The End...

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln



Last weekend was filled with 'ends' for all of us. Some of which we are aware before it occurs; with these we can choose to embrace or deny, but we know they are coming. Some 'ends' we are not aware until the moment they occur. But, it is usually the 'ends' which we have no idea occurred which seem to affect us the most.

I knew going into this weekend that my 2012 season would be ending. I knew it would be the last time this year I would be facing off with my foes in the four championships in which I participate. This would be the last time I had to hold off my foes from knocking me out of the top three spots in each of the aforementioned championships. I knew these 'ends' were coming, but i couldn't decide if I was happy to embrace or settling to deny their reality.

Saturday

I never felt quite right on Saturday. Mentally, I wasn't sharp - I wasn't distracted, but I wasn't all there. Physically, I was still very sore from last month's crash. My right ankle doesn't work, my back has been having problems, and I screwed up my left foot pretty well. I don't mind pain, pain I can handle. The physical inability to move is another story however. Mechanically, the bike wasn't right. I couldn't get the suspension to be quite right during practice. My normal settings were causing a bad rebound tear in the rear and my front felt disconnected, almost like I had a passenger steering for me. But as I yell out my instructions for the steering I desire, I only receive a front which chatters, clanks, and tucks at or just past the apex.

 

Middleweight

When the middleweight race came around i was running a coupe seconds slower than normal. I wasn't happy with it, but i was ok with it. I was ok with it because I went into this race in maintenance mode. I relinquished second place in the championship to #889 Stephen Rue when I crashed during the race last month and had a 53 point deficit. I knew how fast Stephen is at Thunderhill and knew the only way I would be able to take the position back was with some sort of mathematical anomaly such as Rue crashing out. Behind me in the championship was #861 Ramsey Junaid, trailing by 26 points. Odds are I was not going to beat Ramsey, but I didn't need to beat him. All I had to do was keep within 26 points of him and go home in third place; all I had to do was finish.

The green flag drops and we all go charging towards turn one, only to suddenly be brought o a halt by a red flag being pulled from the race director. I put my hand up and begin slowing down when just then it hits me; I am on the front row and I have about 30 guys behind me all cramming for the same piece of real estate at full throttle, some one is going to ride right up my back side, this is going to end very ugly. Fortunately, every racer keep under control and slowed to and eventual halt. It is the weird moments like that which are the most fearful in racing, not the 100 mph turns leaned over grinding your body on the ground. It is weird moments like that which leave racers paralyzed or killed. It is moments like that which me feel very lucky that everyone responded well and no one was injured



(See the red flag to the left of the picture???)

Restart

After about a 20 minute delay dealing with the injured racers who crashed in the first wave of the race, causing the red flag, we were once again on the grid ready to do battle. The two waves ahead of us take off into the distance, and our engines come alive. Howling over any memory of the incident which occurred only a short time ago. Drowning all fear, doubt, and hesitancy deep into our gut and replaced by adrenaline - the green flag waves and we are racing for the last time as a group in 2012.

I get a good start, but everyone around me gets a better one and I fall to forth place before entering turn one with Ramsey just in front of me on the inside. I duck underneath Ramsey at the apex and get a run on him going into turn two. I feel pretty good about the positioning of #644 Travis Trevethick in third place and run a wide fast line around the 180 degree turn 2. I get by Travis and can almost reach out and touch #780 Kyle Schirrmacher and Stephen Rue right in front of me. I knew Kyle had the championship locked and wasn't going to go 100% in this race. A plan was quickly devised; if I got ahead of Kyle right now, he will likely hold everyone up for long enough where I could pull a gap on the pack and scout Rue for the 600 Superbike race on Sunday (more on that later). I line up to take the tight inside line on turn 3, leaving Kyle to the outside to act as a blockade for anyone who tries to run the wide line to make an entry pass going into turn. But instead, Kyle came down tight and shut the door on me, forcing me to shut the throttle and allow Ramsey to come around the outside of both Kyle and me. I tried poking my nose around Kyle on turns 4, 5, and 5a, but instead found myself lined up in a position to go around the outside of turn 6. I pass Kyle just after the apex and crack open the throttle only to be forced to close it again as Kyle's exit leaves me having to evade my front tire from being clipped. This flung my body in the air and felt like I was about to be thrown completely off the bike.

This was the beginning of an intense race. Positions being swapped at nearly every turn, outside, inside, over the top, it didn't matter. Everyone wanted to win and no one had anything to lose. Before I knew it, I found myself behind #744 Manuel Hernandez in 8th place and losing touch with the front. At this point I just had to get moving and not let anyone else get by. Hernandez proved to be incredibly difficult to pass and we ended up going back and forth quite a few times until we finally came together in turn 6. I'll let the video speak for the race, because there is no way I could write every pass and move made during the race.

In the end, I took 7th place. As soon as I saw Ramsey had won the race, I did some quick math in my head and realized I had just been dropped from third in the championship by 6 points - the difference in points Ramsey received by moving up from 2nd to 1st place in the race. This was one of those moments where I realized my championship goals came to an end not at the end of this race, but rather when I crashed a month earlier. That crash was one of those 'ends' which I didn't know occurred until later.


Sunday

I woke up on Sunday very sore from race the day prior. This only contributed to my fatigue, as I could not sleep well Saturday night. Running on only a couple hours of sleep, I found myself napping every chance I had between races and tasks in the pits. The end of the season went from being something which I denied out of sadness to something I welcomed out of suffering.

750 Superbike

I had enough points in the 750 championship where I could have not started and would have still retained my 3rd place championship standings. I knew I would not be able to beat Travis or Ramsey to move up a position, so I raced in an effort to find some speed and to be on track and score points if Travis or Ramsey happened to receive DNF for some reason (heck, if they took each other out I would become class champ).

Instead I found myself in a battle with #607 Jeff Keohen for 4th place. I did not want to crash in this race and not be able to race in the 600 Superbike race later in the day and I knew chasing Travis, Ramsey, and #743 Jordan Edginton would likely lead to the crash. As a result, I simply fell in behind Keohen until the last lap when I made a move on the brakes going into turn two and ran mid-track lines into turns which I felt Jeff may try to pass. I finished in forth place with a best time of 1:58.8




600 Superbike

You have read a few times so far that I wanted to make sure nothing happened to me before the 600 Superbike race. If you remember from last month's race report I went into the final round of the season 2nd place in the championship, leading Stephen Rue by only 7 points. This made for a very interesting scenario: If Rue won and I took second (unlikely because Kyle is much faster than me at Thunderhill) we would be tied for second in the championship, and I believe Rue's number of wins will give him the championship position. However, if he came in second and I came in third, I would be second in the 2012 championship by a single point. If he beats me by any more than one position, I would be third in the championship.

This knowledge in addition to my third place championship position in formula 1 being locked in mathematically meant that I was going to have to wake up and haul balls in this race. Rue's position was the only thing of importance to me for this race. I instructed my girlfriend to only signal to me Rue's relative position to me and not any other rider. I had to prey for a good start and some lap traffic.

But that plan went out the window after the green flag dropped. By the time we got to turn one, I had fallen to fifth place and was focused solely on Rue's tail section. I was caught behind Jeff Keohen again and could play the waiting game like I did earlier. I wasn't going to get by in the fast sections, I knew that for sure, so i opted to use my braking abilities to ride the outside paint on the entrance to turn ten and work around Keohen. This pulled me back in the hunt of the front three, led by Rue.

Once we got to the front straight, Keohen charged by me with a vengeance. It was obvious he did not want to let me get away from him as I did in the 750 race. As we came out of turn thirteen, I see Kyle pass Rue and move into second place. I knew this would be my best shot to try an get by Rue; he was just passed and has a few racers around him. Situations like this leave riders as victims more than anything else. It looked as though Rue got a bad drive resulting from having to choke up a hair from Kyle's pass, opening the door for Jeff and me to go by him on the brakes into turn fourteen.

At this point I am in good shape, I don't really care about Jeff any longer, I just wanted to create whatever separation i could between Rue and me by getting Jeff between the two of us. I was shaking in my boots going down the front straight, just waiting for the imminent move of Rue going by me on the gas. But I didn't see him. I kept thinking to myself, "Don't crash, don't crash, it's ok if Rue goes back by you, you'll still take the championship".

When we get to turn ten I see the opportunity to put Jeff between Rue and me. We hit lap traffic and I zoomed around the outside of the lapper, moved up on the exiting curbing. Just as the lapper began to tip it in left for turn eleven, he shockingly glanced at me on his right. The shock of me squeezed in next to him made him miss his turn in and caused him to run wide. Fortunately, I was able to get on the brakes, pull underneath him and block Jeff. This gave me the run down the back straight, leaving Jeff in my memories.

I finished in 3rd place with a best time of 1:57.6 and taking 2nd in the championship.




Formula 1

Just like 750 Superbike, I came into the weekend locked into third place in the championship behind Travis and Ramsey. Odds were against me moving up in the standings, so I had a lot of pressure off my shoulders.

I got a terrible start as I dropped the clutch too quickly and got a nice "clunk" from my bike before having to pull the lever back in to save it. Once I got going, I was trying to find my way my Hernandez again. I planned on making a move in turn 10, but Hernandez took care of it for me and ran wide in turn nine, clearing  #914 Ricardo Villegas out of my way too. Form here, all I really did was pace #818 Andy Marinshaw as we made our laps around the track. I was running a hair quicker than he, but we would need a lot of laps to make up the difference he pulled on me in the first couple laps of the race.

For a moment, I was on the verge of just pushing it to my absolute limit, knowing that I have no further races and can't get less than third in the championship. I finished 4th with a best time of 1:58.1 and retained my 3rd place in the championship



2012 Wrap-up

Middleweight: 4th place of 55 racers
600 Superbike: 2nd place of 35 racers
750 Superbike: 3rd place of 24 racers
Formula 1: 3rd place of of 24 racers

In the end, I met my goals laid out before the season. I got my first class win in a hard fought battle at Infineon in Formula 1. I learned a lot in both riding skills and suspension set-up. I found times where I was frustrated with my tight budget, my antiquated machine, and my inability to get any practice time outside of race weekends. The one thing I need to remember is to have fun; I have a tendency to forget that. I also got my first podium this year, and when I did I was ecstatic beyond belief. But only a few months later, I treat third as a complacent disappointment. I need to remember to keep things in perspective.

Unfortunately, this season ends with a few more 'ends'. The most frustrating part of these 'ends' is that I am not even sure of exactly what these 'ends' are, but I know they are coming. I want to come back and race in 2013, but my budget is not allowing that to occur. I will need to gather some good sponsorship money in the off-season just to afford the costs of racing, despite that fact that I am doing it at an impressively cheap budget. Financing is putting a likely (short-term) end to my racing.

I have a milestone coming up in my personal life, another 'end' of sorts, which could leave me here in the bay or living on the east coast. I have the opportunity to finish the next step in my education at some very prestigious schools. While there is nothing I love more with school than racing, the reality of being able to come back to the bay just to race seems slim. It is an 'end' I know is coming, but I currently choose to deny. But, if I am able to make the racing finances work well enough to come back for racing, I guarantee I will.

A quick thanks

Thank you to everyone who supported and sponsored me this year. Jeff with Viets performance helped me with making sure I always had the right rubber at the right time. This was my first year with Bridgestone, and I couldn't be any more impressed with the durability or feedback from the tires. I often found myself changing the tires for no other reason than I felt bad that I had them on for so long.

Thanks to Dave Moss of Feel The Track for always getting my suspension dialed in, even when I have no idea how to describe what is occurring. Dave's suspension set-ups were by far the best thing to help overcome my power deficit.

Thank you to Jim and Nickie Williams of Catalyst Reaction. They were able to take my stock forks and Elka shock and perform mechanical magic which rivaled the most expensive suspension systems one can buy.

I also want to say thank you to Arlen Ness Racing. When I rode like an idiot, The Arlen Ness leathers, boots, and gloves saved my hide. I have walked away from a few big crashes in the same set of gear and have never needed even the slightest repair work. It is as good now as the day I received it, despite sliding on the asphalt at triple-digit speeds. My mom and girlfriend are especially happy with your product.

A huge thank you to my friends and family who supported me. Thank you to my girlfriend, Georgia, for her tireless efforts trackside. Thank you for making the long drives in the middle of the night after a long day at work so I can do school work in the passenger seat. Thank you for the cooking, pit-management, and loving care when I am having a rough time. Thank you to all my friends who stop by my pits and say hi, despite the fact that I am pitted out in the middle of nowhere.

Finally, Thank you to all my friends with whom I battled this year, especially those too fast for me to beat. I hope to race with you next year in the expert class, even if I am still on my rat bike.

   The End....

3 Inches

3 inches...

No, it is not the start of a bad joke involving male genitalia, it is the small piece of real estate which altered my fate for the race weekend at Sonoma and ultimately the 2012 championship.

Going into this weekend I was 2nd in two championships and 3rd in two others, with a close points battle to my nearest nemeses in each class. Sonoma is by far my best opportunity to win races and score points. Being that we only visit Sonoma twice this year, it is critical I maximize points in all races to keep in the points chase. Our last visit to Sonoma resulted in some fun battles and significant points for me, meaning all I had to do was do it all over again.

I spent the week prior to the race analyzing all the mathematical statistics to the possible outcomes based on many variables. However, I failed to calculate for a few factors; personal deviations, other racers being faster than the last visit, and the three inches of space just outside the curbing on the exit of turn four.


Saturday

Saturday practice went well, I was running 1:48s without really trying. I went out to each session working on specific goals and managed to run laps within a second of my best time while just having fun and feeling like I was at a trackday rather than a race weekend. After looking at the times of my opponents on the time sheets, I felt pretty f'in good going into the middleweight race.


Middleweight (No on-board video, forgot to turn on camera)

Starting 2nd on the grid, I got an average start off the line. Stephen Rue, #889, got his typical awesome start and passed by me before even getting to the first turn. Going into turn one I saw the front wheel of Ramsey Junaid, #861, poke into the apex at the wall. I didn't want to try and squeeze down on Ramsey, but I certainly didn't want him to make a run up the hill and get in front of me. I made a quick decision to keep the throttle open and take the wide line through the turn.

I carry a lot of speed from this line and try to get beside Rue before getting to turn two so I can have a control position through the turn and being able to carry that inside advantage all the way to turn four, if needed, to secure second place. At the last possible minute I back off and fall in behind Rue, he simply wasn't entering wide enough for me to go safely underneath. I presume he was trying to do the same maneuver to Kyle Schirrmacher, #780, which is why he kept his line tight and deep on the brakes.



Going into the carousel, I see Rue make a move around Kyle and smile a little because of the thought that I can use these two battling to my advantage within the next few laps. I kept swinging at Kyle like Rocky taking on Apollo Creed in the 15th. Moves inside and out, every opportunity ended sharply with me having to close the throttle, making a mistake, or being out ran leaving the turn. The next few laps the three of us are flying around the track at record speed, dragging me into a race where I was running 1:46s and only in third. Kyle got back around Rue and I was now trying to get around someone I hadn't spent a lot of time chasing around Sonoma. Then it happened...

By the sixth lap of running faster than normal times, I was chewing up my rear tire due to my suspension being set for my normal fast times of a second slower. I decided after nearly high-siding twice in the sixth lap to back it down a little and take third place. I was far enough ahead of Rue in the championship points to be able to afford taking third to his second (Rue actually went on to win the race). I was also far enough ahead of forth place so I could back it down for two laps and take a podium finish.

Typically, I wheelie out of the exit of turn three about 30 degrees, but this lap wasn't typical. I was traveling slightly slower through the turns while accepting third place. The slower speed translates to more thrust when opening the throttle coming over the crest exiting turn thee and my bike went up MUCH higher than normal. The extra couple tenths of a second my bike was in the air caused me to miss my turn in point at the speed I desired. Once I got on the brakes I knew I wasn't going to be able to hit my apex and my focus went to simply making the turn using the wide line. I continue to brake very deep into the turn and do everything I can to get the bike turned. I begins to turn and I run all the way out to the exit curbing. Leaned all the way over, nearly parallel to the track direction, I just barely touch the dirt on the outside of the exit curbing about half-way down the exit section - slamming me to the ground, filling my helmet with sand, and ending my race; if I only had another three inches of track.

Because I forgot to turn on my camera, Kyle gave me his rear view footage to post some of the race. I was directly behind him for a fair amount of the race and you can get a new perspective of my races. If you look in the background right before the end of the video, you can see me run off in turn four.
Enjoy:



Sunday

I woke up very sore. Most muscles on my body were stiff and ached; it felt like I played a game of football the day before. But it wasn't the soreness which was the problem. The wreck on Saturday managed to screw up my right knee and ankle so that I couldn't properly walk, let alone move around on the bike. I couldn't press with my right foot because my ankle was essentially locked in place from swelling. After going out for a practice session, I was barely able to get off the bike and racing in an hour was becoming seriously doubted.


750 Superbike

My goals for the 750 race were simple: stay upright and score some points. I was third in the championship and had quite the gap on fourth. I knew my 1:46s from the day before were a fair amount faster than my two main competitors in the class (who also race in the Middleweight class): Travis Trevethick #644 and Ramsey Junaid #861.

Starting third on the grid, the green flag drops and Jeff Keohen #607 makes one of his famous starts from the second row and blew by me before the first turn, not much later I fell victim to Travis getting to turn seven before me. I found myself in fourth trying to hold-off new fast kid, Jordan Edginton #743. But the fight didn't last long as he went by me on the second lap, diving under me at the apex on turn eleven. I watched Travis, Ramsey, Jeff, and Jordan all begin to pull away from me little by little. I couldn't muster the strength to pull my 1:46s from the day before and instead meandered my way around the track at 1:49s and 1:48s. But that didn't stop everyone in front of me from running 47s and 46s.

Not only was I fighting a physical battle with myself but also a mental one; turn four never seemed so difficult and slow until that day. Eventually the torture of the race ended and I took forth place; only because Ramsey's chain broke while he was coming out of the carousel. I kept it up and scored some points, but I learned that the rest of the day would not be easy.


600 Superbike

After throwing away my championship in Middleweight, 600 Superbike was the only other class that I was not 3rd in the championship. Unfortunately, I have to face off with Kyle and Rue again. Knowing that I was riding much slower, I decided my best chance is to try and get ahead early and use as much positioning strategy as possible to stay in the fight.

But reality kicked in as soon as the race began. I was quickly shuffled back and found myself in 5th place behind #914, Ricardo Villegas. I didn't want to sit behind him for long, knowing I must just up towards the front right away, so I tuck to the inside of the exit for turn three and wheelie by Ricardo, stick the landing and wrangle in the bike to make turn four. The next step is finding a way by Digby Norris, #872. I don't find myself battling with Norris, so I had no idea of his tendencies nor where is the safest/smartest place to pass him. I certainly didn't want to try a risky maneuver with my physical state and take out the both of us, so I hung back for a lap. When coming across the start/finish line, I decided the best place to take him would be the entrance to the carousel. I was slightly hesitant because of my crash the day prior, but felt this would be safer than trying a few of the other passing areas, considering our speed differential. When we get to turn six, I go gentle on the front brakes and get to the right side of the track. the bike begins to fight me to turn as we enter the drop, but I was able shut the door and get in Digby's way enough to hold him off on the run to turn seven,

I begin to reel-in Kyle as I watch Rue take off into the sunset. The next four laps I keep a fairly even pace with Kyle as we come through traffic. On the 7th lap, Kyle over shoots the entry to turn seven and I am back in the hunt, right on his tail. It is too bad I wasn't a hair closer, because Kyle's error occurred in the best zone for passing him from an unforced error. I begin looking for areas to get by Kyle and then I see a sign from my girlfriend that someone is on my ass and looking to pass. On the final lap I start seeing the front wheel of Andy Marinshaw #818 poking his nose underneath me in almost every turn.

Kyle, Andy, and I coming railing out of turn seven and see a slew of slower riders just in the distance. Based on our speed differential in relation to these slower riders, I put a plan together to get in the inside of Kyle going into turn eleven. I won't actually pass him, but rather sit in a spot tight on the entry and apex which will force him back because of the fast line being plugged by the slower riders. We line up coming out of ten, I wait until Kyle hits the brakes and I commit to the move. Just as I make the inside move I see a yellow flag out of the corner of my eye. SHIT!!! I just passed under yellow and will be disqualified if I don't let Kyle back by. I realize I just need to take third because the accident in turn one ahead prevents any passing. I run out wide to let Kyle back underneath, the last thing I wanted was having him caught behind traffic and coming across the line after me. Just as Kyle comes back underneath me, Andy comes with him and i cross the line in forth.

Unfortunately for Andy, he did not see the yellow flag in turn eleven and was subsequently disqualified for his pass. It was sad to see because of his great run he made at the end of the race. Andy's DQ placed me in third with a best time of 1:48.6. I am in second place in the 600 championship by only seven points because of Rue's win. This means for the final race of the season if Rue wins and I take second (unlikely because Kyle is much faster than me at Thunderhill) we will be tied for second, and I believe Rue's number of wins will give him the championship position. However, if he comes in second and I come in third, I will be second in the 2012 championship by a point. If he beats me by any more than one position, I will be third in the championship. Very interesting.


Formula 1 ( No video - dead battery after leaving camera running after 600 Superbike )

By the time the third race of the day came around, the swelling in my knee and ankle rendered them fairly useless. The endorphins from the 600 race helped numb the pain, but I still couldn't exert the force needed to run as well as I did the day before. The formula 1 championship had me in third place with only 9 points to Trevethick in second and 12 to Ramsey in first. This Championship had not yet been determined, so if I can get my act together and maximize my last chance to move up the ladder, I could feasibly be first in the championship.

The race starts and I get a great launch, moving around Ramsey and into second place behind Travis. On the second lap Ramsey worked his way around me, relegating me to third place. On the following lap, Andy Marinshaw flew by me like he had something to prove. Apparently he did because he went on to win the race with a dominate performance while running 1:46 lap times.

By this point, all I could do was hang onto the bike and hope something happens in front of me. I was making errors everywhere and praying for the chequered flag. Never before have I wanted a race to be shortened, never before had I hated being in a race. My muscles were screaming, my bones ached, and everything told me to just stop. Even if I pull in and quit this race I will still be third in the championship, forth is not even close. But I couldn't give up, I just couldn't; it isn't in my nature. If the race lasted fifty laps and I was in last place by a mile, I still never would have been able to quit. I finished forth with a 1:48.0 and finally was able to call it a day.


Round 6 Conclusion:

Crashing sucks.

Losing Grip

“Some people see the glass half full. Others see it half empty.

I see a glass that's twice as big as it needs to be.”  - George Carlin

Pragmatic. That is how I approach my racing. I keep a realist view in order to keep a grip on the reality of my expectations, on my results, and my racing career. It gives me the ability to use goals as a point for which to aim, without being over-reaching. My pragmatism keeps me from freaking out when my practice times are 6-7 seconds slower than my race times, it reminds me of the reality that my practice times won’t meet my race times – because then, as logic dictates, I am going too slow in the races. It reminds that my tires have a limit of grip and I should ride to the limit or a little below, as opposed to letting passion over-step the limit and crash out. It reminds me to not try and brute the bike around like I would earlier in life during a football game. Being pragmatic allows me to firmly grip onto the big-picture concept of: enjoying what I am doing, doing the best of my abilities, racing my race, and letting the results fall as they may.

This last race weekend, I lost grip.

Saturday

Saturday was strange. I awoke early in the morning in my hotel room, but I wasn’t that tired. I walked out of the hotel room and to the truck without gripping onto a pile of books and my laptop. I had no stress, I had no school, I wasn’t struggling to grasp onto a schedule of how I would fit all I must accomplish outside of racing into my race weekend. This feeling was eerie.

I went out to my first practice and did my usual 3 lap warm-up. I generally have to come in after 3-4 laps because my hands are hurting from gripping the bars and levers. I am sure I am normally clenching my fists as sleep the night prior, having stress dreams and worries of my day to follow. But when I came in on Saturday, I came in out of habit and not out of soreness or the need to relax myself a little further. I felt slow, but I was moving fairly quickly. Normally my opening session I am running laps around 2:06 and fighting to push through a 2:03; but on Saturday, my first flying lap was a 2:03.4 followed by 2:01.1. I didn’t believe it when Georgia told me this in the pits; it felt like a 2:14 at best. My pragmatic voice kicked in and told me to get a grip, this is only practice and it is only a 2:01.

Second practice came and I didn’t feel rushed before heading out. I didn’t have anything to change on the bike nor to fix, this was strange. Normally on my second session, I will stay out the whole time and begin feeling out the bike for any suspension or tire pressure adjustments. But this time I came in after only three laps. It was almost like I didn’t even care about practice, I was just kind of “whatever” about it. I wasn’t upset or happy, I just was. I didn’t even remember opening my throttle to 100% one time; I simply went around checking-in with my apexes, just to pay them a visit and see how they are doing. So you could imagine my shock when Georgia yelled at me, “Good job, 1:58”. I was befuddled. What just happened? Did I really just run a 1:58? Did I really just run only .6 seconds slower than my record time? I checked my timer and confirmed it too be true. I tried to contain my excitement, but my mind started off into dreamland: “If I ran a 1:58 now, what the hell am I going to run in the races? Oh my god, I am going to kill it this weekend. I am going to beat Kyle at Thunderhill, of all places”. After only 6 laps of practice, I had begun to lose grip on keeping calm; I had begun to lose grip on reality.

Middleweight

I always get a little nervous lining up on the grid, as I should. But this time when I came around the last turn on the warm-up lap, I began feeling really nervous – almost sick, like I was going vomit in my helmet. When I got to my grid spot I was shaking like a leaf; I lost grip on my mental state.

The green flag drops and I get a pretty good start. Stephen Rue #889 gets a killer start and leaves everyone in the dust (I think Stephen used to do a little stoplight street racing before he came to the AFM). On my right I have Ramsey Junaid #861 peeking out and on my left Kyle Schirrmacher #780 is beginning to drift over from his position on the pole. He’s still drifting. Still drifting. Clack! Kyle and I have a little love tap which shifts my bike into 3^rd gear prematurely, leaving me chasing Ramsey, Kyle, and Stephen into turn 1 with my RPMs lower than ideal.

I get underneath Ramsey between turns one and two and begin to latch onto Kyle. I determined a week earlier (and protested it to Kyle’s main pit guy, Skyler) that my goals/plan for middleweight was to tag onto Kyle’s tail and hope to keep pace through the race. This would leave me way ahead of the pack and allow me to make some attempts on Kyle during the last lap.

Kyle and I worked our way through traffic of the F50 and Heavyweight race, sometimes for his benefit and sometimes for mine. I kept on Kyle until about halfway through the race when he ran a fast lap while I made a mistake in turn six, leaving Kyle to run away in the fast section. As I saw Kyle catching Stephen, I knew I still had a chance for the second half of the plan: make a move on the last lap.

After working my way up toward the two of them on the last lap, I saw traffic ahead which I would be able to use to get underneath Kyle/Stephen on the brakes. However, coming out of turn five on that lap I began to get a severe crap in my right hip flexor. I couldn’t hold back any longer and while coming out of turn nine on the run down the hill, I stood up and stretched out my hip while at full speed. As I sat back down on the bike I misjudged my braking point and missed the apex of ten. This lead me to run very wide on the exit, close the throttle, and run to the absolute very edge of the rumble strip while sliding my rear tire. I lost grip on the front runners and the chance to make a move. I finished 3^rd with a best time of 1:57.691

 http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-5-thunderhill-aug-45-middleweight

Sunday

After getting a third in clubman at Thunderhill (a very hard task for my hamster-powered bike) and running a relaxed 1:58 in practice, I lost grip of my concern for my Sunday races. I thought I had it in the bag. Kyle and Stephen are only in my 600 Superbike race and my main two competitors in the 750 Superbike and Formula 1 championships, Travis Trevethick #644 and Ramsey Junaid #861, were running 1:59s. I had it in the bag.

Then I made what may have been my biggest mistake all weekend. I watched the 750 production race from the pit wall. I saw Ramsey not only running with Kyle, but beating him. I checked timing and saw they were running 1:55s! What!!?! Where the hell did they find 2 seconds? Now I was worried; how would I run 1:55? I began to lose grip on my nerves.

750 Superbike

I got a good start and fell into turn one in forth position behind #607, Jeff Keohen. I knew I couldn't let Ramsey and Travis get away in the front; if I had any chance to run 1:55 I knew I would need to be pulled along. I got around Jeff on the entry to turn nine and began to pursue. At this point, I would need to catch-up before they took off and try to simply get in their way.

After only a couple laps, I began to get severe arm pump in my right arm. I decided to back off the attempt on Travis and Ramsey. I got a signal from the wall that Jeff has fallen off the pace and I had room to simply take third. Then a short time later an unfamiliar bike came by me on the run up the hill to turn 9. Young gun #743, Jordan Edginton, managed to get by me on his 750 and we began to battle, so much for my 'go-easy' plan. I actually ran quicker laps than Jordan, but I simply could not get by him. Between my arm feeling like hell and the strong drives Jordan got out of the turns, I had to relinquish my grip on the 3^rd place trophy for 750 Superbike. I finished 4^th with a best of 1:57.8 and an arm that felt like it experienced 40 years of arthritis in a 8 minute period. Travis now joined the rest and also ran 1:55s.

http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-5-thunderhill-aug-45-750-superbike

600 Superbike

The 600 Superbike race started out just like the Middleweight race. Stephen Rue was in first, Kyle was in second, and I was tagging onto Kyle’s tail. As the race went on, I lost touch with those two as we went through traffic. Unfortunately I caught behind traffic from turns 6-10 and newcomer, Manuel Hernandez #744, took advantage and wedged his way into 3rd on the inside of the turn 10 entry. He and I battled back and forth for the remainder of the race.

The pain in my arm began to really affect my riding and I was sliding my front and rear tires in areas unusual for me. The high speed of turn seven slides was by far the most “puckering” turn of them all. Leaned over at full tilt, throttle wide open, and a tire which insists on going faster than the actual rate of travel; I had now lost grip with my tires. Rest assured, this was all caused from my own doing, the bike and tires were operating great, my right arm had become a remote-operated extension of a lifeless aperture causing havoc with my riding.

I tried my darndest on the last lap to make a run on Manuel; but just like with Jordan in the 750 race, I came across the finish line in forth – only a blink of an eye off the podium.

http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-5-thunderhill-aug-45-600-superbike

Formula 1

With Formula 1 came the final loss of grip, I could no longer even hold onto the bars; my arms had completely failed me. I ran in second place for the first half of the race behind Ramsey, until Travis came flying by me in the front straight into turn one. I kept on his tail for as long as I could. After seeing the thumbs up from my girlfriend signaling on the pit wall, I decided it was better for me to fall back and take my points for the championship rather than crashing out. At this point I couldn’t hold the bars at all, I couldn't open the throttle to 100%, and I couldn’t feel the front end of the bike. I had completely lost grip at this point. I finished the race in third with a best time of 1:58.0.

http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-5-thunderhill-aug-45-formula-1

After the Flag

I came home disappointed with my times and my finishes. I decided to run an analysis of my finishing positions and lap times since I started racing. I saw constant progression and soon realized that I had lost grip on the scope of the situation. Yes, everyone else got faster, but so did I over time. Two 4th place and two 3rd place finishes is pretty good for me at Thunderhill with my rat bike. If I wasn’t so concerned with everyone else’s times, I may have run just as fast as they did and my arm may not have been strained. I lost grip on perspective and as such I lost grip on my bars. Relax, run your race, and let the results come.

When Opportunity Meets Determination

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

Charles R. Swindoll

Concern grew greater as the race weekend grew nearer. I hadn't been to Sears Point in a year and on that weekend I wrecked on my second lap of the first race, ending my weekend. In the year since I have barley ridden at all and have made changes to suspension settings, tires, and gearing. I was essentially going into this weekend with no prior data, I had to rely on calculations I was making in my head about the changes and how they would affect my riding. My "perfect shift points" will move, my drive will change, the battle to keep my front end down coming out of 3 has just become more difficult.

But Sears Point is known as a rider's track, where results are given for control and not raw horsepower. Although having extra power helps, it doesn't help nearly as much as any other track. Even the pros in the AMA acknowledge its difficulty in its raw nature. It is a track which is developed by the natural undulating hillsides of Napa valley, not from a desk and computer screen. Sears Point has attitude, anger, and acrimony and will take a rider down for the slightest form of disrespect shown through arrogant riding. My plan this weekend was to think my way through the track, leverage my strong areas, and try to maintain position during the open sections through smart vehicle placement.

Saturday

I woke up Saturday to look outside and say, "shit". The sky was caked in dark clouds, the air had a chill, the ground was covered in a light dew; not a good formula for a Sears Point race weekend. Arriving at the track only brought more concern for the weather, as a fine mist/sprinkle began during the early hours of registration and technical inspections. This was not looking good.

I decided I would spend the first session simply waking up my brain and reminding myself of my entry/apex/exit points. Last thing I want to do is me the guy who tosses his bike in the opening practice session. Leaving the hot-pits I ascend up the hill to turn two planning to merge with traffic. As I cross over a very thin painted yellow line separating the hot pit area from the live track, my rear tire losses grip and spin WAY out to the side. I was able to wrangle the bike back in at the cost of tweaking my back a little. This had set the tone for the remainder of my practices.

I ran slowly during my practices and only did a few laps; concentrating on quality laps and mental exercises rather than quantity. I saw a lot of my competition running some fast times during practice, which began to concern me a little. I still wanted to go easy, but needed to figure out what they were doing. I used what little practice time I had left to time myself with traffic so that I can see what people are doing and where, giving me an idea how to plan for the weekends races. This is not nearly as good as running a few laps at full speed while on their rear, but my gut told me that was asking for trouble.

Plus, this strategy saved my already heavily used tires, which I couldn't change because of a VERY tight budget this round (technically shouldn't have been able to make this race weekend)

Middleweight

I'll start by saying this, middleweight was one hell of a fun battle - much more so than any on-board video could ever show.

Just before the middleweight race began, the clouds began to disperse and gave way to sunshine. The wind however, had stayed behind and was blowing hard from the north. As I headed up for the warm-up lap I noted how heavily the flags around the track were waving and began to plan for alterations for this factor. Wind is a real pain because it is inconsistent and can not be seen while racing. There is no way to know if going into a turn if the wind has increased, decreased, or change direction. Because of this, a rider must gave a margin of error in either direction when entering a turn otherwise he may end up braking too early or not making the turn at all. Personally, I'll take the consistency of rain over wind any day.

The green flag waves and I get a good reaction time but dropped the clutch too quickly. I am able to get back on the gas rather well and carry a lot of speed through turn one and up the hill to the ever sketchy turn two. I find myself in third, just to the inside positioning of Stephen Rue #889 and Kyle Schirrmacher #780. I quickly analyze two options: 1) go to the inside and hope everything works out 2) back off the gas and maintain. I decide on the later because I don't want to be a bowling ball and take out the whole field in turn two. Oddly enough, Rue and Kyle both left a window I could have used, oh well.

My strategy is to keep Kyle in sight while I watch Rue for a lap. But when Rue has a little bobble exiting turn six I quickly decide I am going to try and beat him in seven as a result of his loss in drive. Sitting on the inside, I begin to tip in and I see Rue coming in right at me and the apex, forcing me to sit up for just a moment. This moment gives Sergio Sanchez-Chopitea #424 a pass on my outside while Sergio Fernandez #771 takes me on the inside. I get back on the gas hard to get back around Fernandez, only to see him power up beside me going into 9 and taking the inside back.

I am now in fifth and know I have to step on it or they are going to run away from me. I run hard out of nine and ten taking the inside away from Rue in eleven. I spend the next half a lap chipping away at the lead the leaders pulled on me as a result of my turn eleven heroics, out-braking Sanchez-Chopitea in seven and pulling beside Fernandez in the front straight. We are side-by-side playing a game of chicken while racing at full-throttle to turn one with me squeezed between the wall and Sergio's bike. The moment I see his forks compress I get on the brakes and guide the bike through turn one to begin my attack on Kyle's reign in first place.

I try an inside move in turn four and stick the pass, but executed it a moment too soon which allowed Kyle to delay his turn in and give him a counter attack on the inside of the exit. I start poking my nose into weird lines trying to set up drives and pass maneuvers while simultaneously holding back Fernandez. Then it happens...

Fernandez comes in very hot to the inside of turn nine, shooting by me and pushing out Kyle into the dirt. I set up behind Fernandez expecting to run behind him to turn eleven and try a wide pass move. But then suddenly Sergio sits up while exiting turn nine to return the position to Kyle, leaving me to have to sit up and act evasively. I get around the two of them and suddenly I am in the lead.

My strategy has suddenly changed. Normally I have a few moments to reanalyze what is going on and decide on a plan, but my brain kicked in with a simple, "GO!!! FUCKING GO!!!!". I had to get away from them, I had to break them and let their battle keep me at a distance, that lap I ran my fastest lap ever at Sears Point (Plus the fastest lap of anyone in the entire race).

The following lap I saw my girlfriend signaling me from the pit wall that I had pulled a gap on them. My brain kicked in, "ok, you made some space - don't crash. Maintain and see how they react". Being as inexperienced as I am to leading a race, my "maintenance" was a 1.4 second drop in lap time. After leading for three laps, Sergio had caught me on the inside of eleven. We came charging down the straight side-by-side, just as we had before, only this time he was to the outside.

I tried to play chicken with Sergio but with the inside position, I didn't have the safe leverage position I wanted. So I decided to back it off and file in behind, planning to use his timing for a last lap pass in nine or eleven while holding back Kyle. After a couple laps, we see slower traffic in the near distance and I begin to postulate just how I would use the traffic to my advantage.

Sooner than I had wanted, an opportunity presented itself in turn nine and I took the inside on the entry. The slower rider in front of us took a much more square line through the bus stop which forced me to make a last minute adjustment and killed some of my drive out. I get on the gas hard and suddenly feel my fairing slapping on my right foot and knee, I check to my right to see Fernandez leaded on my bike trying his best to stay on track and maintain speed. I give him the benefit of space and don't run him wide, but there was no way I backing off the throttle.

I didn't want the same problem in turn eleven as I just had in nine so I set up wide to try and get a run around these 1000cc bikes. What I failed to calculate was the speed differential that would occur when a pack of us all came almost to a stop in nine and then charged toward eleven, I had been out-run and pushed out from the inside by Kyle and both the Sergios. Crossing the line, the white flag was out, I had eleven turns to get by three people and slower traffic to win this thing - I'll admit I lost hope for the first turn or two after this happened, until I decided to claw back.

Racing down the drag-strip the four of us get by a one-liter bike from the heavyweight class, except he came back under me in the middle of turn seven and then chopping off my nose as I attempt to fly by him in the esses. I charge as hard as I can out toward nine, knowing that if I can get back to the pack by eleven I can still pull a podium at bare minimum.

I see Fernandez run wide on the entry of nine and I take a shallow line to get by him before he's able to recover. I'm set-up behind someone when suddenly Sanchez-Chopitea gets hard on the gas during the exit and looses the rear tire. I now have two people in front of me, Kyle and mystery bike. I had no idea who this bike was but didn't want to take any chances for a missed opportunity. Maybe he got by me in the turn eleven fiasco last lap and I didn't know. Maybe he is a heavyweight, but Kyle may still run wide in eleven and leave the door open. I didn't want to settle for where I was and charged through ten and eleven as hard as I can, taking second place with a best lap time of 1:47.587.

That was a very fun race and was more pleased with the battle itself than the actual results (But I won't turn away a second place)

http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-4-sears-point-june-30july-1-middleweight

Sunday

I hate morning races, always have. I could go into a lot of details why, but since you just read that whole long passage for only one race, I'll keep the remainder brief.

750 Superbike

I got a "meh" start and found myself in forth place, caught behind David LaBree #999. I thought I would get by him on the inside of two, and probably could have forced it safely, but instead sat-up as he came across my front and let #644 Travis Trevethick get around my outside. I was feeling very lazy and sloppy; did I mention I am not a morning person?

After seeing Ramsey Junaid #861 and Sergio Sanchez-Chopitea #424 begin to run away I try finding my way past David on his powerful gsx-r 750. I get stuck behind him for a lap and a half until turn seven on the second lap, when I am able to get to the inside of him on the brakes. Just as I begin to give steering input, I see Travis' front wheel on my inside. Knowing there is no way for me to take advantage here, I kept it upright until he turned in so I could jump on his tail. But he never turned in, just went flying by to the run off area. I found out later on that he had a brake failure, could have been a lot worse!
I spent the rest of the time trying to catch Ramsey and Sergio. I had taken off from David and all I had to concentrate on was playing catch-up. But every time I would make progress, I would lose it right back because of a stupid error: overshoot turn one, miss a shift, brake to hard, etc.

The torture of my pitiful riding came to an end a few laps later when the red flag came out as I was entering turn seven. I managed to scam the other riders out of a third place finish. But that is not the best part...

As I was coming to a stop in the run out area of turn seven, Ramsey begins to circle back around at traffic. Not knowing what he was doing or where he was going I begin to the right to avoid a head-on collision. Problem was, I was also braking. Suddenly I found myself a victim of the classic newbie parking lot crash. I picked up my bike and yelled to Ramsey, "I didn't expect you to turn around!"

Did I mention I hate morning races?


http://contour.com/stories/afm-round-4-sears-point-june-30july-1-750-superbike

600 Superbike

It only took a second before I found myself in the same scenario as I did in the middleweight race the day prior; going into turn two behind Kyle and Rue. I gave chase and we managed to catch slower traffic by turn eleven of the first lap. Going into turn six on the second lap I had a white-plate bike come underneath me. I had no idea how he got there, did he get pushed off track earlier in that incident in seven which I saw the riders yelling at each other? Did he have to start from pit row because he missed his call? Either way, I decided to ignore him as he diced through me, Rue, and Kyle and focus on our race.

I came through on Rue on the inside of the exit of turn seven, never to see him again; putting my nose down and trying to hunt down Kyle. As the race goes on, Kyle and I find ourselves dealing with a ton of slower riders. He eventually is able to use these moving pylons to create some separation from me. I see signals from my girlfriend that I am completely clear of any competition behind me, and decide to go conservative and take the second place rather than risking receiving zero points by making crazy moves through traffic and crashing out.

The first results posted showed me in second place but the result page was later pulled down and replaced, moving me down to third. Turns out the mystery white plate rider who passed us on the second lap was an accomplished racer who had been counted as a first place finish in our class. I never would have had a chance since he was running 1:44s.

https://contour.com/stories/afm-round-4-sears-point-june-30-july-1-600-superbike



Formula 1 (no video)

In another episode of "Dan Butler's dumb moves", I left my camera running after the 600 Superbike race and recorded another race in the background and all my lunch hour activities. Just as our race was called, I hear the camera beep that the battery has just died, D'OH!

When the green flag drops on the formula 1 race, I get shuffled back to sixth place by turn 2. I spend the first lap trying to peek in a wheel where I can. Problem is, when the guys in front are sitting three or four wide going into a turn there really isn't a safe place to make a move. Come the beginning of the second lap I do a quick calculation of the differential needed to catch-up to the leaders. I determine I must pass (and stick) at least one rider per lap and go about a second a lap faster than the leaders to have any chance to win.

On the second lap, I get a nice drive out of 8 and get a little crossed up wheelie. After bringing it down I get on the brakes, my non-slipper clutch bike chattering the rear slightly as I step the rear out. I lean in and stick a smooth pass  to the inside of the two riders in front of me and get a great drive on the exit. My focus is like none other now, that pass just awoke the beast. Eyes of fire, belly of hunger, I am on the move.

I continue to move up the ladder one by one. My wrist throbbing with pain from over rotating the throttle. My worn tires gripping well but reminding me of the wear with ever-so controlled slides. As I pull into third place behind Andy Marinshaw #818 my forearm begin to experience arm-pump, lactic acid has crept into my bloodstream and still leaves me sore as I write this.

I get by Andy and stare at Sergio Fernandez in the distance, my laser guidance system locked in on target. I pull up behind Sergio to see if he is doing anything different than earlier, checking where I can get him. I think about the inside of nine but instead decide on the slingshot out of nine and through eleven. I get the drive I am looking for and pull to his left while on the brakes for eleven - does he know I am there? Sergio takes his normal line for eleven and I counter with a slow entry/fast exit move, forcing my way into the lead for turn one for the final lap.

I clinch my teeth to pull from Sergio, knowing I have to put the dagger in the heart with him or he will surely try a move on the brakes in turn seven, nine, or eleven. I find the balance of blocking lines with speed and cut a full second on my best lap of the race thus far with a 1:47.7. I come out of eleven look to my right and see Sergio just entering the turn. I blaze down the straight in full tuck with my left arm curled to my side, my hand gesturing the number one to my girlfriend who is on the pit wall losing her mind. I did it; my first win in a championship race.

2012 Championship Standings thus far:
Middleweight: 4th place, but only one point down from a tie for second place
750 Superbike: 3rd place and on the move upwards
600 Superbike: 2nd place, behind Kyle Schirrmacher
Formula 1: 2nd place, three points behind championship leader Travis Trevethick

Juxtaposition

“...it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. . It's how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done” - Sylvester Stallone

This was my first race since graduating; this was my first race weekend where I didn’t have to do school work on the drive up, at the hotel, and between races. My brain and body were very confused about what to do with the extra stress and focus usually reserved for these weekends. I decided to use this extra stress on throwing a wrench in the works by changing an important variable on the bike at the last minute; maybe I thrive on stress, maybe I am simply not familiar with anything else.

The week leading up to this race I had received some messages from friends stating that it appeared I was running my gearing to tall, killing my drive. I have run stock gearing since day one of owning the gsx-r because I wanted to focus on improving as a rider and not playing around with changing gearing all the time. I simply didn’t want to lose focus on working on the most important factor, me.

This weekend I decided to give into temptation and run the front sprocket down one tooth. I knew this would change certain behavior in the bike, but hoped the net effect was beneficial. I ran the first session with stock gearing just to wake up and shake off the cobwebs since the last race weekend. After pulling in, I immediately changed out my gearing to 15/45 and began mentally preparing for what changes would occur and how I would handle them. Years of football had taught me to visualize variable change; I had to picture and think my way through new shift points, different throttle responses, and a quicker winding rear end. What I failed to calculate for haunted me all through Saturday, increased engine compression and change in engine braking behavior.

Middleweight (no video)

Middleweight was a disaster for me. Figuring out the gearing at practice speed worked out well for me, but race speed was a whole other animal. I found myself stuck running a few seconds slower than normal and being unable to reassess the changes needed to improve. I started in forth position, but by the end of the first lap I had fallen to sixth place. This progression continued and I fell back one more spot on the following lap; by lap five I had fallen back all the way to ninth place, where I eventually finished.

When I sat down at my pit area after the race, I was incredibly distraught with my riding. The entire race I struggled with adjusting my entry speed into corners with this new gearing. I don’t have a fancy-dancy slipper clutch so my clutch control rhythm associated with corner entry was completely out of whack. Any chance I had of taking a top three in the middleweight championship has likely gone out the window with one poor performance.  

Final results 9^th place out of 30, best lap of 1:59.2

Middleweight Solo Endurance (N) (no video)

The solo race is a race I looked forward to having for quite some time. Despite the fact that I had to abandon my gym routine for the last few months due to an insane school and work load in the final semester, I find that I still retain my athleticism and have really good endurance; often hitting faster times the longer I ride. the solo race would be a LeMans start race, meaning we had to start off the bike and run across the track, start the bike, and take off.

I was rather pissed after my crappy performance 40 minutes earlier and there was no way I was going to let anyone beat me to my bike in a foot race. I have many, many years of football training for the first few steps of explosion. One of these 140 lb guys may beat me in a one mile run, but I own the first 40 yards.

When the green flag drops I take off and jam to my bike, I flip my leg over the bike and hear my girlfriend (who was holding the bike) yell, “CLEAR, CLEAR, CLEAR!”. I take off like a bat out of hell, first of the yellow plates and right behind two experts. In my mind I remind myself to get up and fight; I was not going to let my crappy racing earlier bog my mind. I get around #402 Rob Brown in the first lap and put my head down. I knew that if I broke the rest of the field I could easily maintain the rest of the race while the field tires out.

As I come around the front straight, I see my girlfriend signaling from the pits that I have a substantial lead. I couldn’t believe it, for the first time ever I am leading a race! I found myself losing focus to the utter excitement of possibility, as though I was a 15 boy who brought a porn star to the prom. I focused the rest of the race on simply maintaining a distance from the pack. I could have tried to go faster, but I wanted to conserve my tires for the rest of the endurance race because I had three races on Sunday which I must also run with this same set. Furthermore, it was completely senseless to crash in a race which I held a sizable lead.

Coming around turn 15 for the final time I found myself in unfamiliar territory. I didn’t have to worry about someone flying by me in the straightaway and stealing my win. The checkered flag meant something totally different; it went from saying the race is over, to meaning I had won. This time the checkered flag was actually for me!

I rolled into the pits not believing what happened. There was no way I won, someone had to have taken off before me and I never saw them. I honestly wasn’t even sure if I had won or not. After my girlfriend had lifted the bike up on the rear stand I asked, “Did I win? I think I won”. She confirmed it with a smile, a hug, and some tears. 

Despite the win, I still felt like I had only wounded my unicorn, shot him with an arrow in the distance. I knew my battle was not yet done.

750 Superbike (N)

The start of 750 Superbike left in 3^rd place going into turn one behind the redcoats, #400 Micah Larson and #861 Ramsey Junaid. I kept pace with them around the track, plotting and planning where I can possibly make a move on these two. On the first lap, I test a few lines here and there to test differentials but it looks like it will be tough to find anything, especially if they stay paced with each other.

The three of us head up the hill out of turn eight and I get one of the best drives up the hill I had ever gotten. Just then, Ramsey moves to his left and reveals a bike right in front of me on the exit area. Berto Wollridge #115 had taken a big spill in the expert wave and his bike decided to rest right on the exit are of this critical turn, giving and interesting twist to the race.

Travis Trevethick #644 comes blaring by me in the straights as usual and I am quickly shuffled down to 4^th place. I ride their tails for the next few laps, poking in my nose where I can. Inside of three, outside of nine, a near high-side exiting turn two; a jab here and a jab there but I miss the knockout punch and quickly find myself caught behind slower traffic, #971 Tom Wilbert, separating me from the fight. I end up in fourth place just missing the podium yet again, with a best time of 1:57.5.

https://contour.com/stories/afm-round-3-2012-june-3-2012-750-superbike

600 Superbike (N)

For 600 SB I am gridded in 5^th place and get an ok start, I am shuffled back to 6^th place by turn one (which strange enough had a yellow flag waving, how do you start a race with a yellow flag and not get penalized for passing?) In the opening lap I find myself caught behind #914 Ricardo Villegas and can see the lead pack begin to pull away. I try to find was around Ricardo but have to wait to make a move in turn 14 turn get by on the inside, just to find him sneaking in the inside on me in turn one after a run down the front straight. I again find myself having to get by on the inside of 14 but this time I began my turn in a little earlier for turn one and shut the door on letting him pass me on the inside. Knowing my lap ahead of me is now open, I focus on catching the front pack.

I end up battling with #771 Sergio Fernandez for the remainder of the race eventually ending in 4^th place. But after a lap or so of battling with Sergio, I begin feeling a weird vibration in my rear end. Is my tire out of balance? Is my suspension having issues? I continue fighting on but the vibration is getting worse. I then begin to hear a tick, did I spin a bearing? Is it just an exhaust leak? Is it just in my head? After crossing the finish line and slowing down I begin to hear the ticking more loudly, the engine is no longer covering the sound. I can feel the tick in my handlebars and it dawns on me that the countershaft sprocket has probably loosened form the gear change from yesterday. I cruise my way back toward the pits just to hear the noise even more pronounced as I enter turn 14. (Watch the video all the way to the end if you want to hear the noise for yourself) As I come into the pits I see my girlfriend walking back and suddenly turn around when hearing the noise. I park the bike quickly and yell, “got to fix it, I got 20 minutes!”


https://contour.com/stories/afm-round-3-2012-june-3-2012-600-superbike

Formula 1 (N)

I am now stuck with a broken bike and a race in 20 minutes. I figure I have just enough time to remove the lower fairing, pull the countershaft cover and tighten the nut (hopefully it is still there), and get the bike back together in time to make the next race. I pull open the cover to discover the sprocket is just fine and hasn’t loosened in any way. We fire up the motor and don’t hear any unusual noises.

I then spin the rear wheel to hear the screech of Freddy Krueger’s bladed glove dragging against a chalkboard and see the wheel seize in place. I begin tearing into the rear caliper and rotor area, expecting the pads to be catching, or a warped rotor, or pads which have worn down to the metal. I see nothing of the sort. What I do see is a fresh scratch mark on the inner area of the rotor, indicating something is rubbing. I grab a flathead screwdriver and pry open the rear pads, spin the rear wheel and still the wheel screeches each time that mark is within the caliper area. I don’t see any warp of the rotor visually, but taking no chances I begin to try and manipulate the rotor back into a usable shape. I use every trick in the book, but no matter what I do the terrible drag and screech remains. Looking at the pads from underneath the bike, I notice that the outside pad moves dramatically during each rotation at this exact same spot.

I hear second call for the race and know I have to fix what was wrong, there is no way I am giving up; there is no way I am giving in. I know this is my race, I know I must fight. I forgo the opportunity for a warm up lap and try to get a view of the pads from the other side, through the inside of the wheel. Just then I see that a bolt for the rear sprocket has broken off and wiggled its way out of the threading, thereby rubbing against the swingarm and mangling itself and the swingarm in the process.

I grab the tools I need and hear the ominous voice of defeat over my left shoulder, “Race 12, formula 1, this is your FINAL CALL!”. But in my head I hear the voice of Mickey from the Rocky movies yelling, “Get up, one more round. I didn’t hear no bell; get up you son of a bitch!”. I refuse to miss this race, I refuse to be told I won’t, I refuse to let one more thing keep me from my goal.

I finish getting the bike together just in time to make it out to the race. I take the grid and knowing that my tires are cold, I realize I will need to go easy in the beginning of the race. I fall back a few spots and find myself battling with #424 Sergio Sanchez-Chopitea and #607 Jeff Keohen. I wish I had the camera on for this race because I made moves like I have never before. I was making passes on lap traffic around the outside on the paint, I made passes for position on the outside of turn one while my back end was slipping around behind me, I was sliding on my excessively worn tires in every single turn (thank goodness I did that supermoto training a year ago). Once I broke free from Sergio and Jeff from a move in turn 5, I was quickly catching up to #861 Ramsey Junaid and #644 Travis Trevethick; putting them in striking distance, but the race ended too soon.

It was by far the most hard fought race in my short racing career. I didn’t run my fastest times, nor did I win, but I refused to lay down when all seemed lost. I refused to accept anything less than my best because of the tires sliding or any other excuse. It brought back memories of a college football bowl game I played in years ago, where we stopped our opponent on the one yard line four times in a row during sudden death overtime to take the win. As I crossed the checkered flag, I wasn’t sure if I had counted right. I figured someone might be in front of these two and I am actually in forth once again. But when I came in the pits and confirmed I had third, I leaned over my tank and thought, “Fuck you, Unicorn”.