Race Report 5-7-2009
I figured that I would write this report a little differently. The last few were more press release style; this one is going to be more of a blog type report from what has been going on for the past few weeks. I know that you guys have probably been wondering what has been going on. Here is the answer.
So I have been on the road for 3 weeks now and what will be 4 race weekends in a row including this up coming weekend. Life on the road has been fun and has paid off, with lots of fun and racing action. Also, it has been tough work and a lot of hours driving, working on bikes and days away home.
Week one started off down at Jennings GP this time with WERA during their Sprint and National combined weekend. WERA always offers great racing and some tough competition. I raced in 5 different classes during the weekend. Robert Jensen, Cory West, and Taylor Knapp were all on hand which made for some great racing.
In the 600 Superstock race, there was a four way battle for the number one spot for most of the race. I was shuffled back to fourth until about half way, I managed to work my way up to second but by that time Jensen had a good lead that I could not close up on. In the 1000 Superstock I took third place in spite starting 7th on the gird and getting a horrible start that put me back to 9th. I rode a pretty smooth race and worked my way up to the last podium spot. Those were the highlights of that weekend. I will put all the results at the bottom of the page for you guys.
I drove cross country the next week to Colorado to race with the MRA at Pueblo Motorsports Park. Located just south of Denver, Pueblo is part of a motorsports “complex”. The road course is part of a drag strip and is in the middle of their Off Road Riding area. This was the first time that I have ever raced with MRA; I have to say it was a great experience. I was set to race 7 classes over the weekend. The 1000 Superstock race was a good way to start the weekend. I came from the last row on the grid to take the win. It kind of lifted a weight off my shoulders for the weekend. Plus to win on the ZX10 was good, that bike is really picky on set ups. The next race was the 600 SuperStock race; I came from the last row and stalked the leader. I passed him around half-way and continued to lead until the last lap when I ran off the track in the turns 6A and 6B area. I did not have enough of a lead to get back on the track and try to regain the time I had lost and ended up taking second. I was pretty mad at myself for making a amateur mistake. I learned a lesson and ended up finishing the weekend with 4 wins, one second and two fourths.
After the MRA weekend it was back to the East Coast for the WERA Sprint weekend in Ohio at Nelson Ledges Road Course. I had heard some bad things about this track like the condition of the racing surface wasn’t so great and that the run off areas were pretty small. When I pulled up on Thursday evening and drove across the race surface (through a big mud puddle and then over). I thought to myself “just get in and get out in one piece”. I signed up on Friday for the open practice, and my second session out I made a deal with myself to never come back to Nelson and race. The track was really bumpy and the surface was deteriorated to something that reminded of a bombed out World War 2 air runway in some country that I have never been too. The stuff you read books about and look at old black and white photos of. I managed to get some set up notes and get ready for the races on Sunday. Saturday I worked on the bikes all day and just did some little stuff that I needed to get done. Sunday rolled around and I was signed up for 7 classes to compete in. I ended up only racing five but I will get to that later.
Race one was the 1000 Superstock race, I was starting in the back of all 7 of the races this weekend. Like usual on the ZX10 was a bad start, I worked my way up to second by lap three and was shadowing the fast local Sam Gauge. By the end of lap three we ran into a few lappers and I was able to get around them cleaner than Sam and held on to first by the time the checkered flag came out. In the 600 Superstock race I made a few bad choices. I didn’t have the right gearing and didn’t run race fuel. I stayed with Gauge the whole race and was planning a last lap pass on the fast back straight. As soon as I pulled out of the draft to make the pass I hit the rev limiter. My chance to win went down the drain and I ended up with a second. For the 600 Superbike race I came loaded for bear, race fuel and a gearing change worked out to my advantage and I took first place. Like I said before I ended up only racing 5 classes, I had one race back to back and skipped the less important one to get ready for the 600 Superbike race, and I just did not race the last race of the day because I did not want to push my luck at a track that I wasn’t too hyped about racing at.
All of this leads me to where I am now, hanging out in Denver Colorado. I just finished my second MRA Race weekend at the newly built High Plains Raceway. This was the first race weekend that the MRA was racing at the new facility. At Pueblo almost everyone I talked to asked if I was going to make it back out to Colorado to race at HPR. The track itself is awesome, the facility is so new that no structures are built yet; just mobile offices live in the places of future buildings. The surface is pool table smooth and the layout is very challenging and fun, top notch track for sure. I was slated to race 8 different classes; with the way things went however I only raced 4.
On Saturday I raced in three different classes, Middleweight, Heavyweight, and Open Supersport. I was starting on the front row in all three of my races; this made it a little easier getting into turn 1. I pulled the hole shot in the Middleweight Supersport and didn’t look back; I won with a 14 second lead. The Heavyweight Supersport race was similar to the race before. I got the hole shot going into turn 1 and didn’t look back, I won with and 11 second led.
The Open Supersport race is when things kind of started going awry. I basically tried to act like a stunter off the line and wheelied the ZX10 twice. I hate starting that bike, it seems like I never get a decent start on it. So basically my first row start was down the drain. Jason Disalvo was racing as well this past weekend and ended up getting a great start and took over the lead by turn 3. So my work was cut out for me, I chased Disalvo for the whole race and ended up setting the track record in the process. On the white flag lap I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to catch him so I back my pace down quite a bit. I went around turns 4, 5 and 6 pretty calmly, when I got to turn 11 I thought I was going pretty slow, but I tucked the front anyways. Now this is after the fact that I was pushing the front and sliding the rear the whole race. So I am still in awe as to why I lost the front when I was close to 1.5 seconds slower on my second to last lap.
This leads me into Sunday, when I woke up it was wet, cold and rainy out. I pretty much decided that I was only going to race the Middleweight Superbike race in which Kawasaki pays, all the other races I wasn’t going to race in. I didn’t have any rain front tires, so I decided to groove a DOT front and race on it. I went out for 10 minutes of practice and got the bike dialed in. I figured that I was set to go for the race. I got the hole shot and for the first half of the lap I felt pretty good. Then I came to turn 11, yeah the same turn that took the ZX10 out, I pointed the bike up the hill and stated to get on the gas. Then boom, I lost the front. It was a really slow low side and it didn’t hurt anything on the bike. I gave it a once over and headed towards the pits to get a re-tech and get back out. I guess in the MRA if you fall your race is over. I couldn’t get a re-tech and head back out, so my weekend was over.
Looking back on the weekend it was certianly an up and down race weekend. I set a track record, won a few races, crashed and burned but all in all I had a good time.
Thanks for all the help this year!
Results
WERA National / Sprint Jennings GP
Open Superstock – 3rd
600 Superstock – 2nd
600 Superbike – 1st
750 Superbike- 2nd
Formula 1 – Mechanical (DNF)
MRA Pueblo Motorsports Park
Open Superstock – 1st
Middleweight SS – 2nd
Middleweight SBK – 1st
Heavyweight SBK- 1st
Heavyweight SS – 1st
Open Superbike – 4th
ROTR - 4th
WERA Sprint Nelson Ledges
Open Superstock – 1st
600 Superstock – 2nd
600 Superbike – 1st
750 Superbike – 1st
Formula 1 – 2nd
MRA High Plains Raceway
Middleweight Supersport - 1st
Heavyweight Supersport- 1st
Open Supersport – DNF
Middleweight Superbike – DNF
The Next Event – CMRA Hallett Raceway Apr. 16th-17th
Matt Lynn Racing would like to thank all of our sponsors:
Arai Helmets, SIDI Boots, RM Racing, Michelin Tires, Ohlins USA , LeoVince Exhaust, Performance Friction Brakes, Offbeat Productions, Fuji Bicycles, Sportbike Track Gear, OCD Designs, Spiegler Performance Brakes , Marietta Motorsports , Vortex
I figured that I would write this report a little differently. The last few were more press release style; this one is going to be more of a blog type report from what has been going on for the past few weeks. I know that you guys have probably been wondering what has been going on. Here is the answer.
So I have been on the road for 3 weeks now and what will be 4 race weekends in a row including this up coming weekend. Life on the road has been fun and has paid off, with lots of fun and racing action. Also, it has been tough work and a lot of hours driving, working on bikes and days away home.
Week one started off down at Jennings GP this time with WERA during their Sprint and National combined weekend. WERA always offers great racing and some tough competition. I raced in 5 different classes during the weekend. Robert Jensen, Cory West, and Taylor Knapp were all on hand which made for some great racing.
In the 600 Superstock race, there was a four way battle for the number one spot for most of the race. I was shuffled back to fourth until about half way, I managed to work my way up to second but by that time Jensen had a good lead that I could not close up on. In the 1000 Superstock I took third place in spite starting 7th on the gird and getting a horrible start that put me back to 9th. I rode a pretty smooth race and worked my way up to the last podium spot. Those were the highlights of that weekend. I will put all the results at the bottom of the page for you guys.
I drove cross country the next week to Colorado to race with the MRA at Pueblo Motorsports Park. Located just south of Denver, Pueblo is part of a motorsports “complex”. The road course is part of a drag strip and is in the middle of their Off Road Riding area. This was the first time that I have ever raced with MRA; I have to say it was a great experience. I was set to race 7 classes over the weekend. The 1000 Superstock race was a good way to start the weekend. I came from the last row on the grid to take the win. It kind of lifted a weight off my shoulders for the weekend. Plus to win on the ZX10 was good, that bike is really picky on set ups. The next race was the 600 SuperStock race; I came from the last row and stalked the leader. I passed him around half-way and continued to lead until the last lap when I ran off the track in the turns 6A and 6B area. I did not have enough of a lead to get back on the track and try to regain the time I had lost and ended up taking second. I was pretty mad at myself for making a amateur mistake. I learned a lesson and ended up finishing the weekend with 4 wins, one second and two fourths.
After the MRA weekend it was back to the East Coast for the WERA Sprint weekend in Ohio at Nelson Ledges Road Course. I had heard some bad things about this track like the condition of the racing surface wasn’t so great and that the run off areas were pretty small. When I pulled up on Thursday evening and drove across the race surface (through a big mud puddle and then over). I thought to myself “just get in and get out in one piece”. I signed up on Friday for the open practice, and my second session out I made a deal with myself to never come back to Nelson and race. The track was really bumpy and the surface was deteriorated to something that reminded of a bombed out World War 2 air runway in some country that I have never been too. The stuff you read books about and look at old black and white photos of. I managed to get some set up notes and get ready for the races on Sunday. Saturday I worked on the bikes all day and just did some little stuff that I needed to get done. Sunday rolled around and I was signed up for 7 classes to compete in. I ended up only racing five but I will get to that later.
Race one was the 1000 Superstock race, I was starting in the back of all 7 of the races this weekend. Like usual on the ZX10 was a bad start, I worked my way up to second by lap three and was shadowing the fast local Sam Gauge. By the end of lap three we ran into a few lappers and I was able to get around them cleaner than Sam and held on to first by the time the checkered flag came out. In the 600 Superstock race I made a few bad choices. I didn’t have the right gearing and didn’t run race fuel. I stayed with Gauge the whole race and was planning a last lap pass on the fast back straight. As soon as I pulled out of the draft to make the pass I hit the rev limiter. My chance to win went down the drain and I ended up with a second. For the 600 Superbike race I came loaded for bear, race fuel and a gearing change worked out to my advantage and I took first place. Like I said before I ended up only racing 5 classes, I had one race back to back and skipped the less important one to get ready for the 600 Superbike race, and I just did not race the last race of the day because I did not want to push my luck at a track that I wasn’t too hyped about racing at.
All of this leads me to where I am now, hanging out in Denver Colorado. I just finished my second MRA Race weekend at the newly built High Plains Raceway. This was the first race weekend that the MRA was racing at the new facility. At Pueblo almost everyone I talked to asked if I was going to make it back out to Colorado to race at HPR. The track itself is awesome, the facility is so new that no structures are built yet; just mobile offices live in the places of future buildings. The surface is pool table smooth and the layout is very challenging and fun, top notch track for sure. I was slated to race 8 different classes; with the way things went however I only raced 4.
On Saturday I raced in three different classes, Middleweight, Heavyweight, and Open Supersport. I was starting on the front row in all three of my races; this made it a little easier getting into turn 1. I pulled the hole shot in the Middleweight Supersport and didn’t look back; I won with a 14 second lead. The Heavyweight Supersport race was similar to the race before. I got the hole shot going into turn 1 and didn’t look back, I won with and 11 second led.
The Open Supersport race is when things kind of started going awry. I basically tried to act like a stunter off the line and wheelied the ZX10 twice. I hate starting that bike, it seems like I never get a decent start on it. So basically my first row start was down the drain. Jason Disalvo was racing as well this past weekend and ended up getting a great start and took over the lead by turn 3. So my work was cut out for me, I chased Disalvo for the whole race and ended up setting the track record in the process. On the white flag lap I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to catch him so I back my pace down quite a bit. I went around turns 4, 5 and 6 pretty calmly, when I got to turn 11 I thought I was going pretty slow, but I tucked the front anyways. Now this is after the fact that I was pushing the front and sliding the rear the whole race. So I am still in awe as to why I lost the front when I was close to 1.5 seconds slower on my second to last lap.
This leads me into Sunday, when I woke up it was wet, cold and rainy out. I pretty much decided that I was only going to race the Middleweight Superbike race in which Kawasaki pays, all the other races I wasn’t going to race in. I didn’t have any rain front tires, so I decided to groove a DOT front and race on it. I went out for 10 minutes of practice and got the bike dialed in. I figured that I was set to go for the race. I got the hole shot and for the first half of the lap I felt pretty good. Then I came to turn 11, yeah the same turn that took the ZX10 out, I pointed the bike up the hill and stated to get on the gas. Then boom, I lost the front. It was a really slow low side and it didn’t hurt anything on the bike. I gave it a once over and headed towards the pits to get a re-tech and get back out. I guess in the MRA if you fall your race is over. I couldn’t get a re-tech and head back out, so my weekend was over.
Looking back on the weekend it was certianly an up and down race weekend. I set a track record, won a few races, crashed and burned but all in all I had a good time.
Thanks for all the help this year!
Results
WERA National / Sprint Jennings GP
Open Superstock – 3rd
600 Superstock – 2nd
600 Superbike – 1st
750 Superbike- 2nd
Formula 1 – Mechanical (DNF)
MRA Pueblo Motorsports Park
Open Superstock – 1st
Middleweight SS – 2nd
Middleweight SBK – 1st
Heavyweight SBK- 1st
Heavyweight SS – 1st
Open Superbike – 4th
ROTR - 4th
WERA Sprint Nelson Ledges
Open Superstock – 1st
600 Superstock – 2nd
600 Superbike – 1st
750 Superbike – 1st
Formula 1 – 2nd
MRA High Plains Raceway
Middleweight Supersport - 1st
Heavyweight Supersport- 1st
Open Supersport – DNF
Middleweight Superbike – DNF
The Next Event – CMRA Hallett Raceway Apr. 16th-17th
Matt Lynn Racing would like to thank all of our sponsors:
Arai Helmets, SIDI Boots, RM Racing, Michelin Tires, Ohlins USA , LeoVince Exhaust, Performance Friction Brakes, Offbeat Productions, Fuji Bicycles, Sportbike Track Gear, OCD Designs, Spiegler Performance Brakes , Marietta Motorsports , Vortex
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