Roebling Endurance Notes

First off, a big thank you to WERA and N2 for running a great event. I showed up at lunchtime Saturday to work the pits for Wrecking Crew, and the paddock was slammed.

With the short overall track length, the disparity in lap times, and the size of the grid, traffic was going to be an issue. I believe everyone played nice and there weren't many issues. I know of one issue which occurred in morning practice where contact was made and a particular rider stopped in another teams pits and said some stupid stuff, but I believe the incident was reported to race control and it was handled.

Tire wear. The new surface seems to be a bit friendlier than anticipated, and most teams didn't have an issue as the tire vendors did their homework. Dunlop had Tony Romo at the track keeping an eye on things, and I know James Bock had a formula for the Pirelli riders.

Pit lane pedestrian traffic was a problem. Way too many people out there spectating, taking video, pictures, whatever. WERA officials were blasting on their whistles signifying a bike was coming in, and people were totally clueless. I watched two people leisurely walking across pit lane as @hayes131 was coming down the pit road at a nice clip. Josh got on the binders in time, but it could have been bad. Also, lots of people on the wall during restarts. I don't know how many times Joe Fischer lost his shit trying to get people off the pit wall. Maybe a bull horn or an air horn would help...

Red flags and scoring. Ugh, it's been mentioned I don't know how many times, and I don't know what the answer is, but losing a lap based on where the leader is on the track during a red flag flat out sucks. If it was an easy fix, I'm sure WERA would implement it.

Safety first! Saturday evening, somebody made the poor decision to refuel a generator while it was still running. The fireball wasn't too big and nobody was hurt, but it could have been bad. The only damage was a cooked genny...

NATC. Man those bikes are cool and the racing was tight. Hopefully the program expands in 2023. I like the idea of getting kids on a GP chassis instead of a shitty 300/400.

That's all I have for now. Next endurance up is Pittsburgh. The track is big but negotiating traffic in the esses will be tricky. Also, expect to see more ringers as MA is at Pitt the following weekend.

Questions and comments? Go ahead and flame away!!!

 

How dare you being so enthusiastic!

Your observations and issues seem to be the same as it was twenty years ago.

The NATC surely brought in quite a few people who were excited to see the Endurance race. They might of been caught off guard that pit lane is part of the race track with very high velocities. This might be a good learning point for Sean to communicate to Brandon for NATC distribution.

Team Miller will be at the Pit round and hope to see you around.

Shameless Plug (Ok, no shame, whom am I kidding).
If anyone needs a couple rippers Hayden / Parker know the track well! Well enough to have some 200+HP bikes get their feelings hurt riding their 400's. Both are N2 vetted and certified.

 

As a rider of the para Team TBEX Racing I thought both CMP and RRR were awesome. There were only a few riders I was fast enough to pass so most of the time I was being passed. I had zero issues with riders passing me. I thought it was very cool to see the uber fast guys come past and at least be able to watch how they do it for a turn or maybe two. I have set up issues to improve and hopefully be able to drop more lap time so I can play with more riders out on track. I'm enjoying the endurance scene much more than I thought I would and I think I like it better than sprint racing.

 

This was my 1st race with WERA and we did the 4hr endurance race. I will admit that we had too many people (friends/supporters) in our pit area and against the wall. We were so caught up in making sure we were following proper rider change/refuel/red flag procedures that I didn't notice until the last 45 minutes of the race. We didnt have any issues with people running out in front of riders, but we had an issue with people not stepping away from the wall the officials were blowing the whistle. I will go ahead and apologize for the team and it won't happen again.

I was in the green N2 shirt and was significantly slower than my teams mates. I ran consistent times and did my best to be predictable so other riders could get around me without issue. Hopefully I didnt screw anyone up.

However, I'm confused about how scoring goes for the endurance races. Rulebook looks like length of the track times laps completed divided by 10. But that math seems like a pretty low amount of points. Is that correct?

 

Its cool. I wasnt trying to rush you. I was trying to understand it better. Thanks!

 

Yo Sean - before people start flipping out...

Chasing Shade Racing ULW ran a Ninja 400 in the ULW race (at least until the motor went ka-blam with 5 minutes to go)
Chasing Shade Racing MW had originally signed up to run a GSXR 600 in the MW race until a Friday afternoon issue with a missing gasket gave us concerns about running the bike, so on Friday night at registration we pulled out of the MW race and entered Chasing Shade Racing LW into the LW race riding an Aprilia 660.

I am just noting this b/c (1) I know that race monitor on Saturday showed us in the MW race (and thus we took multiple steps to make sure the situation was well known) and (2) we are currently shown as having run a GSXR 600 in the LW race (which we did not).

Just trying to make it clear before feathers start getting ruffled....

 

Relay class points? I know we don't count towards overall points but according to the N2 site and the WERA site there are still points given per finishing position plus the laps completed adder.

 

First thing thanks to wera and n2 for the event glad to see the participants that showed up for it.

But to cops point I really feel something has got to be done with pit lane before someone is seriously hurt or killed. I know people want to watch and be close but I really think only 2 people should be allowed at the wall and they should be on the pit board or watching for the rider to signal to pit. There are way to many people out there acting like its a social event and honestly the only way I see to police this. 1 verbal warning 2. Penalty 3. Dq
I get people want to watch but there’s other places to go watch. I understand it’s hard with the limited amount of officials on hand but it’s very dangerous and most people out there are watching. Same thing with the starts officials should not have to be running down pit road getting people off the wall so the race can start.

 

Yeah the pit lane continues to be a problem. I have seen the same people completely oblivious out there time and time again. I sometimes wonder how they ever make it across the street in everyday life. I make sure everyone with me knows to keep their heads on a swivel. It’s not that hard, but something terrible will inevitably happen. I have no ideas for a solution, I’d hate to make race officials essentially safety patrol for people that really should know better.

 

How'd the 660 do for the endurance race?

 

it was fast the entire race...

 

My first real laps on the 660 and it was very easy to put wherever you wanted it to go. Never felt so completely comfortable on any bike that quickly. Now if we can just get a larger capacity tank…

 

Bike has had a few gremlins and Aprilia-esque quirks (currently auto-blip is out & there are enough warning lights flashing on the dash to light up a house) but all in all has run pretty well this year - 3 CCS Team Challenge races + the Endurance this weekend and a few sprints sprinkled in. Definitely a fun/easy bike to ride once you get the suspension dialed in. Body position might take a little getting used to for some.

 

How was everyone's fuel usage?
Our GSXR 600 was burning a full tank of fuel every 30-35 minutes.