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June 6, 7 and 8 was the 4th round of the WERA Bridgestone National Endurance and Michelin National Challenge series, at Miller Motorsports Park down in Utah. Just one week prior, WSBK and AMA both had their races at the very same track. I would be racing with AMA professionals, WERA semi-professionals, and top riders from all over the country. To top it all off, I’d never been at Miller before, and I hadn’t even seen video of the layout we’d be running. Needless to say, the night before, I was pretty nervous

I flew down Thursday night with the usual suspects: Mario Alvarez Sr. and Jr. of Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays, Corey Baum, Brandon Bones of Studio819 Photography, Will Grenier, Troy Knapp and Duane Warren. When we got to the track, we began the (fairly sizable) task of unloading the trailer - and all my tires - and setting up our garages. Corey had rented two day garages for the weekend, and they turned out to be one of the best investments of the trip, with power, air, water, bathrooms and shelter all in one. Too hot/cold/windy/rainy/noisy outside? No problem, close the door! Plus, we were fortunate enough to find that our spaces were in the same overall garage as AMA riders Amber Rimes and Chad Lewin, Majik X riders Amy Karthaus and Mike Zottmann, and even one of the tire vendors.

Friday morning I was joined by my endurance partner Damon Mon Wai, OMRRA #1/WMMRA #4 back in 1994, and his friends Alfred and Eric. On Friday we got four practice sessions, but I only ended up running one of them, giving the bike to Damon for the rest so that he could familiarize himself with how it handled. I had a small scare in the morning when I heard what I thought was a valve tap, putting the fear of another engine failure into my head. As I fretted, Big Mario came over and only needed to listen to it for about half a second before confidently dismissing it as an exhaust leak. The bike indeed lasted the weekend, and most importantly I didn’t worry about it again, so whether he was right or wrong that was exactly what I needed to hear.

Saturday - Endurance

Saturday morning we woke to find something interesting - a sopping-wet track, and ominous clouds indicating that it’d stay that way! I remember hopping up and quickly switching my bike to the rains I’d brought on the 10% chance that it might be wet, and thinking to myself, Please, God, let it piss rain all day!! Being from the Northwest, I knew that Damon and I would be very comfortable and at home on a wet track, whereas most of the other competition would probably not be. My goal for the endurance race was initially just to complete all six hours and get some experience on the track, but if it was raining we might be able to actually get something done! But, the weather did not cooperate (or perhaps it did for everyone else). By the time my practice session came up, the track was dry enough that I found myself actively hunting for wet spots to cool the tires down, and by the second lap I was spinning up the rear due to overheating. I came in and with Will and Corey’s help, made a record-time tire change back to dry tires: In and out in about four minutes I went back out and finished that session, then gave the bike to Damon for the second practice while Alfred, Eric and I started bringing things over to the hot pit wall in preparation for the endurance race.

When the race itself started, I actually ignored my grid position completely and started straight from the pits. I figured in a six-hour race, where our team had only two riders, no dry-break fuel cans, no quick-change wheels, eight-year-old equipment and no track experience, the 30 seconds I lost at the start wouldn’t end up amounting to much. Better to start 30 seconds after the pack and with a clear track than catch red mist and shag the tire for half an hour trying to keep up with the big teams! However somehow a mix-up occurred between registration and scoring, and pit gate wouldn’t let me on the track, because apparently I wasn’t on the grid in the first place! After a couple more minutes we finally sorted it out - somehow Team Shake ‘n Bake had gotten registered with #44 instead of the 262 that was on the bike. I got the green flag and was off, settling in for a comfy half hour of riding before Damon’s turn.

While we wait out six hours, a couple things about endurance racing:

First, it’s kick ass. Try it. There’s not as much adrenaline and raw, bleeding-edge action, but there’s a lot more strategy and planning involved, and it’s definitely a team-oriented sport instead of a solo one. Many times racers have a “go it alone” mentality, and in endurance racing that attitude is both logistically and physically impossible.

Second, it’s the most exhausting thing on the planet. Never in my life have I been more tired than my last two half-hour sessions. The Vesrah Suzuki guys next to us were running hourlong shifts, and after getting off the bike after 30 minutes, my eyes bugged out at the thought of going another half hour.

Third, awesome people race endurance. We were pitted on the very end of the hot pits, next to Vesrah Suzuki, which is made up of some of the coolest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around. Despite all the extra junk Damon and I brought specifically for the endurance race, we were still woefully ill-prepared, and Vesrah Suzuki graciously lent us tools, shade, water, food, duct tape, and even encouragement.

Fourth, the equipment used in endurance racing is way cooler than the equipment used in sprint racing. Recall above where I said that Will, Corey and I changed my tires in a record four minutes? The Vesrah guys would refuel, change riders and change tires in under twelve seconds, from bike stopped to bike moving. Just before one of them came in, Bones noticed the crew preparing for a stop. He started booking it across the hot pits to try to take some photos - before he even got there, the stop was done and the bike was on its way out.

Fifth, .. it’s kick ass, try it!

Damon and I switched off every half hour, with Alfred and Eric timing and supporting us. We steadily improved from 2:20+ to a race best of 2:09 for me and 2:08 for Damon. The best times were actually achieved about halfway through the race; beyond that we were too tired to go any faster! However, the times did hold pretty steady as we fatigued, meaning that although there wasn’t numeric improvement, we did get steadier and smoother as the race went on. The equipment we ran held up remarkably: The bike didn’t complain even once, the brakes held up admirably, and the tire wear we faced was unbelievably gentle. I had brought three Medium DOT rears (already had them) from home for the weekend and I bought two new Hard slick fronts, but we ended up using only two rears and one front, for six straight hours in the desert. And the tires weren’t even bad when we took them off - the front looks like it could go a whole ‘nother six hours, and the rear we switched out (at four and a half hours, not three) easily has a few trackdays left on it. Bottom line: Bridgestone tires last forever! Bad for Troy, great for us! We ended up taking fourth in our class, Heavyweight Superbike. I was pretty happy with that result, considering it was a national event at a track we’d never ridden, I’d never run an endurance before, we didn’t have endurance equipment, and we didn’t come in planning to really compete

The only hiccup we ran into during the endurance race was in the very last few minutes - the rear wheel siezed up, bucking Damon off the bike in Turn 2. He was very lucky in that he came out with nothing more than some bruises and scrapes, considering that T2 at Miller is about a 100mph turn and (I’m pretty sure) the crash was technically a highside. My first thought was that the motor had finally given up and that I was out a bike for the sprints on Sunday When we got it back to the garage, though, the motor started up and revved fine, and sounded like there was nothing wrong. Wheel spun fine, tranny felt fine, nothing wrong with the chain.. but, just to be on the safe side, we swapped out the rear wheel for the sprints the next day. I was lucky about the crash as well in the fact that there was almost no damage to the bike - scraped up fairings and a broken lever and rearset peg were all it cost. Amber Rimes was kind enough to give me a brake lever, and Brian Trudeau (who flew in during the e-race) lent me his spare peg for the sprints the next day. After taking care of all that and changing the oil, I found some Icy-Hot for my legs and slept like a baby.

Sunday - Sprints

On Sunday, I awoke pretty relaxed, and surprisingly limber considering what I’d put myself through the previous day. After discovering and sorting out some registration hiccups (I was registered to race in a class with 100hp less than my bike), I spent some time going over the bike and double-checking everything, still a little wary of the lockup that had caused Damon to crash earlier. I ended up actually skipping the first practice session for this, but it didn’t worry me as I figured I’d got enough practice the day before, heh. When the second practice session came around, I went out to warm myself up for the day and stretch out, then I came back in and started mentally prepping myself for my first race of the day: Formula 1, somewhat akin to WMRRA’s Formula Ultra class. I had a while to wait, so during the downtime I helped out the other guys when they needed it, and otherwise kicked my feet up

For Formula 1 I was gridded directly at the back of the first wave, with only novices behind me. Duane was in the same race as they ran Experts and Novices together, and somewhere back in the second wave I could tell he was drilling into my back with his eyes, dying for a chance to stuff me. For my part, my goal for the race was simply, beat Duane. It wouldn’t be a very fair goal, as I’d have a good 30-second lead on him at the start, but judging by the laptimes and track experience we each had, it was still a needed one. Board’s up, board’s sideways, go!!

I got an alright start and picked off a few people on the straight, then merged into the pack and took a tight line for the first turn, a sweeping left. I kept up and did well through T1, but after T2 and T3, very fast right- and left-handers, the pack began to spread out. I did my best to stick close to the bike just in front of me, using him as both a tow and a teacher. He pulled away from me on the exit of 3 but I reeled him back in on the brakes into 5, a hairpin left. He pulled away again on the exit of 5 and that time I couldn’t make it back up on the brakes, as he had a better line through 6. I made a mental note to try that one on the next lap and concentrated on getting back on him, but by the next turn he’d powered away far enough that I wasn’t close enough to study him anymore. I continued this pattern for the rest of the race, studying the sprint lines of whoever was in front of me and at the same time trying keep up the pace and not become simply a rolling roadblock, until Duane passed me on the brakes in the last section before the straight! This will not fly, I said to myself, and with renewed spirit I chased him as best I could. Unfortunately for me, he had more track time and was better through the corners than I, and the usual Fuzimoto Advantage(R) I enjoy over my competition was null against Duane’s Speeddealer-built GSX-R1000. All I could do in the straights was keep up (which in itself speaks volumes to Fuzzy, considering the base differences between my ‘01 750 and his ‘05 1000), and he crossed the finish line two laps later just out of reach. Back in the pits, he and I congratulated each other on a great race, and I got plenty of ribbing for letting a Novice (quote quote) beat me in a National. Duane may be many things, but a novice he certainly is not! I ended up taking 15th of 18 experts, with Duane finishing 5th of 10 “Novices”.

My next race was the one I was most excited about - B (750) Superbike. I had no power disadvantage in this race, so I was determined to do as well as I could. I was gridded again right near the back in the second wave, but on the start was a bit more careful with the clutch and made good time getting off the line. By the time I entered T1, I was at the front of the second wave and within sight of the first. I held on pretty well through turns 1 - 4 and even made some passes on the brakes into turn 5, but started to lose ground again in the more technical back stretches of the track. However, I didn’t lose too much and I knew that since this race was only four laps, if I could tooth-and-nail it well enough through the back sections to keep up until the straight, I might be able to do well. I stuck to that plan as best I could, and coming onto the front straight I planted myself firmly in the draft of the bike ahead of me, letting me slingshot past about halfway down. I got the guy ahead of him a few seconds later as we entered the braking zone for T1 and I deliberately pushed myself well past where I’d normally been braking, just like the Adrenaline Freaks motto says.. “Wide open ’til you see God, THEN brake!” I definitely saw something as I tipped in, but I’m still not sure whether it was God or simply my life flashing past. Either way, though, the pass stuck and I made the corner… then quickly romped back on the throttle for turns 2 and 3 I ended up finishing 16th of 24 in that race, far better than I’d either expected or hoped! I also ended up getting my best time of the weekend; 2:06.032 around the Perimeter (World Superbike) course.

Finally, the last race of the day, A (Open) Superbike rolled around. Duane and I were again both in the same heat, and this time I had a score to settle. I was gridded at the back of the Expert wave, and he at the back of the Novices. I nailed the start and flew up into mid-pack down the straight, bombing into T1. On the exit I immediately lost some ground to the bigger bikes, but I didn’t worry about it as I know many of these racers are fast by AMA standards. I instead concentrated on pushing myself to gas earlier, brake later, and turn harder, hoping that if I could ride the snot out of the old machine I was on, I could stem the bleeding and keep up better with the big boys. However, right as we entered Witchcraft, the very fast turn 7 on the Perimeter course, the red flag comes out. Crap! I couldn’t see the crash as I went around back to grid, but it turned out that the rider was OK and the red flag was just due to the bike laying in the race line.

With blood flowing and adrenaline from the previous half lap still pumping, we lined up for grid again I nailed the start again and drove hard into T1, and caught quite a scare for a moment as I grab the brakes and didn’t slow down. Apparently the endurance the day before wore them down quite a bit! I pulled the lever harder and found the bite I wanted, though at much higher lever pressure than I was used to. Conveniently, that little episode helped me brake later, though! I put my head down and really concentrated on the areas I knew I was weak - T2 and T3, T6 and T7, and the final corners just before the main straight - as in this race I had a disadvantage in both the power and track experience department, and I needed to find a few seconds to keep ahead of Duane. For the first three laps I managed to hold my own, wringing my poor 750’s neck and diving deep into corners to try to keep pace with all the built literbikes around me, but finally on the fourth lap I figure out that I’m not going to catch the guy just ahead. I also knew that Duane was somewhere behind me, probably creeping close up on my rear tire, so on the fourth lap I started running slower but more defensive lines - tighter corner entries, not leaving as much room on the exit, etc, hoping that even if Duane was indeed faster than me, I’d prove too difficult to pass By the time I entered the last section leading on to the straight, I could practically feel him behind me. I entered hot and late into Clubhouse, a 90-degree left hander, then immediately exited wide and set up tight for Windup, a right-hand loop leading into the final corner of the track, Release. I did the same wide exit from Windup and held a tight line through the sweeping final left turn, then smashed open the throttle and tucked like my life depended on it. Out to the rumble strips, row through the gearbox, pin the limiter and … finish!!!

The gamble worked, and I crossed the finish line just ahead of Duane. He caught up to me on the straight and gave me the thumbs up as we looped around the rest of the track. He ran a hell of a race and made up probably a 30-second time difference to finish just behind me - congrats, man For my part, I got not-dead-last again, which along with beating Duane, was my goal! Final result was 13th of 15, which on an eight-year-old 750 in a National Challenge Open Superbike race at a track I’ve never seen before, I think is pretty good

All in all, this was an amazing experience, one that I hope to repeat over and over again in the future. I will definitely be competing in as much of the WERA West and WERA National Challenge series as I can in 2009, and hopefully I’ll get to do an Endurance or two as well. I want to thank my sponsors over and over again, for they make this dream possible for me and I couldn’t do it without every one of ‘em. Adrenaline Freaks Track Days, Studio819 Photography, Highway 66 Motorsports/Bridgestone, MorePower Racing, PowerStands Racing, RaceTech Suspension, new sponsor V-holdR Cameras, Vortex, Motorex, Pipercross Filters, Junior Monkey Design and last but never least PNWRIDERS.COM! They give me their support, so show your appreciation and give them yours!

As I use my right hand typing this report, I am consistently reminded how the weekend went oh so wrong… But first the good stuff.

Friday’s Adrenaline Freaks Track Day was great! We all arrived around 7am to get the pits set up and start making adjustments to the bikes. We had a good representation of the team there; Chris Fratini (Rubber Ducky), Eric Anderson (Slow Eric), Eric Featherstone (Tuarusracing) and me of course (K2AK). We are all control riders for Mario of AF so we had our morning meeting received our schedules and got to work. Crack!

It was a little overcast, but none of the wet stuff, so it was all good. Several dozen laps and some minor adjustments helped me to 1:36:3s during the day. I had fun riding around with the Group 2 & 3 guys and gals and showing what little I know about the lines and safe laps.

Saturday was more of the same. Weather was okay at first then got great as the day progressed. Randy Bailey (PNW282) made it out with his brand new 07 GSXR750 all pimped out and ready to go. Capitan Chris Sarbora (Tophyr) made it later in the day but was racing at OMRRA, so was there for support. I had a few minor adjustments to make to the bike, including a rear sprocket swap and new Bridgestone BT002 DOTs. The previous set worked much better than I had expected and now I’m sold on them. Can’t wait to try out the 003s.

We had two practice sessions before the 600SS race and that gave me plenty of time to scrub in the new tires and check the new sprocket. Still a little off, but better.

I had lots of butterflies before the race. I try to think of it as just another practice session, but that just doesn’t ever seem to sink in. Out for the sighting lap and then to grid position 4-1 on the far left of the track. Another rider (not to be named) was in my spot and we had a couple of seconds trying to figure that out. The board went up, sideways, the red light cut and GO GO GO!!! I had a pretty good start and managed to stay out of harms way through the first few corners. Then it is just settling into the race rhythm and try to stay consistent throughout the laps. At lap 5 we had a RED flag and that ended the race. At first track control had us re-grid, then changed their minds and back to the pits I went. I’m having trouble offloading the video of the first race. As soon as I do, it will be up at www.VholdR.com, so stay tuned…

Next up the 750SS Race and the end of my weekend… I was stoked about turning a 1:34 in the 600SS race and thought I’d be able to do it again. I was gridded at 4-4 up against the far right wall. After the sighting lap, I got to my spot and hunkered down for the start. The race directors told all of us to kill our engines. Then start them back up. Then kill them again. Then start them back up. I’m trippin at this point. The directors run off the track which means “its on!” The board goes up, sideways, the red light cut and NOTHING!!! I stalled the bike! Crap! I’m thinking that I’m going to get hit hard by the second wave. My arm is up and waving and I’m freakin! The second wave all goes by, I get started and off I go. I’m thinking I’m pretty much done with the race at this point and I’m off for a nice Saturday ride around the track. BUT, I actually catch up to the back group and start passing them with relative ease. I know I’m not getting back to where I was, but I keep thinking that I might not get lapped at this pace. A few laps into it and I’m at the front of the back group and I can see more racers not too far in front of me. I can catch them… so I think. I got passed by Tyler #44 (?) from BC going into turn 2 and it is a nice pass, he gets out of the corner real good too. I’m following as best I can and think I can get back in front of him as we come up on turn 3. It seemed to me that he broke early and I can get him on the inside. So I get in faster than usual and both tires are sliding as I try to tip in the corner, I collide with him and take out my rear tire and his front. No chance to save it. Just down in a split second. That sucked! All is slow motion and I can feel my collarbone pop as I hit the ground HARD. I remember to bring my arms in and rag doll the rest of the way into the hillside. See the video at www.VholdR.com. We didn’t merit a red flag, so it was roll around and fell miserable and then watch the rest of the racing and try to not get hit if anyone else decided to go off track there.

A red flag did come out a few laps later (which seemed like forever) for a crash in turn 4. Turns out that our tea is very good at crashing and Randy Bailey had a big high-side there with another racer. The other guy lost consciousness, so out came the red flag. I didn’t find this out until they pick my dumb ass up and drove us down to turn 4 to pick up the rest of the bikes and there’s Randy walking around. Fratini was corner working in 4 so he comes over and it’s a team meeting all of a sudden.

One funny note. Fratini didn’t realize I was the broken collar bone guy and starts hitting my in the shoulder with the red flag making fun of my stupid crash… classic. Thanks Rubber Ducky!

Tyler (?), the guy I crashed with, had a pretty good strain to his knee, but was up in a few minutes walking and helping with his bike. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him after, but hope all is well and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

I’m having surgery Wednesday to plate and pin my clavicle. My avatar is my clavicle. Doc says I’ll be able to back within 4 weeks. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks to the WMRRA staff for picking my crap up! Oh and if you find a black Vortex rearset in that corner, its mine and I want it back.

Thanks to my teammates, Chris, Chris, Eric, Eric, and Randy for helping pack up all my gear. And thanks to “Uncle Billy” for helping out. And to my wife Germaine for putting up with my craziness.

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.

Everytime I go to the track I can’t imagine the sport can get anymore fun. And then it does.

The weekend started out with the Adrenaline Freaks track day. Weather was mostly dry, just a little bit of a drizzle in the middle of the day. I was determined to get into the 35s this weekend so after a couple easy sessions to warmup I started going a little harder. I was focusing on getting a better drive out of 2, 4 and 7. I felt like I was getting better in those areas so I tried putting some hot laps together and got a best time of 1:35.19. I took it easy the rest of the day, I was trying to make sure my tires held out throught the weekend.

Saturday morning started out slow, I was exhausted. Weather started out a little gray but the forecast was looking nice. I saw I was gridded in the 2nd row (much better than 10th like last race!) so I know where I was, I set my goals for the race, my 2nd as a novice. A top 10 finish and a lap or two in the 35s. I knew I could get a decent start and then it would just be a matter of holding off the fast guys on liter bikes as long as I could.

First practice went well, took it easy and kept the bike upright. I had about 5 hours to kill before my race so I stole Kevin’s pitbike and practiced wheelies for about 3 hours as this is a valuable race skill. 750SS went out and so I got suited up and got the bike ready to go. The end of the race was coming up so I threw on my helmet, flipped on the camera and waited. And waited. The news came out that the rest of the day was cancelled and several riders went to the hospital, including my teammates Kevin and Randy (although they were able to drive in their own cars there, not transported by ambulance.) Thankfully later that night we learned everyone was ok.

I woke up a little later on Sunday and was pleased to see perfect weather. Forecast was for 75 degrees and sunny. And I had two races. Awesome. Practice went pretty nicely and I was anxious for the first race. Same grid position and I had the same goals as Sunday. At 11am our race went off, took a nice easy warm-up lap and took my spot on the grid. Light went out and we were off. I got a pretty decent start and got in front of everyone on the front row except #936 and #905. I chased those for a lap until they started to gap me out of the busstop. Came into the chute when Jim (#924) passed me on the left about as close as I’ve ever been passed (stupid liter bikes ) Good times. Lost a couple more spots later in the race and ended up 6th or 7th. Best time was a 1:35.4, pretty happy about that.

For race 2 I started on row 2 again. I got pretty much the same start as last time except I let Darren (revhard) get in front of me for most of turn 2. I was determined to keep up with Paul and Ryan(?) in the front and was having a blast for the first two laps. Then on lap 3 I got on the gas out of 7, my back tire spun up and the bike slid a ways. Immediately I thought “Oh no, I’m pulling a Jared!” but my bike loves me more and got back in line. But I had to back off the pace, my tires were just finished. I lost a few more spots as the race went on, I was pretty pissed I couldn’t get on the gas but it’s my own fault for not flipping my tire or something. Lesson learned. I think I finished 6th or 7th again, I checked my lap times after the race and my best lap was a 1:34.2! My goal for the year was to get into 34s so it’s time revise that!

Video and pics up soon.

For June, there was an unavoidable conflict in the WMRRA and OMRRA schedules - both organizations landed on the same dates for their race weekend, and neither was able to change its commitment. This left the many riders who compete in both series with a difficult question: Which races should I run, and which should I let slip? I chose to go down south to OMRRA, for while my GSXR-750 is competitive in its classes in WMRRA, it’s dominant in its classes in OMRRA (thanks Fuzzy!) and I’ve got in my sights a class championship.

I wanted to keep this weekend as light as possible on the pocketbook, so I only registered for two classes: Sr. 750 SB and Sr. Open SB. It turned out Sr. Open SB didn’t have enough entries to constitute a separate class and I got bumped up to (regular) Open Superbike, so I actually ended up withdrawing. After last weekend’s endurance race I have almost zero brakes left, and I didn’t feel up to fighting tooth and nail with a 40hp disadvantage for a top-fifteen finish instead of a podium.

I know, heh.. I’m a brat

Sr. 750SB/750SS was the first race up in the morning. I did two practice sessions beforehand to set my tire pressures and reacquaint myself with the track, then went out and gridded up. I was gridded in position F3, near the back of the pack, and to make things worse, I bogged the start! I saw the field taking off and Troy McCrae, my main competition (and also the Pac NW Bridgestone vendor! *shameless plug*) pull away toward turn 1, but thankfully Mike Castro of Fuzimoto built my GSXR into a monster. All I had to do was twist my right hand and.. oops.. see ya Troy It’s because of this fire-breathing beast that Castro got my brand-new R6.. if he can do to it what he did to this bike, that R6 will definitely be something to be reckoned with.

As thirty bikes piled into turn 1, one poor sod got pushed off the outside of the track into the grass, luckily enough keeping it upright. The sight of that caused the whole field to check up and hesitate for a second, though, and that was all I needed to bomb through on the outside and try to make up for my poor start. I made several positions up in each of the next corners, mostly on the exit, making good use of the bike’s power while trying to avoid taxing my barely-present brakes too much. After a lap of that, I settled in and contented myself with roping people in on the straightaways - I was in the lead of the Senior bikes, so as long as I kept that up, any other bikes I passed were just gravy. Eventually I found a pair of bikes I couldn’t simply motor on past - Justin Watkins, #70, and Michael McBrady, #212, both on ZX-6R’s.

I started trying to pick up my pace through the corners and on the brakes, but it was difficult as my pads were so worn I could bring the lever nearly clear to the bar. I finally caught a break when we came up on some lap traffic and they both had to slow for a moment. When I passed the lapper and caught up to them, Justin had just passed Michael, and we were headed down the front straight. I drafted past Michael and began going toe-to-toe with Justin. Several times in the next few laps I would manage to draft past him along the front straight, but he would get me back on the brakes into T4. Both of us were ramping our game up rapidly, hoping to pass and gap the other, but neither of us could.

Finally, on the white-flag lap, I drafted past him coming into T1 and then squeezed my brake lever for dear life, praying that my brakes would work.. wouldn’t you know, this time they did. So well, in fact, that according to Justin, he almost rear-ended me I kept the lead however, and around T3 we came up on another lapper. Knowing that this was where I was weak and not wanting to give up anything, I took a very tight, defensive line into T4 and ended up stuffing the lapper pretty hard, who in turn spooked and stood his bike up, nearly pushing Justin off the track! I felt a little bad about that but wasn’t about to stop and apologize, as Justin was already on the gas and was getting a better drive than I was. Thank you again Fuzzy for the motor in my bike though, as I was able to stay ahead of him down the power-hungry back straight and then kung-fu-grip the brake lever again for turns 8 and 9. I ripped open the throttle for the last drag race down the front straight, and crossed the finish line about half a second ahead to clinch 1st place in Sr. 750 Superbike, and 8th overall in 750SS (which actually went to Justin, as I wasn’t technically in the same race as him), with a best lap of 1:11.4.

The rest of the day I spent wandering around the pits, helping out where I could, and generally just getting a sunburn Kudos go out to OMRRA and their staff for putting on a great race weekend, and as always a million thanks go to all my sponsors, for without them I could not go out there and do all this. MorePower Racing, Adrenaline Freaks Track Days, Highway 66 Motorsports and Bridgestone, the best damn tire out there, Studio819 Photography, PowerStands Racing, Race Tech Suspension, Vortex, Motorex Fluids, Pipercross Filters, Junior Monkey Design and last but never least, PNWRIDERS.COM, the best damn community I’ve ever been a part of. All of these sponsors are what make racing possible for me, so show your appreciation and support them like they support me!!

Also, I found another “way you know you’re a racer”… when your engine blows up on the white-flag lap, and you’re more frustrated that you won’t complete the race than by the fact that you just grenaded your motor.

Thursday and Friday I rode at the Cascade Track Time days to get myself and my bikes sorted out.. I didn’t really “feel it” and post up the results I wanted last weekend at WMRRA so I wanted to be sure to set everything up and get comfortable again. Thursday I worked on remembering which way the track turned, sorting out the suspension on my CBR (apparently it was *way* out of whack), and braking later so Nico wouldn’t make so much fun of me On Friday, my goal was to tame the 750.. and I did A day’s worth of seat time later, along with some suspension work to firm it up on the brakes, and I was a comfortable on the 750 as I had been on the 600. I hopped back on the 600 at the end of the day to compare and double-check settings, and thought to myself, Holy hell… what the f*ck was I afraid of? After getting accustomed to the speeds attainable on the 750, the 600 felt like a cakewalk. I dove deeper and faster into corners than I’d ever thought possible, and got on the gas WAY earlier, having found the limits of the tires with the bigger bike.

On Saturday, OMRRA ran two practices and then a 4-hour endurance race. I used the practices to just double-check again all the suspension settings on the bikes, and to try to solidify the comfort zone I found on the 750. During the endurance race, I lent my pit spot to Team Civil Rock Racing, because I was on the wall. They ended up taking first! The team was made up of Stuart Johnson, Chris Ray and Nathan Hester, all extremely fast and extremely nice guys. I feel like I’ve got some friends down south (and east, in Hester’s case) now The whole experience was very cool, and definitely made me want to get into endurance racing.

Finally, Sunday rolled around, and it was time for the sprints! I can still smell the ProV.1 from all the fast guys who pitted next to me. I signed up for five races - Senior 750 Superbike, Sr. 600SB, Sr. 750 Supersport, Sr. Open SB, and Sr. 600SS. (Since my bikes are both five or more years old, they compete in a technically-separate “Senior” class, so I run with but don’t actually race against the brand-new bikes.) I skipped the first practice, went out in the second to shake cobwebs loose, and then quickly came the first race, 750 Supersport/Senior 750 Superbike.

I got a great start and collected about half the field before T1, then began picking my way through the crowds, happily using the front and back straights to make passing easy. Mike Castro of Fuzimoto really did a number on this bike - it is stupid fast. I didn’t have to worry about passing in any of the corners at all - I’d just wait until one of the straights, then blow by people using its power. This continued for about half the race until I found someone with a bike as fast as mine, at which point things got fun I passed him on the brakes a couple times in 1 and 4, and then he would draft me down the straight and pass coming into 1 a lap or so later. I finally caught a break when we encountered some lap traffic and one of them lowsided directly in front of him, requiring him to brake and avoid the incident. I felt bad.. but still took the pass, heh. The track in front of us was pretty clear, so I put my head down and tried to catch up to whoever was next. Then, a lap or two later… I RAN OUT OF FUEL The bike damn near bucked me off as it died mid-corner in T3. I pulled off in T4 and waited out the rest of the race, and then barely managed to limp back to the pits on fumes. For the rest of the weekend, it was almost comical as I compulsively checked fuel levels on the bikes anytime I had a spare few minutes.

The next race up was 600 Supersport/Sr. 600 Superbike, but I actually ended up not starting. Looking back on it now I think I should have, but at the time it was raining and I didn’t have rains mounted, and I figured I didn’t need any help crashing.

After lunch was 750 Superbike/Sr. 750 Supersport. I had been hoping the rain would pan out like the forecast said and be simply “spotty”, and that the track would dry up.. it did not. So, it was again raining, and I again didn’t have rains mounted. This time, however, I thought, screw it, I’m racing! I went out, DOTs and all, and gridded up. When the green flag waved, I literally spun the tire for a second before it hooked up! I tried to remember and put to use the advice Mark Degross gave me about racing in the rain: You can do amazing amounts of acceleration and braking, even on DOTs, as long as you’re straight up and down. It worked out for me, as I eventually caught up to Alan Schmidt, OMRRA’s #1 plate holder, and battled the entire race with him! (… Obviously, he was on DOTs as well.) We went back and forth the whole time, and then he got ahead of me on the last lap and I wasn’t able to pass him before the checkered flag. Back in the pits when I congratulated him on the win, he actually apologized for taking defensive lines on the last lap! I am constantly amazed by how friendly and sporting the top-level guys are, and I can’t speak highly enough of Alan’s sportsmanship. Not only was he not irritated that I’d stuff, and potentially punt him off, every time I could in 4, but he actually apologized for preventing me from doing it one last time. I ended up taking 11th overall, and 1st in my class, Sr. 750 SS. First expert win ever

Twently minutes after that race, I hear the first call for Senior Open Superbike. Puzzled, because I’d gone out for what I’d *thought* was Sr. Open SB in the morning and found out I wasn’t entered, I checked the schedule - and sure enough, what I’d gone out for was Sr. Open Supersport. However, big problem: Not only did I not have rains installed on the 750 (the bike I’d planned to use in Open SB), I didn’t even have rains mounted on rims for it! So, scared that I’d be nothing more than a rolling roadblock for the Open guys but wanting more rain experience.. I took out the 600. Turns out to be a good thing I did, because I took eighth! (Not in the Senior class either - apparently I was the only one registered for Sr, so they bumped me up to the “real” grid.)

I’ll go ahead and repeat that, just because, well, I want to: Eighth place, on a stock, five-year-old 600 (104 rwhp), in a race filled with modern Open Superbikes (180+ rwhp, plus traction control).

AWESOME Now, granted, it was pouring rain for this race and rain is an incredible equalizer where bike class is concerned. I spent the entire race battling with Mike Sullivan and Mike McConaghey, trying to make up for my eighty-horsepower deficit by carrying higher corner speed and being harder on the brakes. For the most part, it worked! Both Mikes would yard me down the front straight, but I’d catch up by Turn 3. Through the back straight and Turn 6 they would again gap me a bit but several times I managed to actually pass Sullivan (and McConaghey too, once!) through Turn 7 and hold him back for a lap or two.. until he blew my socks off again going down the front straight. On the white-flag lap, I had one last opportunity to pass Sullivan coming into T9, the last corner of the track. I peeked up the inside but ultimately decided against taking the pass, as I didn’t want to be the jackass that crashes and punts Sully into the tire wall. He’d have taken the position again on the straight before the start-finish line anyway, so it wasn’t work the risk. Besides.. eighth place, Open Superbike! I’ll take that

Finally, the last race of the day: 600 Superbike/Senior 600 Supersport. This turned out to be an eerie parallel of my first race of the day - great start, work through the field picking people off every lap.. and then DNF due to a mechanical problem at the end. Only this time, it wasn’t a couple laps from the end, it was the white-flag lap.. and the mechanical problem wasn’t lack of fuel, it was an engine that sputtered for a second and then crunched very loudly on the front straight. What’s funny, though, is that I was more disappointed and frustrated at not finishing the race than at the fact that my motor had just mangled its insides. Had I finished that race in the position I had, I’d have taken my second win of the day, and something like 7th or 8th overall.

A million and a half thanks as always go out to all my sponsors and everyone else who helps me do this: Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays, MorePower Racing, Studio819 Photography, Bridgestone for making an amazing tire and Highway 66 Motorsports for selling and supporting it, Powerstands Racing, Race Tech Suspension, Vortex, Motorex, Junior Monkey Design, Pipercross Air Filters and PNWRiders.com, the best damn motorcycle community there is in the Northwest, and I think the nation. None of this would be at all possible without the support all these guys give me, so show your appreciation and give your support to them.