Big thanks to all my sponsors:
http://viets-performance.com Jeff Viets is one of the nicest, hardest working guys in the paddock. Although he's usually working his butt off he always seems stoked to hear from his riders and give some words of encouragement. The Bridegstone R10s he carries are super solid and worked great all weekend. I was really happy I switched to the harder compound rear to deal with the heat.
http://crstuning.com Dave Moss and the CRS team have been helping me get set up for quite a while now and it was nice to have the suspension dialed using previous settings from Dave. They're another group of people who just seem so stoked to be in the paddock.
https://vortexracing.com I love the adjust-ability of the Vortex rearsets. I did some experimenting with position a few weeks ago and you can really see how foot position affects your riding. Plus their rider support kicks butt.
http://racetech.com As a privateer racer I can't afford to drop cash on some crazy high end suspension and lucky for me I don't have to. I have the Race Tech Gold valve installed in the front fork and it's work fantastic ever since. Much smoother and more responsive than stock.
http://tambikes.com I've known the guys at Tam bikes for quite a while now and they've always given me a ton of support whether racing bicycles or motorcycles. They're the kind of shop you're just stoked to represent just because they're cool.
Also thanks to Michelle Santy and everyone I pitted with as well as Erich Stiegler (http://stieglerinsurance.com/news.php) for taking some great photos and being an all around nice guy. Thanks to Ken Hill for helping me clean up my riding and giving me the tools to go faster (now I just need to make use of them).
Results and highlights:
Clubman Middleweight: Got a poor start but managed to salvage a 12th out of 32 after hitting some back markers.
Novice Formula 40 Middleweight: OK start and felt a bit better than the first race but still only managed mid-pack after making my way through some back markers. 3rd out of 5.
Novice 600 Superbike: Got my shifter jammed in 2nd gear off the start but made my way to 8th out of 20. More lapped traffic to deal with.
Novice 750 Production: Finally got a great start and was in P2 going into turn 1. Held on for the first 3rd of the race but eventually fell to 5th of 12 as we made our way through back markers.
Novice 600 Production: Got another decent start and managed to be in 4th as we went through T2 but a couple mistakes later and more lapped traffic had me finish in 6th of 15.
Overall it was a great weekend but I was just short of the marks I wanted to hit. I also need to get better at passing back markers quickly but I really hope the AFM finds a better solution to the new class structure they developed for 2012. Can't wait for the next round!
