Overall, I had a blast and really enjoyed seeing my racing family again! I really would not be here without the support of my sponsors, their efforts are continually appreciated and never taken for granted. CRAP! The bike is ok other than a broken rear set, and I am fine though, so chalk it up to a learning experience and move on to Round 2! Coming into the bus stop on lap 3, I misjudge my angle of attack and clip the inside curb, instantly going down. His bike seems like it pulls 10 bike lengths down the front straight and I am having to make it all up in the corners and on the brakes. Dustin must have been cold, because then he lit his bike on fire, and the race had to be red flagged! On the restart, I slot into 4 th place behind Oli determined to not let him beat me. Off the first start, things get a little crazy, and Dustin ends up going down in the bus stop on the opening lap. Time for the big show! Ryan Sutton is also out in this race, so now we have a 5 way battle up front. I try to also pass Oli, but that Zlock Built superbike is fast! I try to go around the outside in a couple corners, but end up crossing the line in 4 th place not far behind, still a solid performance. By Turn 3 all four of us are up front fighting it out and the battle is on! Adam manages to get past Oliver and then past Dustin, going on to set the fastest lap of the race. Time for the second race of the day, 600SBK! Oliver Jervis is bringing his Zlock Built Kawasaki ZX6-R Superbike out to play in this race so I knew it would be fun! Adam, Oliver, and I all start in the back row again with Dustin starting on the front row. I should mention that this entire race I was trying to push the Pirelli rear to slide, and I could not get it to slide. 0.3 seconds covered all three of us at the finish! I also set a new PB with a best lap of a 1:25.9 and an average pace over the entire race of 1:26.4! So awesome. We all get a good drive out of the bus stop and it is a drag race to the finish! Dustin crosses first, followed by Adam, and me in 3 rd place. It takes me a couple more laps to try and catch Dustin, and as soon as I do, Adam passes me going up the hill in T8. He tries for a pass in the bus stop, but I box him out, killing both of our drives. Going up the hill Adam shows me a wheel and pulls up on the inside going through T9. Then I make a mistake going into T5, unsettling the bike. I can hear Robarts behind me every now and then, but for the first four laps, he stays quiet. Going into T2 I make an outside pass and slot into T2 but Dustin is already 10 bike lengths ahead and charging! I settle down and work to pull him back in, focused on hitting my marks and keeping a tight line. Dustin faired better, with a front row start, but it wasn’t going to matter! The board goes up, the light goes out, and I get a decent start. Anyone of these guys could potentially win on any given day! Due to registration difficulties, I am gridded on the back row, along with Adam. Adam Robarts decided to come back to the 600 class this year, as well as Jeremy Coffey, Oliver Jervis, Ryan Sutton, and Dustin Walbon. The first race of the year and I am not going to lie, was having to calm myself, the heart was definitely racing! I was ready for a fight though, and I needed to be. I managed to put in a couple of clean laps and was happy to see that I was right back at my race pace from last year! The bike felt good, I felt good, time to race! Took it easy and went out in Formula Ultra qualifying. The practice was wet in the morning on Saturday for the first session. Really looking forward to helping him out! This is his first season of road racing, but James comes from a motocross background, so he is no stranger to a motorcycle. This year, in addition to working on my own skill set, I also have the pleasure of mentoring a new novice, Mr James Mellinger, #934. Triumph of Seattle has also stepped up in a big way again this year to support my efforts, thank you Garrett and crew! The weather forecast for the weekend looked exceptionally promising and I was excited to finally get back on a bike after 6 months off! I was also looking forward to testing out the new pavement that had just been laid down one month prior. This past weekend the Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association hosted their inaugural round of the 2019 season at Pacific Raceways. FINALLY!!! No more waiting, no more doubting, no more time to procrastinate. Finally, the long dreary Pacific Northwest winter is over.
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