i've had this discussion with several other racers and it seems that heavyweight twins races are at the end of every race day and that they are back to back for the other classes that i run. example: memphis hwy twins, followed by formula 1, and then a 2 race break then back out for B superbike. this makes for a very fast paced afternoon and at times impossible if you have any mechanical problems that need to be addressed in the break period, which happen to me in gingerman last year and caused me to miss the next 2 races i was scheduled for that i had already paid for. is there anything that can be done please.
I agree as well with you Brian. For the classes with the most participants, which I run C super, B super, and Formula 1, all races are near the end of the day with the exeption of C super. Having it all crammed together within minuts does make it rally tough. If a guy takes a minor baja and lays it down in the grass, he still has to go through tech again which is tough to do at the end of the day, and during a race. I vote for moving the schedules around or at least alternating them from race to race. Simply because it bites standing around for 4 hours after paractice then having two races back to back.
My opinion is that any way wera structures the practice/race schedule someone is going to be upset. Having a problem and missing races is not a racing organization problem. And for the biggest classes at the end thing. They are probably near the end so that when we have the multiple red flags during these packed novice races a good percentage of the races are complete. I know its not right to judge novices when experts have red flag situations also but I have seen too many long multiple delays in my six years of racing.
Last season, they did rotate several weekends with success. It was odd, but if they run a cycle this season (maybe reversed every other weekend) it would benefit everyone (or bother) equally.
i understand that your not going to always make everyone happy and i agree that people always will find something ##*@# about. but in my 22 years of racing it seems as though most races were some what mixed so that the same people didn't have to be the last guys racing every weekend. i believe that you can juggle the schedule around and NO one should have a problem. then some weekends your last some your first and some your in the middle. i don't want anyone to cater to me as an expert racer, were ALL racers and i was a novice also at one time. EVERYONE starts there and i try and treat everyone equally. i've even had to watch some guys come from being a novice to the guy that i'm trying to catch.
I'm not attempting to step on anyone's toes, my complaint is not that I have to race at the end of the day. That's usually not a problem because the heat has settled down somewhat by the end of the day. The problem that I face is getting back to the pits, and having enough of a rest and time to get back out on the track. If anyone remembers St. Louis last season, it was around 102 and there was no place to get away from the heat. And for races like that, they tell you to drink fluids, but at least it would help if there was enough time in between to cool off.
ok here we go again!! in memephis this weekend i will be racing race #13,14,and 17. I still do not understand why the heavyweight twins race can't be earlier in the day? i also race the other races for fun and the competition but i focus on the heavy twins. i suspose if i have a problem in my first race i am guaranteed a full refund for the next 2 races if i am unable to continue? with NO or very little break in between it seems to be very difficult to make any kind of small repairs let alone major ones. PLEASE is there anything that can be done? rotate classes or something?
It's because we hate HW Twins - no, wait a minute, if we hated it we wouldn't continue to run it considering the turnouts so we must actually like HW Twins... It's because it fits there better than anywhere else on the schedule. I'll try to work on it but I won't make any promises that it will change. The logic behind all of this is as follows... The vast majority of riders in HW Twins run LW Tiwns as their main class so we need to run LW first. We can't put it too close to B Superstock or A Superstock because the larger bore twins can also run these classes (and would be more competitive since we limit the HW Twins to Superstock rules). So, this makes it less likely that riders will run HW Twins, F1, and B Super - yes I know that you are but how many others are? I don't know either but I will look this weekend. FWIW I checked Roebling and T'dega and there was 1 expert rider who ran in HW and either BSB or F1; the same number (1) ran in HW and B Superstock. I also looked at the schedule based on your exact problem with it - if you run F1 and BSB for fun then we at least have the classes in the right order for you since HW Twins is your main focus. Anway, the point is I will look into it and try to work out something but the Superbike and Formula classes will always be together and always be at the end of the day because they are not the main focus for anywhere near as many racers as the Production and Superstock classes are. When we have tried to put the Superbike and Formula classes first the entries dropped dramatically and they almost went extinct because of it. After 26 years of tinkering this is the best schedule we have ever had, true it doesn't work for every single rider every single weekend but it definitely works for the huge majority of riders and that is the best we can hope for. And I do have one question - why are you bitching about Memphis again? At what point did I lead you to believe that the schedule would be changed from what has been posted since mid March? Your first line makes it seem like this is something new and different yet it's the same complaint about the same race you had in the first post... Give me at least a little bit of a chance to look into changing things.
Here's what I've found to work pretty well. It may work for you. Take an old bath towel and cut it into 5 or 6 strips (about hand towel size) and soak them in the cold water at the bottom of your cooler before your races. When you get back to your paddock, take the freezing cold dripping towel out of the cooler and drape it around your neck. You can even squeeze the towel and let the cold water run down inside your leathers. It's quite a shock to the system, but will cool you down quick. Then you can use the towel to wipe your face and head. I did this at Roebling where I ran races 10, 12 and 14. I even had time to refuel the bike, drink a bottle of water and have a smoke before my next race. Nothing like getting off the bike after your first race, taking off your helmet and hearing "1st call, 1st call for race 12". The towel trick works best if you have a nice shady canopy to sit under. Feel free to come over and use mine at the track if you don't have one. I always bring an extra chair or two.
This really does work wonders Yea, I had a tough time last July at Kershaw. Although I was frying in the hot sun I managed to make races 2 & 4. I even had time to do something to the bike, do something with water and a cigarette... can't remember though which ones I smoked, refueled or drank.
I was at kershaw also.dam! it was hot I had to push my blown up piece of s@$#% from turn one all the way to the last turn I also used the cold towel and it does do wonders hey yen are you going to kershaw if so I 'll see you there
slow down guys. i'm not meaning to be "bitching" i am just wondering why the schedule can't be juggled around a little from weekend to weekend. its also not a matter of being cooled off its a matter of fixing something may be broken. i low sided at gingerman last year and broke a clip-on and was not able to get it repaired in time to make the start of the next race. i agree for the most part the racing schedule works really well 99.9% of the time. and as an official it will allow me to work most of the day and then get my racing in at the end of the day. plus after al that i won't be able to make memphis this weekend after all. i guess thats what i get for trying to build a house during the racing season. see ya!!
If you find yourself smoking race fuel, putting water in the gas tank and putting the bike in the cooler, you should probably skip race #4 next time! I'll be at Kershaw next weekend so look me up. We'll all have to wrap wet towels around ourselves and get a group picture next to our bikes. We could make the cover of the WERA newsletter! We'd be famous!
You get the picture and I'll put it on the front page Brian - Like I said, give me some time to figure out how to change it and I will. It will definitely be different for the next combined National/Sportsman and I'll work on it for CMP but no promises, although it will give me a good chance to try an idea I have...
I always bring my camera, so let me know who's interested and we'll get our picture on the newsletter! Seriously! I'll be there Friday at o'dark thirty. Green Dodge Dakota, black Pace trailer, white canopy, white CBR #122. Look me up. Let's have some fun!
