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I didn't get a very good start on this race, and followed Jim Kennedy around the first few corners. Of course the super-bike spec SV650's were well ahead of the two of us before we even got to turn 1. Anyway, I managed to pull up alongside Jim on the entrance to turn 7, but I let him go ahead. I guess I got his adrenaline going, because Jim blew the entrance to turn 9 and ran off the track. Fortunately he kept it on two wheels.
There was no practice day this weekend, so the qualifier for 450SB was the first time on the bike for a month except for a short warm-up, and I was happy that the bike and the tires seemed to be working well. I felt a little "off" for the first two laps, but started to feel good on the last two.
The day started off cloudy and mild, but shortly after this qualifier the clouds started to break up and it warmed up to about 80 degrees.
The 450 Superbike race went as usual. I tried to chase the SV650 superbikes around and didn't see much of Jim. My 4th place finish was the first non-SV bike.
My season-long nemesis, Racer X, did not even bother to run the qualifier. I led the 4-lap race from the first corner to the finish line.
I started in pole position and got a pretty good start. However, Racer X quickly came by from his back-row position. I passed Steve Supple on his KTM Duke II toward the end of the straight and tried to keep Racer X in sight. I was sticking pretty close when the race was red-flagged on the second lap due to a crashed SV from the 650 Supersport Twins wave.
On the re-start, the flag dropped very quickly and I got a slow start. Jim Kennedy got a better start this time, and went by along with Racer X. I had to pass Steve on the brakes into turn 1, then get past Jim between turns 3 and 4. I spent all 8 laps within a second or three of Racer X. We passed quite a few bikes from the 650 Supersport Twins wave -- this was a novice school weekend, and many of the novices seem to be riding SVs. Neither Racer X nor I seemed to gain any advantage from the traffic, and all of the novices were kind enough not to pass me on the straights.
It was good to have Racer X back in sight. I don't know if he was sand-bagging a bit or not, but I was going almost 2 seconds a lap faster this race than the last race weekend because my tires were sticking much better. Perhaps there is some hope for a win this season!
On the other hand, with the warm weather and the red-flag re-start, the temperature needle on my bike hovered dangerously close to the top of the gauge. I need to do some investigation to see whether this indicates a real mechanical problem or not.
I won $40 in the Team Fight Against Tobacco 450 Supersport class sponsorship -- thanks, Dave!
Thanks to all the OMRRA turn workers, registration folks, and other volunteers who make OMRRA race days possible.
Thanks also to my sponsors Bridgestone Tires and Lockhart-Philips USA.
Many thanks to my wife, Julie!
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