While all this was going on, Miguel's special high capacity race tank had sprung a leak, and a team member had flown to Atlanta and back (No time left for the long drive) to have it fixed. After Brett's race, it was back to Miguel and the 200, with that race starting at 8pm on Friday night. Final preparation after the Friday afternoon warm up included a change of engine and some serious refining of cam timings to increase power. Then, 30 min before the machines were due to be rolled out to the grid, the reworked fuel tank started leaking again, and was swapped out for a stock one, which now would hopefully have enough capacity for the three 19 lap relays of the 57 lap race... Much crossing of fingers at this stage!
The first 19-lap stint went well for Miguel, who fought his way up to 12th before the planned stop for fuel and a rear tire. That first visit to the pits went off smoothly and quickly, too quickly in fact as a verification of the dump can showed that Miguel had not received a full tank of fuel and would have to stop before covering a second 19-lap stint. This also meant that he would need to stop a third time for a slash of fuel to complete the race. Unless... a timely incident forced the Pace car on to the track, which would bunch up the pack and allow everyone to get fuel and tires, and thus put Miguel back in synch with the leaders.
To work in Miguel favour, this "incident" had to happen before he needed to come back in. In fact, Miguel ran 12 laps and was forced to stop for fuel and another new rear tire. Unfortunately, the incident we all wanted happened on the very lap when Miguel came in, as a transformer caught fire on the back straight. The yellow quickly turned to red, and the team had to stop all work on the bike, which meant that Miguel stayed in the pits and lost a lap.
From that point on, Miguel ran out the race knowing he would never be able to get back on the lead lap, as there is no NASCAR-like "Lucky Dog" rule in AMA. After the race, it was determined that the escape of air from the tank while it was being filled up was fouled, giving the impression that the tank was full when it was not.
To win, you certainly need to be good, but a little luck along the way does help!
While the Picotte team is now back in Canada getting ready for the April test near Jacksonville (Florida), decision makers in the US did take notice of how quick Miguel was on that 600. Let's hope this gallant effort leads to something for the rest of the season.
photo:Philippe Champoux
The first 19-lap stint went well for Miguel, who fought his way up to 12th before the planned stop for fuel and a rear tire. That first visit to the pits went off smoothly and quickly, too quickly in fact as a verification of the dump can showed that Miguel had not received a full tank of fuel and would have to stop before covering a second 19-lap stint. This also meant that he would need to stop a third time for a slash of fuel to complete the race. Unless... a timely incident forced the Pace car on to the track, which would bunch up the pack and allow everyone to get fuel and tires, and thus put Miguel back in synch with the leaders.
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| Miguel never does anything lightly - just look at his eyes during this after-race burnout. Despite his disappointment at the final result, he played the role of a great motivator for the team throughout the week. But once he climbed on the bike, let me assure you that the fire came back immediately. |
To work in Miguel favour, this "incident" had to happen before he needed to come back in. In fact, Miguel ran 12 laps and was forced to stop for fuel and another new rear tire. Unfortunately, the incident we all wanted happened on the very lap when Miguel came in, as a transformer caught fire on the back straight. The yellow quickly turned to red, and the team had to stop all work on the bike, which meant that Miguel stayed in the pits and lost a lap.
From that point on, Miguel ran out the race knowing he would never be able to get back on the lead lap, as there is no NASCAR-like "Lucky Dog" rule in AMA. After the race, it was determined that the escape of air from the tank while it was being filled up was fouled, giving the impression that the tank was full when it was not.
To win, you certainly need to be good, but a little luck along the way does help!
While the Picotte team is now back in Canada getting ready for the April test near Jacksonville (Florida), decision makers in the US did take notice of how quick Miguel was on that 600. Let's hope this gallant effort leads to something for the rest of the season.
photo:Philippe Champoux
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