After a very long hiatus, MotoSL 3 kicked off last Saturday with a practice race at the PSU track. It was a chance to show off the new OMG bikes and the team’s nice leathers provided by sponsor Szentasha Fashions, and also to get together with a few of the oldtimers I’ve been racing with since the latter part of Season 1. In the pic above, left to right, that’s Matt Kraken, Dena Dana and Gianluca Mahoney warming the bench next to me before qualifying gets started.  Race Director Les White is in the background, making it all happen.

It felt great to be back on the bike in competition again. I qualified on the front row, a few tenths behind Jafo Tendaze, and thanks to a badly-considered gearing change on the grid I had the displeasure to watch him pull gradually away from me on the first lap. Damn, I hate when I do that. But as I crossed the line on lap 2, the timer said I was in first place! Ever the gentleman, Jafo contrived to crash on his second lap, and handed me the lead. From that point on, it was just a matter of circulating at a reasonable pace and not running off the track. Crippy Oh and Jafo joined me on the podium (well, in the pits near the podium anyway: it was a pretty informal day) in second and third spots.

One more test race in a week or two, then the points chase begins. It should be an exciting season! Check out the RaceSL site for a few action pics.