October 12, 2008 Race Report - See the Photos
#43 Mark Bothe OMMRA Round 6- Portland International Raceway
The season is now over. Six rounds of heavy competition, broken transmissions, and lessons learned. Too many things to go wrong. To match myself against the likes of Kevin Pinkstaff, his brother Brian Pinkstaff, my pit-mate Dustin Ranck, Greg Levin and David Wallway, I knew I would have to make up a lot of ground, yet without the prospect of crashing. That is a delicate balance. Ride hard in all conditions, score well in all conditions and most importantly finish. Sometimes, over the course of a season, a rider must make choices in a race, choices that could impact an overall finishing spot. Do you take the chance now for immediate reward or sit-back, watch, wait, learn and employ new tactics for a new battle at a later time. As Dirty Harry once said, “A man’s just got to know his limitations” and over the course of a season or even from race to race those limitations can change, change drastically.
My goal for this year was simple. To finish races a mere 24 seconds behind the winner. Not lofty, not arrogant, not stupid. That 24 seconds I felt was attainable, but as I got better, so did the winner. They stepped up, as I stepped up. My riding abilities increased at seemingly the same rate as the winners. How can I accelerate this growth? Where’s that special hormone? Where’s that magic pill? Generally, throughout this year, I would hover around the 34-36 second differential. Which equates to 3 seconds average per lap slower than the leaders. However, this past weekend, I was able to meet my goal and finish 18.3 seconds behind the leader, which is only a mere 1.5 seconds per lap off the leader. This is my measurement. That is my yardstick. I feel too many newer riders focus just on the one fast lap time and how it compares to that other fast lap time. It’s more than that. It’s race craft, it’s traffic, it’s set-up, it’s who you are racing with and against. How do they push you, how do they slow you down. Consistency breeds success. Practice breeds consistency. Knowing where to be. Knowing the thoughts of your fellow racer before they do. Knowing how to they will react to a given action before they do. Understanding the limitations of your bike in any given position on the track. How much will the bike give me? How much will the front be allowed to push? How much, how much, how much….?
These are the things that I got to test in myself. This is why I race. Sure the competition is fun, and of course I want to beat my nearest competitor. But really this was test for me. A 43 year old pharmacist, racing against and learning from kids who have ridden some form of motorcycles since they were 3. It’s about me putting forth my maximum effort and testing my skills against the rider next to me. It is about learning from the more experienced riders. Seeing what they do, understanding what they do, how they do it. Listening to their stories, their anecdotes. Filing it away and being able to recall it in an instant, to play the card as the game is unfolding before you. If you can’t learn from your mistakes then you are not a good student. You’re not a keen observer. You need to be vigilant, be focused and be attentive. If you think you’ve learned it all, guess what, you’re wrong. There is always someone better, someone faster to learn from. Sure every once in a while an old guy gets thrown a bone. And I’ll take it. I’ll take my little trophy and be happy with my small successes. However, a trophy will never validate just how successful I feel. The personal goals that I have attained, and where I was just a few short years ago to where I am now.
I have learned quite a bit about motorcycles and racing in these last 3 years. Riding fast, under control, being smooth, and all the mental aspects of riding and racing. But, I have found that I am most satisfied when I can see someone begin to understand these things too. Someone I may have helped along. A sapling growing into a mature tree. How gratifying is that? Always learning, yet always passing it down. Mentors like Dave Salmi, Oliver Jervis, Kevin Pinkstaff, Brian Pinkstaff, Dustin Ranck, Tom Young and Jason Pridmore. People that have impacted my life, my riding. Some speak a lot, some very little, but each has taught me a lot. Thank you.
Motorcycle racing is about sacrifice. Monetary, personal, mental, and physical. From the guy who wins every race to the guy who struggles to not get lapped by the leader, it’s a sacrifice. Some outsiders will see it, some will not, but all should appreciate it. I know I do.
So, what about those races….
Middleweight Supersport, 5th Place, best time 1:16.625
This was a hard battle. The race began with a red flag after the first complete lap. The President went down in T8, he was OK, but the bike was not. The field was held at grid and we were fired off again. I got an OK start, but ended having to negotiate traffic more than I’d hoped. By the end of the second lap I was up to 5th and in a battle with Kinnie. This lasted the rest of the race. Kinnie would pass me on the straights and I’d pass him everywhere else. He kept it together on the last lap and I was not finding a spot to get by. He rode a good ride. Congrats Ryan. I was able to secure 4th place Season Overall in this class.
450 Superbike, 5th Place, best time 1:16.288
I knew this race was going to be tough. Greg Levin, Dave Wallway and myself were all within 6 points of 3rd place overall. The 3 of us have battled all year. Always good, always fun, always hard. Greg got an awesome start, me mediocre. I slotted behind my teammate Dustin and Greg was in front of Dustin in 3rd position. The 3 of us pushed very hard at the beginning and it took Dustin a couple of laps before he made it past Greg. Greg was riding so good. Dustin was able to break free and that left Greg and myself to do battle for awhile until I made some small mistakes that let me drift away. However, even if I hadn’t had made those mistakes Greg still had me covered and there was no way I was going to match his pace that race. It is my contention that Greg is one of the smoothest riders out there. Effortless. I was able to secure 5th place Season Overall in this class.
Middleweight Superbike, 6th Place, best time 1:16.521
OMRRA #1 plate holder Alan Schmidt came to play with us. He borrowed a stock SV, started at the back and showed us what an SV is capable of. He set the official Supersport SV record of 1:13.747. Amazing. My race again began with a mediocre start followed by much passing and another tussle with Ryan Kinnie. This time was different. I stalked and waited. I know where he is weak. He knows where he is weak. He would run a defensive line in many of the corners that he knew I was stronger, but that made no difference. I was going to pass him where he least expected it. On the brakes into turn one. He is a very late “braker” into that corner, so late that many times he runs it too wide. I kept running into the rev limiter down the front straight, even when I was by myself, so it was even worse when I was in a draft. Ryan could easily pull away from me. However, I was noticing that I could get better drives out of the last corner and only if I was right on his rear tire could I even think of staying in his draft. I was there, I even had to roll out of the throttle to stay in his draft without bouncing the limiter. I waited. To leave the draft was suicide. I waited. Waited until he moved to begin braking. And only then did I move right, hold onto the throttle, emergency brake and flick it on it’s side into turn 1. I know he didn’t expect that, hell even Suitor behind us didn’t expect that. That move was courtesy of Dave Salmi. He taught me that. Over and over again he would show me at trackdays how it’s done. Thanks Dave. Thanks for being patient with me. I was able to pull that card out and use it. I owe you one. I was able to then gap both Ryan and Steve and come away with a hard fought sixth place. I was able to secure 5th place Season Overall in this class.
The results aren’t spectacular, but I’m satisfied. More than anything, however, is that I am lucky to be associated with some of the best riders in the area. Oliver Jervis, the newly crowned #1 plate holder for WMRRA, Kevin Pinkstaff the #2 plate holder for OMRRA, Brian Pinkstaff the #4 Plate holder for OMRRA, and Dave Salmi the #5 plate holder for OMRRA.
I also get to pit with the best pit mate around. A very special person. Thank you Dustin for all your help this year. Major driving force in my riding improvement.
I have been lucky to be surrounded by not only great riders, but great human beings. I get to hang out every weekend with the likes of Matt and Connie Gougler, Cameron Templeton, Jeff Brooks, Brian Moe, Amy, Mike Gray, Tom Young, Dale and Dan Zlock, Brent Prindle and Miriam Hough. But, none of this would be a tenth as fun if Elaine wasn’t there. I’m really happy that she is there every race weekend and we get to share in this experience together.
Thanks to all my sponsors this year. PSSR, Cycle Gear, Sunoco, Moto Interactive, ACME Motowear, Icon Tattoo, Tech Spec, PSI Leathers, Impact Armor, Life Flight Membership services, Richard Petty Enterprises and Al Perierra Painting.
Thanks everyone and the corner workers for a wonderful 2008 racing season!
September 21, 2008 Race Report - See the Photos
#43 Mark Bothe OMMRA Round 5- Portland International Raceway
And, then there was no transmission.
During my brief stint at the AHRMA Miller Motorsports track my transmission failed, failing, not doing whet it is supposed to do when it’s supposed to do it. I brought the bike home and handed it off to Ron at Ron’s Performance Motorcycles (503-650-9401). He re-built my motor and Dustin’s motor over the winter and he also has put together many other SV’s on the grid. Ron was able to fix the transmission and do a complete rebuild over the course of 1 week. Ron has been a huge help to me, not only this week, but over the years that I have had him work on my bikes. Thanks Ron.
I got the bike back on Friday afternoon and had to use Saturday’s practice sessions to break it in. Dustin and I helped with the Novice Check rides on Saturday and I used the easy pace of those sessions to ease in the motor.
Sunday arrives after a Saturday evening Chinese food comedy fest with Oliver Jervis and his sidekicks, Brian and Kevin Pinkstaff. Tom Young could not avoid being the brunt of Oli’s jokes, some jokes that have persisted for more than a year and will haunt Tom for the rest of his life, no doubt.
We had a special guest in our pits this weekend. His name is Jake Dering and he is 4 years old. (http://www.jakesake.com/) He has a genetic defect called OPD type 2. It is very rare and about 30 cases have been reported worldwide. The racers all got together and showed him and his family a good time and introduced him to the world of motorcycles and racing. I’m glad to have been a small part of his experience. An inspiration for sure.
Middleweight Supersport, 4th Place, Best Time 1:17.630, Conditions Dry
I got a good start and slotted into 4th position into T1. Going into T4 on the first lap Dustin Ranck attempted a pass under Brian Pinkstaff and I was anticipating them slowing each other and I was prepared to sneak by both. Dustin ran wide on the exit and Brian tucked up for the infamous over under move. I was not committed and they both stayed in front. I then had a battle with David Lane, Brian Schilt and Dave Wallway. It was a 4 way battle for 4th place until Wallway ground his peg in T4 and he stood the bike up and off into the grass he went. He ultimately rejoined. Then it was a 3 way battle battle, until I was able to scrub traffic just a little better than David and Brian. It was a fun battle.
450 Superbike, 4th Place, Best Time 1:17.366, Conditions Dry
This race was awesome. A decent start and I was able to slot into 5th place going into T1. I followed Greg Levin, but Greg seemed to be a little off his game this race. Maybe pushing just a little too hard to try and stay with the front 3. But by lap 3 Greg and I had some new guy join the mix. Club President Mike McDonough, in his first race this season, drafted past me on the front straight. Then I knew the fight was on. I would then tuck in behind, catch a small draft and slingshot past and out brake him into T1. This scenario played out for the next 9 laps. Mike would draft past and I would pass back on the brakes. Hold him off in the infield and then do it all over again. White flag lap I had him held off until the last corner when we had 2 lappers in front of us. I was able to pass one of them in T8 and was prepared to pass the 2nd lapper on entry into T9 but the r ider turned in a little earlier than anticipated and I had to get on the brakes, almost tuck the front all crossed up with Mike nearly hitting me from behind. On the exit, after gathering it all up, I chose to stand it up while Mike was able to get a good draft to the outside and Mike pipped me at the line for 3rd by an ironic 0.067 seconds (his number is 67). Oh, and by the way Mike, I want my rear sprocket back …..
Middleweight Superbike, 3rd Place, Best Time 1:29.331, Conditions Full Wet
Usually wet races are hard to call. I feel pretty at home in the wet, however the track was very dicey. Lots of oil had been laid down over the course of 2 months of no rain in the Portland area and now that we had a huge downpour it was all coming up. T3 was very treacherous with many rivulets of water streaming across the track. Track drainage needs to be addressed over the winter, especially in the area. I was able to quickly build a gap while holding onto a lonely 3rd place. My lackluster start prevented me from dicing with Dustin and Kevin. With no one to catch and no one pushing from behind, I was happy to chill and bring it home in 3rd with out pushing in the rain.
Thanks again to Ron at RPM and to all my sponsors and friends. Dustin as always is my race partner and someone I get to bounce ideas off of and Dave Salmi for all the help and motivation to get me up to speed. The rest of my pit buddies, Elaine, brother Eric, Jeff Brooks, Brian Moe, Mike Gray, Brian Pinkstaff, Kevin Pinkstaff, Oli Jervis and Dale Zlock. We missed Connie and Matt Gougler.
Sponsors that have helped me in some way along the way. Jason Pridmore and James Lickwar at the Pridmore Star School, PSSR, Richard Petty Enterprises, RPM, Alameda Dental, Moto Interactive, PSi Leathers, Impact Armor, ACME Motowear, Tech Spec, Pirelli Tires, Competition Motors, and Matt, Sam and Kim at Cycle Gear Portland.
Next race, and final round of the 2008 OMRRA series, is on October 12th. Hope to see you there.
August 2, 2008 Race Report - See the Photos
#43 Mark Bothe OMMRA Round 4- Portland International Raceway
One day race events are always hectic. Everything crammed into 11ish hours. But, the important thing is to get to the track the day before and set up as much of the pit as possible and make it a nice next morning. My good friend Jeff came down from Seattle to see me race for the first time and help around the pits. It was awesome having him there and I was glad to be able share my love of racing with him. Jeff and I got to the track Friday afternoon and the paddock was packed. We went to pull in the ACME trailer into our normal pit spot and a couple of other racers had already set up shop. There is a group of us that pit together each race weekend and this created a little drama as we had to squeeze some people in and a couple of our pit-mates were left out.
All I kept thinking was, “who moved my cheese?”
But, we all tried to keep it in perspective and go out and have fun. Saturday rolls around and a few co-workers came by to watch my races. That was really cool. They had never seen anything like it. They really enjoyed themselves. A thank you to Nancy, Tim, Carter and Cliff for coming out to watch.
Middleweight Supersport- 4th Place. Best time 1:18.221
I had a good start and slotted into 5th place behind Matt Gougler into turn 1. However, when I began to tip into turn 3 my left boot was not fully up on the peg and I began to grind my toe slider and I couldn’t get the bike to turn all the way as I was committed. Unbeknownst to me, David Wallway was attempting a pass on the outside of the left hand turn and with me running wide he had to stand it up in the grass, roll through the infield and back into action a few positions back. Sorry Dave. I was then able to draft past Matt on the next lap and I settled into a nice rhythm and finished a solid uneventful 4th place.
450 Superbike- 5th Place. Best time 1:18.059
This race was so much fun. It’s great racing with Dave Wallway and Greg Levin. They push me to ride faster. They are awesome competitors and I have confidence riding close to them, which makes for some really exciting racing. Greg got a great start and I slotted in behind him going into Turn 1. Dave was right behind me and the 3 of us stayed together for the entire 12 laps. I was searching for ways to get around Greg. He’s very good at carrying his corner speed. I knew that for me to get around him it would have to be a draft and pass into the braking zone of turn 1. I was able to do this on lap 5 and held onto 4th place to the white flag lap. Everything was good to go to the finish and I think I had a small gap to David in 5th and a little bigger gap to Greg. As I came into turn 7 a lapped rider was entering as I was coming into the corner carrying about 20+ mph more than he. I didn’t commit. I checked up, tried to get around only to choose the wrong side and get balked a 2nd time on the exit of T8. This allowed David to sneak past on the outside between 8 and 9. At that moment Greg was able to carry his normal speed and go by both Dave, myself and the lapper. I tucked in behind both Dave and Greg, was able to get a double draft and nipped Dave at the line for 5th. The 3 of us crossed the line separated by 0.1 second. 4th to 6th….Fun stuff!
Middleweight Superbike- 7th Place. Best time 1:18.355
This was a good race. Oliver checked out as usual, Dustin, Brian and Kevin gapped the field as usual and it was left to Greg Levin, Ken Botham and me to fight for 5th place. I was right there in 5th and held it through lap 3 until Ken and Greg put the pressure on and got past. I was going back and forth with Ken each lap. His Ducati is very strong on the straights but I could reel him in on the brakes and through the infield. The 3 of us went back and forth until I made a shifting mistake on the back side and lost their draft. I then ran around in 7th for 2 laps until the finish. Another fun race for sure. Congrats to Greg and Ken, Dustin, Brian, Kevin and Oliver.
A big Thank You to Elaine for all her help this weekend. To Brian, Kevin, Brian, Amy, Dave Salmi, Miriam, Matt Gougler, Connie and the cool racers on the grid. Get well to all the riders who had incidents on Saturday. Heal up soon!
To my sponsors….
ACME Motowear, Icon Tattoo, Cycle Gear, Sunoco Fuels, Moto Interactive, Competition Motors, PSSR, Pirelli tires, Ron at RPM, Psi Leathers, Impact Armor, Jason and James at the Pridmore Star School, Richard Petty Enterprises, Alameda Dental, and Tech Spec.
Next race for me and the #43 ACME Motowear SV will be at the AHRMA event at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on September 6 and 7. It looks like I’ll have to put on my A+++ game because Doug Polen will be there duking it out with us on his Ducati. My goal: Don’t get lapped by Doug!
June 14-15, 2008 Race Report - See the Photos
#43 Mark Bothe OMMRA Round 3- Portland International Raceway
“Brake as late as possible and stay far away from Elias.”--Valentino Rossi, when asked about his plans for starting from row 2 at Jerez
The weekend began in relaxed style. As it progressed it evolved into an intense battle of the wills. Will he or won’t he.
On Saturday I did not practice, but instead took the time to change out my tires and help Dustin with some tire testing. This testing proved very valuable as the weekend went along. Tire wear seems to be under control and the tires now are getting the proper amount of heat build up that is to be expected for the given track and ambient temperatures. Our suspensions are spot on for PIR. Thanks Dustin for being the test mule. He is Nicky Hayden, I am Dani Pedrosa. Ummmm, yeah, right….
Sunday rolls around and everything is in place. Bike is ready to go, mind and body are too. I go out in the first warm up and do some gentle laps to scrub in the new tires. This is very uneventful. Boring even.
Middleweight Supersport – 6th place. Best time 1:19.250
It seems that my first race of every race weekend is fraught with launching issues. I had a front row start and I left the line dead with my ACME Motowear team mates. Kevin, Brian, Dustin and myself all left the line simultaneously, except that I neglect one really important aspect of motorcycle racing…shifting. Bam, rev limiter, up shift, bam rev limiter in second, up shift, bam rev limiter in 3rd, all the while everyone is tooteling along without me. Hell, even Tyson Silva comes by me on the motard. I finally get it all together and start my ascent towards the front. I have some really fun battles with Cameron Templeton , Matt Gougler, and Maurice Miller. Ultimately I was able to consolidate a 6th place finish.
450 Superbike—6th place. Best time 1:18.401
This race was much better. The start was much better. Through the first corner I was right with the front group. The front 3 guys got away, as usual, and that left Dave Wallway, Greg Levin and myself to battle over 4th place. It was a great race. Greg was leading leading the 3 man train for most of the race. He seemed to have both Dave and I covered on most every part of the track. He’d pull a few bike lengths on the straight and we’d close it up by T3 and then it would be a freight train down into T7 where it seemed that I had a slight advantage on Greg through 7,8,9. I was measuring this up for a few laps trying as I might to get good runs down the back straight and try to dive under between 8 and 9. I attempted this maneuver after careful planning but missed my down shift into 9 and blew the corner and ran wide. This allowed David to sneak underneath and Greg as well. Thank you Greg for not hitting me and my apologies for the blunder. By the end of the straight both Greg and I were back around David and then for me I had some mental errors that allowed David and Greg to pull a gap and it was time to just bring it home in 6th place.
Middleweight Superbike—5th place. Best time 1:18.448
This one was a barn burner. I had an awesome start. Slotted in right behind Dustin into 4th place into T1. But by the time the first lap was over I had a battle on my hands with Ryan Kinnie and David Wallway (again!). The next 3-4 laps Ryan would lead across the line, but I would pass him underneath going into T4. He would then pass me back on the back straight, we’d have a little braking duel going into T7 and he’d lead through the line again. David made a nice pass under both Ryan and myself into T4 and then made a nice getaway. I made sure to stay with Ryan and I had many opportunities to pass him, but his bike was sparking (toe sliders, pegs, rear stand bungs I wasn’t sure) so I just pressured him from behind. I stalked and made a good run down the back straight on the last lap and passed by T6 and held him off until the finish line for 5th place.
Thanks to all the cool corner workers. Tony, Pam, Star, Jim, Roxanne, Ed, Kurt, John Acerbi and everyone else that I can’t remember. Thanks to Blinky for not having to pick me up. Most of all for Janice who makes it all happen and to all the cool competitors on the SV grids.
Also, thanks to my helpful sponsors. ACME Motowear, Sunoco, PSSR, Pirelli, TechSpec, Moto Interactive, Jason Pridmore’s Star School, Alameda Dental, LifeFlight Memberships, PSi, Impact Armor, Richard Petty Enterprises, Ron Hopkins, Cycle Gear Matt and Sam and my beautiful wife Elaine.
May 10-11, 2008 Race Report - See the Photos
#43 Mark Bothe OMMRA Round 2 - Portland International Raceway
The week began with a real nice trackday with the PSSR crew. I put many laps instructing and running some private sessions here and there. It really helped to put in a bunch of laps and then I was able to rip around with Dave Salmi for a bit until oil was noticed on the track.
In honor of Simon Smith I have vowed to use the words “wee”, “wet spot”, and “balls”. This write up should have a lot of those words in it, so here goes:
Saturday was only a half day of practice. Dustin and I had a chance to work on our tire pressures and the heat gain or loss that came with it. It seems that this new track surface does not allow the tires to gain the temp that we need. The tires are having a difficult time getting up to operating temps and the compounding fact that the track temperature was only 56 degrees in the morning didn’t help. We did seem to come up with a good pressure for the temps of the day and seem to be headed in the correct direction. As I was running on these shagged trackday tires I got a wee rear slide coming out of turn 9. Nice and controlled. I’m sure I left a 50 foot darkie kind of like Gary McCoy at Philip Island, but I’d have to confirm with Kurt. I never thought an SV650 had that kind of power in it. Maybe it’s RPM Power! New set of tires go on in the afternoon a nd the bike is prepped for Sundays “sure to be dry” racing. Ummm, maybe not.
Sunday comes and it’s a real nice morning. This reminds me of the old sailor adage of …”Men can sweat, and men can stink, but no one seems to care, so throw your…..” …err…”There was a man from Nantucket?....” oh, wait it’s the other sailor adage of “Red in the morning, sailors warning.” I should have heeded this warning.
Morning warm-up went well. Put in a few laps, scrubbed the new tires and parked it to wait for my first race.
Middleweight Supersport, 4th Place, 4th Overall in Class, Best Time 1:19.438
This race was an interesting one. It began dry and my start was mediocre on my DOTs. I was able to make up 5 positions by lap 2. I held my own through middle sections of the race and having a good battle with Cameron Templeton, a tough up and coming novice. We traded positions a few times and by lap 7 and 8 the track was one big wet spot. Two riders were unable to finish and many riders began slowing. This allowed me and my big balls to begin moving forward through the field and was able to arrive close to the front. I survived, finished 4th, got some good points.
450 Superbike, 7th Place, 5th Overall in Class, Best Time 1:31.908
Major learning experience with this race. With about 10 minutes prior to the start of the race, I noticed off in the distance, over our West Hills, I could see rain showers approaching. I should have stopped right there and put my rains on and even if I missed the sighting lap, would have been, could have been a great move. I blew it. I went out on the DOTs again, as did all but one racer, and just rolled around trying to keep it on 2 wheels. The one guy on wets, WMRRA racer Chris Burgess, came around me after a few laps and I thought he’d work his way to the front, but I was able to keep him in sight. My singular ambition was to beat the guy on the rain tires. Alas, I couldn’t do it. Chris finished a solid place in front of me. But, that didn’t preclude some really fun racing with my pit buddies, Brian Moe and matt Gougler. Brian had a few good moments in T9, putting his foot down, flat track style. I started looking for a hot shoe on his right foot, but couldn’t find one. I want to thank my sponsor for this race, Depends Adult male diapers size Large. Parked the bike and collected 7th place points.
Middleweight Superbike, 4th Place, 6th Overall in Class, Best Time 1:21.647
The Who. I won’t get fooled again. The 600 race preceding ours was full wet, however the rains had stopped. The track was getting a dry line but the front was still spraying. With the help of Matt Gougler and my lovely wife Elaine we were able to switch out to my rains and prepare for this race with time to spare. I started on the 3rd row. Most of the bikes in this class are stock SV’s except for Oliver Jervis on his fire breathing Zlock SV9000 with a google horsepower. I got a great start and was able to slot into 5th place behind Brian Pinkstaff going into T1. Kevin Pinkstaff, Dustin Ranck, Brian and me were nose to tail through the first lap and then I was able to pass Brian on the outside of T3 to continue pushing Dustin and Kevin. The 3 of us gapped Brian by a few bike lengths. I was able to get by Dustin 2 times in the next 10 laps and Dustin was able to make a few pass attempts on Kevin going into T1, which he was unable to make stick. Then on lap 11, Dustin made a mistake and ran it too deep into T7 and couldn’t get it turned. I was right on his tail pipe sucking all of his Sunoco fumes that I could handle. He went into the grass and was heading right to the exit of T8 and right into MY path. He was either going to keep it together and ride right in front of me and take the outside exit or slide right in front of me and take the outside exit, both of which are better than riding or sliding right INTO me and taking us both out and maybe Brian who was right behind us. He missed me or I missed him, not sure which, but I know that I missed my downshift and had no drive out of T9. Dustin collected himself and got back onto the track and hauled freeking arse to chase me down, pass me like I was waiting for the bus and was immediately back onto Kevin’s tailsection. All three of us, and now Brian too, going for the last lap. Dustin tried another pass on Kevin going into T7, but was a bit late and we finished in order…
Oli, many seconds ahead, and Kevin, Dustin, me and Brian. The time differential between 2nd and 5th place was 1 second. 1 solitary second. The best race I have ever been involved with. I got to race hard with 3 of the best people I know. 3 of the best racers I know. And learn from the best. Thank you.
Once again a special thanks to Matt Gougler, Connie, Miriam, my wife Elaine, and Dustin and all the other Tomater Haters. My sponsors Richard Petty Enterprises, Al P Painting, Cycle Gear, Sunoco, Competition Motors, PSSR, Pirelli, Moto Interactive, PSi Leathers, Impact Armor, ACME Motowear, Icon Tattoo, Tech Spec, Alameda Dental and Jason Pridmore’s Star School.
April 10-13, 2008 Race Report - See
the Photos
The weekend began on Thursday morning with an early wake-up and off to the track I go. Meet up with Dustin and Tom Young for a little bite at Shari’s across from the track and settle in for what is supposed to be a great day, weather wise. It was not to be. Intermittent showers all day long and with one huge shower around Noon. Dustin and I tried to dodge some of the showers and go out on DOT’s, but it was just a bit sketchy. Once the rain really came we put on the rain tires and said screw it, we’ll just get as much rain practice as we can and make the best out of a bad situation. The track has awesome wet grip. Don’t be stupid and grab a bunch of throttle, but still with rain tires you can go out and have a blast in the rain. Dustin and I helped Cam Templeton get his SV650 going for NRS and of course gave him as much flak a Rookie could handle. All in good fun. Cam will be right up there running with mid pack guys in no time.
Friday, I took a break and headed off to work, collected some last minute things and prepared for another early morning rise to get out to the track on Saturday.
Saturday morning rolls around and everything is good, get to see everybody and their new shiny bikes. All the usual suspects are pitted together. Dustin and I share a pit space with the Pinkstaffs and Zlock racing, Oliver Jervis, Brian Moe, Cameron and Matt Gougler. All SVs, all the time (well, except Oli and his Kawi 600). Dustin and I are informed that we will be needed to perform check rides with the Novice Ninja 250 riders. What a hoot. Our students were Shannon, Del and Jody. We towed them along and got them up to speed with a couple of drills and they all did really well. We talked about some aspects of racing, some things to think about and to work on. All three were awesome students and all of them will do really well this upcoming season. Meanwhile I was going out during my practice sessions and messing around with some alternate lines and getting a feel for th e new track at hotter temperatures. At lunchtime I changed my gearing. I was just touching the rev-limiter past the chicane, so I thought going down a tooth in the rear may help that situation, yet not screw up the other parts of the track. It seemed to work pretty well that afternoon. Come race day, this was not to be. I out smarted myself. I chose wrong, but I wouldn’t figure it out until the day was over.
Sunday morning came very early. Got out to the track and got the ACME Motowear pits set up, fueled up the bike and then ran my 2 practice sessions. Everything good.
Race #1- 7th place Middleweight Supersport (best time 1:20.119)
My goals this year are pretty simple. I would like to finish no more than 25 seconds off the leader. This I believe is an attainable goal for me and something I can build on from last year. I also want to try and keep the leaders in sight for the 1st lap. I started in P4, front row, and got a very good start. I got the jump on Dave Wallway and began to tuck in behind Kevin and Brian Pinkstaff only to have Geoff Ford get an even better jump from row 2 and beat me into turn 1. So, I’m 4th through turn 1 and hold that position all the way through the infield and out of T9 I’m still only a few bike lengths behind. As I come past start/finish I get 3 bikes passing me at the chicane. That was the 1st clue that I had the wrong gearing. I just had no pop off the corners and no drive. It was going to be a long race. From there I pushed as hard as I could and attempted to gain ground, but it just wasn’t to be. Li ke Nicky Hayden said this week…”It's not a parade you can't just cruise around.”
Race #2- 8th Place 450 Superbike (best time 1:20.113)
Cue Bill Walton…”Hoooooorible!”. The worst start I have ever made. I was gridded in P5 (second row). Got my revs up all set, then heard them dip, took one quick glance at the tach to try and bring them back and the green flag dropped, as I stared at the tach and ALL the bikes came right by me. I entered T1 dead last. I knew that my race was over from there, but that I would let some of the tail end Charlie’s separate themselves and then systematically begin to work my way forward. In retrospect, this was a fun race, after I came to grips that I was not going to be catching any of my normal racing partners. So, I put my head down and worked forward. Thanks to OMRRA for adding 2 more laps (well in this case only 1 more lap. We only completed 11 laps out of the scheduled 12 laps) in the off season. This gave me time to move forward and begin to catch the tail end of the faster guys. I could see my 2 pit partners, Brian Moe and Matt Gougle r, dicing it up in front of me. I thought if I could just catch them then maybe I could play with them a little and who knows what could happen then. On about lap 8 or 9 Matt was in front of Brian and I was right on Brian’s six going thru 7 and 8. As Matt tipped into 8, sparks were flying as he was grinding hard bits. Two things went through my mind. One was, “Matt please save it”, which he did and took the outside pit exit and came back around and got on the dragstrip entrance (the Dave Salmi move), and two was, Brian just chopped throttle and I think I can go up the inside into 9. I didn’t pull the trigger. I knew we still had a few more laps, and there was no need to try some stupid move there at that time.
For the next 2 laps Brian and I changed positions a few times going into 1 and on the white flag lap I held the advantage going into T1. I ran a defensive line there and also into 4, 7 and 9. I knew it would be a drag race to the finish and I was just able to hold him off by half a bike length. It was a great clean race. A lot of fun racing with my Tomater Hater teammates. Good times!
Race #3- 9th Place Middleweight Superbike (best time 1:19.804)
I was gridded on the front row, position 3. I got and awesome start. I hung with the Pinkstaffs once again through T1 and through the infield. It’s a big confidence boost to be able to stick with those guys even for a few corners. Kevin and Brian are 2 of the best riders I know and get to ride with on a regular basis. The more I can do that, the more I hope my riding can improve. As I came through Start/Finish once again I get passed by my good buddy Dustin. He’s on a mission. A heat seeking missile! He was wasting no time in trying to get to Kevin and Brian. A few other guys came around and then I got into a Dogfight with Geoff Ford and Greg Levin. It was a 3 way battle. They would pull me on the straight, I’d tuck in behind and then have to do all my dirty work hard on the brakes into 4 and just trying each lap to keep them behind me for half a lap, so I draft on the front straight and then do it all over again the next lap. This hap pened for 3 laps in a row until Greg was able to pull away from Geoff and me. Then it was just a battle with Geoff. I was not able to get Geoff in the end and finished 0.6 seconds behind him and 33 seconds behind Kevin the eventual winner. The race was shortened due to a red flag on lap 10. I’m not sure who crashed, but I hope he is OK. I do know that he did not need to be transported.
I wish to thank my wife Elaine, my good riding buddy Dustin and his wife Miriam. Love you guys. Matt and Connie Gougler. Brian Moe and Amy. Mike Gray, who should have his Ducati out for next race weekend, Oliver Jervis, Cam Templeton, and of course Brian and Kevin Pinkstaff. Thanks to my sponsors Sunoco Race Fuels, Richard Petty Enterprises, ACME Motowear, Tech Spec Tank grip, Al Peirerra Painting and Pinstriping, PSSR Trackdays, Competition Motors, Moto Interactive, Icon Tattoo, Jason Pridmore’s Star School, LifeFlight memberships, and my newest sponsor Alameda Dental and Dr. Ron Selis.
The corner workers are awesome and once again a big THANK YOU to everyone out there volunteering. Even though I race now I sill feel connected with you guys. Thanks a bunch.
In Memory of Howard Pinkstaff and Keith Pinkstaff. Ride on.
