Roebling Road Race Report, 09-17-00

Short Version:

Great weather and great racing!!!! The new bike is awesome. The R6 is a true race bike. I ran the Middleweight Solo 20 (20 lap race) on Saturday and finished 3rd!!! (YEAH) On Sunday I ran 600 Superbike and finished 6th, and in 600 Supersport I finished 4th (I lost 3rd on the last lap when the bike slid coming out of turn 2 and I ran wide). I managed to get into the 1:18's which was my goal for the weekend. It was a blast...

Very Long Version: (read at your own risk)

On Tuesday I went to the Doctor and was diagnosed as having Carpal Tunnel. My thumb and pointer finger are numb on my left hand and my left forearm is weak. Not good. On Thursday by the time I left work I couldn't even hold a pen, so I went home and took the R6 for a ride around the neighborhood to see if I could still shift. I rode around and shifted a bunch of times and it felt fine, and when I pulled out from the stop sign the R6 gave me a nice power wheelie. That was all I needed, so I loaded the bike and gear and was good to go. Fellow Floribama Rider Henry Avello was kind enough to volunteer to go with me, so Friday afternoon I picked him up and we were on the road. We got to the track at around 9 pm Eastern time, unloaded and headed for the hotel. He was hungry so he headed out to get a bite to eat, and brought me back a Waffle from Waffle House. What a great guy.

Saturday we got up to cooler temperatures and headed to the track. My goals for the weekend were to get some good seat time on the new R6 (new to me), try to get into the 1:18 lap times, and see if I could be more competitive on this bike. I got suited up and headed to pit out for my first practice on the bike. I pulled out onto the track and twisted the throttle and the front end started floating, so I shifted into second and twisted the throttle and the front end was still floating. I knew then that this was going to be a fun bike to ride. I got an AIM on bike timing system with the bike, so I was able to monitor my lap times while I was on the bike. Very nice system. In the first practice I was able to get a 1:19 on my last lap. In second practice I was able to run consistent 1:19's. My left hand was hurting after practice but I signed up for the Middleweight Solo 20 for more seat time. This is a 20 lap race. Roebling Road is a 2 mile 9 turn road course, pretty high speed. There were only 6 people entered in the race. I was gridded on the 3rd row, and got a terrible start (as usual). I was last going into turn 1. My friend Caesar was in front of me in 5th place. We were running around 1:20's. It took me a couple of laps to get by him, and I saw 3rd and 4th just ahead of us, so I set my sights on them. I got into the 1:18's and caught up to them a few laps later. They were running 1:19's and it took me a few more laps to set them up. Coming out of turn 9 I knew I needed to get a good drive to draft them, and I moved into 4th spot at the end of the straight. The next lap around I got around for 3rd place and put the hammer down. I was pretty excited to get by these guys because they are guys I have been trying to chase all season. By the half way flag, Henry was signalling to me that I had a huge lead over 4th, and I could see the second place guy, so I hit some more hard laps to see if I could catch him. As I was going into turn 1 he was coming out of turn 2. The next lap as I going into turn 1 he was in turn 2 so I was gaining on him, but not enough to catch him. I finished the race in a solid 3rd place and was very pumped about it. Needless to say my hand wasn't hurting at that point. Henry and I headed out to dinner in Savannah on the water front that night with fellow Floribama Rider members David Gay, and Caesar Gonzales. We had a nice dinner then headed back to the hotel.

I got up Sunday morning very sore. My hand and my whole body were hurting. I was paying the price for riding hard the day before. I went out for first practice and it didn't go that great, I only managed to get into the 1:20's. Second practice was about the same with a few more laps in the 1:20's. I couldn't get in the groove, and could feel every sore muscle. I was hoping that the adrenalin would kick in and take care of that. My first race was race #2, 600 Superbike. I was gridded on row 2. There were 8 people entered in this race. I got another bad start and was again last going into turn 1. I managed to get around Caesar for 6th place, but it took a couple of laps. We were only running 1:19's. Once I got by him I got back into the 1:18's hoping to catch the pack ahead of me. I started to catch them a little, but the rear stepped out coming through turn 4 so I backed off and finished 6th. I was feeling a little bit better, but still didn't feel as good as I did on Saturday. My next race wasn't until race #10 so I had a decent break in between. It turned out to be a bad one. I got to see 2 of my friends crash, one of them was a guy named Pat Ward from Birmingham, and the other was my friend David Gay. At the start of his race a guy threw a chain and everyone swerved to miss him, but David couldn't get around and hit him. He tore his leg open and got transported to the hospital for some stitches. Henry and I loaded his bike and gear into his truck and waited to hear from him. By the time my second race came up I wasn't feeling too great. No excuses though, I wasn't riding as hard as I could have. I was gridded on row 2 again, and again I got a bad start. Caesar got a great start and lead the first 2 laps of the race. We were all only running in the high 1:19's and people started making their moves around him. By the half way point I was behind Caesar who was in 3rd. I couldn't put a good lap in and was on his back wheel for several more laps. On the last couple of laps I dropped into the lower 1:19's. Coming around for the white flag (last lap) I got a great drive out of turn 9 and drafted by Caesar going into turn 1. Coming out of turn 2 my back wheel broke loose big time and stepped out almost 2 feet. I managed to save it but it was enough for Caesar to get back by me and finish 3rd. After the races, we loaded up my gear and headed for the hospital to see David. He crashed around 2 PM, and we got to the hospital around 4:30 and he still hadn't been seen. Poor guy. We got his clothes for him and left his truck there, then hit the road back. We got back to Birmingham around 11:00 PM. I am extremely happy with my weekend results, and had several great races. The R6 is a wonderful bike, and I think once I get the suspension set up for me it will be even more competitive. I managed to accomplish all of the goals I had set for the weekend. I want to thank my wife Jennifer and son Jacob for their love and support. I need to thank Greg "Big Daddy" Calhoun for putting the best bike under me that he can. Thanks to Henry for going with me and helping me all weekend long. Couldn't (and wouldn't) have done it with out you. I also want to thank Dave Collette for selling me this awesome machine. Thanks to all of my sponsors: Big Daddy, Ferodo, Intuitive Race Products, Bridgestone, LP USA, Blaze Cycle Worx, Traxxion Dynamics, Arai, Mary Lou's Team, "Bell's Angels", "In Your Face" Photography, and The Floribama Riders.

This was the last regular season race for WERA, so next stop is the Grand National Finals. When I got home last night I found my invitation to the GNF for C Superbike, C Superstock, and believe it or not, Clubman. I only raced one Clubman race this year. Anyway, see you there...