| Mark E. Gunnison | www.MGCPA.com |
| |
I'M BACK!
After taking the past two and a half years off to save money and spend time with my wife, I'm finally back. I have a new (to me) 1999 Suzuki SV650 that should be quite a bit more fun and less expensive to race.
April 19-20-21:Due to the resent passing of my wife and best friend, Lyudmila, on March 13, 2002, I was not ready to race.
May 18-19:Saturday practice
The new SV650 is a blast to ride. It handles well enough that I can push the bike but is forgiving enough that it is still fun to ride. After the Saturday practice, I felt comfortable enough on the bike to keep up with the other riders. As Sunday progressed, I began to get a feel for the bike and I quit making quite so many silly errors. I still can�t believe it. However, I was able to pass all the slow SV650s in my last race! My times were not all that great with my best only being a 1:22 something.
June 30:Will post some pictures when I get them.
July 20-21:Will post some pictures when I get them.
August 17-18:Before the August race, EDR Performance put the SV on the dyno. They were able to increase the bike's horsepower from 67.1 to 72.5!
I tried slicks for the first time in August. I could not believe how much better the bike handled in the corners. It was as if I all of a sudden had several available lines through each turn. I could actually adjust my line mid-turn without upsetting the bike. I loved the new slicks!
I was able to easily finish third in my first heat race. I would have passed for second going into turn seven on the last lap but decided to save the risky passes for the afternoon racing. Unfortunately on the second lap of my second heat race I crashed. I was going into turn 2B and dove under a slower rider who was taking an extra wide line into the turn. As you have probably guessed the rider with the wide line and I collided. He was a novice in his first race and I'm sure just didn't know the line and was not use to racing with other bikes. Fortunately he didn't crash. Unfortunately when I crashed I broke my collarbone. As I write this it has been seven months and it is still not healed. I guess that is the price I pay for having fun.
2002 Season Recap:
* Heat race result - I broke my collarbone in the second heat race!
Date Class Placed Best Lap May 19 650 GP Twins 13 1:22:72 May 19 Middleweight Superbike 10 1:23:51 June 30 650 GP Twins 9 1:20:72 June 30 450 Superbike 4 1:20:42 July 21 Middleweight Superbike 5 1:19:60 August 18 450 Superbike 3* 1:19:21
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Last modified 03/22/03
