RIM Racing
After the first 2 round of the year the season has been good for RIM Racing’s Mike Morgan. With 3 top 20 finishes out of 4 races the bar had been set for round 6 at Barber Motorsports Park. Barber is a very demanding and technical track that pushes even the best riders to the limit.
Mike Morgan:
“Barber is a difficult track for me, I have always struggled with setup and confidence here. I dislocated my hip here a few years ago and that always seems to be in the back of my mind. But you have to get past those things when you ride at this level. And this track is a lot different than the other 2 tracks I have been to this race season. The other tracks where much faster and flowing. Barber has a mixture of stuff that takes lots of skill.
I didn’t qualify very well here and ended up in 24th position near the back of the grid so I knew I had my work cut out for me to be in the top 20. And the pace this year was faster than it has ever been. I did best my lap times from previous years but it didn’t seem to matter. The start of race 1 was exciting again as several riders in front of me checked up in turn 2 and I made contact with the rear tire of the guy who stood up a bit and was just inside of me. I was able to keep the bike upright thank the Lord. I was locked in a good battle with 2 other riders and was able to stay with them until one made a mistake and handed the position to me. So that left David White and me to fight over 22nd till the end of the race. He was able to take the position from me with 1 lap to go and I was not able to get back by to finish 23rd. I was not very happy with being outside the top 20.
In Sunday morning practice we did try a few more setup changes to the bike in preparation for the race that afternoon. Those changes helped and it would have been great to have that setup in the beginning of the weekend. But so goes racing. I had a good start but blew it in turn 5 as I ran off the track when the bike got sideways under braking, all my fault. In dead last place I was not happy with myself and commenced on setting the best lap times I have ever done at Barber to catch back up and take some position. I was able to catch the same 2 riders I was racing with on Saturday and pass them. Several other riders made mistakes and I was able to capitalize on their mishaps and finished the race in 19th!
Thanks to all the sponsors and fans! Look forward to seeing everyone at the next round in Ohio.
RIM Racing is sponsored by Barnett clutches, Zipline, Autolite spark plugs, Fram oil filters, Motul oil, TCX boots, Yoshimura R&D, EBC brake pads, World Wide Bearings, Kenwood, NEXX helmets, Superior Body Works, SRP Graphics, Vortex components, Zola acai drinks, Spider Grips, Advanced Auto Parts, Pilot leathers, Held gloves, Hotbodies, Lockhart Phillips
Catch RIM Racing at Mid Ohio for round 7 of the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike series.
Mike Morgan
Autolite RIM Racing
#11
