Mud Pies and Trophies - ZDR DOes Mummit June 2009

Mud Pies and Trophies – ZDR Does Summit Point June 6-7, 2009

Zero Dollars Racing rolled into Summit Point Raceway on Friday June 5 with some trepidation. It had been raining torrentially for a week, and though the weekend was forecast to be beautiful the track condition was in doubt. As we drove in we were pleased to see that while the track had standing water there did not appear to be mud on the racing surface – at least where we could see it.

We rolled out for first practice on Saturday to tiptoe around and see how things looked. Pretty wet, with water weeping up through the surface in a few places and some mud on the exit of turn 1, but all in all not so bad. By second practice things seemed pretty good, and while the pace was subdued there seemed to be a decent line. Until, that is, I tried the outside turn in point for turn 5, which took me across the middle of the track at the T5 apex. Almost before I knew it was happening I was down and sliding into the mud. Water weeping up through the track apparently made the sealer in 5 a wee bit slick. I fell so fast that it broke off my left side crash protector and the motor mount bolt with it, as well as the left bar/clutch lever, the windscreen, the steering damper, destroyed my tach and bent/broke my fairing bracket and rear subframe. Crap – I had the first race of the day in an hour or so. I was also covered in mud and indignity. No damage to my ageing body, though, fortunately. Many thanks to the always excellent MARRC crew for getting me upright and on my way.

I got the bike back to the pits (there was a nub of clutch lever left so it was rideable) and with the help of a few friends, including fellow ZDR founder Lowell Martin who has since retired from racing but was back for a visit (in his pristine E-type Jag), our own “Bronx Cheer” Dan and Dr. Mike and new racer and all around nice guy Marcus who pitched in (after four Marine Corps and US Army deployments to the Middle East this is a man who knows how to pitch in). We replaced the motor mount, the bar and controls, steering damper and taped and zip tied the front fairing and bracket into some semblance of stability, zip tied on a borrowed windscreen, left the rear subframe all twisted up, slapped on fresh tires and with a good 90 seconds to spare headed out for the first race, V6 lightweight.

Without a tach I was guesstimating the launch – and didn’t guess so well, getting off the line a bit slowly. Not knowing if our repairs were all good or if there was fork damage we hadn’t identified I was pretty mild in the race, especially in turn 5 (walking speed). Combined with my soft launch it allowed Scott McKee to check out but I got it home second with no apparent bike problems. So far so good.

We showed up Sunday and were held up an hour or so before we could get into the track because of a very sad event. In practice a new racer had gotten into a wobble coming out of turn 9 and got into a tire wall at speed and was killed. This is an inherently dangerous sport, and we all accept that, but that doesn’t lessen the tragedy. Our prayers are with his family.

In the somber mood that pervades the pits after such an event we rechecked the bike, improving our zip tie placement on the fairing bracket and loosening and re-torquing the front triple trees to relieve any fork twisting or binding. The bike felt OK in the brief practice WERA thoughtfully provided despite the cramped schedule. We had three races to run, numbers 4, 7 and 9 – three quick almost back to back events as the races were reduced to six laps.

First up was D Superbike, gridded behind the lightweight twins class (SVs). I was on the front row of my grid along with Scott McKee (FZR 400 something) and Chad Hinton (Duc 800 Superbike), both of whom have 35+ horsepower on me (not to mention the SVs who have 20+ on me). My goal was to keep them in sight, and perhaps be able to take advantage of any mistakes. I got into turn 1 ahead of Scott and a few SVs, but he quickly motored past into turn 3. I was managing to keep them in sight but not challenge when I got into a fantastic dice with Katie Bladon on her SV. We went at it hammer and tong for four laps, passing and re-passing 2-3 times per lap. Whoever got through turn 10 first would get drafted into one, sometimes with a re-pass through one. I managed to get into turn one first on the white flag lap, and Katie bobbled a bit in the carousel, allowing me to beat her to the checkers and take 3rd in my class. Some of the hardest and most fun racing I have done in a while.

Next up was D Duperstock – a bit less exciting. I found myself the lone bike on the grid sandwiched between the lightweight twins superbike experts and novices. In order to have a goal I decided to pass as many LWT experts as I could and hold off as many novices as I could. I only managed to pick off one of the experts and a fast novice got by me, but it still beats mowing the lawn, though the 1st place trophy feels a little guilty.

Last race of the day was Clubman, gridded with the 125s. There were 3 EX 500s (including two of the Rochetti brothers) and me. I made life a bit more interesting by yet again attempting to start in neutral. Once I got going I worked my way into the lead by the middle of the first lap and set sail, working my way through a fair number of the 125s.

So a weekend of beautiful weather, small mishaps and small victories, with one great tragedy. This is the bittersweet nature of racing.