Things were looking really good
for the weekend as Mach Modified Crew Chief Jason Parker had the
Sadowski boys bikes dialed in and ready for racing.
Practice
was going very well for both David and Matthew until trouble reared its
ugly head in the way of another riders radiator hose letting loose and
dropping coolant right in front of the #100 machine of Matt, with no way
to get around it, the tired slipped then gripped and pitched Matt
giving him a free tour of ground and sky. As we watched the bike roll
back into the pits our hearts sunk, Matt was turning some really fast
lap times and looked to be up front for the weekend, but the bike was
hammered as was Matt's finger. After a trip to medical, it was
discovered Matts throttle hand thumb had been fractured right at the
joint and would require surgery.
Leaving David to contest the
Supersport field alone, David put his head down and went to work in
qualifying. Qualifying in a top position and putting him in the first 2
rows of the starting grid.
As the whistle blew for Race 1
David locked in, but got a poor jump on the start, leaving him mid pack
with a large group of riders to pick off ahead of him. By lap 3 David
had already found his rhythm and made quick work of moving to the front.
Positions 1-3 had already checked out and David settled in and went to
work closing the gaps from 4-7. Coming into the final lap David had
managed to spin off equal lap times as the leaders and by the checkered
flag moved from 12th to 4th, just caught at the line and edged out into
5th.
Day 2 was an early race and the track had
not fully dried from Saturday nights rain, as the temps dropped and no
sunlight in sight… This was going to be a hard fought race.
As
the flag droped on race 2 David missed getting a good launch on the
start but battled his way through the pack, bouncing between mid pack
positions.
Coming through turn 6 David's luck took a turn for
the worst as a downed rider threw David into over correcting causing a
massive high side crash and ending the day for #101 Sadowski.
With
the race red flagged and the crew waiting, David limped the bike into
pit row, one foot off the pegs and obviously in pain. Barely able to
stand David limped back to the pits fearing it was over for the weekend.
With
the bike in such disarray and Davids foot throbbing, the rest of the
riders took to the grid for the re-start as our disappointed team looked
on.
Race 2-Start 2 was slipping from our grips, when the
flagged dropped and riders set their launch… Suddenly a massive crash
right on the starting grid, riders and bikes flung down the front
straight like rag dolls and toys.
Two riders in the front grid
positions had touched on the start causing a chain reaction of crashes,
and chaos. With oil and debris on the grid officials were forced to red
flag and postpone race 2.
This unfortunate occurrence, and
the postponement would give us enough time to get Davids bike together,
but would Davids foot be ok to race?
As we started stripping
the bike down, David limped over to access the situation, and announced
"Im going in the rig to make you guys some sandwiches, have my bike
ready…. Im racing!"
With that much heart to fight through a
broken foot, the crew went to work swapping out the good for the bad and
making the bike whole again.
With David icing his foot
throughout the day, we managed to keep the swelling down until race
time. Taping up his foot, stuffing it in his boot and eager to go back
into battle David once again lined up on the grid.
Once again,
jumping up into the top 10 riders #101 put his head down and went about
his business of turning laps, by lap 9 David had been making steady
progress until running a little wide clipping the grass.
Loosing
traction in the wet grass David instinctually dabbed his foot sending
pain straight through his body, dropping the bike and losing position.
Gritting
his teeth and trying to right the machine, the pack had already passed
and it was time to throw in the towel…Our weekend was over.
A
mix of bad luck, and good fortune kept us in the points race, where
David currently sits in 2nd for Supersport West. Brother Matthew off to
surgery this week setting his sights on running back up skipping round 3
at Barber to be healthy for Mid Ohio round 4 and improving on his 9th
place standing.
On behalf of the entire Mach Modified team we
thank all our sponsors FTW Co., Cafe Racer XXX, Stance Socks, Arai, Leo
Vince Exhaust, Next Moto Champion, The Speed Merchant, Pacific Track
Times
**** If you would like to use these pictures for
anything other then your website and or to promote the team please
contact Brian Nitto brian.55productions@gmail.com to obtain a release