Well thought I might jump on the band wagon and write up my first report of my first race
Didn't sleep much the night before but still managed to get up super early to get the the track so we could get in a quick to check out the track surfaces
I was a bundle of nerves the whole time, though apparently remained rather calm for me.
Qualifying came round and I felt I rode like shit...my lines were all up the shit, especially turn 1 and 11. Had a couple of moments with the lovely wet track though remained upright which was a definite plus after my first crash at the Central districts track day
Came in rather angry at myself because I felt so slow, only to find I had actually qualified 3rd! That was probably the highlight of my day!
Thought that after getting out on the track I would feel less nervous...but actually got worse if anything. I have never done anything like a race start in my life...I had plenty of advice, but talking about something and doing it are clearly two different things!
First race...had a pretty shit start, pretty cool feeling all going into turn 1 though! Was riding relatively well until I made a mistake turn 11 ran wide ended up on the grass thinking, oh shit Im going to crash again! But managed not to.
Found that I backed off when getting close to people which I think will change very quickly with experience, even noticed myself getting more aggressive in the second race compared with the first.
I found I was grinning the whole time and had so much fun
Ended up finishing about 7th I think which isn't so bad, best time was around 2.09
Race 2: if I thought my first start was rubbish, this was even worse, I have no idea what happened, well I can guess, but yeah turns out I really need to practice. So I went from second row to almost last! which was a bit of a pain and set my mood for the race, not nearly as happy as the first!
I passed a few people and generally rode ok...I felt my lines were getting better compared to the morning, though my overall feeling was that I wasnt riding very well. I made a few mistakes with gear shifting, one that was rather costly, with people I had just past, passing me on the last lap.
I was coming down the back straight, thought I was in top gear and started to loose power, I freaked out thinking something was wrong with the bike, but no, just not actually in top gear....couldnt do much else but laugh at that stupid mistake.
Don't know where I finished but it was not very good
Silver lining to every cloud though, my best time in that race was 2.06, 3 seconds off the previous best time which is good to see
I wont lie, it was a pretty stressful day being my first one (as those around me could see), and a notorious perfectionist, I expected the world of myself. While I would have liked to have done better, I think I did ok and at least I have something to work and focus on. Its good knowing what to expect now and having a rough idea of my riding strengths and weaknesses and being in a race situation (as opposed to track days).
As nervous as I was I actually had the most incredible time, first race sticks out in my mind because I remember thinking how much of a mad crazy grin I had the entire race, I just had so much fun out there!!!
I am definitely hooked and will be back for more
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Originally Posted by PrincessBandit
You had an awesome meeting Rach and it can only keep getting better with your attitude.
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