For the Love of Racing
August 18, 2024 Adam Miller
The theme for this year has been improvement. Although I’ve only been able to race 2 rounds with a third looking a unlikely, I still think I’ve made some meaningful strides. In Round 1, after being off the Ducati for 2 years, I was able to get within 2% of my PB on the HPR North layout; not bad. The next planned round was to be the 4th. Rather unfortunately, I missed Round 4 because some issues popped up with the bike and wisely, I think, I decided to forego racing instead of trying to cobble everything together at the last minute. Round 5 was a potential makeup round, but I chose to prioritize my son’s birthday weekend instead which was the right thing to do. That brought me to Round 6 as the next target and I was determined to make it out this time.
In the week leading up to the race, I put in the obligatory late nights early in the week to avoid the last minute hustle I so often find myself doing. It was effective, as I’ve only had 1 or 2 race rounds in several years with such relaxed nights leading up to the weekend. If I could prepare this way every time, I would.
Inventory Check, Miller Garage, August 2024
Something logistically new to me this round was that we simply didn’t have the resources at home to allow practice on Friday. My boys needed me at home, so that’s what the little guys got. If I want to keep racing, I foresee this becoming more common in the future, so, best to get used to it now. The impact on my race weekend is that Saturday morning warmup would have to become my practice trackday. In two 15 minute sessions I would have to shake down the bike, dust off the cobwebs, and find enough speed to avoid being dangerous to other riders. I’ve always been glutton for punishment, so why stop now?
In spite of my responsibilities keeping me at home on Friday during the day, I was free on Friday evening and I fundamentally refuse to drive to a track the morning of a race and assume that I’ll be able to set everything up, make it through tech, get the bike and myself ready to ride, and still have time to practice before the races start. There are too many ways that can go wrong; not happening. Sleeping at or near a track the night before a race is a must. Thus, my first race with the clock began the second I put the boys to sleep and handed Kori the baby monitor on Friday evening. Sleep is vital when you’re racing, so I’d timed everything out to get to the track as quickly as possible once my prime responsibilities were handled. The truck and trailer were packed and ready; all I had to do was hop in and drive to the track. Unlike Round 1, the trip was uneventful and I even remembered to bring my trailer keys. When I arrived, Ryan, being the good friend that he is, had saved a spot for me in Cheater’s Row. I pulled in, set up camp, inflated my mattress, and had time left over to catch up with some of my paddock friends before hitting the hay. I was happy to be there, and the weekend was off to a good start.
Saturday morning went more or less to plan: up in time for coffee and breakfast, break down the cargo trailer bedroom, through tech without any drama, bike on the warmers before the rider’s meeting, stretch a bit, pull on the riding gear, and get my head in the right space for the weekend. As I expected, my first session was complete garbage that ended with a best time of 2:15. Granted, I’d not ridden the full course layout on the Duc in about 2 years, but still, I needed to achieve a threshold amount of speed to even consider racing safely with the other white plates. In the second session, I found some comfort and started trusting the bike, which dropped me down to a 2:05 and, at the very least, made me feel like I could race without being a danger to others. Content to go racing, I had three goals for the weekend and a bonus target: 1) keep it wheels down 2) find some more cornering speed 3) smooth corner execution on both entry and exit; bonus target: match my PB of 1:58.
My first race was Middleweight Supersport, where I had the good fortune of being right next to Ryan on the grid. I felt he had an edge on me and, if I could keep him in my sights, I knew he’d be a good reference. As we all went out for the warmup lap, I had time and presence of mind to notice that I don’t get nerves anymore. All the way to lights out, I was cool as a cucumber, just calmly thinking about my gameplan for the race.
Off the line, thanks to the low end punch of the Duc and a new clutch lever I’d just installed, I immediately gained a few spots, but turn 1 gets crowded very quickly. Since I don’t have a stake in the championship this year, I gave up the inside line to a few riders hell bent on winning the race to the first apex. Through the first 2-3 sectors the pecking order seemed pretty well established with no one too far out of place on the merits of pace. I was solidly in the mid-pack with company close behind. After a few laps, I could tell by the yoyoing exhaust notes behind me that I had a few week spots on the track and on lap 4 Ryan exposed one of them into turn 6 and beat me to the apex.
High Plains Raceway Full Layout, August 2024
Unfortunately, he had company with him in the form of Blair Harness who was also able to make it through as well as I altered my line to make room for Mr. Gajewski. I’m happy to report that there was no contact between #323 and myself this time; we have a pretty colorful history in turn 6. So Ryan and his tow got through on me and I assumed they’d check out based on the breath I’d felt on the back of my neck for the first few laps. However, it was about the time I watched those two pull a gap on me on the way to 7 that something inside finally woke up. Suddenly I was in the mood for fight and I couldn’t tamp out the smile that crept onto my face as I gunned it up the hill toward 8.
My laptimes dropped immediately as I resolved give chase. For a few laps I simply stayed in touch and immediately noticed a few places I needed to improve in order to mount a charge. After a few line adjustments here and there, I started to nibble away at the gap and the hunger to regain those spots rose from a simmer to a boil. With 3 to go, I could smell the exhaust fumes on the entry to 11 and started thinking about when and where to strike so that I could get both of them without leaving time for retaliation. When the white flag went up I was feeling strong so I turned the amp up to 11 pulled out 4 bike lengths on the entry to 1, lined up both riders in my crosshairs on the exit of 2, and got ready to attack.
Final Attack, Middleweight Supersport, MRA Round 6, HPR Full, August 2024
I went full throttle on the exit of 3 as early as I dared, shrugged off a squirm from the rear, and outdrove Blair to the entry of 4. For a moment I thought about taking 2, but decided there was time to make a move on Ryan a little further into the lap. I glued myself to Ryan’s rear tire in the braking zone of 4, took a tight line into 5 and swept around the outside down the hill. Now, it wasn’t planned, but the drive on the exit of 5 made a pass at 6 inevitable. Ryan and I just can’t seem to help ourselves. Turn 6 again, eh? So be it. This being the last lap, and me knowing both Ryan and his bike well, I went up the inside at 6 with a sinfully tight line, parked the Ducati at the apex with a block pass to kill any chance of being made up the inside, then used the low end grunt of the Duc to punch out of the exit with every pony that 848 could give me. It worked perfectly. I opened up enough of a gap with that move to avoid being retaken at 8, which was a strong turn for Ryan, and was able to keep it clinical from there to the checkered flag. I’ve never been so happy to cross the finish line in P11 but, hey, a good fight makes racing fun whether it’s for P1 or P20.
Back in the pits, Ryan points at me with a smile as he dismounts his bike. I kill the engine to the Duc and egg him on a little, “yeah, you like that?” He smiles and quipps back, “dude, I knew you were gonna fuckin’ get me”. We were all laughs and smiles as we reflected on the race and how much damn fun it was. This feeling is exactly why I enjoy racing so much. There is no replacement for the satisfaction of a hard fought race, even when you don’t come out on top. I train, I practice, I plan, I spend, I bend over backwards and strain my resources all for the love of racing. Riding with the MRA and with guys like Ryan are what make this sport great and keep me coming back for more. To anyone out there on the fence about, save some lunch money, get to the track, and do some racing, it’s damn good fun.
Cheater Row with Ryan, HPR, August 2024
The rest of the races that weekend were fun, but not nearly as eventful. I’d registered for 8 races that but only ended up running in 4 of them through a combination of rider fatigue, tire wear, budget, and an important goal to keep it wheels down. When the dust settled the results were as follows:
Middleweight Supersport: P11
Amateur GTO: P12
Amateur GTU: P9
Thunderbike: P5
Every race involved advancement through the field from my grid position and I was able to bag a top 10 and a top 5. In AmU, although I was passed by the 3 riders who finished directly in front of me about halfway through the race, they were never able to drop me and, in fact, on the last 1-2 laps I was closing in on them. That doesn’t count much for final results, but it’s a confidence booster to know that I was making progress in my riding up to the very last lap of the weekend. In my first session on Saturday, I farted out a 2:15 as I rode through nerves and rust and on my last lap of the weekend I was comfortably doing 2:00 flat while riding smooth as butter and carrying a lot more mid corner speed than I had in Round 1. I had loads of fun, got within 2% of my PB, rode extremely smooth, and accomplished my 3 main goals for the weekend, so I’d call Round 6 a success. The step taken in riding through the middle of the corner is clearly visible below in comparing body position and lean angle from Rounds 1 and 6.
MRA Round 6, High Plains Raceway, August 2024 [McClaine Media]
Back at home, I downloaded a weekend of data and compared my PB lap to my best lap of Round 6. If I can combine the smoothness and mid corner speed of Round 6 with the peak braking forces and braking markers I was using in 2022, I can drop nearly 0.3s per turn. Over the course of 10 or so turns where typical corner entry applies, that should get me under the 1:57 mark. Easier said than done, but it’s not impossible and constant improvement is the target right now.
Unlocking Good Corner Entry, Miller DAQ Session, August 2024
So, as always, what’s next? While I’d like nothing more than to get back out on the track for Round 8, the situation at home is making that look unlikely. If, by some wonder, we’re able to find childcare for Round 8, I’ll be there, but it’s looking improbable. Thus, the target for the remainder of the season is to stuff in more track time before the weather cools, even if it’s not for a race weekend. This is crucial because, although I can see in the data where my riding needs to improve, truth be told, the biggest problem with my riding is that I’m not doing it frequently enough. A ride at the start and end of every season is not enough to maintain the pace required to run at the sharp end of Amateur GTU. Thus, I must ride more. If I can do that, then the high level planning for 2025 will begin and, hopefully with it, some answers to some of the logistical challenges that must be solved to run for another full season.
Never lift!
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