The guy at my Powder Coating shop missed a chance. I called to see if a spring was blue and ready to be picked up. He said it was not but they would get it done today. Five minutes later he called back to say it was ready! I said “Really? You can do it in 5 minutes.” He said no, it was ready yesterday but I didn’t know. I said, “You should have told me we did it in 3 minutes.”

Deus Ex Machina USA’s Michael Woolaway’s latest build:

In the Warm Up we were 4th fastest with a 2.16.761 and he did some practice starts.  In Race Two he made a good start from row three and held onto the leaders to cross the line in 4th.  Lap two was a 2.15.782, our best yet.  We dropped to 5th for the next 3 laps running mid 2.16’s.  Back to 4th in the last turn of lap six followed shortly by a red flag which backed the scoring to the last full lap so we got 5th.

We went testing and made a plan.  We executed our plan and were faster every time we went on track.  A new team with a new bike.  Put together in just two weeks.  Inside the top ten all weekend long.  Recovered from bad luck in Race One to take 5th while fighting for 4th in Race two.  And we had fun!

At one point in Q2 we were 4th fastest, ended up 9th, outside of row 3.  Made a slow launch but worked back to 10th at the end of lap one.  Lap 2, 8th and into the 2.16’s for the first time.  Lap 3, 6th leading the group chasing the lead pack.  Rammed in the last turn of lap 5 while battling at the front of the chase pack.  Rider is fine, bike is ready.

8th out of 26 in P1, 3.4 back from the leader. But check out my riders Lorenzo like times: After working his times down in his first ride on the bike his last two laps were 2.19.458 & 2.19.487. Some time to think, a gearing change, different fork springs and oil and back out for Q1. First flying lap was a 2.18.619, guess he liked the changes. 7th out of 26, 2.2 back from the leaders who went .5 faster than P1.
Tony Nolley‘s front rim was on the bike for all this. The weather is perfect but the rim on the bike was bent from crash damage. Thanks to Tony Nolley I was able to roll over to Dunlop early and ask them to swap the tires for me then see the KTM guys later for a new wheel.
Another gearing change, some cleaning and we are ready for tomorrow.

Busy day. Load in started at 10am. Got parked. Set up the pit. Helped KTM lay out their floor. Got the bike. Changed fork and shock springs. Set the ride height front & rear. Set the clickers. Changed the gearing. Topped off the water. Set the controls. Checked all the nuts & bolts. Put the numbers on straight. Installed the timer & transponder. Passed tech. Went to the entrant meeting where Niccole Cox did an outstanding job. Got done with the bike at 9:48 pm. Note my TZ weather station next to the Box Clock.

How to be a better pit neighbor.