Sometimes you ride the Bull, sometimes you get the horn | Team-TRS
- From: KMC | Published: June 23rd, 2009 - 3:23 pm
Live and Learn; This past weekend was spent at Beaverun Raceway in western Pennsylvania, where we were racing in round 4 of the WERA Sportsman north central sprint races. Our original plan was James (TRS) and I would arrive Friday morning to get a full day of testing prior to the weekend, but the forecast was calling for thunderstorms all day so we arrived Friday night instead.
I’d like to touch on an interesting part of our trip. Although I’ve been to Beaver three times, I asked James to print off some directions as we’d be arriving in the middle of the night… with that being said, I’d like to have a word with someone at Google, since their directions had us get off the freeway one exit too early and we quickly found ourselves driving on a heavily wooded small country road at 10 mph. I knew this was not the way I’d come in before, but we continued ahead anyway. After 30 minutes of crawling through the hills, we found ourselves driving next to a very high fence and realized that we were in the back woods behind the track… or at least we hoped so. Finally after driving by the sixth rusted out broken down tow truck, and the third back-woods-Bob’s welding house/shop/trailer, we arrived on the road that lead us in to the front side of Beaver. (Note to google, the best directions aren’t always as the crow flies:) I had yet to ride the new bike at Beaver, so we were coming in to the weekend with no data at all.
Saturday morning came all too quickly, and just as soon as we set up our pit, the rain came in. It rained on/off all morning and finally let up at lunch. I signed up for the Heavyweight Solo 20 as opposed to the Middleweight in hopes that the track would be drier later in the day. The wind had picked up a bit and the track ended up drying up quite a bit for all the races. Prior to the weekend James had a made a few adjustments to the front end as I was using every bit of it at Grattan. Aside from the front end change, we decided that I’d ride the bike the way it was and make our adjustments after the race.
I was gridded dead last, but got a decent holeshot and was able to pass three riders in T1. I spent most of the race trying to figure out my braking markers as well as my shifting points. With four laps to go I had worked my way up to about 5th place or so, when all of a sudden I noticed a bit of sputter coming on to the front straight. It didn’t get any better, and by T3 I knew that I was running out of gas! Although I was pretty upset watching everyone finish the race, I guess you live and learn.
After the race we talked about the set up and gearing. The bike was turning in much quicker than before. While I was pretty happy with the front end change, we decided to change the gearing. Once the work was done James and I were looking forward to a nice dinner with Nathan, Frenchie, and Eric + co. at the house just down the street from the track which they had rented. It’s always good to talk racing with Nathan and Eric as they’ve been at it quite bit longer than I have and both are not the type to hold back on advice/opinions.
Sunday morning brought heavy clouds, but I was sure we’d have a dry day as a very beautiful person I know did a special rain dance for us back in Detroit :) I ran all four practices on the same tires that we had used in the Solo 20, which also had bee run in the Grattan Solo 20 and Grattan morning practices. James made a few adjustments after the first session and we had a bit of a scare coming into T1. The combination of the back end being very loose and me missing one downshift upset the bike and I was not that I could get the bike slowed and settled enough to turn in. I kept her straight up and went straight in to the grass with no problems. The wet grass of a Beaver is very slick…(no pun intended). After the 3rd session I was spinning the rear tire all over the place. Although it was clearly done, I decided to go out in the last session to continue working on lines. Nathan rode behind me for a few laps and after the session helped me out with a few areas where I was struggling a bit.
Race 1: was C Superbike. We were on the 5th row which wasn’t quite as bad as starting dead last. I was able to get by a few riders straight away and was running by myself for the last few laps in 6th place. On the last lap coming into T1, Matthais Schaub came up the inside on the brakes. I went a bit deeper, and although he had the inside line I was able to maintain my position. I ran a bit wide in T2 and he muscled by on the inside. I was right behind him exiting T3 when all of a sudden the rear tire broke loose and my body was quickly ejected from the bike. I was able to hold on to the grips however and when my legs finally stopped flying, they landed on the ground, both on the right side of the bike. What ended up happening looked exactly like this:
However, in my case, I could not get back up on the bike and was quickly headed towards the grass. Once I hit the grass, bike and rider went down. Although I’ve tried a few times, D.O.T. race tires just don’t stick very well in wet grass! I was able to pickthe bike up and ride it back to the pit with no problem. The front end was slightlytweaked, my windscreen was broken and my clutch lever was bent a bit, but stillrideable if necessary.
Once back in the pits, the bodywork was ripped off and James began diagnosing the front end. In no time he had the front end straightened out while my dad and uncle helped check over any other loose bits. Having a pro like James to work on your bike is comforting. If he had not been there to verify that the bike was good to go, I would’ve been a bit reluctant to ride it. Eddie Kraft lent us a clutch lever, and we were good to go. A few last minute tweaks and my next race was up.
Race 2: The bike didn’t feel just right in the warm up lap and I wasn’t about to push it. My holeshot was less than desirable and a few riders came by me coming in to T1. After a few laps I began to feel somewhat comfortable on the bike again, but I noticed the temp gradually rising. With a few laps to go the red temp light was flashing and I knew we were running way too hot. I decided to not take any chances and came in early. When the bodywork was off, James found a pin hole on the vacume side of the cooling system and sorted it out (with the help of my Uncles flame proof fingers).
My 3rd race was C Superstock and I was gridded on the 8th row. This was my worst race of the day. Nothing went right. Half way through the race I ran way wide in the carousel and five riders came by. By the last lap I had reeled them in, only to pass one of them on the brakes in the carousel before the front straight.
The last race of the day was B Superstock and I found myself battling with Allan Pett. His 750 is quite a bit faster than my little R6, but on the last lap I was able to get a better drive on the back straight and drafted him to the kink where I got through. Final result was 8th.
Flat out, I’m not happy with my riding at this point. While down a bit on power, James provided me with a capable machine (working on the power thing as we speak). I need to learn how to make it work. Our gamble with the gearing didn’t pay off and we were too peaky coming off a lot of corners, but I make no excuses. I knew that this year would be tough after having missed most of the entire season last year. I made several mistakes this past week end, but I live and learn every time I throw a leg over this machine. I’ve taken my notes (as well as my lumps:) and can only look forward.
I am glad that I was able to finish the weekend after crashing. I have most of my mobility back in my foot, although I’m still dealing with a decent amount of pain. I have a newly acquired shoulder injury, but that shouldn’t affect my riding. I’d like to not only thank Eddie Kraft for letting me borrow his spare clutch lever, but also congratulate him on his riding over the weekend. He had it figured out for sure.
Next up: Hotlanta, Gawja. We’re leaving for Road Atlanta on Friday and I couldn’t be any happier. It’s by far one of my favorite tracks and we’ve yet to run the R6 there. It will be good to see some old friends and we look forward to learning more about the bike and how to make it work for me. Unfortunately James will not be able to come, but I’m sure he’ll be there in spirit.
A final note: My Uncle Dan came to the track this past week end. Being an old school motorcycle junkie who’s been terrorizing the streets of Detroit with my Dad starting back in the late 50’s, he’s seen his fair share of racing. This was his first time seeing me race. While he had a blast, I hope to perform better next time he comes out.
