6/28-7/1 07: WERA Cycle Jam '07 Road Atlanta
By: Tony Pavilonis #554
Long weekend, short race report.
This was my 2nd time at Road Atlanta, the last time ( and only other time ) that I rode RA was a year ago at Cycle Jam '06 where I turned 1:43 lap times on my 636 my first time there.
This year, I got down to 1:35 after only 2 practice sessions and a race which I felt good about until I hit the ground ......
Race #1 A Superstock:
One of the largest grids I have been on this season, a lot of fast guys all around me.
I got a decent start and spent most of the race trying to learn the track, until a guy on a CBR 1000RR out motored me down the back straight on the last lap.
I knew I couldn't out motor him and I only had 3 turns till the checkered flag so I did the only thing I could .......... I chased him down into the braking zone and out braked him into T 10a , floating my rear tire in the air in the process.
It worked, I passed him back in T 10a and held him off to the checkered flag to finish 7th.
He rode up to me in post tech after the race and said with a big smile " That was fucking awesome! You came by me so fast I thought you lost your brakes. You just made me look like a pussy on the brakes!". It was good to see him be a good sport about it.
Race #8 B Superstock:
I got a great start and found myself in 4th place running 35's. I felt really good and knew I had the ability to run 33's if not better, but then I hit the ground in T7 on the 2nd or 3rd lap.
Road Atlanta had just been re paved and little did I know that they had taken a machine out on the track to grind down bumps in T7 that left a slick powder on the track. I found that out after I crashed.
I crashed in T7, along with 40 other bikes that weekend.
The whole right side of the bike was broken off ........ right clip on, right rear set, rear brake lever, tail section was 30' away etc.
I came back to the pits in the crash truck with my broken up bike in the back, a first for me.
After I went and bought alot of parts from CTR, my Teammate Michael, his girlfriend Jen, Ethan and Sig ripped into my bike and started re building it so I could make my last race. Race 12 Formula 1. They got the bike together in less than 30 minutes and were still tightening bolts when they called 2nd call.
I left the pits determined to salvage some points in my last race when I quickly noticed that my right handle bar was angled up at the sky ........ turns out an honest error was made while re building my bike, the left clip on got put on the right side upside down which caused the bars to be all crazy.
I rode it anyway, my front brake was held together with 4 zip ties and my bars were 8 inches or so offset.
I slowed down to 37/38's and dropped back, but I finished with a 13th and got some points.
Then, on the way home from this long, disappointing weekend, I blew a trailer tire on the interstate so I was out there changing a trailer tire in 100* heat on the side of the interstate.
So it wasn't my best weekend, oh well. I didn't get hurt and I am thankful for that.