My
second race weekend on the bike after my crash was alot of fun. I raced
with WMRRA at the amazing track at The Ridge, just 10 miles out of Port
Angeles. I had to start from the back of the pack through the course of
the weekend because I had no points. My first race on saturday was the
750 super sport, which I had to start from the last row of the grid in
the second wave. I was not excited with my placement in 24th on a very
rough grid. Despite the grid placement, I got an amazing start passing
over 10+ people on the very first lap alone! The group I wanted to run
with was too far ahead, and I was barely catching them by only a tenth
here or a tenth there. I ended up with a good finish, coming in 11th. I
looked forward to the next race which was the 600 SuperSport. Having to
start in the back, again, I knew my work was cut out for me, but I felt
confident with my start. For half of a lap I was behind a group that
prevented me from gaining on the group I wanted to run with and it
opened a gap that I could not close. By the end of the race I had
improved my best lap time to 1:44:770. The last race of the day began
with great start for me, but my bike was struggling with transmission
issues. The bike was popping in and of gear, and was really affecting
shifting my bike. Starting from last place again, I had an amazing
start, flying from 19th place and was up to 5th by turn one, but was
then shuffled back to 6th. I set my fastest lap of the weekend at
1:44:173. Unfortunately, the transmission began acting up and by the
last 5 laps I was battling with false neutrals. I almost high sided
coming out of turn eight due to the shift forks being bent. Despite the
difficulties, I finished the race in 7th place.
After saturday's malfunctions, my bike was unable to be ridden; the
bike could not even shift into neutral to be wheeled in to the trailer.
So the next day I took my dad's bike out in practice, setting a 1:48:87
and entering the race. I got another great start, again from the last
row in 20th. With some quick suspension changes right before the race to
set the bike up, I went out with 1:45:489, Only 1.3 seconds off my best
time on my Dad's bike, which I have had minimal practice on. So I was
pretty happy finishing 11th when the race was stopped short after a red
flag. The last race of the day, the Open SuperBike, which I began with a
nice start and had been trying to put down a personal best for the
weekend, when I unfortunately crashed at over 100 mph coming up the hill
to turn 11. I was very lucky to come away from the crash with only a
concussion and some soreness.
Overall I was happy with how the weekend went and again improved my
mid-corner speed which I had been struggling with the most. I look
forward to the next season, hoping to get in a full season and not to
be plagued by injuries or any setbacks. A great big thanks to my family
for all the support they give me and to my sponsors: SpeedMotoCo, MotoFit group, Forever Two
Wheels Racing, Bridgestone, Sudco, P3 Racing, Racetech, and CMC
Performance for everything. I look forward to improving my rider skill
and my overall racing career!
#195 Kinzer 'Speedy" Naylor
