Race report! While I raced out at Chuckwalla back in January to kick this thread off, this weekend was the opening weekend at my home track where I'll be racing the whole season -- Arroyo Seco in Deming NM.
First time running slicks (Dunlop KRs in the 7455/Med compound) and I had new gearing to learn as well (went from 1 down in the front to 1 down front and 2 up rear). The practice/track day on Saturday was rough -- winds were predicted to peak by 2 PM at 50-55 mph gusts, so in the desert that means a sand storm. My plan going in was to ride as much as I could in the morning until lunch, then probably pack it up and get my fresh tires put on for Sunday's races. Unfortunately, my first session out I was on track for about 5 minutes when it was red-flagged for a serious crash that wound up shutting the track down for the next 90 minutes due to the ambulance being away from the track. When I got off track, much to my surprise the front end of my bike was covered in melted tire due to the taller profile of the slicks rubbing on my front fender. So it was somewhat lucky for me that I was only on track for a few minutes because I don't know if I would have blown the front tire after a full 20 min session or not. The OEM fender that was on there was definitely toast and had to go, so off came the fender. I then got in a single full 20 minute session before the lunch break, and by the end of the lunch break the dust was so bad that the track was shut down for the rest of the day. So I got my wheels off and over to the tire counter and ran for cover with my wife and dogs back to the hotel for the rest of the day. Something of note: front brakes are dragging more than usual, and the mechanic told me it's probably just the Ferodo sintered pads glazing and laying down a lot of material on the stock rotors. So I popped the pads out and rubbed them on the concrete to try to get some of the glazing off to see if that helped.
Showed up early on Sunday to get my wheels back on and everything safety wired back up, and much to my dismay my front brakes are dragging terribly now. I can't even get one turn from the front when I spin it hard. So at this point, I mess with a couple things and loosen and reset everything I had touched changing out my tires to no avail. Wound up throwing the stock brake pads back in which had less material than the Ferodos did and that gave me an acceptable amount of brake drag. Scrambled to get everything ready by the first practice session, but I got out for 5 laps both practice sessions to shake everything out and get a feel for the new (old) pads. I was pleasantly surprised by the stock pads honestly, I expected much worse, but I didn't find them lacking in bite or feel.
I'm signed up for 4 races, and it's still windy today though not as bad as yesterday:
Race 1 -- MW Superstock. Gridded first of 9 guys in the Am wave, my start was horrible and I believe I saw my TC light on in first gear, which is a problem I thought I rectified last time I plugged into my Bazzaz. So that's something I have to look before the next round. The bad starts would plague me throughout the day. I duked it out with another Daytona (the only other Daytona racing here) for the first 5 laps, made the pass on the 5th lap, and was running for my life on the 6th and final lap when, with a 20 mph tailwind coming down the front straight (the shorter of the two straights), my rear tire came off the asphalt an unnerving amount while hard on the brakes to go into a 2nd gear turn. I let off the brakes, regained control, but wound up going straight off the end of the straight out into the desert. I kept it on 2 wheels, and rejoined, but I believe I wound up falling from 3rd down to 7th or 8th (final results not yet posted on the website). On the positive side though, my 5th lap had now lowered my personal best here by 1.2 seconds down to a 1:15.0.
Second race -- Formula Amateur. The open rules, money race for amateurs (well, track credit for future rounds), and it's 10 laps so hopefully my fitness will be an advantage for me. Again gridded first of 9 bikes. Bad start again and went into the first turn in 5th. Made two passes around the 4th/5th lap, and then chased an R6 and a CBR600 for the last 5 laps. My lap times dropped throughout the race, and my last lap was my fastest, down to 1:14.6, and I actually closed the gap somewhat on the R6 in front of me on the final lap but he ended up crossing the line about 3 seconds in front of me. So 3rd place and good for a $30 credit! Woo hoo! And all of a sudden, compared to the other amateurs I'm racing, I'm great on the brakes. I'm reeling in the riders in front of me on every braking section. So positive vibes from the 675R master, CRG lever, and Nissin calipers with stock pads.
3rd race -- MW Superbike. Gridded 1 of 11. Bad start again, but by the end of the first lap I had gotten back to 3rd. Braking continues to be a strong point for me, and all my passes are made on the brakes. Made the pass for 2nd on the 3rd lap, thinking I was in 3rd and someone had run away at the front. Chased the same R6 as the Formula race, but couldn't reel him in. Best lap down to 1:14.3. 2nd place!
4th race -- Southwest Thunder. Gridded 2 of 15. I came off track after MW SBK long enough to take a drink of water and head back on track. Same start as before, but now I'm on track with everything that's not a 4-cyl, so ultralight bikes, SVs, and one other Daytona, so now my start looks solid. I made the holeshot, and led the race from start to finish. 1st place and the fastest of the slow bikes! No blazing laps in this race as no one was in front of me or around me.
Overall, a great weekend. Took nearly 2 seconds off my best, felt very strong on the brakes, and took 3 podiums including my first race win. I'm right there in the mix with the 4-cyl MW bikes too. Things to sort out in the next 3 weeks: race front fender, turn off Bazzaz TC in first for the race starts, sort out front brake issue with bead blasting the rotors or cleaning my calipers.
Cheers!