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 Post subject: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:41 pm 
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Major 'Ho
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Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 10:40 am
Posts: 920
Current TrackWhore(s): 2011 GSXR 750
Bike/Plate #: 25
Had another great couple of trackdays at Mid-Ohio. Pat and I had an uneventful drive out on Sunday night. We took the back roads and did manage to run into a huge cloud of bugs somewhere along the way. I just remember my windshield suddenly being covered with dead bugs. We got a great deal on 2 nights at the Travelodge through www.hotels.com.

We met Carl, Brian, and Frank, at the track and we all got set up and through registration / tech with no issues. It was a hot day, and as a result the track was almost 100% from the first session on. With the AMA races having just been on Sat / Sun, they had a large turnout for Mon’s trackday. The HERO EBR semi was still in the parking lot, and when I noticed Chris Ulrich walk by, I figured he’d be out testing one of the EBR bikes for an article in Road Racing World. I wasn’t wrong, and it was pretty cool to see him come blazing past on Danny Eslick’s bike! I was amazed by how fast he came by me going into turn #1.

The 2 surprising things about the pre-lunch sessions were; #1 how good the track was, and #2 how fast Pat was getting around, considering that he hadn’t been to Mid-Ohio since last year. Unfortunately there were a few guys in the “A” group that should have been in “I”, which made for high closing speeds. Also, along with the large turnout came lots of red flags. It wasn’t terrible, but it was annoying at times. Mid-Ohio seems to be very aggressive about throwing the red flag. I guess that’s a good thing from a safety standpoint. I was able to make it down into the high 1:41’s before lunch.

As has been my recent practice, I started the day with a shagged rear tire and ran it until it really started to move around, which amounted to 4-5 sessions. I put on a newer rear and was able to get down to my beat lap of the year – 1:40.2.

It was really nice not to have to make the drive home when the day was over. Especially since we still had Tuesday’s trackday to look forward to. We grabbed some Mexican chow and hung out at the 5-star Travelodge.

There was a smaller turnout on Tues, but like Mon it was a hot one (even hotter than Mon), and there were once again a few “I” guys in the “A” class, and more red flags than I would have liked. With the heat, the track was once again good from the first lap. Once again Pat was riding really well! I spent both days trying to keep him behind me, or trying to catch up to him. With a decent amount of traffic on both days, we ended up doing a lot of passing. As the sessions wore on, our patience for being behind slower riders (especially the dude on the RC51) decreased, and our passes became more no-nonsense in nature. We had a lot of fun!

I was able to get down to a mid-1:41 before lunch, and was able to slightly better my best lap from Mon, by the 4th session. I wasn’t able to get any clean-ish laps in the 5th and 6th sessions, which left 1 final session. The group had thinned out a bit for the last session, so I went out and tried to pull out all of the stops. I ran my best ever Mid-Ohio lap time on the 2nd lap of the session, and then bettered my time on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th lap, for a best lap of 1:39.4. I hadn’t run a 1:39 all year, and then ran 6 of them in the last session. This was also the first time (X4) that I ran a personal best lap on the 750. I believe Pat ran a personal best lap that session as well. Needless to say we were both pretty psyched!

It was hot both days, and I believe it got up to 97 – 98 degrees on Tuesday. I don’t know if I’ve ever sweat more than I did on Tuesday!!! We packed up and headed home after 2 fantastic track days. I had to get home, unpack, repack, and be up by 4:30 AM to drive out to Cleveland for a 3 day business trip. I guess if you want to play, you gotta pay…


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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:20 am 
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Major 'Ho
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Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 10:40 am
Posts: 920
Current TrackWhore(s): 2011 GSXR 750
Bike/Plate #: 25
Qstar Data

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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:30 pm 
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'Ho Proper
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Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:25 pm
Posts: 115
Bike/Plate #: 992
great write up Matt.

As Matt said it was a lot of fun.There were quite a few red flags the first day but at least it wasn't any of us.

I tried out Dunlop 211's and I liked them.Front end had really good feal and felt like it turned better than my old B front Michelin's.I was getting some weird front tire wear and added some pressure and rebound.It didn't get too bad and the front felt great not slowing me down.i even asked a Dunlop rep there and he said it was a medium compund and i should try hard for at Mid O in the heat.I later posted a pic to Dave Moss and he said front end pushing down too hard and probably raise the front some.Makes sense since the rear is taller.
Track felt great and I was having a hard time keeping up with Matt.I got by him early Monday at the back straight,I figure this my be my only time. I did manage to get into the 1:39.8 and had quite a few 1:40's so I was really happy with that.It was hot but a great two day's at Mid O and really want to go back before the seasonis over

Here is a video following Matt

https://vimeo.com/46097199


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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:30 pm 
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'Ho Proper
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Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:25 pm
Posts: 115
Bike/Plate #: 992
Matt I think Tuesday afternoon and here is a rear cam one.You made some nice passes in a distance on this one.Toward the end of the video when I was stuck behind the BMW you got right behind me and got a good shot.

https://vimeo.com/46122150


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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:11 pm 
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Major 'Ho
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Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 10:40 am
Posts: 920
Current TrackWhore(s): 2011 GSXR 750
Bike/Plate #: 25
First Mid-Ohio pics, and first track day pics on the 750

Pat stalking me...

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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:28 pm 
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Current TrackWhore(s): Daytona 675 (track) R1 (street)
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bacolmm wrote:
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cool pic :thumbup:

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 Post subject: Re: Mid-Ohio 7/16 and 7/17
 Post Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 5:54 pm 
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Major 'Ho
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Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 10:40 am
Posts: 920
Current TrackWhore(s): 2011 GSXR 750
Bike/Plate #: 25
Thanks Mike! That is a fun turn - one of my favorites anywhere!


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