When: September 29-30, 2001
Where: NHIS, Loudon NH

Thursday September 27th
My engine had to be rebuilt because of some bottom end problems discovered when I went up to ride Shannonville Motorsports Park in late August.  It turns out that the previous assembler had used Ultra-Copper anti-seize on everything, and the bottom end was full of muck.  The bike didn't want to start, and had very little power.  The engine had been delivered and was sitting on the back porch when I got home from work, and I spent the evening installing it, double checking everything and packing for the weekend.

Friday September 28th
Got out of work around 5, and battled traffic for 2 1/2 hours.  Got to the track in time to do post-registration, but missed tech inspection.  Met up with the garage crew that was there and we went out to dinner.  Got back, went to bed, and realized that it was cold.  And that my sleeping bag needs replacement ;)

Saturday September 29th
Got up in time for first practice.  Got a cup of coffee, and tried to get the bike running.  Had problems getting it to run, and tried not to panic.  I pushed a lot and it barely ran.  Someone stopped me, said "wait a sec", and proceeded to pull the tape off the exhaust pipe that I always put on when the bike isn't in use.  I laughed.  I laughed very hard.  After that, the bike kicked right over, and had nice crisp response.  I had a pretty good idea of where to start with jetting, even though with all the previous problems i've had, my notes to that point were useless.  I did both morning practices.  The first one was pretty slow... it was cold, and I hadn't been on the track for 2 months, so I took it easy. The second one went better, but I still wasn't up to speed.

GP Singles

It was about 60 degrees for this race.. still kind of cool, but great for the bike.   There were only 6 people in the amateur race, and I was in start pos 4 (first row, far right) which is my favorite spot.  I got a great start.. the bike had tons of power off the line with the new bottom end.  There was only one person on the grid that I felt could beat me, and sure enough, he pulled away.  I managed to fight through traffic and catch up with him.  After a couple laps, I realize that I could out-accellerate him, so I caught up with him by the end of lap 3, and managed to draft-pass him on the straight approaching T1.  Once I got past him, I pushed hard.   I know he's a second or two faster, and he was good motivation to get on the gas.   Around the second to last lap or so, I glanced back on the straight to find no one there.  I backed off the pace a hair, as I didn't want to crash...  (It turns out his plug was fouled and he didn't have as much power as me), as I thought I   might actually be winning the race.  I got lapped only about 100 ft before start/finish when I was coming up to the white flag, so I went down a lap.. but not by much. 

I ended up winning the race!!!  First Trophy!!!  and a new best lap time in the high 1:28's.  :)  :)  :)  (The finish was only worth 5 points though, as only 4 Amateurs crossed the line).  I went to the awards ceremony, got my first place plaque and consumed some celebratory beers.  Life is good.

Sunday September 30th
Wow was it cold when I got up..  someone rumored it was 37 degrees first thing in the morning.  Have I mentioned I need to get a new sleeping bag?  The night before I brought my leathers in with me and draped them over my sleeping bag for a little extra warmth.  I took a well deserved hot shower and got ready for first practice.   Both practices seemed to go well, and I was getting the jetting and temp set up correctly on the bike.

GTL

I had a 6th row start in this race.  I got a great start, and managed to pass a pile of people.  About 6 people and a ton of work later, there was a red flag due to a 2 bike accident in T2 where a lot of bike fluids were spilled.  We were re-gridded into original start positions and sent out for another warm up lap.  This time I got a so-so start... nothing special.  The first lap went by well, and I managed to pick up a handful of spots.  The next lap was going great... I had picked up another 5 or so positions... I came through the bowl after passing a couple people, and was working on passing one more into T9, when the rider cut across my front wheel.  No choice but to grab a huge handful of brakes.  The back end of the bike went skyward, and when I realized I was about to go over the bars, I let go of the brakes and brought it crashing back down to earth.  Got back on the brakes (I was headed for the dirt) and got the bike under control in time to turn and stay on the track.  Luckily no one was behind me.  As I got going again, I saw a corner worker running towards me.. just in case.   *whew*.  As I got back on the gas and approached T11/12, I saw a red flag and was directed off... they called the race.  There was apparently an oil spill over the hill into T6 that needed to get cleaned up, and we had ridden half the race. They scored the race based on the last completed lap, so I lost all the positions I had picked up on that lap.  I got 15th out of 31, worth 1 point.

LWGP

This race was difficult.  I had another terrible starting position.. At the start I got a great drive, but had to back off so I didn't hit someone who pulled out in front of me (cuz of someone pulling out in front of her). I didn't want to swing over and get clipped, so I got off the gas.  I went into T1 second to last.  I got stuck behind a few people for a couple laps, so it was frustrating.  I did manage to pick up a few spots and came in 5th from last, or something nasty like that.  Oh well.. I still won a race in the weekend.