June 23 2001
Qualcomm Stadium race
San Diego, CA
This is not a very complete photo set. A lot of our footage is on video since my friend could not man the camera and videocam simuletaneously. If I find some way to transfer the video to mpeg format, I may get some up on here too. You can look up Pacific Pocketbikes' website for more photos soon.
The racers were split into two groups- the fast guys, and the slower guys. Guess which group I was in! Oh well- at least I didn't come last. 4th place don't sound too bad unless you realize there were only 5 racers! Haha!
I did not get a full group photo, just our group. Each group did 2 heats, and the top 3 guys did a final shootout. The advanced group had a very exciting last race, where a local guy beat out the Mexican pro racer 'ringer' who was riding a 910 steel GP. Exciting stuff for those who missed out! Not to mention there was an SCCA autocross in the same lot, the Porsche club race int he adjacent space, and a 1/8 mile race on the other side. Plenty to look at!!
Here's our group:
From the left, that's Jay on the GRC, Westley on the 910, the guy they bumped to the advanced class on the orange 910 steel, and me on my grossly overpowered monster. I had the dubious distinction of worst crash of the day- during my first 2 laps at practice nonetheless. I was also the largest in the group by a considerable margin- maybe I do need the 11 horses on the bike. I just need to learn how to harness them properly!
Here's a photo of me and Henry (Alpinestars jacket), the guy that bought the Pasini. That bike did quite well- he finished mid-pack on the advanced group. With a little clutch adjustment, and a lower gear (it had a 64T on the short track!) it should perform quite well next time!
See more bikes in the 'Other bikes' section.
Here's what happened to my suit after the second hard crash!
So much for Kevlar!!
There's a lesson in that. Beginners should definitely avoid the 10+hp bikes. I'll just have to learn some throttle discipline. most of the race was done at 2/3 throttle max. My cornering definitely needs some work too- maybe in 2-3 more races I'll be more competitive!
A lot of thanks to the guys that gave me advice- Vince, Gabriel, Miguel, Gabriel's racer. The best piece of advice I go that day was look into the turn 5-6 cones ahead. That improved my riding greatly. Practice makes perfect, I guess!
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