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| APRIL
17-18 WSMC Ah, the much maligned practice day. Many a racer has bitched and moaned about how little time they get, how slow the other people are in their group, how slick the track is in the morning and how windy it is in the evening. They're probably all correct, but the lowly practice day, for all its annoying foibles, is better than the alternative, which for me this month, was working. Little,Big Racing is in a mini slump when it comes to bike prep. Once again, all the things I wanted to get accomplished in terms of setup and tuning didn't happen. It's a busy time at work and we were getting some work done on the garage, all of which seem like flimsy excuses for not getting it done. So, once again forks that weren't right, stock handlebars, stock motor, unpainted bodywork, etc. I did, however, replace the ghetto silver duct tape with white tape, and safety wired the grips in place. Very Nice. Racing without practice, when the last time I rode was a month ago wasn't my idea of the hot ticket. I drove in late Saturday and got to the track early Sunday to feverishly change tires and get post-entered (don't ask). First warm-up session consisted of three laps on cold tires (no chance for warmers, some little s*%t heads stole our generators) and then in to contemplate the errors of my ways. I had a decent second session, but decided to make a geometry change to try and help band-aid the fork issues. I know that changing your bike right before a race is dumb, but seeing as how I was desperate to try and improve the beast, I thought things wouldn't likely be worse. I lengthened the shock and went out for the Formula Twins grid. At least this time I wasn't bleeding as I lined up on the front row, so that was something. I did get a decent start and watched Claudio pull away. Time for some more horsepower! Actually, if the bike is right and I do my part, I think I may be able to play with Claudio soon, but as it was he slowly pulled a gap and I busily tried to high-side myself out of half of the corners at WSIR. Turn 2, check. Turn 4, check. Turn 8, check. It seems that I went too far on the shock adjustment, and had no grip whatsoever. Ritchie Headley came up and I diced with him for the second half of the race, finishing just off his rear wheel at the line for third. Oh well, at least some solid points. Wait until next time ya young punk! (Actually, he rode very well on a fast new 749R, congrats Ritchie). After a hasty change to shorten the shock a little, I chilled in the pits and waited for my other race, the last expert race of the day. BOTT Heavyweight consisted of only four riders and more importantly, Claudio and the Headley clan were absent. I got a great start and took off for a couple of corners. Then I just cruised around and collected more points for a relatively easy victory. Hurry back Simon, we missed ya. |
Important
tuning accomplishments
 We now have sooper team
shirts
 We know, put a big logo on the side. Check.  |
| Well,
Peanut and I are off on our honeymoon, and we'll see y'all at the May
WERA West round in Vegas. Ciao! Thanks to Peanut for general handiness, and Rich for letting us use power from his generator; Ca Race Services for the great Pirelli's, and a pox upon the thieves that helped themselves to our stuff. |
Notice how
the forks aren't compressed at all. Wait
'til I get that fixed...next November. |