Race Report for Week 3: June 09-10, 2001
Well, all things considered, this past weekend could have been a lot worse. :) Most of the track has been re-sealed, so a lot of the brake/turn in markers have been erased. Combine that with the fact that the track is "green" (no rubber laid down yet) and the upcoming AMA National (lot's of out of region riders), it all adds up to a crazy weekend.
For the first time, every TDR racer met the pavement this weekend.
Paul got taken out during Fridays practice in turn 1, on the first lap,
of the first practice. But got the bike back together and went on
to run his personal fastest lap of a 1:17.5! Bruce overcooked the
rear tire during SuperTwins up the hill in turn 4 and managed to lowside
the bike. But came back to get a 3rd in SuperSingles on the MZ!
And Kevin lost the front end in turn 11 (bitten by the tar snake?), on
the last lap, while running in 4th, but walked away from it. All
in all, the team did very well, and are all getting psyched for the AMA
National this weekend! Watch for Paul in 600SS and Bruce in Pro Thunder!!
Find all of the weekends race results at the LRRS website here.
The good news is that I'm 6 for 6 on the MuZ, bringing home a trophy in every race thus far this season. I also lowered my best time on the Ducati by close to a half second. The bad news is that I tossed the Ducati away in T4 during the SuperTwins race on Sunday. With Paul's crash on Friday and Kevin's in Production Twins on Sunday, the team was 3 for 3 in pavement surfing this weekend. We weren't the only ones though as it seems like there were a lot of crashes and general craziness this weekend.
The weekend started on a bad note when Paul gave me a ring Friday afternoon to tell me he just got taken out in T1 during practice. Luckily he was OK and even managed to get his bike fixed and out for the last practice of the day. I then managed to crunch the tailgate of my truck making the tight turn in front of our garage. I was bringing up the canopy for the National and left my tailgate down to accommodate the long poles. Well, the shaft for the front jack didn't have enough clearance for a tight turn. Oh well.
Saturday
Practice was so-so. Red practice on the MuZ was uneventful
and yellow practice on the Ducati was very crowded. I never really
felt like I got going on the Duc. T11 had some new sealer put down
(along with other sections of the track) but they filled the cracks with
tar that was *not* high traction. I had been warned and altered my
line a bit to make sure I didn't get on the stuff but I did get a wiggle
out of the front tire a few times.
Race
9a: LW Sportsman (MuZ) - 5/18 entries (8 pts, trophy)
Galen made an awesome launch from the back row to lead going in
to T1. I was probably eighth or so and right behind Jack. We
caught up to Bob R. and another rider but Jack managed to get by them a
lot quicker than I could. Once I got by I set about closing the gap
on Jack but a red flag on the 5th lap brought the race to an early conclusion
and I had to settle for 5th place.
Race
13: MW Supersport (Ducati) - 24/31 entries (0 pts)
I was not feeling comfortable at all on the Duc and not riding
well. On top of that the T11 situation combined with a lot of oil
dry in T12 made for very sloppy riding on my part through there.
Despite that I some how managed to turn a best lap of 1:22.1. A small
improvement but an improvement none the less.
Saturday night I put new tires on the MuZ. I thought about
putting new rubber on the Duc but I wasn't experiencing any slipping and
only had one race with it on Sunday. On top of that I was going to
put on fresh rubber for the Pro Thunder race so decided they'd be fine...
Sunday
Sunday practice was still pretty crowded but I felt comfortable
on both bikes. Nothing spectacular but decent time for practice.
Race
4: SuperTwins (Ducati) - DNF/9 entries (0 pts)
I think I was second to last going in to T1. The group in
front of me was slowly but steadily pulling away. On the second lap
I see Chris helping the corner worker pull his bike out of the T12 tires.
Going up the hill through T4 I slide the rear. I think I made the
mistake of rolling out of the throttle but really don't remember.
The bike gave a wiggle, slid again, and I was down. I crashed the
MuZ in the same spot last year but that slide was more sudden and I actually
came off the pegs. This one was a lot more gradual and I know I should
have been able to save it. One would think my dirt track riding would
have made this a non-event. Part of the problem is that I still haven't
found a good riding position on the bike. I could probably be a bit
further up on the bike.
The slide ground through the clutch cover and managed to bind up the transmission a bit. The corner worker and I struggled to push the bike off the track with the rear wheel locked up. We moved it as far as we could and then had to lay it back down and move to a safer area until the race was over. At this point I looked at my aching right hand and saw that my glove had ripped over my pinky. I must have slid with it under the bike for a bit. It was bleeding so I walked over to the ambulance to get a band aid for it.
Once the race was over the corner worker and I tried to get the rear wheel freed up. It took some coaxing but we finally managed to get the bike in neutral and rolling. At this point Paul was coming up the hill to give me a hand. I got the bike out the T10 gate before Paul caught back up and took the bike and gave me the Go-Ped to head back to the garage.
Toward the end of race 5 black clouds started moving in. Kevin was out next and got to the grid just as it started coming down. After holding them long enough to get wet, everyone was sent back to the garages until it blew over. Once they got under way the track was drying and Kevin had moved up to 4th until he got on the T11 tar snakes on the last lap and tossed it down. Although he visited the med center he was OK. Must have landed on this head! :)
I didn't bring my rain tires and, given my earlier crash, was going to sit out SuperSingles unless it dried out. Well, the MuZ gods were smiling on me and by the time race 9 come up the track was dry. My pinky was really hurting and I couldn't bend it without pain but I jammed it in my glove and got ready to go.
I roll out of the garage and start heading for the grid and something
isn't right. I look down and I realize I'm in my damn sneakers!
I stayed in my leathers after my crash but took off my boots to be more
comfortable walking around. I turned around and yelled for Kevin
to grab my stand. Chuck tossed me my boots and I quickly put them
on. I made it to pre-grid with plenty of time to spare.
Race
9: SuperSingles (MuZ) - 3/8 entries (11 pts, trophy)
I get a decent start and I'm running behind Jeff, Jack, and Doug.
My throttle control isn't the best because I can't use my pinky but it's
OK. Part way through Jack starts slowing and soon Doug and I are
past him. Turns out that Jack's motor didn't want to play and decided
to stop working. At one point I was within a couple yards of Doug
but just didn't have it in me to get by today. Looking at my times
later I was well off the pace turning 24s to 26s. Given the condition
of my hand I felt fortunate to come home with third.
At the end the day I left the Ducati at BCM so Bruce could get it back in shape for Pro Thunder this coming weekend. Hopefully my pinky will be ready to go too!
No matter how much I prepare, I never seem to get to the track as early as I would like. I got to the track around 11:45am. I unpacked and then headed over to the Penguin garage to see how they were for instructors. It was a small class, and they already had enough instructors, so I took the opportunity to take my time getting ready for practice at a leisurely pace. It was a perfect say, 70's, sunny and just perfect. Looked like a good weekend!
This was the first time I had pre registered all season, but when I arrived at the track, they still were not ready for people. They said come back around "2 to 3". So I got the bike ready, myself ready and waited. About 2:15pm, I head up to registration. There is a line of about 20 racers already! Sheesh, so much for pre registering. By the time I got registered, it was time for the riders meeting. Jerry reminded everyone that the track had just been sealed, so all the reference markers everyone used to use were gone. On top of that, it's a green track, there is no rubber laid down yet. Plus, it's practice, so just take it easy! Apparently not everyone was listening.
After the meeting, I got my bike teched, got into my leathers, and headed out. Practice had already started, I got out on maybe lap 4. My tires were cold, my first lap of the weekend, I was taking it easy. I made it 9/10ths of the way around the track with no traffic. As I came into turn 11, I could hear another bike behind me. I pulled over on the front straight to let them by, but nothing. Obviously a little bike. Going into T1, I slowed early to let them by, it was Jerry Wood, I pulled in behind him to follow him into the turn and......WHAM! There is a bike in my left side. My engine revs, I'm caught in the other bike, I try to break loose but can't. We head into the oval, and finally, my bike falls over on the right side as we separate. I get up, shut off my bike, yell a few choice words at no one in particular, pick up my bike, and move i to the wall. The other ride crawls to the wall and leaves his bike on its side. The corner worker in me kicks in, and I go pick up his bike and move it to the wall. I go over to the other rider who is with Bob. It's George Tarricone. I ask him what happened. He mumbles something about a "slower bike that shouldn't have been out there." Yeah, right buddy, if you are talking about me, I can tell you where you can put your slower bike.
The practice ended and I ride the bike back to the pits. I have no front brake, the right rear set is bent to hell, frame sliders are toast, and the right clip-on is bent down. Bodywork survived incredibly well! Back in the pits, I talk with Dave Fett (#61) who is in the next garage. He was right behind me when the crash happened. He said Tarricone had no right being where he was, and was at full fault. Small consolation.
I do damage control. I get a new clip on tube, rear set, and frame sliders from Street and Comp, borrow a front rotor from Peter Kates (mine was bent to hell from the impact, that is why I had no front brake). Dave Fett, Kenny, Scott Desmond all pitch in and help me get the bike back together. Thanks guys! We et it done, and I make it out for the last practice where I rip off some 19's.
After practice, I finished cleaning up the bike and making final repairs. Phone calls back to Boston had Dane bring up up my spare wheels the next morning, so I could return Peters rotor. Kit showed up around 7:30pm, unloaded, then we headed out for some dinner, shopping, and other errands. We were back at the garage around 10:30 to find Bruce already unloaded and working on bikes. Around 11pm Kevin showed up and unloaded. I think I managed to crawl into my bed around 12M.
Saturday
Woke to another beautiful morning. Went out for my first practice
and felt good. I was running 20's and 19's, a bit off pace, but I
felt good, which was the most important thing. As practice wound
down, John Loundberry (#84) decided for whatever reason, to stick his leg
out right in front of me as I was passing him going into turn 1.
Sheesh.
After practice I pulled the wheels and ran them over to Street and Comp for some new rubber. Off and on in plenty of time!
Second practice was much like the first. This time #228 decided to try and pass me and another bike on the inside of turn 3, went in way hot, and ended up going straight, forcing both of us to do a major check. What is with people this weekend?
After practice, I spent the afternoon corner working turns 3-10. Ian Howie also showed up, as did John Falvey and Roger Roger Gonzalez to shoot some pictures! I came in after race 7A to help Bruce get ready for his race. As a bonus, Tom in the net garage had brought his dish and TV, so I got to watch the live superbike race from Road America!
Race
13: MW Supersport - 17/31 entries (0 pts)
Gridded on the 6th row on the outside. Got a horrible start
and came out of turn 2 in about 20th. We made it about 2 laps before
the red flags came out for an incident in turn 12. We returned to
the pregrid and waited. And waited. We finally got going again.
I got another crappy start and once again came out of T2 in about 20th.
I made a run up the inside of turn 3. I went in way hot, too hot,
and ran wide. Sorry guys. :) I got through traffic and
started moving forward. I was closing on #959 by about 2 seconds
a lap, and missed passing him by one lap! I pulled my best time ever,
a 1:17.567!
Saturday night we did the dinner thing, did a little work on the bikes, and called it a night. Except for Scott and Kit, who headed into Weirs beach to see a band!
Sunday
Another stellar day. Both practices went well. I cut them
both short since there was a lot of traffic and I felt good.
Race
2: MW Grand Prix - 11/24 entries (0 pts)
I got my best start ever! But going into turn 1 I got caught up
in traffic. The lead pack started to pull away, but I was getting
held up with the pack of about 8 bikes I was in. I just could not
get a clean pass. There was lots and lots of passing and repassing,
great racing. Unfortunately, there was a waving yellow in T11 and
T12, one of my favorite passing spots, for several laps of the race, which
put me at a slight handicap. When all was said and done, I finished
11th. I know if I could have got by the bike holding me up, I had
an 8th in me, looking at the times.
I spent the rest of the afternoon taking some pictures, and cleaning
up. I took off before the day was done to make it home for a previous
engagement, but I'll be back up Tuesday morning in preparation for the
Nationals!!
Well what can I say.... I should have known better by the middle of the week. Pride goeth before the fall. It all started out on Wednesday around 5pm when I got home feeling wiped and exhausted. After several hours of trying to get warm (it was 75º outside) I realized I had a fever, and a doozy of one as well, so I spent the next 1.5 in bed worrying about work stuff, this racing weekend and trying to get better. Why, since I'm not in the points hunt (I don't make enough weekends though I'm more than fast enough), do I worry? Well, this is my third season as an expert and though I've always been in the top 5, and often on the podium, I've yet to take home a first place trophy. Last season was a great opportunity to do well but there were a few fellows, and a bike (mine), that just where not capable of winning a race if everybody else stayed upright. This season is different. The bike is new and very capable. The competition is tuff but I'm JUST as fast and occasionally faster than all the rest of the field. This weekend was looking particularly promising due to the fact that one of my two biggest opponents, and the one I worry about the most, was not going to be there. Though not guaranteeing me the win this really made it very, VERY promising. Only two things were going to beat me this weekend. 1)Myself 2)Mother nature. Well, mother nature did it twice and I did it once.
The tale of the tape.
BJ and I left Long Island for the 6hour trek to NHIS on Friday at about 4pm. Though still heavily devoid of deep energy reserves I decided to go, take it easy and see how I felt on Sunday morning. My main race is Sunday. The race I use for Warm-up is Saturday. I decided to skip that one. Skipping the Sat race left me with 2 15minute morning practices and a day of standing in a shady place cornerworking. Needless to say the turn wasn't as quite as I wished but it didn't tax me to badly.
Saturday's practices went well with me getting more and more used to the new bike and turning some good, solid and consistent times. The weather was beautiful (mid70's light breezes) and was expected to be so the whole weekend with just the slightest chance of a LATE afternoon T-storm on Sunday.
Sunday practices went well also though I was think I was quicker on Saturday although I don't recall looking at the 2nd practice times from Sunday when I felt really good, still a little sick and down on energy, but who know's.
Sometime in the late morning I was paid a visit by the ref who said that some folks had complained about overly aggressive riding (passing to close) in practice. Truthfully, yes I was passing tight in practice. Not such that I was rubbing elbows (I HATE THAT EVEN IN A RACE) or such that I would drive someone off the track and leave no room (again that's not my style these are $2 trophies and this was practice) but I was working on my "in traffic" skills. I was rather frustrated by this as I've spent many a year doing this and I've never bitched when others passed me quickly or close...well except when I got an elbow or when they sent the pro's out at the end a penguin practice several years ago. Nothing like getting your paint blown off by someone doing 70MPH more than you are while you're on your line crossing the track. I was passing people with terminal velocities not more than 10 over (that's being generous) of what they were doing. Anyhow the whole thing screwed up my head because I consider myself to be a VERY fair player. I've picked up to many people over the years because of stupid stuff to be one to willfully engage in this sort of behavior. I just think some folks spook easy and they should think about whether they want to be out there. Either way I was asked to "take it back a notch" in practice and I'll try to do that in the future. Perhaps it's just time I bump up to a faster practice session. okay back to the race at hand.
Sunday
Race 6 LW Superbike & Production Twins
After having great weather all day the horizon started showing
some storm clouds about half hour before my race. It looked like
we would get through it but that was not to be. Just as we headed out to
the grid it started to drizzle. I was thinking "great my chance are
lessened drastically". I'd not been out in the rain this year and
never on this bike and these tires. I also don't own a spare set
of wheels and rain tires. That's 800$ I don't have right now.
As I looked around the grid I saw that everybody was still on supersport
tires. "Good I though let's all run it like this the field will be
even." That was not to be the case though it "could" have turned
out to be rather fortunate.
(The race was postponed and the cornerworkers called in for the storm to pass. Editor)
After the rain stopped we were called to the grid. Two of my other closest competitors (Dana and Micky Curry) came out with rains while the rest of us stayed on DOT's. I kept praying for quick sun and a fast drying track but truth be told I was rather dejected. The flag dropped and I made the best start I could. I think I got into T3 in 9-10th place but I was really tip-toeing around not knowing the limits of traction and the lead group was well away. I worked my way to 6th but people were still getting out of touch. A lap and a half later the race was red-flagged due to some downed bikes in T12. The track was drying fast and I was thinking if it keeps up at this pace I've a chance to salvage something out of this weekend. I went much harder on the start this time and got into T3 in something like 7th place. I started pushing harder but I also found myself sliding a lot and I just didn't want to land on my head. About half-way through the fifth lap I noticed that I was making time on the lead group of bikes. Still I was not liking the traction...especially in T11 where we had to hit a big puddle before bending it in onto dry pavement from previously dry pavement. After a few more passes, and getting passed by someone who never gets by me in the dry, I got by one of the rain shod leaders. Their rain tires turned out to be bad choices as the track was 75% dry by this point but it was still hard to tell in some places. As I learned later I had, by now, worked my way up to forth place with third (and the only one with rains left since Dana's had just gone off about a lap before) about a bike length in front of me. I tried a pass in traffic in six (and still think the line was mine MICKY!!!) but I decided not to chance taking us both out as we really were elbow to elbow and backed off. It cost me a lot. I spent the next lap making up that loss. I looked again entering T9 on the last lap but just didn't have the traction to make a safe pass. Entering T11 I aimed for a dry spot just to the left of the big puddle and then shot for and outside pass. Well, either I caught just a bit of water, caught that stupid "tar snake" that the track used between the new and old seams, or just plain forgot that there's not that much traction outside there (that's the first place I ever crashed) down I went. "Oh ##%$#" *thud*. I took a nice landing on my right shoulder and forearm (a little sore this morning but all is well) and then slid along on my belly. So much for nice clean new leathers. As a general rule of thumb I don't get up immediately if I crash. I take a breath and do a quick "inventory" and then glance back and crawl off the track. Two dear friends of mine were working 11/12 and I think they took this lack of movement to mean that I'd "put myself out". They called for "the bus" and refused to let me go until I had been looked at. Though I felt fine and fought it for a second I decided that I was tired and a ride into the pits wouldn't be such a bad thing. Well, after a quick look-over by med-center I was pronounced healthy, if not tired, and told I could go. So who knows what happened... Whether, (under the) weather. 1st to 4th to past last! Either way it was a fun weekend and despite the fall I learned that one can go quite quick in the wet if one stays in the right place. Maybe next time? Thanks for the ear and enjoy your day.
Did not race this weekend. Still injured.
Did not race this weekend.
Did not race this weekend. Played pit tootsie and cornerworked.