Ahhh, Summit. Of all the tracks we race, I just wasn't a big fan. Maybe it's the bumps mid-corner, maybe it's T4, I'm not sure. The facility is great and the staff friendly, so that's surely not it! Speaking of big fans, they were needed this weekend. Heat index was right around 100°. Despite this, it was a record-setting turnout. The paddock and the grids were packed! We also picked up a new team mascot at a yard sale very close to the track.. It was meant to be! Nicole has named him Tino. He also does a great job of keeping the sun off the seat of the Zuma!
Before I go any further, I want to take a moment and send a shout out to all of the MARRC crew. I don't normally get to spectate much but did this weekend. The way they inspected the track after every incident was really something to see, and gave me confidence that it was a safe surface to race on. Thanks to all! Additionally, CCS took the time to honor the brave servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy this sport we love so much. Thanks to the CCS staff for this.
GTU - The GT classes are a 25 minute race, unlike the sprints which are a set # of laps. I've learned, is thank to the incredible pace put down by the front-runners in CCS expert racing, we end up turning more laps because the leaders run that much faster. I swore the white flag would never come and the CCS officials in the flag tower were just taunting us! A HUGE field of 38 gridded up for this.
At the start I got away well, by lap 3 had bested my previous personal best, and then dropped into the 19's, and made a few passes. Kept pushing hard and was able to take 13th out of that 38 racer field. I was VERY happy about this finish!
Unfortunately, as I got back to the pits, I noticed the toe of my boot is shiny. Uh-oh. Drop the belly pan, and see coolant. Hopefully the puke can is just full because it's HOT, and the coolant temp had hit 100°C by the time I got to my pits.. Yeah, no such luck. It appears to be leaking from the bottom radiator hose. I tracked down a hose we can cut to size (Thanks Justin from Trackside Parts Club!), dump the hot coolant, and replace the hose. Fill it up, start it again, STILL leaking. Turns out it was coming from the weep hole in the pump, clinging to the pump housing, and then running from the top of the hose to the bottom. This is a brand-new OEM pump that was installed during the refresh, too because we didn't want to take chances on a rebuild. Oh well, that's racing! Fortunately, Arthur (Thanks again!!) had a spare I was able to get swapped in, but for the 2nd time in 2 races, I missed the middleweight Formula 40 race. It's my favorite race, and the class I took the championship in last year. Dang!
Monday, I wasn't up until race 11. I stayed busy all day helping others and walking around, maybe I should have slept longer or something. I just felt 'off'.
Middleweight GP - I was about 1 second/lap off my Sunday pace, but held on to take 14th. Middleweight Superbike was close to the end of the day, and I was just gassed. Ended up in 17th but still ran times faster than our last visit to Summit, so that's a definite win!
My new custom-fit cow & roo hybrid suit from Hazardous Racing is great! It totally disappears when I'm on the bike, and allows me to really move around easily. It also looks nothing short of badass. Speaking of bad ass, check out the new photos in the Gallery captured by Vae Vang of Noiseless Productions that let you see the new suit!
Thanks for all the support -
Mike Failace / Metric Devil Moto for the suspension & sticky Pirelli's
Justin @ Trackside Parts Club
Chris Maher / Maher Motorsports
RJ Wade / Hazardous Racing
Bart DeFrancesco / DC Paintworx
Chris Kruzel / DrippinWet
Keystoneriders.com
EvolveGT
Vortex, Scorpion, Woodcraft, Yoshimura, PitPosse, Sidi, VP Fuels
As always, my awesome crew chief/wife/chef/cheerleader Nicole, and the pit posse - John, JohnnyB, Oscar, Betsy, & Jake. Heal up quick Andre, and congrats to Demetrius on your first race!
GTU - The GT classes are a 25 minute race, unlike the sprints which are a set # of laps. I've learned, is thank to the incredible pace put down by the front-runners in CCS expert racing, we end up turning more laps because the leaders run that much faster. I swore the white flag would never come and the CCS officials in the flag tower were just taunting us! A HUGE field of 38 gridded up for this.
At the start I got away well, by lap 3 had bested my previous personal best, and then dropped into the 19's, and made a few passes. Kept pushing hard and was able to take 13th out of that 38 racer field. I was VERY happy about this finish!
Unfortunately, as I got back to the pits, I noticed the toe of my boot is shiny. Uh-oh. Drop the belly pan, and see coolant. Hopefully the puke can is just full because it's HOT, and the coolant temp had hit 100°C by the time I got to my pits.. Yeah, no such luck. It appears to be leaking from the bottom radiator hose. I tracked down a hose we can cut to size (Thanks Justin from Trackside Parts Club!), dump the hot coolant, and replace the hose. Fill it up, start it again, STILL leaking. Turns out it was coming from the weep hole in the pump, clinging to the pump housing, and then running from the top of the hose to the bottom. This is a brand-new OEM pump that was installed during the refresh, too because we didn't want to take chances on a rebuild. Oh well, that's racing! Fortunately, Arthur (Thanks again!!) had a spare I was able to get swapped in, but for the 2nd time in 2 races, I missed the middleweight Formula 40 race. It's my favorite race, and the class I took the championship in last year. Dang!
Monday, I wasn't up until race 11. I stayed busy all day helping others and walking around, maybe I should have slept longer or something. I just felt 'off'.
Middleweight GP - I was about 1 second/lap off my Sunday pace, but held on to take 14th. Middleweight Superbike was close to the end of the day, and I was just gassed. Ended up in 17th but still ran times faster than our last visit to Summit, so that's a definite win!
My new custom-fit cow & roo hybrid suit from Hazardous Racing is great! It totally disappears when I'm on the bike, and allows me to really move around easily. It also looks nothing short of badass. Speaking of bad ass, check out the new photos in the Gallery captured by Vae Vang of Noiseless Productions that let you see the new suit!
Thanks for all the support -
Mike Failace / Metric Devil Moto for the suspension & sticky Pirelli's
Justin @ Trackside Parts Club
Chris Maher / Maher Motorsports
RJ Wade / Hazardous Racing
Bart DeFrancesco / DC Paintworx
Chris Kruzel / DrippinWet
Keystoneriders.com
EvolveGT
Vortex, Scorpion, Woodcraft, Yoshimura, PitPosse, Sidi, VP Fuels
As always, my awesome crew chief/wife/chef/cheerleader Nicole, and the pit posse - John, JohnnyB, Oscar, Betsy, & Jake. Heal up quick Andre, and congrats to Demetrius on your first race!
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