Basic Race Report...

It's been a very strange week leading up to this race. Not only are we coming off a 6 week lull in the action, the day we head out to Spokane is my last day at Sagem Morpho. The transition has been very emotional, and I'm pretty drained by the experience. It was necessary though, and time to move on... So following a going away lunch, and the final office check out. I head up to Bellevue to pick up Andy, and the 4 hour drive out to Spokane...

On the way out, Andy shows off a new cellular network card, and we surf the web while crusing I-90. We also chat about what we want to get done this weekend. The 3rd place from the last race has us wanting for more, but we also know it takes finishes to get points. I suggest we try out some race fuel to see if we could pull a taller gear, which would help out the turn 2 exit, the infield and the turn 11 exit. We wonder how much top end we might lose though. We finally decide for Saturday practice, to run pump, and take a checkpoint of where we are. We hit Spokane before 10:00, with plenty of time to relax before sleep...

A 6:15 wake up gets us out to the track a little after 7. With paperwork in order this time, we breeze through tech, and finish setting up the pit. We have two practice sessions today. Before going out, we alter the geometry by lower the triple clamps on the forks to around 4 mm. I was hoping to speed the steering up a bit, and get more bite while leaned over. We end up making quite a few ergo adjustments.

Andy goes out, and puts in his 20 minutes. He's out in the Medium/Slow group this time, guys a bit faster than he's normally used to dealing with. His session goes by without incident, and I wait for him to hand the bike over. During the exchange, he lets me know it's handling kind of nervous, but to try it out and see for myself.

I head out, and try to find a groove. Andy's right, it kind of nervous, but not really due to the geometry. We left the bars in a bit, so there isn't a whole lot of leverage to turn and control it. After a couple laps, I step it up to find some times. I settle into low '43s, high '42s. Pretty normal, but I'm being pretty sloppy about it. I miss downshifts at several points, and at one point, trying to pass a slower rider going into the turn 6 hairpin, I miss both downshifts! Almost running off the track, I tip-toe through the marbles, and keep it upright - barely. I put in my 20 minutes, and bring it home.

After a brief discussion, we decide to widen the bars, and check everything over. Andy took it out, and came back pretty positive. I took it out for the last practice session - the bar adjustments worked wonders for me - the bike is handling pretty good. I feel a ton better, and start to hit some consistent '42s, but that's it. It was kind of funny - it felt soooo much better, but the times were almost the same - go figure.

After practice was over, we set about the task to get it ready for the race the next day. The changes were:

- fresh slicks, going with a soft/soft front/rear
- replaced both sprockets that were showing some wear, went down one tooth in the rear to a 43
- the left footpeg was moving around a bit, so we spin it around a bit, and tightened it up
- fresh oil and filter

We also bought a 5 gallon can of VP 104 to see if the added octane/other stuff, gave us anymore ponies. Everything back together, we finish the safety wire, and button things up for the night. During the afternoon, Denise and Elaine made their way out to help the next day. We headed back to the hotel, and they caught up about 15 minutes later.

We were able to sleep in a bit since we were already teched for the next day, and all of the work was done that needed to be done. So after a quick trip to the grocery store for fresh bananas, we get to the track a bit before 8. The pit is restored in a few minutes, and after a quick rider's meeting, the first practice sessions are out.

Andy is up, and heads out. He comes in a few minutes early, when I hear he had swapped some paint with another rider at the exit of turn 2. Running with an FZR600 set up for the TFS class, Andy tried to pass him on the inside when the other guy swung wide. As he started to show him a wheel, the other rider tightened up, and came in on Andy. Andy had two choices - go for the dirt (at 90 miles an hour), or stand it up, and take the impact. He chose the latter! They bumped pretty hard, and while the front locked up on Andy momentarily, he managed to keep it on two wheels. After a couple more laps, he brought it in.

We do a brief lookover, and don't see anything except some extra paint on the right side of the fairing. I decide to go ahead and take it out. Immediatley, I noticed a vibration in the front end above 90 - but other than that, it feels like it's okay. I figure the vibration is a thrown wheel weight or something - after a few more laps, I go ahead and bring it in a few minutes early.

Andy grabs the bike when I hop off, and a loud squeal is coming from the front wheel. He throws it up on the stands. Spinning the wheel, we see a deflection of the brake pads in the right caliper. I hold up ruler to act as a dial caliper, and the rotor shows about 1.5 mm deflection. The collision, strong enough to bend in the footpeg mounts on the FZR, must have hit the caliper, and bent the rotor. If we had fresh pads in there, there wouldn't have been enough play to deflect, I'm sure the front would have locked solid - would have been a very nasty crash. He would've probably collected the FZR rider also. So - some strange luck - a collision that eats a rotor, but no crash. We replace the rotor with one off our spare wheel. Our practice is done for the day - nothing left but to set up the endurance pit, and get ready for the race.

Having campaigned this bike for going on three years now, we know down to within a couple minutes what our fuel consumption is. The SV will easily exceed an hour - even at Spokane with it's wide open straights. So our pit strategy was simple - fill it the brim before the start, and just hand the bike off at the half way point. It worked well for us at Seattle, it will pay off here.

The grid is disappointing - only 9 bikes entered, and 5 are in Lightweight. there are 3 SVs and 2 RS125s. So just finishing should net at least another 3rd. With the tires well scrubbed from morning practice, and with the heaters on for an hour before the start, I splash an extra dose of chain lube, and make my way to pre-grid. After the tire warm-up, we line up - and we're off!

I don't know what it is - but following my rookie season, where I had to launch a two-stroke RZ350, my starts have always been solid. Today is no exception, and I briefly pull a holeshot before watching a ZX-6 rocket away, and then finally the two other SVs eek by just before the brake-point into turn one. The three of us line up tight through turn two - this is going to be a race! We stay tight for the first lap, and the two SVs in front of me trade spots a couple times. One SV has motor, the other craft... I hang on, and manage to stay close. I know if I let them go, they're gone because both have motor on us. I plan my move on the second place SV (the one with motor)...

Lining up to the outside, I watch as he throws out the anchor, and for a moment I wait to close, and then hit my binders. I take an outside line that allows faster cornering speed and motor around the outside. By the time we hit the apex, I've got monster drive and and take off. I cross his front just a bit to spoil his drive so hopefully he won't catch me on the back straight. I tuck tight, hit every shift and wait. Up come the brake markers for turn 4, and holding off a bit, I trade some cornering preciseness in order to make sure I'm in front. If he didn't get me here, I'm good. I make it through 4 and 5, and nail my downshifts and turn-in for the turn 6 hairpin - once out of it safely, I know I've got him...

I'm now around 2 seconds behind the other SV, and dooing what I can to stay in touch. On about the 5th lap, trailing by about 4 seconds, I blast through turn 2, only to feel a pinch in my back as I come off the brakes and get it heeled over. I know this pain well - it won't go away for several days. I come to grips with it, and find a technique that keeps me going. I slow from high 42s to mid 43s, making it bearable. Coming out of turn 6, I can see I'm still putting the one SV down by over a second a lap - but in the mean time the other SV is walking away. I let him go and concentrate on maintaining what pace I can. I still manage to put the RS125s down a lap before my shift is up.

Watching the clock, and for my pit board, I wait for the halfway point so I can come in. After 30 minutes, I pass start finish and they have the half way flags out, so I tap my hat to let Andy know I'm coming in, like it or not! I come around, take my exit, and he is ready. Stopping, he catches the bike, and I crawl off. I try to give him info - "It's handling great, just a little vibration in the front...", and he motors off. Not more than 10 seconds have passed...

Gimping around, I explain what happened to Denise, and she helps me out of my leathers - I can barely do anything right now. I drink, and realize sitting is hurting more than standing at this point, so I get up and try to just walk around a bit. Then, I hear something that puts a smile on my face... Since we didn't fuel during the stop, we passed our competition in the pits! Some Clowns Racing is now 2nd overall, and leading Lightweight - holy shit! And at this point, it's not even close.

With 10 minutes to go - we still have a 26 second lead! So I go out to the wall and try to cheer Andy on. I thought about letting him know, but instead just gave the go-go-go sign. Turns out, he already knew we were leading as he was tracking the pit activity before I came in. When he goes by again, I start to count off the tickes to see if the competition was gaining. Andy was doing 45s and 46s, and we were losing 3 to 4 seconds a lap. With time for about 5 more laps, this pace meant they'd need 7 or 8 to catch him. Andy, please just hang in there!

With only a minute or so to go, our lead is down to around 16 seconds - then the tower counts the clock down to the end of the race 5-4-3-2-1-checker...Andy is the first to cross at the end, sealing our victory. Some Clowns Racing has it's first win!

The other team was pretty taken back - but after checking with scoring, it's pretty clear where we won. Our pit lap was right at 2 minutes, where their pit lap was over 3 minutes. Our manual scoring performed by Denise and Elaine backed up the computer times - and the results held - we won a one hour race by less than 16 seconds...nice!

All the work we put in during the weekend, and my ailing back, is now worth it. Granted, it was a small grid, but still, a win is a win. With one more SuperTeams race in October, we have a real shot at the class - which would be real cool. But that's in October. Between now and then, we have the Spokane 6 hour, and a Portland 4 hour in September, making for a busy month. Oh well, time to sit back and savour this moment, it will be back to work soon enough!

SuperTeams at Spokane Raceway...