Monday PIR

Raced again last night...did the Monday night PIR Races.

In Portland, every Monday night there is a Masters (30+) race at the Portland International Raceway (PIR), and every Tuesday anyone can race. I raced PIR last night in the 4/5 Class. It was nasty windy around two of the corners and had a fast headwind to the finish. The course is about 2 miles long and we were doing 11 laps. The pace was quick right out of the shoot, and our group of 40 was strung out by lap two. My goal was to stay in the top 10 throughout the race. There was a prime on laps 4 and 7. I went for the first and came up about a wheel short, but was happy with my effort. A small break of 3 got away on the 5th lap. I bridged up with one other. Our group stayed together only until lap 8 when we were brought back in. Laps 8 through 10 were fast, but fairly boring, I am still sitting in about 7th wheel. Last lap, pace picked up…obviously. With three turns to go, a couple guys bump wheels and one went down...hard (busted clavicle - had surgery last night actually), right in front of me. I was able to escape the carnage with about 20 others, but I was near the back. The sprint started early, but I latched onto a wheel pretty quickly. I ended up 9th. Most likely would have only been up a few more places had the crash not occurred. I think I was the first Cat 5 to come in. At this point, I should get my upgrade. If the rain stops, more fun tonight!