AMA Pro Road Racing
While the nation has been transfixed on the debt crisis, the Peak Performance Racing Kawasaki team has been mulling over another set of numbers. These numbers reflect a bit more hope than do the projected government deficits. These numbers indicate a way for a potential AMA Pro Road Racing podium finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
The upcoming battle this weekend is not really a fair comparison to the Battle Royale currently underway between the White House and Capitol Hill; nor will it have any effect on the nation’s economic health. However, the impact on the Peak Performance Racing Kawasaki/Ultimate MotorCycling team and its pilot Paddy McCord’s psyche could not be overstated.
Going in with three AMA Daytona SportBike DNFs to his credit, Paddy will have another, perhaps final opportunity this year to show his stuff at a national event. Not only must he finish this race, but he must do so in convincing fashion. A lot of pressure to put on a young racer for certain, but Paddy appears to be over the disappointing results yielded thus far this season and looking forward to his redemption.
So why will this weekend be any different? First off, Paddy will be competing in the AMA Pro Racing SuperSport race rather than Daytona SportBike. This grid is made up of competitors close to his age and with similar racing backgrounds. The team budgets are more closely matched as well.
The numbers are very promising. Looking at the lap times of the SuperSport class during qualifying and racing at both Infineon and Miller, the Peak Performance Racing Kawasaki team can compare them to Paddy’s times at the same tracks. The evidence suggests Paddy would have competed with the top three or four riders for a podium.
Running up front involves a unique dynamic and a SuperSport win is always within grasp. This is very different than struggling for a mid-pack finish. It’s almost as if there are two races going on, one for the leaders and one for everybody else.
Finally, Paddy has some race experience at Laguna Seca. Last year he finished 20th in Daytona Sportbike on a Ducati 848 that had severe cornering issues. He felt at the time that he would have fared much better on his favorite mount, the Kawasaki ZX-6R – a prescient thought?
Stay tuned while the Peak Performance Racing Kawasaki team crunches the numbers and tries to handicap this race…
The following article is the first in a series of reports about Peak Performance Racing’s journey towards competing in the AMA Daytona SportBike series with pilot Patrick ‘Paddy’ McCord of California. The article, written by Peak Performance Motorcycles’ owner Danny DiNardo, chronicles what it takes to get started in AMA Pro Racing competition. When Ultimate Motorcycling heard about the project, we immediately got involved.
