1st race of the 2023 season
The first race weekend of the year sadly had it’s ups and downs but that is the way it goes. The CBL race team pulled into MSRH on Friday evening the 24th of February to get set up, register for races and pass tech. Nothing to spicy there but the next morning the weather had made the track very damp and the first practice session saw the experts in the same class running nearly 30 seconds off the pace. One practice session was all we got Saturday before the races. Race one was very wild, a poor start, had me once again trying to recover throughout a six lap race, this would the story for every race over the weekend. The two bikes further up the field brought out a red flag after getting into each other with a 4 lap restart to follow. One positive is that I was able to drop my lap times between the first 2 laps and the final 4 but still not yet hitting my goal of the 2 minute mark. I was able to finish 10th for the first race. The second race went more smoothly for all and I hit my goal of getting into the 2 minute mark and setting my fastest lap time of the day with a very close battle for 6th place, which I lost out on finishing 7th. Being very pleased to have hit my weekend goal on the first day my next goal was a getting sub 2 minutes into the 1:59s. Practice Sunday morning went well being within a second of the pace I had set the day prior knowing full well that I would go faster during the race. The first race of the day though also had a bad start and I found myself again battling trying to gain ground. Making my way forward I was feeling good and doing a decent pace. I passed a bike on lap 5 but then messed up 2 turns in lap 6. Though the other fella had not passed me I was more worried about him passing me soon than what was in front of me which caused me to make one of the worst mistakes I have ever made and crashed in spectacular fashion. I had gotten back to the 2 minute mark as well before the crash. My second race of the day was fast approaching and I had to find parts and get the bike re-teched so I could race and by the skin of my teeth I made my second race! It wasn’t that great of a race for me but I and the bike just weren’t in the best of shape and the goal was to finish and not drop it. I was actually pleased with myself as I was only 1.3 second off of my pace from earlier in the day. Thanks to the help of those in the paddock I was able to make all four races for the weekend and can’t wait to get back after it! A huge shout out to Hot Bodies Racing as the body work held up very well despite my best efforts. The Blud Lubricants worked as well as expected keeping the bike running as it should. My woodcraft case savers did their job and the rear sets might have worked “too” well and by that I wish they would have broken off as they would have been easier to replace (only kidding) because trying to remove a bent bolt took 30 minutes of my time later on in the week! The Galfer brakes are such a game changer, giving me the confidence to try and break the bad habits I had let set in over the last two years. The feel and performance of the front end brake is something I have truly been missing on this bike and am very grateful that I was able to exploit the brakes and use them in a comfortable and safe manner. The next race for CBL racing might be flat track or road racing up in Hallet Oklahoma, weather will determine the outcome of that! Finished the weekend with 3 top tens and one top 15!
