Trackday with Pro6Cycle @ Calabogie Motorsports Park [8.25-27.2008] : DAY 3

Crashing on the last session of Day 2 was a bit of a bummer, but I learned from it.

1) Don't try to clip the curb that tightly
2) There's gotta be an easier way through Wilson

Wilson and Temptation are my weak points, so I decided to get the bike back to riding shape so I could have a chance to work on getting those parts of the track right.

Another evening wrenching on the bike

Thankfully things weren't too bad. Checking out the bike, the frame sliders did an excellent job. The left slider bent about 60 degrees back, but held steady and kept the bike mostly off the ground. Had a bit of rash on the left engine cover, sheared off my rear swingarm spool, and my exhaust can was crushed . The left side rearset plates were slightly bent, as was the bolt that holds the left peg. The shiftlever was bent all the way around into a "U" , and parts of the shifter lever and the left beg were ground down. The plastics were actually in good shape, other than a small chip in the belly pan and a whole lotta dirt and grass inside.

Got a spare bolt for the left peg from a fellow rider who also had vortex rearsets, and bent the shift lever back into relative straightness. I should have left it as is, but I tried to get cute and make it perfect. SNAP! There goes the shift lever. Luckily the GP Suspension guys at the track had a drill and vice, so I was able to drill a new hole to remount the toe peg on the shift lever. Tried bending the frame slider back, but decided not to push my luck too much since the frame was still ok (didn't want to mess that up). Exhaust can....nothing I could really do. Bike still ran, decided to just run with it, airflow was still adequate. Suomy Helemt was untouched , and the Teknic XCelerator suit crashed REMARKABLY WELL. Just a few scratches, a slightly ground down shoulder plate, and a small tear in the elasic around the arm that can easily be patched. Best suit I have ever owned.

Woke up early (again ) on Wednesday, took the bike for a few spins around the paddock, made sure everything worked, and swithced to some new rubber Re-teched, and got ready to run Red group for Day 3.

My friends and I decided to run in a pack together, since we were all about the same speed. We would work on our lines, and BE SMOOOTH for the rest of the day. The plan worked well. I figured out Wilson, as well as how to make it around the track with less physical effort. While I still think I need to work on Temptation, I really improved on the last few turns after the Spoon. I found that I could come through 17-19 a little bit slower, and setup Wilson a bit more comfortably while still maintaining my pace relatively. I could save the extreme corner speed through 17-19 for when I wanted to pass, and maintain some comfort/conserve energy a bit. Cleaned up some lines in other areas too.

I didn't better my fastest time, but I became much more consistent. I was in the low 2:21 -2:24s range all day, and was averaging about 2:24.10 . Now that I was more consistent each lap, I was able to stay with some of the faster guys and enjoy dicing it up/ following the train. The day ended well with a nice 4 lap run with a pack of people, and it was kind of symetry in motion so to speak. Every other turn, or straight, positions changed but everyone was clean. Passing was comfortable and safe (even though it was sometimes close), and everyone had fun. All in all, a good day at the track and a great way to end my first time at Calabogie. I can't wait until I get to go back. I think I can build on what I learned and get into the low teens if I can carry more entry speed while staying smooth.


The End.

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