After the last round at Tally, packing for Roebling was kind of funny. With only one person, it was much easier to find space for everything, but I’d have much rather been racing with the kid this weekend. Oh well, the round at CMP will be here soon enough. On with the 2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap!
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – arrival
Since last time we were at Roebling it took me forever to get there, I left super early, and arrived at the track around 3:15PM. Since there was a private track day being held there that day, we weren’t able to get into the track until 5PM, so I ended up hanging out with Lee Eshelman in the parking lot outside the gate for a while. They ended up letting us in about 4:30, which was great, as I was able to take my time setting up my pit and tent.
While I was doing so, Matt Hall dropped by to say hello and let me know he wasn’t racing that weekend, but just there testing an endurance bike. Daniel Bocook’s son, Brayden, also dropped by and said they weren’t staying either.
After they all left, I finished my pit setup, made dinner, and knocked off for the night.
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – where is everybody?
Saturday morning was gorgeous! I had decided not to run the first rounds of practice as I wanted to get a tire for the Ninja 300, and I didn’t want to rush, so I made breakfast, got my tire, and suited up. Since I was ready so early, I ran the first Mini practice, then hit lightweight practice on the Ninja for the 2nd round.
Practice on the Minis is a bit dull, particularly at Roebling, where you literally get to wide-open throttle and don’t let off, so I decided to skip the 2nd one.
When the rider’s meeting came around, it was obvious how light attendance was at this round. There were not a ton of people, and the grids were looking pretty thin.
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – Saturday Mini Race
After the first lap, the Saturday Mini race was a bit of a non-event for me. I got a decent start and pulled in right behind Kyle Liv, who normally disappears pretty quickly due to fact that he weighs almost a hundred pounds less than I do. Today that didn’t happen. I held onto his tail all the way through the first five turns, and I passed him briefly on the outside of turn 6. Wrecking at Tally the prior round had gotten into his head a bit, so he wasn’t quite all in like usual.
After I got by him in the first lap, he passed me on the front straight, and there was nothing I could do. I initially managed to keep the gap pretty steady, but after the 2nd lap he slowly began to creep away. I finished a lonely 2nd place.
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – Saturday F Superstock Race
When I looked at the F Superstock Expert grid for Saturday, I was pretty sure that third was going to be the best I could do, as both Cora Leonhardt and Heidi Luce had registered for that race, and they’re both much faster than I am at Roebling – like multiple seconds per lap faster.
My real challenger was going to be Kevin Moore, who I beat last time we were at Roebling. If I didn’t beat Kevin, I was bringing home no hardware.
We gridded up. Cora and Heidi were both starting from pit road, so the first row of the grid was Kevin and me. The green flag drops, and Kevin beats me off the line, but I’m no more than a foot or two behind him. We go into turn 1 with a big pack, and he’s right in front of me, so I pass him on the exit to turn 2.
I know he’s not going to just hand it over to me, so I work on putting together as many fast laps as I can – something I’m not really all that good at without someone to chase. It worked pretty well. I ran steady 1:30s, with a best lap of 1:30.861, and I never saw Kevin. I crossed the line in 3rd.
After that I took a shower, ate dinner, did some bench racing, and went to bed. I didn’t set an alarm, figuring I’d skip morning practice and use that time to break down my pit and campsite.
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – Sunday practice
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I wasn’t planning to do Sunday practice. Well, as I was finishing my breakfast, Kyle Liv dropped by. Heidi Luce was loaning him an R3 so he could run F Superstock, and he wanted me to show him the lines in practice. I wasn’t super into it, but I like Kyle, so I geared up and headed out, running slow laps so he could see the race lines. I started super slow and then kept creeping up the pace, but never at a full bore. After a few laps I pitted in to see where he was, and he passed a few seconds later.
After that, I decided that since I was already geared up, I’d run a couple laps of Mini practice, as there had been some issues with my transponder the day before, and I wanted to make sure I was showing up on the timing sheets. I went out and ran two laps, and then checked to see that everything was working.
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – Sunday Mini race
The Mini race on Sunday started out looking pretty much like the usual thing. I got the drop on Kyle at the start, but he came through me quickly and was essentially gone by turn 1. A few corners in, however, an orange Grom went by me! It was Didi Hobler, who I’d never seen run the Mini class. He and I battled it out for the rest of the race! We probably exchanged leads six times in four laps.
When we went through turn 9 the last time, Didi passed me on the exit, so I dropped into his draft. I was very soon beside him, and I pulled as close as I could to him to take advantage of his clean air. It worked! I started to pull up on him, and by the time we hit the finish line, I had him by six inches! Another 2nd place for the weekend, and a personal best, a 1:59.491!
2024 Roebling WERA Races 2 and 3 Recap – Sunday F Superstock Expert Race
When they posted the grids for Sunday’s FSS race, I realized that 2nd place was definitely in the cards, as Heidi didn’t register for this one, as she had loaned her bike to Kyle Liv. I knew I was unlikely to beat Cora, but I was pretty confident I had Kevin’s number.
I gotta give Kevin credit – he gets the drop on me at the start just about every time, and he did today, too. We went into turn 1 in a big pack. I held back to let some other riders pass him, and I dropped in behind him at the entry to turn 3. I followed him into turns 4 and 5, and then passed him on the outside of turn 6.
There was another rider in front of me, Adian Cook, who I was trying to get by as well, thinking that if I could put him between Kevin and myself, that’s one more obstacle to him getting past me, but I just couldn’t get that job done.
I crossed the line in 2nd, and discovered that I set a new personal best for Roebling, a 1:28.296!
So three seconds, a third, and a personal best for the weekend. Not a bad haul.
