When: Aug 17-18, 2002
Where: NHIS


Wed 8/14
My engine had problems at VIR (as you all know beacuase you read every single word I post here..  right? <G>) so I had brought it up to get fixed in NH.   I drove up around 8pm to pick it up and got to the track around 11:30pm.  The gates were closed, so I took the bike out of the van and slept in the van outside the entrance gates.

Thurs 8/15
I woke up around 7am, loaded the bike into the van, got some coffee and went into the track.  I spent about 1 1/2 hours putting the engine back into the bike, and heat cycled it a few times.  Craig showed up and we went out for Thurs afternoon practice.   My first two sessions were terrible.. I kept missing the T12 entry and had T11 all screwed up.  Plus I was scrubbing in a new front tire.  By the third session I had picked up some speed, but my rear tire was shot.. I had a soft compound tire that I had been running most of the year (4 or 5 LRRS weekends, 12 track sessions at Mosport, plus VIR) and it was 95 degrees out, it was no surprise that the tire needed replacement.   I kept getting rear wheel slides coming out of T2, T6 and T9..  scary!   Craig, Bill, Eric and I went out for dinner in Concord.  I dropped them off at the track and headed home as I had to work Friday.

Friday 8/16
After work, I headed back to the track.  Got there in time to do registration and tech.  Some of us went out for dinner.  Not very exciting, is it?

Saturday 8/17
Got up early, took off the rear wheel and got a new tire put on.  It was supposed to be pretty hot, so I went with a medium compound.  Got out for first practice at 8:15 and it was pretty slow..  but I got my tire scrubbed in.  I was getting some parts for the bike and managed to miss second practice.  doh!

GTL
95 degrees.  A 30 minute race.  Not an easy task.  I had hooked up a small Camelback so I had water for the race..  I got a pretty bad start, but managed to start getting in front of people.  There were a few crashes, and eventually a red flag from a crash in T12.  We sat on the grid for about 20 minutes.  It was friggin hot!  The computer system had an error, so they did not regrid us in race order, so it was back to the original grid.  This time I got an even worse start..   and had to get back on the gas.  the Camelback worked great until the tube got stuck under me.. I had it attached to my leathers, but it wasn't hooked up very well.. I ended up sitting on it as I crouched over, and it started to pull my leathers open!!   Suffice to say, there isn't much time to play with it on the straight, so I just had to pretend it wasn't there.  I worked hard in this race, and did some battle with a friend on an Aprilla RS250.  He ended up beating me.  I also got into a battle with a guy on an SV650.. we passed each other about 8 times through the race.. it was really fun!  I managed to click off my best lap ever at a 1:25.912.. almost 3 seconds better than my previous best lap!!!  Plus I was doing consistent 1:26 and 1:27s.. and not a single lap (other than the start lap) over 1:28.  I was psyched!!

GP Singles
I was pretty exicted for this race.. as it's my favorite.  I got a so-so start, and was a wimp into T1 as always... I managed to pass some people and had a lot of confidence.  My best lap was in the 1:26 range, and I managed to pick up 6th place, out of 11 entries... I was working on a guy on a 426, and had been gaining every lap, but made a mistake coming out of T2 on one lap and he got away.  another lap or two and I think I could have had him.  I didn't get lapped at all.. which was a really nice feeling.  Things are looking up!

LWGP
Another piss poor start from your man in action.  It seems that since I fixed my clutch, I'm not getting very good starts.  I'll have to figure that out.  In any case..  Remember that Aprilla RS250 from GTL?  Well, we battled in this race too.  I passed him in T11, but he had muscle to get by me.. so I got him on the brakes in T3 and tried to get away.. I could feel him behind me the whole race.. but I managed to hold him off... we had fun.. it's good to have someone to play with.   Another 1:26 hot lap.. and lots more confidence.  I finished 11th

Sun 8/18
Got up early, got out for first practice.  About 2/3 through the bike started making a new noise.  I pulled off into T3, motored back to the pits to find that my exhaust expansion chamber had broken.  I obviously skipped second practice.  I packed up my stuff, and hung around until after Rick's race (10).  Headed home, unpacked, fed the cat, ate dinner, etc..