WMRRA Round 4 — The Ridge

Back at The Ridge for the first joint round since the wet PIR weekend, and the first thing to say is that the want was back. Two weeks of training on and off the track since Round 3, and this is a track I'm very comfortable at. Goals coming in were simple: gather points, stay on the bike, learn something, and of course have some fun.

Saturday

Cold and very windy, around 66°F, overcast and gusty all day.

Big grids this weekend, about ten in my wave and thirty or so on track once you count everyone. The practice session was thick with traffic and I'm not sure I got a single clean lap. So for qualifying I made a point of getting out early to find some clear track, and it worked: I gridded P2 for the Amateur races and P3 for the Novice races, front row either way. I'll take that on a day where clean laps were hard to find.

It was a wild day around me. We saw something like eight red flags and had three helicopter rides on Saturday, and I worked hard to stay out of all of it. My mom's one instruction before the weekend was "stay on your bike," and that's exactly what I did. It's a request she makes often, but it carried a bit more weight this time: Monday morning I was headed to San Diego with the family to celebrate my niece's high school graduation. All weekend I was balancing my desire to win against my desire to not be a problem on that family trip.

In the races I lined up behind Brandon Wanlass (#718R) both times and finished P2 to his P1, in Open Amateur (R3) and Open Novice (R10). For a while it looked like those might be promoted: Brandon and Steve Schock (#930) missed a red flag in the Novice race and ran an extra lap, which can carry a rest-of-day penalty. The officials looked at it and issued a warning rather than a DQ, so the results stand, which I'm completely okay with. They were fighting hard up front and I didn't have anything for them that race anyway. Two P2s, and no drama of my own.

Sunday

Completely different day. Hot, clear, and calm, around 82°F.

For the Open Amateur race (Race 13), I'd spent a good chunk of Saturday thinking about how to beat Brandon. The plan was simple and patient: stay with him, make the move on the last lap at Turn 13, and hold it to the flag. Off the line I got the holeshot from P2. I braked way too early for Turn 1 (you can hear me call out "too soon" on the onboard) and somehow held P1 for the whole first lap anyway. Brandon came past into the chicane and took the lead, right where I thought he would be.

Then on lap 2, around Turn 5, he crashed out. Too much throttle at max lean, and the onboard shows the massive dark line his rear left as it stepped out and then hooked up again. The duel I'd planned for was over before it started. With the rival gone, the race went quiet, and I brought it home for the win.

The Open Novice race (Race 22) was the fun one. I slid backward early, from fourth at Turn 1 to seventh by lap 2. I was struggling to be assertive in my passes and spent too long following riders instead of just getting the job done. At some point a switch flipped and I decided I should probably get it done. From there I climbed back through, sixth, fifth, fourth, and up to second by the flag, P1 in Open Novice. The lap times tell the story: a 1:58 followed by a 1:53, the moment it clicked back in that I was racing. P2 overall behind Steve Schock on his 600, and the class win.

Thank you

To the OMRRA and WMRRA staff and volunteers who run these weekends, including through a hectic Saturday. Class sponsors CCK Racing (Open Amateur) and Slingshot Lounge (Novice 1000). Cory, Sage, and Barry at Cascade Tire and Race Services, for keeping me and the bike fast. Mark at 2Fast Track Days. And my mom, for the only race strategy that mattered: stay on the bike.

What's next

Next up is Round 5, back here at The Ridge in mid-July. Brandon and I already traded notes, and he put it best: we're going to have some really fun battles. Looking forward to it.