WERA GNF @ Road Atlanta
10/15/2010
I would like to start my GNF write up with a special thanks to Devin Stewart for taking time off work to make to trip to Atlanta with me. Additionally, thanks to Tony for letting us crash at his place, my parents, grandfather, and Jesse for coming out to cheer me on, and Jane Holmes for carting my bike down for to Road Atlanta.
My first trip to the GNF was everything I expected and almost everything I hopped for. Unfortunately, we were unable to round up enough support for a full-on Peak Honda Racing assault on the GNF. After a strong regional campaign with Peak Honda Racing winning all of their championships, this came as a bit of a disappointment. Luckily at the least minute I sold my old race bike and was able to make the trip. My trusty CBR600F3's final act of kindness was to send me to Road Atlanta. Nick decided that it was in his best interest to stay back at headquarters and start concentrating on 2011.
Friday morning revealed an unfortunate detail that I did not anticipate. Even though I was entered in both the middleweight and the heavyweight classes, I was not entitled to both practice sessions. Due to the large gird sizes, WERA decided it was in everyone's best interest to group the practices by engine displacement, rather than classes entered. Having never been to Road Atlanta, the extra two practices would have be been valuable, but this was not to be. Luckily, extra track time was only a day away as I was scheduled to ride the endurance race as a guest rider on the V7 All-stars squad. Fate again twisted out of my favor when the bike broke down just 20 minutes into the race. Fortunately we got the bike running again, and I took to the track. Just 5 laps into my stint, however, the red flags started waiving. Somebody's motor let go, and oil was spilt down the last short stretch before T12. The RA crew got the track cleaned up, and the race was eventually restarted. More bad luck came our way before the race was to end. I managed to run the bike out of gas, and our third rider suffered from 2 more mechanicals. When the dust settled we were able to finish the race, but it did not exactly yield the track time I had been hoping for.
Saturday had me feeling refreshed and ready for action. First practice had me gaining confidence, until the time sheets told their story. 9 seconds off where I needed to be! A much needed pep talk from Kevin Callaway had me back out and dropping time. I finished practice 5 seconds off my 1:35 goal, but I was headed in the right direction. Once racing started, the large grids and high pressure had the day filled with crashes. A Superstock was red flagged with 3 laps to go and marked completed with me still in 5th place. The 34 bike grid from CSS yielded the same result, but I got down to the 1:37s and a little closer to winning lap times. In the BSS race I ran my best time for the weekend, a 1:36.5, but ran off the track with 1 lap to go and had to settle for a 4th place as a result. Finally, in the Formula 1 race, I was able to find my way onto the podium. Though, it was only 3rd place, I was extremely happy to come home with a piece of hardware. Check our Youtube page, as I will be uploading a few videos from the onboard camera.
All-in-all, this season has been absolutely awesome! I can't give enough thanks to all that supported my efforts: My beautiful wife, Cristy, Nick and Quince Lefurgey, Devin Stewart, all my friends and family that came out to see me race, Peak Powersports, Pirelli/ Uber Racing, Scorpion Helmets, Chicken Hawk Racing, C & S Powdercoating, Honda Pro Oil & Chemicals, Held Gloves, Pit Bull, Silkolene, EBC Brakes, Sportbike Track Time, anybody that bought used parts/ tires from me, and Dennis Baker for buying my old F3.
All the Best,
Oliver Gooden
