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 Post subject: Jennings GP 1/11, 12,13
 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 8:33 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
It’s been a long time since I did a trip write-up, but I feel like this trip warrants one. The trip to Jennings GP was great! After we rode NC Bike in November, CJ and I talked about trying to make it to Jennings this winter. At some point we made 1/11, 12, 13 the target weekend and began obsessing over the forecast, trying to put everything together. The forecast didn’t make it easy, and we talked seriously on Thursday morning about pulling the plug. The forecast was showing 100% chance of rain for Sat, and 50% for Mon. The forecast for Sun was looking great, but it’s a long drive for only one track day.

We decided to roll the dice, and I met CJ at his shop at midnight (early Friday morning). While we were loading up, CJ told me that he had run his truck out of diesel earlier in the day. He said it was the first time he had ever run out of fuel in any vehicle, and that once the fuel light came on he only made it about 3 miles, and he wasn’t even towing anything.

I met a couple of CJ’s buddies at the shop – Scott and Matt. Matt works with CJ and both Matt and Scott attend many of CJ’s races. Although they weren’t riding, they would be making the trip to Jennings with us to get out of Ohio and have some fun. We all piled into CJ’s truck and hit the road at about 1:30 AM.

CJ started out driving, it was pouring rain, but everything was going along pretty well until about 6 AM. We were somewhere in WV on RT 77 BSing when CJ said “the fuel light just came on”. There was an exit right there, but no sign of a gas station, so CJ passed it up. Luckily there was another exit with a gas station not much further down the road. We saw the “Exit 1-Mile” sign before the engine shut off, and we coasted as far as we could, but didn’t make it. CJ and I grabbed a gas can and started walking. The temps were in the upper 30’s, and it was pouring! It was probably a mile and a half round trip. Other than losing some time, and being soaking wet, the walk and associated “excitement” at least woke us all up.

At some point during a pit stop, Scott and Matt bought some beer, and started drinking in the back seat. As a result CJ and I split driving duties for the remainder of the trip. Scott and Matt said that they would handle the driving on the way home. We made it to Jennings in time to drop the trailer off before it got dark. Overall the drive was not as bad as I remembered / expected. It was a bit after 10 PM by the time I got to bed, so I was quite tired, but being up for 39+ hours wasn’t as bad as I expected either.

We planned on meeting Scott and Matt for breakfast in the hotel the next morning. We called them when they didn’t show up and they said to go without them, they couldn’t get out of bed.
I was convinced it was going to rain on Sat, but was hoping we could get some dry session in before/after. CJ had been looking at the radar on Fri and was saying “I just don’t see it” as in, he didn’t see where the rain was coming from. He looked at the radar first thing Sat morning and said “I see it now”. I was hoping we could get some dry sessions before it arrived, until I looked outside and saw that it had rained over-night.

The track was wet for the rider’s meeting, but the skies were dry. CJ talked with Kat Zimpel a bit during the meeting. Kat is a serious racer and had an impressive looking set up with 2 very professional looking R6’s. During the rider’s meeting she mentioned that she had another expert rider coming that would be joining our group.

We went out for the first session on a wet track. I went out at what I thought was a pretty conservative pace and slowly tried to go a bit faster here and there. It wasn’t long before my back tire started moving around enough that I pulled in thinking it might be losing air. It wasn’t losing air, there was just very little grip available. When I got back, CJ said he let me go because his back tire was sliding around and he couldn’t keep up. This would be the only session of the weekend that I was faster than CJ.

The track was still mostly wet for the second session, but grip was significantly better. By the third session a dry line was forming and I was starting to be able to ride more and tip-toe less. At some point during the session, both of Kat’s R6’s came past me and I noticed “Pridmore” written on the leathers of the rider that was obviously not Kat. It was Jason Pridmore who was there as Kat’s riding coach.

The track was continuing to dry as we broke for lunch, and I was really looking forward to the afternoon sessions. Then it started to rain. It didn’t take long until the track was completely wet again. I took off my leathers, and jumped in the truck to get Scott and Matt at the Hotel.
We all at lunch at the track as the food there is very good. The rain never let up though, so we packed everything back in the trailer, locked it up, and went back to the hotel.

We ran into Kat and Jason in the hotel lobby and got to chat with them a bit. It was cool to meet them both, and they were both very nice and friendly.

It was a bit chilly Sun morning, but the sun was out and the track was mostly dry for the first session. Before this trip, my best lap time at Jennings was a 1:32.4, but that was back in 2010. I was hoping to at least get down into the 1:29’s and CJ wanted to get down into the 1:19’s. I put my GPS on the bike for the last session before lunch and was able to run a 1:29.1. In the second session after lunch I was able to run a 1:28.1 and then a 1:27.9 in the last session. CJ had run a 1:22 I believe before lunch, and then his GPS was acting up in the afternoon and he didn’t get any data. Although CJ was annoyed about his GPS, we were both happy with our progress. Since we were still learning the track, we were hoping to go faster on Mon. I was hoping to get into the 1:26’s and CJ was still chasing the 1:19’s.
At one point on Sat I got to follow Jason Pridmore around for about 4 laps. I don’t know if he was looking for Kat, but he kept looking over his shoulder. I had to push a bit to keep up, but he was doing a great job of towing me around. When we came by start/finish and the checkers were out, he dropped the hammer and was probably half a track ahead of me when pulled into the pits. That was pretty cool to see.

We ended up getting lucky with the weather on Monday, and it was even nicer than Sunday. I felt pretty good during the first session, so I put my GPS on for the second session. I ended up behind a rider on a Troy Bayliss edition Ducati. The bike was pretty fast and in sections I felt like he was towing me along, and then in others I felt he was holding me up a bit, but I couldn’t get passed him. After the session was over I was happy to see that I had made down into the 1:26’s.

During the next session, a friend I met at CMP a few years ago (Rob Woodworth) came past and signaled me to follow him. He towed me around for a few laps and showed me some lines. I was feeling pretty good following him until my back tire started sliding around a lot and I had to back off. He came over after the session to chat a bit and give me a few more pointers. I was happy to discover that I had made it down into the 1:25’s. There was 1 session left before lunch and I was going to sit it out to mount up a new rear tire, but CJ said we should go out and he’s follow me around for a couple laps and then show me some lines. He was able to show me a better line in turn #11, which helped a bunch.

During lunch I got a new rear tire on and installed my lightweight battery and superbike seat. I went out the next session and was stuck in group of traffic. I wanted to work my way through it, but there were enough bikes, and it was such a mess, that I pitted and waited until they were half a track ahead before pulling out. I tried to put my head down and run some fast laps, but it felt like the session was over before I could really get into a flow. I was a bit surprised to learn that I ran a 1:24.990 on the last lap of the session. I ran a 1:25.072 the following session, but fatigue was starting to catch up with me.

CJ had some issues with his GPS again and at some point started using my XT lap timer. He ran a 1:21.1, but was annoyed about the GPS. We downloaded the GPS data to my laptop so we could look at it during the drive home. We later discovered that his GPS had recorded a high 1:19 lap during the day.

When I saw Scott drinking beer during the day on Monday, I figured that CJ and would be driving again on the way home. Matt started out driving though and knocked out the first 3 hours. Scott had an AMP energy drink and took over somewhere in Georgia. We had planned on stopping and getting a hotel somewhere, but Scott got into a grove and just kept going. We made it back to CJ’s shop by around 7AM. What a great trip! I hope we all go back again soon!


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 Post subject: Re: Jennings GP 1/11, 12,13
 Post Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 9:11 pm 
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'Ho Proper
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Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:25 pm
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great write up Matt...sounds like you guys had a blast


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 Post subject: Re: Jennings GP 1/11, 12,13
 Post Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:03 pm 
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Great write up as always Matt! Glad you guys had a good time. Jealous.....

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 Post subject: Re: Jennings GP 1/11, 12,13
 Post Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:58 am 
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Major 'Ho
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Enjoyed the write-up. The one trip I did to Jennings a few winters ago was probably the best 3 days on the track ever. Always a great time!


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 Post subject: Re: Jennings GP 1/11, 12,13
 Post Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:00 pm 
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Major 'Ho
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Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 10:40 am
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Current TrackWhore(s): 2011 GSXR 750
Bike/Plate #: 25
stevedave wrote:
Enjoyed the write-up. The one trip I did to Jennings a few winters ago was probably the best 3 days on the track ever. Always a great time!


This was my 3rd trip, and every trip has been lots of fun. It's a long drive, but wasn't as nearly as painful this time as I remembered. It's a fun track and worth the drive in the winter!

When we got there on Friday there was a Penske truck in the pits, it was gone Saturday morning. I guess Gagne and Puerta were doing some testing. Would have liked to watching this in person...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euqwr-KN0xw#t=11


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