Barber (part 1)
It was a great day one at Barber. Although the outcome wasn't what we wanted, it showed promise for tomorrow.
It’s Saturday night and we’ve just gotten back to our hotel room from a very busy day at the track. With Qualifying 2 at 7:45, we had to get to Barber early so we could help Travis and Carson prep for the session. We didn’t make it in time, but were able to catch the last little bit of the action from the paddock.
The race rig all stickered up and ready to go
Carson was running in the top 8 when he came in to the pits so he could connect with a faster group and learn some fresh lines. Unfortunately, the guy from MotoAmerica decided to hold Carson because the battery on his rain light had died. By the time he was allowed to rejoin, there was only time for 1 lap, and he didn’t have a fast group to draft with. P12 it is then.
Travis safety-wiring the front caliper after installing the new pads
Prepping for the race today was great, Travis and Kenny were taping the Dzus fasteners down on the bodywork, installing new brake pads, checking pressures, and getting those sweet, sweet, tire warmers on.
There was a lot of anticipation building up for the race, as the forecast called for rain to start at exactly the same time as the race. In a win for all of us, the weather held off and we were treated to an amazing dry race.
my view of the grid from the top of the timing and scoring building (that’s Carson)
Carson's start
Carson got a great launch and was quickly past the 11th placed Ella Dreher and the 10th placed Trenton Keesee that had jumped the start. Carson was in 10th going into turn one. He crested the hill of turn 4 in 11th and got back by Ella on the brakes headed into 5, driving out and away from her, securing the position. Over the next 4-5 laps, Carson would be battling all over the track with Yandel Medina and Ryan Wolfe, making it as far forward as 7th on lap 5 when he went down the inside of Yandel into turn 1. These guys were swapping positions seemingly turn by turn and Carson was in the lead group, about 1.5s behind Logan Cunnison in 1st, running similar times. He was embedded in the lead pack. It all went wrong on lap 7 (of 11) when Carson tossed it away in turn 15 while passing Isaac Woodworth on the outside.
Carson had a little swelling on his knee but escaped mostly unscathed to fight again tomorrow. Travis did most of the repairs to the bike while we were waiting for MotoAmerica to release it back to us, so it was a cleanup job and they’re ready to go for tomorrow. Warm-up starts at 8:35, so we get to sleep in!
Here’s a link to the Race 1 highlights, you can see Carson quite a bit in that lead pack
