2008 WMRRA Round 3 - PNW282

WMRRA Rnd 3 - PNW282

The weekend began a bit chaotic. After hosting a barbeque/graduation party the night before for my daughter, I awoke at 3:30AM Sat to begin prepping and packing. This would be the first time on a race track for me since my high side at PIR in April, first time at PR since Rnd 1 snow fest, and first time ever on the new 750 I had been building from the frame up over the winter. The butterflies were abundant and the 4 hr nap the night before wasn’t helping.

I arrived at the track a bit behind schedule but Chris, Kevin, and Erics2 helped me put the final touches on everything and ready for first practice. Group 3 practice went well but slow. I realized that it would take a bit to shake off the 8 week layoff. Group 4 practice was an adventure to say the least. The new bike was running well but sooooo different and the suspension was way off. I still wasn’t sure if it was me or the bike, so I decided to wait for second practice before starting to tweak. While the first two practice sessions were very uncomfortable, at least I was loosening up and feeling confident I could get things sorted before races started after lunch.

In second practice group 4 I decided to push the new bike a bit to see what was going on and evaluate what kind of race pace I might be able to generate. The bike was very unstable in the bumps and under acceleration, the rear was bottoming. This was presenting some pretty interesting corner exits and in fact darn near bucked me off going through the whoops at T2 exit. I stopped by Barry’s pad for an adjustment after practice and hoped for the best in 750 SS. Second practice in group 3 really helped my confidence as the SV was running pretty good, predictable, and having something familiar underneath me was a welcome change after two practices on the 750.

650SS Twins. I had a great grid slot in 2nd row 1st position for this race and hoped I could get off the line cleanly and give a run at top 5. At the light I got a good start but it was pretty clear that the Pinkstaff’s, Draycott, and Finken were a bit faster off the line. We went into T2 in a tight line. By the exit of T4, the front 3 had a small gap on Finken, and Finken had a small gap on me. I tried pushing a bit harder in the back section and closed the gap only to lose it again on the straight. I realized that the speed differential was not going to be made up in corner speed so I settled in to 5th trying to maintain decent, consistent laps and take the position. Barry provided some gap indication during the race and so holding the pace was easier. Other than a bit of a slide in T4, the race went pretty smooth and I was feeling pretty solid with a 5th place finish.

750SS was next and would be the first race on the new bike coming back to back with 650SS twins. Deep breath and away we go. I had a great grid position for this race as well, being slotted 2nd row 3rd position. The start was a push as I neither gained nor lost much getting off the line. The pack was tight going through 1 and into 2 but uneventful as we all made it through. I tried to stay competitive with the lead group but I was not working well with the new bike and started going backwards at an alarming rate. At this point, the rational side of me would have said to settle in, try to get smooth, and take what place you get. The adrenaline freak in me said to go for it. On lap 4 I came through 1,2, and 3 pretty clean. Now I’m starting to feel good. I tipped into 4 a bit harder than prior laps and had to correct my line mid corner unsettling the chassis in the process. Before letting things settle, I cracked the throttle to save my drive out and the backend started coming around. I tried to hold it but the Bridgestone’s wouldn’t stay sliding for long and hooked back up before I could get the bike completely picked up. The ensuing high side put me on the track looking to avoid oncoming racers as I waited for my momentum to bring me to a stop. The result was a DNF in the race, partially separated clavicle, sprained knee, softball size lump on hip, a severely swollen hand, the usual bumps and bruises, bent frame slider bolt, broken rear-set, bent bar, and the usual scratches and cracks.

Fortunately, the bike is not too damaged, the body is not broken, and we’ll be back in Aug and look to get the new bike sorted before next race.

Special thanks to WMRRA staff, my teammates, PNWRidersRacing.com, PNWRiders.com, Bridgestone Tires, Power Stands Racing, Adrenaline Freaks Track Days, MotorexUSA, Vortex, More Power Racing, RaceTech, VHoldR, Junior Monkey Design.