I decided to get back into road racing 8 years after my "big crash" in 03. I had done track days through the years, but never really felt like racing. But this year I got the bug again.
Those of you that know me, I'm not a morning person (never saw a sunrise...LOL) so getting up at 6:30 am was a bear for me. L was nice enough to also get up and make a great bacon and egg breakfast for me. The morning started out sad, as we have a small pond out back (95 gallon) and had about 16 fish in it (mostly feeder fish, they are like gold fish) and from all the winds and alge, the water was pretty mirky. So last evening we changed out the water, but there was a mix-up with the water clarifier and water conditioner (the conditioner neutrilizes the clorine and heavy metals in the water) and we woke up to all but 2 fish floating on the top. So we were both pretty bummed.
But the races must go on! I finished packing up up the "super shuttle" (97 Taurus wagon) and headed out to the track. I was amazing calm, as I guess my attitude has changed, and I just wanted to have some fun racing again. After figuring out where to take the paperwork and getting my lap timer, (40.00 a day rental) it was off to the riders meeting. It was short and to the point, the only questions was with the air fence, as the new track layout required it all, that got worked out, and all was well.
Time to unload the bike and gear, to get teched, and passed with flying colors (it should, I had a mile of safety on the thing!
) Gumby was approved and I was back to the pits to set up. It was already getting hot, but there was a nice little breeze. With help from Hurley we got the easy-up put up (big shade) and I put out the chairs for when L came out.
Vintage practice was first, so I had to get in gear and head out. I had to take it a bit easy, as I just installed a new BT 45 on the front, and needed to scuff it in. Plus I had totally changed the chassis specs, raising the front an inch and lowering the back by an inch. And spreading out the clip-ons for more leverage. Some how through the years and 2 race bikes to deal with, I had my bike set up with not enough rake and way too little trail. When Jaydav rode my bike at the gap he noticed some juddering under braking, and it was due to so little rake the forks were flexing. The tapered steering head bearings had settled a bit through the last decade, so I had to tighten them about a half turn on the lock nut. I also had installed the SCR/WTF/LSD pipes which I had been fighting the jetting for the past 2 weeks, and only had it "close". So basically it was a different bike than the one I rode at the last track day.
So out I went, the chassis felt a lot better, the jetting was terrible but I ran out of carb parts to test with. At least she would run clean up top!
(getting there was a pain though....
) I felt pretty goood out there (not fast, but good.....
) and just did 2 practice sessions. I had pitted next to Hurley, and got to see his Kawi 400 racer for the first time, it turned out really nice! As usual he was working on it a bunch as he does. He had jetting to do.
L showed up with the cooler and stuff for samiches. So we sat and had great homemade sammies!
Of course she "had" to have her "official" T-shirt.......
The new layout is very "twisty" to say the least, and couple of small "jumps" where the pavement angles meet. (ie, just where you don't want them
) There were a couple of minor crashes (as with any new track layout) and that set the time schedule back about a hour and half. My race "was supposed to be the second one after lunch, but ended up 4th just after 3pm. Starting at about 12 noon the winds started picking up, and we were getting gusts of over 30 mph. Now in the beautiful Eastern states, not a problem, but out West in the flat desert, wind brings a lot of flying dirt and Sand, at times we couldn't see the back part of the track!
I had my easy-up strapped to the trailer and my tool box, but the wind was flexing the thin struts that make it up. I noticed they were getting a bit too out of shape, and went to grab another tie down for support. I was 10 seconds too late and a support snapped almost bringing down the easy-up. We did a quick repair and supported the section, but a bit later another big gust came up and did her in. 100 bucks down the tubes.....
L was going to stay for my race and video tape it for me, but no shade and the high winds and dirt, was more than she could handle, so she headed home. (actually to the fish store to find out what happened, and got some new fish!
)
They had just called second call for my race, but they had a crash and red flaged the race that was running, so of course we sat there (in borrowed) shade, sweatin it out. They restarted the race and it was finally time for our race. Which was a combination of modern super street and middleweight vintage. This could have been scary as they are "new" racers, but circumstance made it rather easy for me. I ended up in the worst grid position a guy could have, in the back and the inside. I was hoping for at least a good start, to at least be in the "fray" for a bit. But the guy in front of me was a "snoozer" off the line, add in a small wheelie on my part, I ended up having to brake to keep from hitting him at the start. The only place to go was the very inside, and he cut me off on that, while almost everyone railed around the outside line.
I admit, I was more of a "rolling roadblock" in the corners than a "racer".
and with the stumbling of the motor out of every corner, I couldn't make very good use of my HP, as by the time the motor cleared out, it was time to brake for the next corner!
My 8 years of not racing was showing, as the guys were railing around the corners, just like I wasnt!
I did have a blast, and even did some "dicing" with an embarassing small H#nda.
Even though I was getting sand blasted it was still great fun!
I had actually been doing knee bends and push-ups for endurance, but at 6 laps (the race was 8) I was begging for the checkered flag! Luckily a fast guy on a motard was in first and lapped us, so we just did 7 laps. My knees and arms thanked him and the race was over. I was alive, and the motor still ran, a good day indeed!
I was beat, burnt, hot, dirty and happy. I hung around to bench race and watch the last couple of races. The guys loved the bike, and the pipes! One guy has like 300 bikes and offered me a S1 without cylinders for 100 bucks. He loves to talk and has been around racing for a long time, great guy! I packed up, (and even remembered to turn in my lap timer to get my license back......
and headed home to collapse.
I can't wait till the next races!
Here is the vid from the on bike cam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VArYjqNwhA And the vid from the stands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pki3MyKGog
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