Last thing on Saturday was the FX race. I started very poorly, I was half asleep off the line! I’m still getting used to the lights system in America and can never remember the sequence that they use, it can be pretty confusing. The starter lady moves off the track with the green flag to signal the race is ready to go ahead. Just above the lights box an electronic number board counts down from 3 to 1 and then the green light comes on and the race starts. When the 3 came on I’m thinking "Shit, do the lights go green when the number 1 is still on or does the number 1 go out first and then the lights go green!?"
I made my decision when the number 2 came on that I would wait for the number 1 to go out. It went from 2 to 1 and all of a sudden the green light comes on and I’m still sat there! It was a good second delay before I was moving and was got swamped going into turn one! What a prat I felt! I was about tenth into turn 2 and I was going for gaps at any opportunity. At turn 6 I lost the front, most probably from cool tyres. Luckily it came back to me but it created a gap between me and the guy in front.
At the end of lap one I was in 7th, with somebody immediately in front but then a gap to 5th. At turn 7 I moved into 6th and was edging towards 5th but about ¾ of the way around the lap I had probably one of my biggest front end loses/saves of my life! It happened in a point where I knew I was struggling with the front end. It happened in middle of the "Esses" at a very fast and bumpy left hander. The front really folded on me to the point where the bar felt like it was almost at full lock it was tucked so much. It put all the weight of me and the bike onto my knee, but I managed to dig in and push the bike up until it was pretty much back in my control but then it folded again. I did exactly the same thing, dug my knee in and back it came! I couldn’t believe I was still on the thing and it took me a few corners to get my composure back and bring the heart rate back down from nearing cardiac arrest!
