Sonoma,CA
Despite the temperature being 50 one day and 105 the next, everyone is ready for a great weekend of racing! The team has prepared the bikes and tuned them specially for this twisty 2 plus mile circuit that is said to be one of the toughest tracks on the schedule. Both Dave and Hawk have been training hard to be able to endure the heat that is to come. Practice went well for Dave as he was 8th fastest on the board, showing that the suspension program seems to be working well. We made superpole again and gained that valuable 10th spot on the grid for the start of each race. Hawk’s setup has been giving him problems all weekend and he could not get comfortable on the bike leading to his 17th place start on the grid. With the limited time that we have to practice at each track, every session becomes valuable R and D to make his Bike perform the way he wants and usually by race time we have it figured out.
The first race on Saturday was extremely draining on both riders as temperatures soared in to the 100’s making the track slippery and the bikes hot. Dave and his formidable opponent Taylor Knapp went back and forth all race battling for the 6th position behind Yoshimura Suzuki’s Matt Maladin. With two laps to go, Knapp got around Dave and we finished in 7th place recording our best Superbike finish to date! Hawk finished with a consistent 13th place finish after mixing it up with the likes of Scotty Jenson, Croizer and Call. We were very pleased with the first race results and go on to the next one with the confidence that we can win!
Sunday was not as hot, but still boiling temperatures with a slight breeze made for an uncomfortable day. Dave didn’t let that slow him down as he went on to fight with Knapp again and posted an 8th place finish making this our best weekend of the 2009 season. Hawk finished it up in the 14th spot and is looking to do better at Road America as he now feels good about the bike and its setup. Overall very good for the team, the riders and the fans!
E-mail: rob@gadgitek.com