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| January
17-18 WSMC Earlier last month, I fantasized about how last weekend would go. After a full nights sleep on Thursday, I'd wake up refreshed and alert at 5:00 AM and drive to Willow Springs International Raceway (the fastest average speed track in the West) and commence a careful and reasoned approach to learning a very fast and subtle racetrack. Saturday morning, after refining my lines and gear selection all day, I'd begin to pick up the pace, culminating late in the day with a few race pace stints. I would get another good nights sleep, and race competitively and carefully my first weekend at this blazingly fast track, and set a good foundation with some top five finishes in the three classes I'll be racing at WSMC all year. This fantasy can now be set aside along with my WWII fighter pilot fantasy, my space shuttle captain fantasy, my MotoGP star fantasy (I'd be younger, slimmer, and have more hair, too) and the one where I'm the photographer for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and we run out of bikini glue. To really feel refreshed, I've decided I need more than 3.5 hours of sleep. Only able to start late Friday afternoon, prepping the bike took until 2:30 am on Saturday what with the last minute safety wiring, the bodywork, the mapping, the exhausts and a thousand other little things I couldn't start on for one good reason or another. After going to bed at 3AM we slept right through the 4:30 alarm hitting the snooze until 6:30. I don't really recommend that, it's not as restful as it may sound. After rock, paper and scissoring to see who would drive the first stint I lost, so Peanut got to nap. |
 11:10PM, starting to get a little worried. |
| To make a long story less so, practice
consisted of Peanut's motor expiring in a big way (see her race
report), and me riding around with my hair on fire trying to figure
out
what corner comes next, what gear to use and not get run over by the
regulars. Because we arrived late and
there were a few red flags I got two fifteen minute sessions. Yea. We
decided to leave early and go straight to bed after dinner. I figured
that I might not have any track time, but I'd be very rested and alert
when
I got my doors blown off. 750 Superbike was the first race of the day, and after two short warm-ups where I unsuccessfully charged around trying to make up for my inadequate experience, there wasn't much time to get major butterflies. I was confident about my equipment, and my tires were perfect after morning advice about tire pressure from California Race Services. Willow runs a pretty tight ship, and I pulled my warmers off at third call and went to the hot pit to take the warm-up lap, but they closed it just as I got there. Great, no sight in lap. The following are some observations I had during the 750 race. |
 Saturday practice, before Peanut's bike became an object lesson on inserting objects where they don't belong. |
| 1.
Try not to switch your shift pattern. When you least expect it, you
will revert and this may not be a good thing. 2. Aprilia has a very nice slipper clutch--refer to observation one. 3. The fast guys at Willow are very, very fast. 4. It's hard to be a fast guy with one hour of seat time under expert practice conditions and a new bike. 5. Sleep is good. 6. Pirelli makes one hell of a slick tire. 7. Tire warmers are one of the best things ever, something you'll be very aware of when you miss the warm-up lap on a cold morning at willow. 8. Turn eight is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Worrying about how your toe sliders are holding up at 150 MPH is pretty darn nuts. 9. Proper race suspension is awesome, I wouldn't race without it. Thanks Circuit 1. 10. Some racers evidently don't care if oil hits the track in front of them. I am not one of those. The race started and I managed to take an extra stab at the gear lever the wrong way, but since I was in first it didn't matter much. It did manage to put me into turn one way down the field, though. I passed a few people heading into turn two and set about trying to keep the leaders in sight. One of the said leaders had something let go which didn't seem to slow him down, but sent a huge plume of smoke billowing behind him as I set up for turn eight at around a buck fifty. I sat up and moved off the race line hoping I could get far enough to miss the oil that might be spraying all over the race surface. No one else right behind me did and I dropped around three places. Luckily there didn't seem to be any oil that made it to the tarmac, and after they black flagged the oil bike at the start finish I put my head back down. The 1000 Mod-Prod leaders came by and I tried to keep them in sight, which allowed me to reel in a couple of 750 guys. I then got too excited, hit a curb and dropped those places again trying not to run off the track. I then forgot I was using a street pattern. Big pucker factor. At that point I decided to cool it, as I was making mistakes and trying waaay too hard. The checkered flag seemed to pop out of nowhere. I finished mid pack in seventh, and felt pretty fortunate to be upright. I decided I need to keep that competitive fire damped a little more. Race two was Formula Twins, which had a nice full grid and a lot of fast guys. Being a new racer and having post entered meant I lined up on the back row. I got a much better start thanks to shifting the proper direction and ended up in around the middle of the pack. I passed into fourth place and started trying to reel in the leaders. First place checked out, running much faster than I was capable, but I was right in the battle for second. I made a couple of attempts but just wasn't consistent enough yet, and ended up making a few mistakes and losing five or so bike lengths to the guys. I got to watch a great battle for second place until one of them had a pretty minor low side in turn five. I turned it down a notch and just circulated in third. That’s how we were at the checkered flag. Peanut's plan to keep me from getting nervous was to go get lunch and not give me any time to think about my last race, BOTT Heavyweight. Imagine my surprise when we got back to our pits to find them announcing first call for my race! Good thing my tire warmers heat up fast. I did a speed change into my riding gear and headed to the hotpit, barely getting my warm up lap in. A better start (damn the Aprilia is fast bone stock) and I slotted into turn one fourth. I passed into second going into turn two and then headed after a guy with the name Pinson on his leathers. He's the one who crashed out of second the race before. He was riding the wheels off a hybrid American twin of some sort and I stayed behind him a little while. He seemed safe to race close, so after a few corners it was on! I think we swapped the lead around six or eight times, passing each other in just about every corner. It slowed us down, but was a blast (Thanks, Eric, looking forward to next time). Our battle allowed the third place Ducati 998 to catch up to us, but I didn't know it. On the last lap I passed for the lead out of turn two and set about getting a nice gap so I could just let my motor pull me to the checkered flag on the straight. I didn't know that the Ducati had passed into second and was just a short distance behind me. Luckily, I had plenty of motor, as my bike pulled a gap I held to the line. And that's how I managed to win my first race at Willow Springs. There's a bunch of people I need to thank as this season gets underway. -Kent at Airtech, you rock. Kent insisted on helping me install my bodywork at six in the evening on Friday night. How many people would sponsor you, then stay late to help you work on your bike. -Jerry at California Race Services. Jerry, thanks for your support, we're gonna get waay faster, and you know how good the tires are. The whole crew did a great job, too. Dude, where are my stickerrrs.... -Pat Hickman at Circuit 1 Suspension. Head, as always, the suspension was perfect. I'm embarrassed to admit I never touched one clicker. -Duc at Ducdesigned. The logos are awesome, thanks for the advice, and wait until you see the bikes all painted. -All my other sponsors for getting me to the track in time. I think we're off to a good start. |
 Sun was bright on Sat. Like my expensive pipe hangers? 2-stroke's in one piece, check.  It was a bad day for all the Team LBR 2-strokes. The Sikk bike isn't happy.  Gratuitous sex pic--Dr.Know on a 500GP bike. Calm down young jedi. |
