweight Solo. I started in
23 place in the second wave. I had no idea what place I was in
all race long but I just kept passing. On the final two laps, I
was catching someone who I thought was a lapper but it was the
leader of the race. I took 2nd place running the
fastest lap of the race. 1:20.36. Next up was the Heavyweight
solo. I started in 15th and was up against the ZX-10’s
and GSXR-1000’s with 40 more HP. I was on my little 600 but was
riding the hell out of it. I made some suspension adjustments to
get some better rear tire grip and they worked really well. I
worked my way up to 3rd and then was passed by someone
running a much faster pace than me. He was turning 1:18’s. He
had gapped me about 2 seconds within 2 or 3 laps until he crashed
hard going in to turn 3. It caused a red flag and therefore I
finished in 3rd place. I felt good since I lost to a
GSXR-1000 and a ZX-10. The suspension adjustments allowed me to
do a 1:20.03.
Sunday was for
the championship. It didn’t start off good. The lower fairing on
my Ducati fell off on the second lap of 1st practice.
I couldn’t fix it fast enough to go back out. Second practice the
Ducati handled like a tractor. I was having a hard time getting
it turned and only could manage a 1:21.70. I made some minor
adjustment to the front and rear suspension but had no way of
testing it before the races. First up was Heavyweight Twins
Superbike. I started on Pole and got a terrible start. It was
not hard to catch up and quickly went into first. I won by almost
15 seconds. Second up was 750 superstock on the 600. I was
gridded on the second row and started off well. I was in fourth
for a couple of laps. The guy in first started to open a gap on
them so I had to pass them. I got an awesome drive out of the
last turn. I was behind both of them coming into the brake zone.
They spread out to outbreak each other and I just waited an extra
second and out broke both of them right up the middle. It was
awesome. I started to close down the gap on the leader. I could
not get around him. I tried to outbreak him down the front
straight but I got in there way too hot. We we’re running a
killer pace. Our last five laps were all in the low 1:20’s. My
laptimer recorded me doing a 1:19.98. I had to settle for second
but It was an awesome race.
Next up was the
Heavyweight Twins Superstock. I started on Pole. The Experts
were just in front of us. I wanted to win the overall race. I
got into a battle with the leader of the expert race. I passed
him and he followed me for 2 laps until his rear tire went flat.
I ended up lapping the guy that won the expert race! I won by a
mile and took the championship.
The best feeling
of the day though was in the 750 superstock race. I was pretty
tired but I was going to have a go at it on the 600. I started in
6th place. I got a mediocre start but went into 2nd
by the turn 3. I followed the leader for about 3 laps studying
him. We had a good lead on the rest of the field. I got a great
drive down the front straight and passed him on the brakes. I put
my head down to open up a good gap so that he couldn’t pass me on
the front straight with his 750. I did it! I won the 750 race on
my 600. What a feeling! My dad clocked me at 1:19.50. I have to
confirm with WERA to see if I ran that on their clock.
I feel like I’m
very competitive now. I won two regional championships and I’m
heading down to the Grand National Final at Road Atlanta to see if
I can become National Champion. Next year will be tough. I hope
to still be able to bring home a few victories against the
experts.
As usual, I need
to thank all the people helping me achieve these great results.
They make it possible to put fresh tires on my bikes and allow me
to race every round. BR-111, Acoustica, OM-AIR, Ducpond, Tom
Choppin, Tiola Pavers, MLE, Tropical One Realty, Engead Printing,
Coleman Power sports, Battley Cycles, Achei-usa, Sobre Rodas, 3
News, EBC brakes, Pirelli, and my dad.
