News & Race Reports!
Barber Race Report
Well Barber went pretty damn good considering the talent that showed.. My Pit Guy was Travis Walker Texas ranger (some of you guys know him as the guy that worked for Moose @ Michelin last year). We went to Barber a bit under budget, so we ran pump gas and old tires (the front had 6 sprints, 6 practices, and a solo; and the rear had 3 sprints four practices and a solo). Once we were at the track we took the rear spring out and took it to Mike @ Ohlins to slap on a heavier spring for that particular track, slap it back on dropped the trailer and headed to Hooters (its tradition) we go to Hooter the night before a race weekend "We" think it brings us good luck?? After a good meal Shannon Rose, a good friend and world class traveler, insisted she used some of her frequent stay points and put us up at the "Hyatt Place".. Lets just say it's not a Best Western Lol! (Thanks Shan) We arrived in the morning to see the entire paddock PACKED. Yes it was PACKED. It was like a VIR cycle jam but in Alabama..
After tech we waited for our turn to hit the track and get up tp speed. First practice was uneventful, the second practice we got down to the 35's which was ok but we were looking for 32-31's. Next was the heavyweight Solo with 5 rows of experts and 20 something novices out back. Of course I waited till the last min to register so I was gridded 12th (last guy). Once the flaged dropped and I exited turn 1, I was in 8th or something and worked my way up the front. Once I was there the leaders where long gone and stayed in 5th for the rest of the race.. There were some scary moments during that race. The closing speeds with the Novice riders were down right scary.. I just gave them room "I think"?? I would like to add that the weather forecast was iffy all weekend long, it looked like it was going to pour the whole time there.
Sunday
Two practices in the morning with crappy tires and some MR12 to get used to the power.
First race I was gridded front left. I got a good start, but not good enough if your a pro. As I dipped it down into turn one, Eslick and my self crashed fairings into 1. I checked up and four guys passed me. I managed to get by everyone except Brown, where I made the pass on him going into 5 on the second lap. It was just me with no one up front to chase, and Brown behind me. I went wide on 14 and brown stuffed it for the pass, I had a better drive coming out of 15 and was side by side approaching 1. I got off the pipe before him with one lap left I ended up with a fourth.
Race 2
Pretty much the same but I lead in 3rd. Then it starts raining?? So I slowed just enough for Brown and Blake to scoop me up. Not knowing what I had for grip, they passed me on the second to the last lap where we all finished within a sec from each other. Thats what I get for being a puss.
Race 3
Rain race:
I went into 1 in 3rd and stayed in 3rd until the last lap where Steel came from nowhere and made the pass. I ended up in fourth.. Three 3rd places finishes that could have been but lesson learned and at the end of the day I rode very tactfully..
Next race: Roebling Road June 5-6
Tally Race Report
Round two of the WERA National series. After two successful weekends with a best finish of 3rd at VIR, I was really looking forward to running with some AMA / ex AMA pros. Considering that the HONDA purse money was a big attraction for them, I was expecting a good turn out. After a 8 hour drive from Fayetteville NC and arriving Thursday evening just in time to drop the trailer, and get some dinner for the next days practice. Friday morning was the same old routine to get the bike ready, registration last min prep on the bike ect.. Having never been to Tally, and with some of my competition already having one race there this season, I really needed to get the ball rolling and get up to pace. By the end of the day I was able to get within 2sec of the fastest time, but with lots of room for improvement.. After some rear spring changes I recommended by Mike Fitzgerald was ready for my one and only practice on Saturday. The changes worked out in our favor and helped subdue some of the rear end issues we were having through the weekend. I picked up a ride for the endurance race on the "Corner Low" Suzuki Gsxr1000. This gave me the opportunity to ride one stint (one hour) of the endurance race. Lets back track a bit, two weeks ago I had Carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand to relive some major arm pump issues I was enduring the season prior. So back to Tally endurance, the endurance race was the true test to see if the operation did indeed succeed. After 51 laps running some conservative 1:01's, I at no time during the race did I encounter any sort of grip/arm issues, the surgery was a success.. With my hand now fixed but still a little sore due to the surgery and still in the healing process I was more confident for the Sunday sprints. Sunday's first race, A Super stock open. With a nice assortment of AMA and ex AMA pros in this race, I could hear the school bell ring. Gridded row 1 far right. I got a good start and came out of turn one in P3. As we approached turn four Lee Acree came in the inside of me for the pass and had a very deep inside line and tucked the front end right next to me. I able to get around Lee and get back on the chase behind Hunt and Tim B . I stayed in third the whole race with Chris Steel breathing on my back. I ran some defensive lines the last two laps where I was able to hold him off for a podium finish in the A Open Super stock race. Race #2 WERA Super bike. Gridded row 2 far left right behind Hunt, good start and was in P5 coming out of turn 1 with Steel on my six. I held P5 for the whole race with Steel behind me the whole race, on the last lap coming down the back straight into the last corner my bike had problems going into 3rd so I held 2nd with a inside line going into the last corner were I drove it a little bit wide and left he door open for Steel to come in. He was able to hold the line leaving me no where to go but behind him coming down the front straight across the finish line to pass the checker flag. Some great racing this weekend and the learning curve gets better every weekend. All in all not a bad weekend considering the talent that showed. I am very happy with the results but not satisfied. Big thanks to all my Sponsors KWS Kevin, Mike, Chip, Husk Hardware brewery Josh Collins, 785graphics katie , Ohlins Eric, and Mike, Dunlops,Matteo from Dainese, Alexa from Spyderleather work, Patrick Fullerton "The commando Doctor".. Thank You all for your support!!
Click to Zoom
Recap of this weekend WERA races at VIR
With a decent season opener for me the weekend prior in Savannah Ga, I had a really good idea of what to expect this weekend. I decided to drive up Friday morning since its only a two and a half hour drive from the house, meet up with my "crew chief" and the Ohlins guys and do a quick front-end spring swap to accommodate the bike to the hard breaking points that VIR posseses. Friday practice went smooth, with every session improving lap times. At the end of the day, Eric from Ohlins decided to make some small geometry changes for the Saturday morning practice. Additional tweaks include some slipper clutch adjustments (recommended by Mike Godin) that made the bike alot easier to ride during the practice session - showing some lap time improvements.
With nothing to do the rest of the day I made a last minute decision to race in the Heavy weight Solo 16 (16 lap Open displacement race for $$$) I usually don't do these simply to save the tires for Sundays sprint races, but after looking at the size of the grid I thought it would be great opportunity for passing practice. My last minute registration placed me in the back, very last actually, on the second wave of a two wave start. I started in 31st position and worked my way up to 9th by the end of the race... not too bad, but there's always room for improvement.
Sunday
First Race: Formula 1
I again was gridded in last place because of late registration. I managed to get good starts on all my races but hesitated a little coming into turn one and was held back for two laps untill I was able to get around the slower guys... only manged a 7th.
Race Two: A Superstock
Again gridded in back. Another good start, but this time I followed Scott Carpenter into turn one, I stayed on the pipe (gas) all they way down with him and came out of turn one in third. I kept that place for the entire race for a 3rd place finish.
Race Three: A Superbike
Pretty much the same as the 2nd, however, one of the "freaks of Nature" entered the race and bumped me to a 4th place.
Overall an ok weekend with a lot of improvement, and still plenty to learn. Running with these guys at this level is a whole diffrent ball game and having the the best equipment and support does really help, so I have to extent a huge thank you to my sponsors :)
Next race is the Talladega National in Alabama on the 10-12 of April. Big thanks to KWS, Husk Hardware House, Eric and Brad from OHLINS, Andrew Swenson designs, 785graphics.com (for the sick decals & website), cyclegear, Jeff Kovack (for the sick pics). Kevin Hunt, Mike Godin (for staying late) Chip Spalding (for always bugging him). Thank You ALL with out you guys I dont get to live this dream.
Click to Zoom
The 2010 Season Begins!!
Some quick updates on last week at Barber Motorsports park in AL. The Nesba trackday was a good opportunity to get back on the bike and get that fresh superstock motor broken in, not to mention showing off the fresh paint work from Andrew Swenson. I was able to get back to last years pace fairly quick by the afternoon; considering the cooler weather I think we are off to a good start. The refreshed Superstock motor from KWS felt extremely strong with a very linear power curve. The Dunlop NTEC tire are just plain crazy with grip! The difference in grip was considerably noticeable compared to the Michelins that I ran last year. In addition, Travis Walker (he worked the Michelin truck in the Mid A Region) will be my "crew chief" for most of the SouthEast and National rounds this season as well as Mike Godin from KWS making some cameos here and there.
Always a big thanks to Husk Hardware House, and KWS for keeping me going. Next stop Roebling Road for the WERA Nationals!!!
Click to Zoom
Season Re-cap and Final Round at the WERA Grand National Finals
November 3, 2009
The last race of the regional came to the close with very little drama, wrapping up two 3rd place finishes in the two races I needed to enter to wrap up the three regional championships. Upon returning home preperations started for the “Michelin Championship” at Barber Motorsport park in Leeds, AL. The goal, to win the Novice Open Superstock and go home with a nice puirse of $3000 dollars. What really ended up happening was my engine ended up dropping a valve (blown engine) on my first race of two, while I was running in fourth with 1st thru 4 th position running within a sec of each other. Needless to say that weekend was over, and the reality of attending the GNF (Grand National Finals) the following week were slim to impossible. On my way back home from Alabama (somewhere in Ga on I20) Kevin Hunt ( owner of KWS / AMA Aprilla team) calls me for the details on what had happened. After a short talk he convinced me to come over to the shop to see if it was something that could be fixed. Long story short My Motor was a mess and was not repairable with the allotted time. In short, Kevin made some magic happen and I was on my way to the GNF Wednesday night with a fresh SuperStock motor for the show. The next three day would have never happened with out the help of KWS Kevin, Mike, and even Chip... I can never thank them enough for what they did.
GNF
My first race the A superstock was one of the most exciting races of the season - battling it out with new found friend Chris Steel piloting his 08 CBR 1000. Just the weekend prior we were going at it at Barber. Things didn’t change a beat this weekend also as we battled it out till the very end with Chris taking the win and me wrapping up second place for that race.
Second race Formula 1
With Chris Steel not entering this race, I figured all I had to do was get the hole shot, tag onto an expert, and win the race... Well it did not quite go as planned. I did get the hole shot, but the 2 wave start was long enough that I could not see any carrots (1st wave riders) to tag onto. I ran my pace and lead until the 6th lap where James Sehringer made the pass on the brakes and take the win, again leaving me with a solid second place.
Race three A Superbike
The only guy I had to worry about was the same guy who beat me in race two. Last race of the day, and last race of the season for me.. I had to win this one! Gridded up Flag drops I get the hole shot, checked out, and never looked back - winning the race by over 10 seconds for a National Win.
I cant thank these people enough, KWS Kevin, Mike, Chip, the Guys at OHLINS Eric Knight, Mike Fitzgerald, Brad Stokes, Really good friends that took care of me throughout the season Scott Marlow, Ryan Manotti, Lee Acree (Lee saved my arms, but that’s another story), Opie Caylor for taking the time and answering all my questions.
2010 Sponsorship
November 3, 2009
Sponsorship applications are being accepted for the 2010 WERA Season. If you would like to take advantage of a great opportunity to have a professional, well manner representative for your company in the exciting world of motorcycle racing, then don't miss out ....... more
Website!
November 2, 2009
New website launch - be sure to contact me and tell me what you think!....... more
