Far Out Son of Lung...

TMGP in Denton

We raced the YXR for the first time this weekend in a 6 Hour endurance race at my old haunt, North Texas Kartway. Being out there on a mini motorcycle was quite a bit different from being out there in a kart, and it was a lot of fun learning the track again and figuring out the right lines. Back in the day... I remember whipping into turn 1 and turn 2 flat out, quick lift of the throttle to scoot the tail out and slide through the corner with the inside rear tire 6 inches off the ground. That doesn't work on bikes, but there were people screaming through the first two turns (both banked) with about as much speed as some karts!

The forecast called for thunderstorms and rain, and the clouds were quite ominous all day long. This did not make me a happy camper.

I was slow, real slow, but I had a blast and it is nice to be back on a bike dragging some knee and enjoying riding. John's parents were out to help us again (always nice to see them) and his son Hayden was along as well.

Our third rider was a CMRA regular named David Nolden, the pictures supplied are from his camera since I completely forgot to get mine out for some shots. Go figure. Here, David whips through turn 2 like a demon.



The bike required very little work prior to racing but we did change gearing and tighten some random bolts...





Here I am exiting the chicane. I'm chasing an Aprilia 50cc that I had trouble passing. Mostly because I have not passed anyone on a motorcycle in about a year.

I took some time to set him up before handily low-siding in turn three with a poorly timed outside-inside move that left me at full lean with a chopped throttle. Basically, the other rider was still there when I went to cut inside and I had nothing to do but close the throttle, which tucked the front and put me on my shoulder. I slid about 3 feet, picked up the bike and rode away.

posted by GreSam @ 08:39