Sonoma Raceway being my current "home track" I felt at ease knowing that the first time I would be testing the R6 was on a familiar track. My bike looked sensational and ready to go thanks to the assistance of my amazing sponsors - Ron from East Bay Auto Spa, Alex from Fastline and Chris, Jeff & Corey from Pirelli CT Race Tires. With such an amazing support crew, I was confident knowing that it would be a smooth transition to the Yamaha.
It felt amazing simply being back at the track after the unforeseen midseason break. I had my sensational pit-hand Trisha by my side on the way to the track, just two girls and a race bike.... What a great feeling!
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| My amazing pit assistant - Trisha & I |
The day before race weekend was a Z2 trackday at Sonoma, a chance to test the bike and become familiar with the R6. Bonding time with machine that would soon become an extension of myself, as we become one on the track.
Taking it somewhat easy for the first few sessions, it wasn't long before I was feeling quite comfortable on the Yamaha. There were a few issues regarding handling effected by the suspension set up and the stock exhaust system was proving its downfalls. Completing lap times already consistent with that of my best Suzuki times, I was looking forward to future improvements.
With the bike still sprung for a 180lb rider, Barry from KFG Racing and Alex were able to dial it in best they could at the track in preparation for the race day which proceeded.
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| My amazing mechanic Alex supervising Trisha's work. |
Saturday Aug 31- Race Day 1
During the practice sessions throughout the morning I was pleased with the improvement in handling and performance (thanks to Barry and Alex!!). With my lap times improving over the 3 sessions on track, I was ready to race!
My first race for the weekend was Formula Afemme. With the Novice and Experts racing in the same wave, I was sharing the track with some incredibly talented women such as Joy Higa and Jen Lauritzen. With my first race-start on the R6 on race day, my launch was far from perfect, but kept me up front of the novice competitors. I was able to maintain the lead throughout the race to take the win for Nv Formula Afemme with a new PR lap time of 1:55.
Sunday Sept 1 - Race Day 2
Waking up feeling refreshed and ready for the 600 Production race on day 2. I love this class as I get to dice it up with men and women with a large grid of Novice and Expert competitors. Unfortunately with a larger grids come more chance of crashes, flags and race delays, this day was no exception. We started the race and this time my launch was much better. A couple of laps into the race and the red flag was waved we were all stopped on track and were waiting quite some time before we were able to get off course to restart. With two large crashes in the race, the time we waited before restarting was longer than usual, however we were given another warm up lap and finally restart the race. Again my launch was better and I was able to take 11th place with a new PR lap time of 1:53.
My first race weekend on the Yamaha R6 was a personal success which had me leaving the track inspired and excited for not only the next race but seasons to come.
A HUGE thank you to my amazing supporters including-
East Bay Auto Spa
Pirelli CT Race Tires
Fastline Motorcycle Performance
KFG Racing
Z2 Trackdays
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