Hi everyone!
I just returned from the second round of the RACE Superseries at Shannonville Motorsports Park this past weekend. On the long and late drive home, I could not help but reflect upon what is so amazing about this crazy sport we call roadracing.
Motorcycle roadracing, while on the surface may appear to be an individual sport, truly is a great team effort--- and I am so fortunate to be surrounded by an amazing team of people willing to spend countless hours on and off the racetrack helping me out with my racing program and development.
Certainly I cannot say enough about the guys at Kahuna Kawasaki who snapped up the opportunity to support me going into my Expert season debut with a pair of shiny new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6Rs and plenty of parts and support to go with it! As many thanks also has to go to Canadian Kawasaki Motors—The factory team was at Shannonville this past weekend to do some testing before the big Parts Canada Superbike opener in a few weeks time, and the whole crew did their best to make me feel at home as part of their extended Kawasaki family. It’s so refreshing to be working with a group of people who understand and enjoy the sport so much!
I also cannot say enough about the countless hours the technicians have been putting in to make sure my Kawasaki ZX-6Rs are working at 110%. Many thanks has to go to John Sharrard, Accelerated Technologies, who has worked countless days and nights modifying and fine tuning my suspension, often while I was comfortably at home sleeping, as was most of the province of Ontario, I am sure. The work did not end once the forks were complete and handed over. John spent the better part of the weekend providing advice, working to further fine-tune my suspension, making sure I was on track and I was in the frame of mind to turn some fast laps. His efforts must have paid off-- I am pleased to report that my lap times continued to drop all weekend long and I have no doubt this is due in large part to John and his wife, Jen, for keeping on top of my suspension and keeping on top of my game.
Also making sure I am always on top of my game, and perhaps the most dedicated individual I will ever meet in this crazy sport, is my crew chief and mechanic, Brad Clarke. If you have been following my reports, you’ll know that Brad worked tirelessly most of the winter to get my new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6Rs ready for the racetrack. What some don’t know is that in the midst of keeping me in order, Brad also does some club racing himself--- and he’s pretty good at it for a guy that divides his time between wrenching and racing! This past weekend Brad suffered a fairly bad crash coming onto the front straight of Shannonville’s Pro track. He was pretty spaced out for a while and narrowly escaped a trip to the hospital. Thankfully another club racer—Steve “Doc” Walker—is a medical doctor by trade and was able to clear Brad and save him a trip to the Belleville hospital. Despite a rather large blow to the head, and what we later discovered was a broken hand, Brad toughed out the weekend and was still doing oil changes to my bikes first thing Sunday morning! I don’t know how he does it and I certainly don’t know how I could live without him!
I know you all likely want to know how my racing actually went…but there’s a few more people that need mention…people that I was reflecting upon on the drive home. My husband, Dave, for putting up with me and letting me participate in this crazy sport and dragging him along as well (yes, we’re a two-racer household!). Roadracing is so much of a mental sport and it’s so nice to know that I have the support at home and from my family to pursue my endeavors.
Finally, to all the awesome guys and girls who come out and race every weekend— some of you are the most unique and amazing people I have ever met and I am so happy I get to spend my summers with all of you. I only have one thing to say—the summers are far too short in Canada!
A word about practice....
Racing can be a funny sport. Once in a while riders find themselves getting launched from their shiny motorcycles and making some interesting contact with the pavement...and if they're lucky...the weeds. One such incident happened to my good friend Sean Huffman while he was testing his new ZX-10 during Friday's practice. Not to be outdone, Sean passed me on the backstraight of Shannonville demonstrating to me just what his powerful machine was capable of doing. Now, for those who are not familiar with 1000cc litre bikes, they command a whole lot of respect on the racetrack and it takes some very talented riders to calm their aggressive nature. Unfortunately for Sean, the ZX-10 was feeling particularly aggressive on Friday.
I watched as his shiny new ZX-10 spit Sean off going through the chicane after the backstraight. Sean's rear wheel spun up and for a brief second I thought he would catch it. No such luck. The bike hit the deck and Sean was not far behind. My immediate reaction was "Poor guy! He's never been down before!"...but I didn't have much time to think about it as Sean's bike and his body were now in my race line. Think fast-- move left! I started to take the far left line...that's when Sean decided to make things interesting and started rolling right towards my wheel! Thankfully the brakes on my ZX-6R are dialled and I narrowly missed sending a tire track over Sean's head! All of this took place in the span of about 2 seconds..and I often wonder if Sean would still speak to me had I have left a tire track on his helmet! In the end Sean was alright save for some mild burning on his hands.... needless to say he was off to purchase some new gloves just in time to come back and win all of his races that weekend!
Now for the actual racing…..
It was a pretty busy weekend of racing at this, the second round of the RACE Superseries Regional. In total there were four races scheduled for me this weekend—a Women’s Cup double header, 600 Sportbike (co-ed) and Open Superbike (co-ed).
The first of two Women’s Cup Challenge races took place on Saturday afternoon. Plagued with a migraine headache, I took to the grid with the goal of trying to remain upright and simply gaining some points. For those who have never experienced a migraine headache, trust me, it makes a regular headache look like a walk in the park. To this day I have no idea how I got myself up to the grid. I managed to get off to a relatively good start, and found myself seated in seventh place and holding that position to finish in seventh in the Expert Women’s field. My laps, by some miracle, were actually the fastest they had been all day.
Sunday saw the second leg of the Women’s Cup Challenge double header, as well as the 600 Sportbike and Open Superbike races with the men. I managed a great start to the Women’s Cup Challenge race and found myself battling it out with some of the fastest ladies in the country, if not the world, for a few laps. Eventually the front of the pack got away from me (they were turning lap times any mid-pack Pro rider would be happy with!) and I battled hard to take another 7th place finish. The bike was running so strong and I am slowly closing the gap between myself and the other riders. It is going to be a good year.
For both the 600 Sportbike and Open Superbike races with the guys I also finished strong. After lots of laps in traffic and spending a lot of time battling it out with other riders, I managed a solid 6th place finish in both the 600 and the Open races respectively--- a big improvement over 13th position in the first regional! I had some great fun dicing up it up with some of the ladies and gents in the 600 and Superbike races and I can’t wait until next time!
Special thanks has to go to all of my sponsors and supporters including Kahuna Kawasaki, Canadian Kawasaki Motors, Bell Helmets, Compulsion Racing, Accelerated Technologies, Performance Under Gear, Vortex Racing, Komodo Gear, Armour Bodies , Auto Trim Designs and True Form Fitness. Thanks to Flair Photo and Don Empey for the fantastic pictures! Big thanks to Dave, Brad, John and Sean for all the help this weekend as well! I couldn't have done it without you guys!
Next race is the Parts Canada Superbike opener at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant from May 31-June 4. I hope to see you all there!
