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Old October 1st, 2017, 12:11 AM   #64
Burphel
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Name: Brian
Location: NW USA
Join Date: Aug 2016

Motorcycle(s): Triumph Bonneville, Ninja 300

Posts: 204
End of season update

So, it's been an amazing first year. My best lap at PIR now stands at 1:33.759, down from 1:42.123 last year. I have 3 expert qualifying races in the bag (winner's best time + 15%, I need 3 more). I'm also down 40 lbs from last year, which means I've hit my goal and I'll be ordering a custom suit over the winter. I've got the bike more or less where I want it to be in terms of performance. In particular, I finally got around to installing a Penske shock, which made all the difference in the world.

It hasn't all been good. As previously mentioned, we lost one of our racers in the June round. As you might expect, that made everyone involve do a fair bit of introspection. For myself and most of the paddock, we decided that the best way to honor her was to have a good cry, then come back harder and faster on the track, and to take better care of each other off the track. Also, I crashed in the July round. One of the race leaders cut a bit close passing me on a tight turn and I twitched the front brake. Fortunately, he helped me out with the cost of repairs and a new helmet. Once again, some questioning on the ride to the ER to make sure it was just a concussion, but next month I was back and pushing harder.

If anyone's on the fence about racing, I have to tell you it's an amazing and addictive ride. You'll wind up pushing yourself to do things you never dreamed you could. You'll make the kind of friends that you trust with your life. There are risks, and only you can decide if it's worth it, but the rewards are amazing, even if you're like me and don't have a trophy shelf. Yet.








Obligatory sponsor shout outs:
Shorai - batteries roughly the size and weight of a baby bunny.
Factory FX - custom number plates the corner workers can read 100ft away at 100mph upside down and hurtling towards them.
Matrix Concepts - have the coolest looking pit.
AXO - without their boots, I'd probably have lost another 5lbs the hard way.
NoToil - pour nasty crud down the drain with a clean conscience.
__________________________________________________
Let he who has never re-used a crush washer cast the first stone...

Last futzed with by Burphel; October 1st, 2017 at 05:13 PM.
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