Kevin Callaway on Race One – Grattan | Team-TRS
- From: KMC | Published: May 19th, 2009 - 12:46 pm
This past weekend was spent at Grattan Raceway, where we were competing in the Pirelli/WERA Sportsman races. I’d been looking forward to last weekend for well over a year now, as it would mark my return to the racetrack after a brutal crash on May 5 of 2008 where I suffered a severely broken right foot. The first Grattan round of the year is always run counter clockwise, which is very interesting as it’s a completely different animal. Prior to last week end, I had only run two sprint races counter clockwise so, needless to say, there was still a lot to learn.
After sorting out a few issues on the dyno, we packed up on Thursday night so I could get an early start on Friday at dawn. The weather was not looking good while driving to the track in the morning. Skies were black and it was slightly raining. James met me at the track, as we knew there was a lot of work ahead of us if we were going to lay down some respectable times over the weekend. We’re now on board with Pirelli, and getting used to a completely different tire would require a lot of suspension changes.
The rain stopped and we were able to get one session in before lunch. It was not pretty. Everything felt wrong, but I stayed out so I could at least come to grips with the layout of the track. Once I came in James made several wholesale changes to both the forks and the shock. At lunch we agreed that I shouldn’t try to over-analyze the changes that have been made and simply ride the bike and report back about how it’s handling. After lunch, every session was better than the previous one. I would run about 4-6 laps and pull in. We’d talk briefly, James would make a few changes, and out I’d go. Once the session was over, we’d discuss in great detail exactly what I was feeling. Sometimes we’d go back a step, but most every change we made was positive.
By the end of the day Friday, I was feeling fairly comfortable with the bike and tires. We were able to keep up with several well-respected riders and that was good enough for us being that this was our first day on the new tires. We accomplished exactly what we set out to do, and that was to get a good baseline.
James left to go back home and wouldn’t return again until Sunday. On Saturday morning ARNCHU Racing’s Nathan Dressman and Randy Sherman showed up with their creepy vans and unloaded where we would share a garage for the weekend. Morning practices were cold and wet. I got a lot of laps in on Friday, so I decided to sit them out. My dad showed up just before lunch and helped me change wheels. After lunch, Nathan and I geared up as we were both in the Middleweight Solo 20 race. I did not feel nervous at all. Smiles were huge as I was heading out to the grid. I had been waiting a long time for this, and I may have come close to winning the warm up lap….:)
As it would be in most every race all week end, I was gridded just about dead last. After getting past a few riders on lap one, I came up on J.B. and Jeff Agnes. I sat behind them for one lap and took a few notes. The very next lap I got by both of them and put my head down. I was closing on Nathan around 10 laps into the race. I had him in sight for a few laps, but then he picked up the pace just about the same time as I began to fade. I knew J.B. and Agnes were close as I could hear them just before exiting T9. With two laps to go J.B. showed me a wheel coming in to T3 and that was enough to wake me up. I put my head down and the next lap was my fastest of the race (thanks J.B.). I was relieved to see the checkered flag and was pretty happy to finish one spot behind Nathan in 5th position. Jeff Agnes and J.B. are both well-respected riders, and I was happy to have kept it together and cross the line in front of them. That’s all we had on the agenda as far as racing was concerned on Saturday. We had a nice variety of BBQ for dinner, while meeting some new friends as well as catching up with some old ones. Randy tried his hardest to scare off any females and he did a very good job for the most part….
Sunday morning was freezing (literally). The low was 38 degrees the night prior, but the sun was bright and the day looked promising. We were having an issue with the quickshifter on the R6, so I wasn’t able to practice during the first two sessions. The next two sessions went well. Although the quickshifter was still not functioning properly, the bike was running very strong and pulling big 2nd gear wheelies out of corners.
The first race of the day was C-SBK. My holeshot was horrible and I was dead last coming in to T1. I got past a few riders every lap and with two to go I had a clear track ahead of me. I could see Eric Spector way ahead and knew that it was too much of a gap to make up. The final result was 7th place. We were happy with my riding, but the holeshot… not so much. A funny note about the race: as pointed out at the rider’s meeting, the timing does not start/stop at the checkered flag. There are two large cones a few hundred feet after the flag. Apparently after passing the checkered flag, Eric Spector sat up and got off the gas while Eddie Kraft who was behind him stayed in it and just barely beat him through the traps!
The next three races were even more frustrating. In B-SBK I tried to run around the outside of a provisional novice and he ran way wider than I expected. I did not want to lean on him so I ended up in the grass. The same 5-6 riders who I just spent most of the race passing, all came by. Although I was upset, I kept my cool and ran a few of them down before the end of the race. The good news was that I turned a 1:24.4 in doing so. In C-SS, it was more of the same and the result was not good. B-SS was frustrating as I got stuck behind a very fast 750 who was shooting debris all over me for two laps. He was a point and shoot rider and it was difficult to get by. Once I did I put in a few good laps and got past several guys. As we were shown the white flag I was starting to reel in J.B. By turn 4 I was all the way on him but decided to wait until the front straight to draft him safely just before the checkered flag.
All in all, it was a very productive weekend. We learned a lot about the Pirellis and for the first time got a very good baseline set up, which is something that, before the weekend, we had yet to achieve. Prior to my wreck last year, I had only logged two track days and one weekend of wet racing on the R6. We’re learning every time I go out, and I’m proving that I can run with the boys. The bike needs some refinement as does the rider. It was a pleasure to work with Mark Van Dogen (www.uber-racing.com) from Pirelli. He knows his product inside and out and has been working Moto ST and the Canadian Superbike series for the past few years. We look forward to learning more about the tires as we progress this year. As always, James was a tremendous help. His suspension knowledge is second to none, and he’s built me a very competitive machine. It’s going to be a good year and I look forward to running up front as the season progresses.
KMC
WERA #9
