let's see...
weather was nearly perfect. cooler than other trips out there this summer. completely comfortable in the pits and not at all bad on track.
this was ryan's first trip to the big track since dec '06 when he crashed in T8 and broke all 4 appendages.. maybe he'll comment on what it was like to be back. from my perspective, you'd never know he'd been gone. stupid fast.. tho supposedly seconds slower than his rookie-of-the-year'ish former self. he was still passing lots of folks and re-passing the liter bikes in the corners after they blew by on the straight. that guy knows that track!
i started out the day in A group with ryan and was riding like an idiot. stiff, fighting the bike, hating every inch of the track and having zero fun. 2nd session was worse than the first, being passed by damn near the entire field, including ryan lapping me. riding like a retard.
so after session two i moved myself to the B group. instantly i started to relax and have fun. first session i passed several folks & never got passed. that wasn't true for the whole of the day but esp for the 11:20 and 12:20 sessions i was starting to learn to like the big track.
i still feel like i'm riding around in a fog bank in 9, but 8, and especially 2, are becoming my friends. getting better at the omega but my approach into 5 still sux. i have a lot of time that could be picked up between 4b-5-6.
i also found that a lot of my shortcomings on the little track are also my shortcomings on the big track. duh. too much brake and prep to get into the corner, yet my mid-corner speed seems to be better than average. i would lose people on the entry to 2, catch them mid corner, and then pass them on the exit/run up to 3. same with 1-2.
i'm still not at all comfortable with WFO in 8. but i think no sensible person should be =). the runoff is rock farm and then a ditch, which so far i'm too aware of. i don't know if i'll ever really be fast there but now i know i can go and actually have a good time. sure as hell was not the case on my first visit.
spent a session or two experimenting with gearing.. one of which meant i more or less ran around the whole time at redline. came in with the bike spewing coolant and very mad at me. heh.. sorry bike. that's why you're japanese.
there was some guy in B group riding a Desmosedici. wow. he rode a lot more aggressively than i would ever push $70k. i could lead or get past him but in the straights it was like he had 2 bikes. zoooom, gone. that thing sounds amazing.
i'm still a streets lover but all in all a really fun day.
