POCONO, PA (August 30, 1998) - It was a long, action packed weekend, the longest of the year so far for TDR. But the team got to run a new track, the weather was fantastic, and the company was great! The short version Paul finished solidly mid-pack in the Formula USA Pro-Tek 103 HP race. Not bad for the first time at this track, and running with the "big dogs". He also managed to pull out an impressive 2nd place finish in Unlimited Grand Prix. Kevin pulled out an impressive 5th place finish in Lightweight Supersport, overcoming the fact that his bike was not properly geared for the 2.5-mile track. The long version Paul and Kit left the Boston area Wednesday night. The car was fully loaded, as was the trailer, with the racebike, the CB1, and the pitbike. Getting a late start, they drove for about 5 hours, until they were within about 30 minutes of the track. The quest for a hotel room proved to be more difficult than anticipated. The first 3 were full and the fourth couldn't check them in because "their computers were down!" A hotel was finally located, but the only available room was the hot tub suite. Bummer. Thursday: After sleeping in, Paul and Kit arrive at the track around mid-day. Paul registers for the FUSA 103HP race, and they head into the infield. The big teams are there, as are a few other privateer racers, but for the most part, the pits were pretty empty. That would change. A prime pit location was located right next to turn 10. Paul opted not to practice on Thursday, since there would only be 2 more sessions and it wouldn't have been worth the money. Instead, he and Kit take their time setting up the pit and getting situated. After getting the bike teched and the last practice session was done for the day, Paul took a (mountain) bike ride around the track. He was impressed by the size of the track. Friday: Paul heads out for the first practice. The first several laps were taken very slowly, as it was a new track, and Paul was just trying to get a feel for it. Initial lap times were in the 2:20's. As the laps started to add up, and the practices progressed, his times started falling. Catching a ride on some of the faster riders tails allowed Paul to drop his times down to the low 2:03's by the end of the day. The first thing that impressed Paul about this track was the back straightaway, or turn 2 of the tri-oval. He would hit the rev limiter in 6th gear on the F2, about 140mph, before slowing down for turn 6! Talk about an adrenaline rush! Other interested incidents of the day: There were, not 1, but 2 medflight pickups in turn 10. Quite an impressive site watching a helicopter come in and land right on the track, load the downed rider, and take off, without missing a beat. Paul registered for the only LRRS race he was going to run, Unlimited GP, and got the bike teched for LRRS. By the end of the day Friday, the pits were PACKED. There was not any spare room anywhere. The infield was also getting crowded, with many, many, spectators! While Kit and Paul slept soundly in their tents, Kevin arrived at around 2am. Sleep? Who needs sleep? He unpacked, and crawled into his tent. Saturday: Paul didn't have any races, so he split the time between practice, qualifying, and corner working. He worked turn 10, so he was right by the pits, and could go in and out very easily. Paul was feeling more confident, and was starting to figure the track out. Times started to fall, and he qualified with a 1:56! That put him on the outside of the seventh row. As his time dropped, Paul started dragging hard parts. When a Fox shock was installed earlier in the year, the F2 was raised up about an inch, so the rear sets were removed. The team decided to re-install them. Paul also put new tires on the bike, moving from Dunlop's to Michelins. Meanwhile, Kevin prepped his bike and got registered. He missed half of his first practice because the battery had died. He ran around and bought a new battery and brake pads from Street and Comp. (Miles was incredibly quick and helpful), popped in the battery and got in about 4 practice laps...tooled around trying to figure out which way the track went, other than clockwise, that is. By the third lap Kevin realized he was running the wrong gearing and hadn't brought a change of sprockets! However, he still managed to run down in the 2:09's. Not bad for his first ever laps of Pocono. During lunch, Gary Rothwell performed. If you've never seen him, it's quite something. There was also a crew there with a Bimoto, trying to break 200 mph, taking a few practice runs for the main attempt on Sunday. Saturday night, Paul and Kevin, along with a bunch of other racers, joined Tom Kipp and Nick Inastch for a track walk. Paul thought it really helped hearing what Kipp was doing and where, considering he was running 1:38 laps. While Kevin found it helpful he did not find it as educating as a track walk with Eric or Jeff Wood. Sunday: Kevin's practice went much better, knowing what side of the tar patches to be on made a big difference. He was now running in the 2:06's and high 2:05's. After practice, Kevin heads out to work turn 2 for a while. Paul's practices were back to back, first LRRS practice, then FUSA. He took the first lap very cautiously, since he had new tires, and had changed the bike setup. On the second lap, he picks up the pace a bit. Coming off the back straightway, Paul breaks, leans into the turn, and then, for some reason, decides he can't make it. He stands the bike up and nails the brakes. He gets off the brakes as the bike goes over the first island of grass, then nails them again as the bike gets back on the pavement, and gets off them as he gets back into the grass. The bike shifts back and forth as he fights to keep it up, but to no avail. Paul finds himself belly down, sliding backwards through the grass. He comes to a stop, shuts the bike off, picks it up, and assess the damage: broken right clip on, broken foot peg, broken exhaust bracket, severed rear break line, and mucho scratched plastic. The bike is rolled out of the crash zone, as Paul waits to head back into the pits. A truck is sent at the end of the practice and the bike up is loaded up, but the truck didn't get the "ok" to go in until the end of the next practice, so Paul missed both practices, and got to sit out there for over an hour. Back in the pits, the bodywork comes off, and a list of what is needed to get back into business is written. A handlebar, foot peg, and brake line is bought from a fellow racer, and the exhaust bracket is purchased from Street & Comp. By the end of lunch, the bike is back together, and ready to go. It re-techs with no problem. Paul heads back out to work turn 10 for a while, but soon heads back to the pits to prepare for the FUSA 103HP race. He pre-grids and goes out for the warm-up lap. Boy, practice would have been nice! Everyone comes back and gets into position for the start. The flag drops, and the race is off. 40 bikes jockeying for position going into turn 1 was not pretty, and Dwight Mitchell goes wide and goes down right in front of Paul. He gets by without incident, and actually pulls out a pretty good start. The field spreads out quickly, and Paul is soon riding alone, or so he thought. Going into turn 3, two bikes sneak past him, and going on the back straightway, a third passes. Paul manages to pass the third bike back, and stays right on the tail of the two other bikes, but just can't pass them. He ends up finishing 25 out of 37. Not bad, but not great. We're just glad he finished! Next, Kevin heads out for LW Supersport. He lined up on the grid (8 riders) on row 2. Kevin jumped the start but managed to get back in place before the flag dropped for his wave. DRAG RACE! Going into turn 1, Kevin was in 4th place, where he stayed until the pack exited onto the back straight where the incorrect gearing on the EX really reared its ugly head. The front four (FZR400's) just disappeared off into the sunset. Two other bikes motored past him about 2/3's of the way down the back straight. Kevin got them both back on braking and corner speed going into turn 6 exiting the back straight. The rider on a Hawk passed Kevin back on the front straight and again they started the cycle again (The other rider stayed back and Kevin wouldn't have to worry about him for the rest of the race). Kevin passed the Hawk in turn 1 but the Hawk got the pass back towards the end of the rear straight. Kevin made several mistakes in the front infield sometime in lap 5 or 6 that put the Hawk right on the rear wheel of the EX coming out of turn 6. The Hawk had learned if he passed Kevin early in the back straight; Kevin would not be able to out brake him into turn 6. Kevin knew when he was passed early in the straight that there was no way he was going to beat him to the line unless the Hawk crashed, or made a really bad mistake. So Kevin sat on his the Hawks wheel trying to force an error. The mistake never happened and Kevin settled for a 5th place finish at a track he'd never run before. He'll do better next year. The last race of the day, and the weekend was Unlimited Grand Prix. There were only 4 juniors registered, so Paul had a pretty good chance. Right from the start, two of the bikes break away, there is no way Paul is going to be able to run with them, but he had no problem running away from the fourth bike. On the second lap, the two leading bikes take each other out in turn 10, hey, Paul's winning! But it didn't last, the race is red flagged, and they sit on the grid, while the accident is cleaned up. It's a complete restart, with only Paul, and one other rider, a tz250. No problem, Paul should walk from him on this track, Pocono is all about HP. At the start, Paul jumps ahead and leaves the other bike in the dust. On lap 2, the F2 starts to get really twitchy in the turns. Paul backs off a bit, using his lead as a buffer, he didn't want to throw away his first win. On lap 4, the TZ out breaks Paul on the back straightway, and takes the lead. Paul fall in behind him, and stays on his tail until the last lap. The F2 is getting worse and worse in the corners every lap. Any time he tried to push it, the back end would get loose and squirm all over the place. He sets up for the pass going onto the back straightway, passes him, and pulls away. Going into turn 9, there is a yellow flag, Paul slows down too much, the TZ passes him going onto the front straightway. Paul pours on the power, and comes within a wheel, but the TZ beat him by about 3 feet. Upon return to the pits, the problem is discovered. Paul had not 1, but 2 huge gashes in the rear tire, no doubt picked up from the accident in turn 10. A pressure reading is taken, 1.5 psi!! It's amazing Paul even kept the bike up! Other points about the weekend: - The Pocono safety crew is horrible. They treated every accident like a major car crash, sending every truck they have out there. The schedule consistently ran 1-2 hours behind schedule because of how slow they were. - The ambulances sucked. Slow, needed to be called several times sometimes, and one even didn't start when called! - Security was out of control. They really were on a power trip. - Facilities were ok, WHEN YOU COULD GET TO THEM! There were 3 male, and 3 female showers, but they were only open a few hours a day. Absolutely ridiculous. - The US Marshals did their usual bang up job.