tophyr
06-25-2008, 06:19 PM
http://www.pnwriders.com/blogs/blog275-race-report-wera-national-challenge-round-4-miller-1-2.html
Whoa.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2668/317577318tzgr3mtb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
June 6, 7 and 8 was the 4th round of the WERA Bridgestone National Endurance and Michelin National Challenge series, at Miller Motorsports Park down in Utah. Just one week prior, WSBK and AMA both had their races at the very same track. I would be racing with AMA professionals, WERA semi-professionals, and top riders from all over the country. To top it all off, I'd never been at Miller before, and I hadn't even seen video of the layout we'd be running. Needless to say, the night before, I was pretty nervous :)
I flew down Thursday night with the usual suspects: Mario Alvarez Sr. and Jr. of Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays, Corey Baum, Brandon Bones of Studio819 Photography, Will Grenier, Troy Knapp and Duane Warren. When we got to the track, we began the (fairly sizable) task of unloading the trailer - and all my tires for the endurance - and setting up our garages. Corey had rented two day garages for the weekend, and they turned out to be one of the best investments of the trip, with power, air, water, bathrooms and shelter all in one. Too hot/cold/windy/rainy/noisy outside? No problem, close the door! Plus, we were fortunate enough to find that our spaces were in the same overall garage as AMA riders Amber Rimes and Chad Lewin, Majik X riders Amy Karthaus and Mike Zottmann, and even one of the tire vendors.
Friday morning I was joined by my endurance partner Damon Mon Wai, OMRRA #1/WMMRA #4 back in 1994, and his friends Alfred and Eric. On Friday we got four practice sessions, but I only ended up running one of them, giving the bike to Damon for the rest so that he could familiarize himself with how it handled. I had a small scare in the morning when I heard what I thought was a valve tap, putting the fear of another engine failure into my head. As I fretted, Big Mario came over and only needed to listen to it for about half a second before confidently dismissing it as an exhaust leak. The bike indeed lasted the weekend, and most importantly I didn't worry about it again, so whether he was right or wrong that was exactly what I needed to hear.
Saturday - Endurance
Saturday morning we woke to find something interesting - a sopping-wet track, and ominous clouds indicating that it'd stay that way! I remember hopping up and quickly switching my bike to the rains I'd brought on the 10% chance that it might be wet, and thinking to myself, Please, God, let it piss rain all day!! Being from the Northwest, I knew that Damon and I would be very comfortable and at home on a wet track, whereas most of the other competition would probably not be. My goal for the endurance race was initially just to complete all six hours and get some experience on the track, but if it was raining we might be able to actually get something done! But, the weather did not cooperate (or perhaps it did for everyone else). By the time my practice session came up, the track was dry enough that I found myself actively hunting for wet spots to cool the tires down, and by the second lap I was spinning up the rear due to overheating. I came in and with Will and Corey's help, made a record-time tire change back to dry tires: In and out in about four minutes! I went back out and finished that session, then gave the bike to Damon for the second practice while Alfred, Eric and I started bringing things over to the hot pit wall in preparation for the endurance race.
When the race itself started, I actually ignored my grid position completely and started straight from the pits. I figured in a six-hour race, where our team had only two riders, no dry-break fuel cans, no quick-change wheels, eight-year-old equipment and no track experience, the 30 seconds I lost at the start wouldn't end up amounting to much. Better to start 30 seconds after the pack and with a clear track than catch red mist and shag the tire for half an hour trying to keep up with the big teams! However somehow a mix-up occurred between registration and scoring, and pit gate wouldn't let me on the track, because apparently I wasn't on the grid in the first place! After a couple more minutes we finally sorted it out - somehow Team Shake 'n Bake had gotten registered with #44 instead of the 262 that was on the bike. I got the green flag and was off, settling in for a comfy half hour of riding before Damon's turn.
While we wait out six hours, a couple things about endurance racing:
First, it's kick ass. Try it. There's not as much adrenaline and raw, bleeding-edge action, but there's a lot more strategy and planning involved, and it's definitely a team-oriented sport instead of a solo one. Many times racers have a "go it alone" mentality, and in endurance racing that attitude is both logistically and physically impossible.
Second, it's the most exhausting thing on the planet. Never in my life have I been more tired than my last two half-hour sessions. The Vesrah Suzuki guys next to us were running hourlong shifts, and after getting off the bike after 30 minutes, my eyes bugged out at the thought of going another half hour.
Third, awesome people race endurance. We were pitted on the very end of the hot pits, next to Vesrah Suzuki, which is made up of some of the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure of being around. Despite all the extra junk Damon and I brought specifically for the endurance race, we were still woefully ill-prepared, and Vesrah Suzuki graciously lent us tools, shade, water, food, duct tape, and even encouragement.
Fourth, the equipment used in endurance racing is way cooler than the equipment used in sprint racing. Recall above where I said that Will, Corey and I changed my tires in a record four minutes? The Vesrah guys would refuel, change riders and change tires in under twelve seconds, from bike stopped to bike moving. Just before one of them came in, Bones noticed the crew preparing for a stop. He started booking it across the hot pits to try to take some photos - before he even got there, the stop was done and the bike was on its way out.
Fifth, .. it's kick ass, try it!
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5599/317573880v7k6nmhv9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Damon and I switched off every half hour, with Alfred and Eric timing and supporting us. We steadily improved from 2:20+ to a race best of 2:09 for me and 2:08 for Damon. The best times were actually achieved about halfway through the race; beyond that we were too tired to go any faster! However, the times did hold pretty steady as we fatigued, meaning that although there wasn't numeric improvement, we did get steadier and smoother as the race went on. The equipment we ran held up remarkably: The bike didn't complain even once, the brakes held up admirably, and the tire wear we faced was unbelievably gentle. I had brought three Medium DOT rears (already had them) from home for the weekend and I bought two new Hard slick fronts, but we ended up using only two rears and one front, for six straight hours in the desert. And the tires weren't even bad when we took them off - the front looks like it could go a whole 'nother six hours, and the rear we switched out (at four and a half hours, not three) easily has a few trackdays left on it. Bottom line: Bridgestone tires last forever! Bad for Troy, great for us! We ended up taking fourth in our class, Heavyweight Superbike. I was pretty happy with that result, considering it was a national event at a track we'd never ridden, I'd never run an endurance before, we didn't have endurance equipment, and we didn't come in planning to really compete :)
The only hiccup we ran into during the endurance race was in the very last few minutes - the rear wheel siezed up, bucking Damon off the bike in Turn 2. He was very lucky in that he came out with nothing more than some bruises and scrapes, considering that T2 at Miller is about a 100mph turn and (I'm pretty sure) the crash was technically a highside. My first thought was that the motor had finally given up and that I was out a bike for the sprints on Sunday. When we got it back to the garage, though, the motor started up and revved fine, and sounded like there was nothing wrong. Wheel spun fine, tranny felt fine, nothing wrong with the chain.. but, just to be on the safe side, we swapped out the rear wheel for the sprints the next day. I was lucky about the crash as well in the fact that there was almost no damage to the bike - scraped up fairings and a broken lever and rearset peg were all it cost. Amber Rimes was kind enough to give me a brake lever, and Brian Trudeau (who flew in during the e-race) lent me his spare peg for the sprints the next day. After taking care of all that and changing the oil, I found some Icy-Hot for my legs and slept like a baby.
Whoa.
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2668/317577318tzgr3mtb6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
June 6, 7 and 8 was the 4th round of the WERA Bridgestone National Endurance and Michelin National Challenge series, at Miller Motorsports Park down in Utah. Just one week prior, WSBK and AMA both had their races at the very same track. I would be racing with AMA professionals, WERA semi-professionals, and top riders from all over the country. To top it all off, I'd never been at Miller before, and I hadn't even seen video of the layout we'd be running. Needless to say, the night before, I was pretty nervous :)
I flew down Thursday night with the usual suspects: Mario Alvarez Sr. and Jr. of Adrenaline Freaks Trackdays, Corey Baum, Brandon Bones of Studio819 Photography, Will Grenier, Troy Knapp and Duane Warren. When we got to the track, we began the (fairly sizable) task of unloading the trailer - and all my tires for the endurance - and setting up our garages. Corey had rented two day garages for the weekend, and they turned out to be one of the best investments of the trip, with power, air, water, bathrooms and shelter all in one. Too hot/cold/windy/rainy/noisy outside? No problem, close the door! Plus, we were fortunate enough to find that our spaces were in the same overall garage as AMA riders Amber Rimes and Chad Lewin, Majik X riders Amy Karthaus and Mike Zottmann, and even one of the tire vendors.
Friday morning I was joined by my endurance partner Damon Mon Wai, OMRRA #1/WMMRA #4 back in 1994, and his friends Alfred and Eric. On Friday we got four practice sessions, but I only ended up running one of them, giving the bike to Damon for the rest so that he could familiarize himself with how it handled. I had a small scare in the morning when I heard what I thought was a valve tap, putting the fear of another engine failure into my head. As I fretted, Big Mario came over and only needed to listen to it for about half a second before confidently dismissing it as an exhaust leak. The bike indeed lasted the weekend, and most importantly I didn't worry about it again, so whether he was right or wrong that was exactly what I needed to hear.
Saturday - Endurance
Saturday morning we woke to find something interesting - a sopping-wet track, and ominous clouds indicating that it'd stay that way! I remember hopping up and quickly switching my bike to the rains I'd brought on the 10% chance that it might be wet, and thinking to myself, Please, God, let it piss rain all day!! Being from the Northwest, I knew that Damon and I would be very comfortable and at home on a wet track, whereas most of the other competition would probably not be. My goal for the endurance race was initially just to complete all six hours and get some experience on the track, but if it was raining we might be able to actually get something done! But, the weather did not cooperate (or perhaps it did for everyone else). By the time my practice session came up, the track was dry enough that I found myself actively hunting for wet spots to cool the tires down, and by the second lap I was spinning up the rear due to overheating. I came in and with Will and Corey's help, made a record-time tire change back to dry tires: In and out in about four minutes! I went back out and finished that session, then gave the bike to Damon for the second practice while Alfred, Eric and I started bringing things over to the hot pit wall in preparation for the endurance race.
When the race itself started, I actually ignored my grid position completely and started straight from the pits. I figured in a six-hour race, where our team had only two riders, no dry-break fuel cans, no quick-change wheels, eight-year-old equipment and no track experience, the 30 seconds I lost at the start wouldn't end up amounting to much. Better to start 30 seconds after the pack and with a clear track than catch red mist and shag the tire for half an hour trying to keep up with the big teams! However somehow a mix-up occurred between registration and scoring, and pit gate wouldn't let me on the track, because apparently I wasn't on the grid in the first place! After a couple more minutes we finally sorted it out - somehow Team Shake 'n Bake had gotten registered with #44 instead of the 262 that was on the bike. I got the green flag and was off, settling in for a comfy half hour of riding before Damon's turn.
While we wait out six hours, a couple things about endurance racing:
First, it's kick ass. Try it. There's not as much adrenaline and raw, bleeding-edge action, but there's a lot more strategy and planning involved, and it's definitely a team-oriented sport instead of a solo one. Many times racers have a "go it alone" mentality, and in endurance racing that attitude is both logistically and physically impossible.
Second, it's the most exhausting thing on the planet. Never in my life have I been more tired than my last two half-hour sessions. The Vesrah Suzuki guys next to us were running hourlong shifts, and after getting off the bike after 30 minutes, my eyes bugged out at the thought of going another half hour.
Third, awesome people race endurance. We were pitted on the very end of the hot pits, next to Vesrah Suzuki, which is made up of some of the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure of being around. Despite all the extra junk Damon and I brought specifically for the endurance race, we were still woefully ill-prepared, and Vesrah Suzuki graciously lent us tools, shade, water, food, duct tape, and even encouragement.
Fourth, the equipment used in endurance racing is way cooler than the equipment used in sprint racing. Recall above where I said that Will, Corey and I changed my tires in a record four minutes? The Vesrah guys would refuel, change riders and change tires in under twelve seconds, from bike stopped to bike moving. Just before one of them came in, Bones noticed the crew preparing for a stop. He started booking it across the hot pits to try to take some photos - before he even got there, the stop was done and the bike was on its way out.
Fifth, .. it's kick ass, try it!
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5599/317573880v7k6nmhv9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Damon and I switched off every half hour, with Alfred and Eric timing and supporting us. We steadily improved from 2:20+ to a race best of 2:09 for me and 2:08 for Damon. The best times were actually achieved about halfway through the race; beyond that we were too tired to go any faster! However, the times did hold pretty steady as we fatigued, meaning that although there wasn't numeric improvement, we did get steadier and smoother as the race went on. The equipment we ran held up remarkably: The bike didn't complain even once, the brakes held up admirably, and the tire wear we faced was unbelievably gentle. I had brought three Medium DOT rears (already had them) from home for the weekend and I bought two new Hard slick fronts, but we ended up using only two rears and one front, for six straight hours in the desert. And the tires weren't even bad when we took them off - the front looks like it could go a whole 'nother six hours, and the rear we switched out (at four and a half hours, not three) easily has a few trackdays left on it. Bottom line: Bridgestone tires last forever! Bad for Troy, great for us! We ended up taking fourth in our class, Heavyweight Superbike. I was pretty happy with that result, considering it was a national event at a track we'd never ridden, I'd never run an endurance before, we didn't have endurance equipment, and we didn't come in planning to really compete :)
The only hiccup we ran into during the endurance race was in the very last few minutes - the rear wheel siezed up, bucking Damon off the bike in Turn 2. He was very lucky in that he came out with nothing more than some bruises and scrapes, considering that T2 at Miller is about a 100mph turn and (I'm pretty sure) the crash was technically a highside. My first thought was that the motor had finally given up and that I was out a bike for the sprints on Sunday. When we got it back to the garage, though, the motor started up and revved fine, and sounded like there was nothing wrong. Wheel spun fine, tranny felt fine, nothing wrong with the chain.. but, just to be on the safe side, we swapped out the rear wheel for the sprints the next day. I was lucky about the crash as well in the fact that there was almost no damage to the bike - scraped up fairings and a broken lever and rearset peg were all it cost. Amber Rimes was kind enough to give me a brake lever, and Brian Trudeau (who flew in during the e-race) lent me his spare peg for the sprints the next day. After taking care of all that and changing the oil, I found some Icy-Hot for my legs and slept like a baby.