Oh I'm sure if anyone could find a slew of bikes being offered up to ride it would be you. Any of mine. Even my beloved 400RR. Sucked not having you there Joe. I thought about you while on the track. And watched the race from last feb. Sucked not having you out there man. Come up with a plan to get more Vintage bikes out there. I did my part this weekend and brought two bikes in 3 different classes, but we need a plan to get more out there.
I appreciate it Dustin. When the weather was cold it was easy not to miss it. Now, it downright sucks. I always felt most comfortable at a racetrack whether I was racing or not. I think McQueen said it best: "Racing is life. Anything before or after is waiting."
Agreed Joe. Hopefully you can make it out to an event. Possibly even ride again in some capacity. What you wrote about your life long passion I think rings home for a lot of us.
Thank you for that Joe. As much as I appreciate folks looking out for me and advising my wife not to let me ride, they just don't get it. If I can I will. I think Steve's quote will be my new signature. We have a close circle of friends at the track, Dustin is one, that I believe have the same love and passion. If it has to be debated, then the passion is not shared on both sides.
Hey Joe, I just wanted to make sure you weren't being dismissive when you made the drama comment. Somebody else pointed it out to me in that context, which would sting a little. But as I'm reading it... I didn't think you meant it that way at all... more like an exclamation that you were joining in on the discussion. Am I right?
You are right. I found the topic to be a difficult one and all racers need to use WERA officials when in doubt. Safety should be first and they need to know unsafe conditions.
We had a mixed Saturday. The weather was great, we got to see some old friends, and there was some good racing. We had some mechanical problems and then there was the incident in Turn 1 of the V2, 500 GP race which put a damper on the day. I haven't raced since the '09 GNF but have attended nearly every SE region vintage event helping Paul with his 400 and his 250. I haven't heard any comments or complaints about Charles's riding or any unusual lines. I do know he is a former SCCA racer and that he had to learn new lines for our racing. After reading this entire thread at least twice and viewing the videos of the T-5 incident I wonder if anyone ever approached Charles to comment about his style or the lines he used? That T-5 move is certainly a very unusual move and serves no apparent purpose. We do have to remember that we have all made mistakes though and that was a serious one. After this Tally incident, Sean has a difficult task. He has to evaluate Charles' conduct during his WERA membership. What about the accident experience/riding behavior of others involved? Starting line, Turn 1 incidents are difficult to evaluate if you don't have disinterested personnel involved. Eyewitness testimony can be unreliable. Not because it is biased but because the riders were trying their best to avoid running over other riders and only saw fragments of the whole affair. It would be good if a video can be provided that shows what happened. Perhaps Charles should attend a Bargy Riders School. Perhaps he should be placed on provisional status. He has been involved in two incidents in two years. How many other WERA members have that record? I am a Charter WERA member. My son races with WERA and shares the track with Charles. I do not want unsafe conditions to exist or unsafe riders on the track, however, I am not convinced that Charles is an unsafe rider. If I was still riding today I would not hesitate to ride with him out there. Lyn Garland WERA #1594
Welcome to the nonsense! I had a good time as well, your riding and lines were fine, no worries there. Look forward to more races with you in the future. Is it a bad sign that I don't remember the pass? I must be gettin' old or something... Missed you out there, Joe.
I have a lot of respect for Mr Garland and his opinion as he has been doing this much longer than I have and is well respected by others but on this subject we differ. Perhaps that is due to him not being an active racer as of late but he is due his opinion. I do not race in the same class as Charles but am on the track with him in races and practice. He is the one racer I watch out for in either ahrma or wera. I'm very cautious when and where I pass him as he is a hazard just before, during, and just after a turn. If I were not aware of his riding " style" as many new or less experienced racers aren't the potential is great for crashes. I've exchanged pleasantries with Charles at the tracks and did so Saturday during the a.m. and early races. I have nothing personal against him at all. We were on the track in race 3 where toward the end of the race Mark Morrow and I caught Charles in the back straight and Mark got around him before setting up for the turns , I recognized the bike and slowed to let him go as I was not going thru the turn with him. You absolutely don't know where he's going. It's a really distasteful situation all around. He's been doing this long enough to know better and showing no interest or concern after these incidents is, in my opinion, very damning.
We have been in touch with the rider and we will all work on making sure there are no further issues.
Heal up John.:up: When you get up and around, we'll do what we have to do to get the bike back in shape. It didnt look too bad....but then again, the last time it didnt look too bad either, until we got it on the lift and broke out the square! Hang in there man.
John, get yourself healed up and don't sell that bike until you have had some time. I enjoyed meeting you at Tally and would hate to see you get out because of one squid....who rides like he is the only one on the track. I nearly got taken out by him in my first practice back in 20 years and figured out pretty quick to steer clear of that bike. It's good that Sean is working on a fix for the problem. Just a question for the V2-500Gp guys. The 500gp bikes seem to be getting mixed up with a V2 bike on the first lap...at least that is where a lot of the carnage seems to be happening. Is this a 2 wave start, or should it be?...so there is some distance between the classes on the first lap.
hey John, we're racing mini's at our top secret HRC-mini testing facility this Sunday. hopefully we'll have 10 bikes or so. down a bottle of advil and a fifth of something and come join us for some real racing.
