Race #5 Hastings MPH
So we packed up the bikes and again headed out to Hastings NE for another weekend of racing. The weather was predicting to be warm with a slight chance of rain. My mechanic and myself headed out after work on Friday afternoon, mentally prepared for whatever would be thrown at us.
After a late night, we arrived to the hotel in Hastings around midnight. It was sufficient enough to get about 5 hours sleep before waking up Saturday morning. With the help from my teammate Ara, my bike was already set up with fresh Michelin rubber and was ready to rock. Practice went pretty smooth after an early morning rain delay. The sun came out and the track quickly dried up. Practice ended and the races were ready to get started.
Race 1 was Middleweight Supersport. I was placed 14th overall for the start of the race. I had a really good launch, landed in behind some fast racers and tried everything to stay on pace. I followed Jeff Brown for about a lap, picking up some secrets from one of the fastest racers Colorado has. In the end, I managed to hold on to an 11th place finish. This was my best finish for the MWSS class. Next race that day was Heavyweight Supersport. This class, I was positioned in 8th place on the starting grid. Once again, I passed a couple people off the launch and put my head down. This time, I finished 9th place overall, another best finish for my Supersport class. This puts me in 9th overall for HWSS and 15th overall in MWSS for season points. To finish the day, I headed over to Bree with XBAM for some professional, and much needed, bodywork. As always, she got me back to feeling like I wasn't even a racer ;-)
Sunday started off to be much warmer then Saturday. I checked the tire pressure on my Michelins and headed out to practice. Working with Suspension Dave from Single Track Mind, we made some more MAJOR adjustments on my bike. I was having trouble setting my rear sag so we made some changes here, and some clicks there, and the bike started to feel like a bike. Once again, I must give props to Dave when it comes to suspension.
First race for Sunday was Amateur GTU. This class, I was placed in 9th position for the start. Setting my revs the same as the day before, I again got an awesome launch. I think I was in 3rd or 4th place to start the race. I got passed by a few guys, and finished in 6th. I really wanted top 5 but just couldn’t reel in Jason Leleck soon enough to attempt a pass. Next race for me was Amateur GTO. This is the last race of the day and the heat really had started wearing on me. This class, I started in 3rd overall, front row left. I KILLED the launch and actually had the lead for the first lap. One by one, I got passed. In the end I finished in 8th place. I was very upset to go from leading a race to 8th place, and realized something still needed to be done. With suspension finally working correctly, I look forward to some personal 1 on 1 with Mark from Vanmar Racing. Hopefully, I can shave off a couple seconds before the next race in Pueblo.
I would like to personally thank my teammate Ara for pushing me to try and keep up with him. Big props to Brothers BBQ for all the season support. Thanks to Ricky at 187HAND for making sure our bikes are ready race after race. Thanks to Faster Motosports for always being trackside and very helpful for anything that comes up. Thanks to Performance Imagery for making the drive out to snap some pics of us. Thanks Bree for the much needed hands. Of course, big thanks to Michelin/Vanmar for hooking up the best rubber on the track. Thanks to all my other sponsors and all the racers in the club that make these events possible. I look forward to working with Mark at Vanmar and improving my times before we come back to Pueblo. I started this season on the podium, and plan to end on the podium as well. See you guys on August 9th and 10th.
Casey Dragos MRA #901
