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"All cool guys.......................................(except Bob)"

 

You are Killing it up here Doctor - Killing it! I was going to offer some observations on the races but that's a topic better handled by Hottie. Thanks for giving us a new villain to hate now that Brodie seems to fallen off the face of the earth, so to speak.

 

Congratulations on the weekend and your victory and pending championship Hugh and thanks for giving us a fun read every couple of weeks. Go Dogs! and Go Duck It! Racing.

 

Kevin

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The reason why your solo racing team's name went from Duck You Racing [DYR Corp.] to Duck It Racing [DIR Corp.] is all in the Qualifying race Vid. You should have pounced on Bob when he made contact with that back marker and opened that gap for you. It did, however work out in your favor as Bob was over confident after beating you in that race. Maybe that was the real Jedi mind trick in play that weekend eh?

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You should have pounced on Bob when he made contact with that back marker and opened that gap for you.

 

Maybe, but as I wrote, I am pretty mindful of the fact that at this point the only things that can keep me from the championship are a DNS or DNF. I'm really only taking passes that I can make with a wide margin of safety...and going over the bike with a fine-tooth comb to try to eliminate any possible mechanical issues.

 

Clutch is back together with loctite...

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You should have pounced on Bob when he made contact with that back marker and opened that gap for you.

Maybe, but as I wrote, I am pretty mindful of the fact that at this point the only things that can keep me from the championship are a DNS or DNF. I'm really only taking passes that I can make with a wide margin of safety...and going over the bike with a fine-tooth comb to try to eliminate any possible mechanical issues.

 

Hugh;

...I kid. Your racing strategy is pretty solid and you do race safely yet successfully so it's all good [FWIW, I would have ended up plowing into one of them if I were on your bike].

But back to our regular scheduled programming; I am sure you took note of how you lost 2 tenths every lap you dueled with Bob but ran your quickest laps chasing him down. One question inquiring minds would like to know is why your lap times dropped by almost twice that much once you were out in front. Did you know how far back Bob was? I didn't see a pit board when you crossed the line ergo the question. And before everyone in the Fan Club starts clubbing me for asking these questions, they are similar to what happens when the Big Boys (and girls) race. Besides, I totally know that you won the race on Sunday.

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Very similar to the previous round. When I had something to chase, or knew I had to make up a pile of time, I got faster and faster. When I am in front with clear track, I sometimes slow down. I haven't the faintest idea why. Obviously it's psychological. Possibly when I am behind I have nothing to lose (or, less to lose), so I take more risks, but when I am in front I am very conscious of the danger of chucking it away with a stupid error. Or maybe chasing someone is just more exciting and it stimulates me. I really don't know.

 

Obviously in this last race I did put together some really good laps at the very end. I am not sure where that came from.

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Solid stuff Duck!

 

Enjoy your posts. Chasing down a position will make you faster due to pushing your boundaries, it's a product of the competitive spirit but the trick is to base it on the fundamentals and tried & true skills instead vs instinct. Sometimes we just have a great race and recollect at the end of the day. Fair is fair and real life always wins.

 

Sometimes the best laps are at the end because we are tired and finally "really" relax.

 

Keep it up and puttin in werk!

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  • 1 month later...
  • 8 months later...

Hugh;

It's the halfway point in the (US anyway) racing season and your silence was deafening. The New York Chapter of the Prairie Dog Racing fan club was getting restless and at some of the meetings people were getting demoralized that maybe the Dog's had seen their day so to speak [obligatory "Go Dogs " inserted here]

 

But they're back! With a [sPOILIER ALERT rules don't allow results to be posted within 48 hours of an original post so everyone is going to have to read the whole report to find out] - OMG - GO DOGS!

 

And thanks for identifying a new season villan to root against but I almost died when I saw Brodie's name again. We're never going to forgive that guy - or Bob for that matter. But did you guys dress up that PDR GSXR or what?!!!

 

Welcome back!

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ha ha ha you are a riot Kevin! I'd continue writing these just for you. Well, and my buddy Paul MacIntosh too because he claims it's the only thing he reads, so I feel responsible for keeping him literate.

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And the second place finish in the endurance race is very controversial, as it turns out. Apparently two other GTU teams would have finished ahead of us, but had a bunch of laps disqualified for some issue over the scoring. Heated debate going on over at the SOAR facebook page. There is a chance that the results may be overturned upon review at Round 2. The PDR leadership has alerted our legal team to the pending court challenge.

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Finally got around to reading the latest installment. I love your racing updates, they are so fun to read. What a crazy tech issue with your bike! Glad you got it working.

 

For passing in corners, have you tried leaving a bit of a gap a short distance prior to the corner (backing off a little) so that you have room to carry MORE speed into the corner and use that momentum to pass? If you are following someone too closely they can rob your entry speed, making it hard to regain enough speed to pass, not to mention messing up your wide view.

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For passing in corners, have you tried leaving a bit of a gap a short distance prior to the corner (backing off a little) so that you have room to carry MORE speed into the corner and use that momentum to pass? If you are following someone too closely they can rob your entry speed, making it hard to regain enough speed to pass, not to mention messing up your wide view.

 

Yes I've definitely done that but I need to work on my timing a bit, and courage. The problem is that if I am charging up behind someone as they are approaching the apex, then I need a lot of confidence that once I get along side them there is going to be room, without getting shoved onto the grass. There are some corners where that is tricky, because they might be coming across the track to set up for the next turn. It's a puzzle I can solve - I just need to do some planning and visualization before actually getting out there, thinking about each individual corner where a pass might be possible. I'll work on it on the next practice day.

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For passing in corners, have you tried leaving a bit of a gap a short distance prior to the corner (backing off a little) so that you have room to carry MORE speed into the corner and use that momentum to pass? If you are following someone too closely they can rob your entry speed, making it hard to regain enough speed to pass, not to mention messing up your wide view.

 

Yes I've definitely done that but I need to work on my timing a bit, and courage. The problem is that if I am charging up behind someone as they are approaching the apex, then I need a lot of confidence that once I get along side them there is going to be room, without getting shoved onto the grass. There are some corners where that is tricky, because they might be coming across the track to set up for the next turn. It's a puzzle I can solve - I just need to do some planning and visualization before actually getting out there, thinking about each individual corner where a pass might be possible. I'll work on it on the next practice day.

 

 

Do you ever try riding some different lines in practice, so you know what you will be in for, if you try to pass someone on the brakes on an inside line, or have to line up an mid-corner pass with an inside-line exit? It can help with confidence to try the passing line a few times in practice so you are better able to judge a manageable entry speed and/or know how to square off the corner for an early-drive inside pass on the exit.

 

Or, you could try my strategy - put a REALLY LOUD exhaust on your low horsepower bike, then ride really close behind your competitor for a few turns until they get nervous from the roaring behind them and make a mistake. :D

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Thanks Hotfoot this is great advice. I already have the really loud exhaust thing covered, but I have to admit that I don't really explicitly experiment with passing lines in practice - I am always concentrated on just getting in the best lap times possible. I'll try this this weekend for sure. Will let you know how Round 2 goes.

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Full blog post eventually, but here is what happened to me in Saturday morning practice of Round 2.

 

https://youtu.be/LxnzRnw2KhU

 

I was super happy about it, especially since the same guy nearly did the same thing to me twice in Round 1, at exactly the same place on the track, and I had spoken to him about it (in the friendliest manner possible - seriously).

 

Anyway zero damage to me despite some fairly energetic tumbling in the grass, and the damage to the bike was repaired for me by my friends and teammates, while I mostly stormed around the pits in a useless blind fury. It's a wonder there was no restraining order issued.

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So, the guy on the yellow bike what you passed down the straight tries to re-pass you on the brakes and hits you from behind? - is that it?

 

Daymn, Hugh!

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I still can't figure out exactly what kind of contact was made, and the video doesn't help with that. I refused to speak to the guy for the rest of the weekend so we didn't discuss it. I am 99.9% sure that I didn't cause it myself by pulling the brake or anything because I was on my way to the ground before I even saw him. If you watch the slow motion part of the video you can see his head jerk quickly from one side to the other which I think was a result of the contact. Pretty sure I was just finishing releasing the brake from trail braking into the corner when he hit me.

 

I wouldn't have been so angry about it if I hadn't specifically warned the guy that it was likely to happen with the way he was riding. He's on a tiny little 2-stroke and carries piles of corner speed, but is not willing to give up any momentum in the corners no matter what kind of danger it creates. I think it is an ego thing for him, proving that even though someone passed him on the straight he can take them back in the next corner. Fair enough in a race but in practice with all different classes of bikes out there, once you are passed you need to back off a tiny bit and let the faster bike make some distance on you. If they were in a position to pass you in the first place it means, by definition, over the course of a whole lap they are faster and will not be holding you up for long. This kind of is totally unnecessary, expensive, and potentially dangerous.

 

I was on a nice steady line, leaving lots of room for him on the outside in case he insisted on doing his regular Moto3 thing. There are multiple workable lines through that long corner. No idea why he ended up right on top of me.

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Hugh;

I was off line and didn't see this until now. Hey there's nothing fun to comment on here; riders like him ruin this sport because they introduce real danger into something that is inherently dangerous already. There's a track club in the eastern US that I quit after my second full year with them because they tolerated like this all the time.

Good luck with repairing your confidence and then your bike. I found it was easier to fix my bike then to fix my lap times after a crash.

Go Dogs!

 

Kevin

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