How did everyone do?.I just saw paul b had a get off. Any updates on how hes doing? I hope hes ok. Such a kind gentle guy. Bj?
That was Paul actually involved with Scott - Paul had a bad bleed but it's fixed and last I heard should be good to go once he heals. Had some injuries but everyone should be home or going home soon. Paul was the worst. Overall it was an amazing event. Had people who have raced pro saying they've never raced in front of so many people
It was a great weekend. More racers and spectators than I've seen in years and the weather was beyond perfect. As usual WERA ran things like clockwork. Thank you for that. One unfortunate things was Paul Bogatko's crash on Saturday. He's a bit damaged, broken collar bone and some complications, but will be fine. I only ran Grand Prix 350 but managed to win that race on Saturday and celebrated with the champagne from Barber. Stu Carter and Francis Ganance schooled me on Sunday though. Damn this shit is fun Here's the Sunday race. The other bike was a Kawasaki 550 I think.
Flatlander, didn't plan on going this year, if I'd known you were there I might have, but then again we never know if you'll turn up so it might have been a wasted trip. Did you race or were you just posing?
Just talked to Paul's wife. He's still in hospital but doing well. She said on the way to surgery Paul's was saying he wouldn't need to replace his cut off leathers until next year because there are no more North Central vintage races this season. One tough old man.
Best weather ever at Mid Ohio. So easy to drink into the early morning. Nice grids. WERA was clockwork. Two years in a row I didn't make it past third practice Friday with either bike. No crashes. Had my first seizure on a 2-stroke, so that was kinda kewl. Also got to chat up Wes Cooley - mark that off the bucket list.
OOPS! I just remembered that I was supposed to send you a copy of that plug reading book, sorry about that.
Wes was very cool and friendly. What did you wind up running for jetting in the RD? There was a titled RD frame in the swap meet for $100 and I had all sorts of ideas running through my head.
Good seeing you there Jim. Wes kept saying how surprised he was that anyone knew his name. Likeable, humble fellow, but I find it somewhat sad that he thinks he's forgotten. I'm slowly learning the 2-stroke process, but not fast enough. I've improved my times dramatically on it and I'm much more comfortable racing it now. The bike was bogging under full throttle in practice 1 and 2. Fast in 1st gear, then throttle issues until 5th and 6th gears where it ran pretty well. I'd twist full throttle then back off until it caught. Had 240 main jets. Afternoon was nowhere near as humid so replaced with 220 for practice 3 and had the issue on the 6th lap. Odd thing is the left plug is brown/tan and the right is cream/white. 93 octane non-ethanol pump fuel with 32:1 ratio.
I tried to win one for the 2 strokers but only managed 2nd in formula GP Lt wt and formula singles got ripped on a red flag....where the heck are all the fast 2 smokers hanging??? Sitting in a garage rusting away...while the riders are all in wheelchair or waiting on the rascal scooter to come in the mail?? Lol
Danged, I hope Paul heals up..he's the real deal. An inspiration..I'll track him down over the weekend..man I wish he lived closer! What a fantastic guy.
M-O was the best event so far there. WERA ran it like a Swiss watch, keeping on schedule all the way. On Saturday there were a few red flags that forced the later races to reduced laps. Unfortunately the track has a hard cut off time of 5:00 o'clock so WERA has no say. From the unofficial sources I heard that the worst of the crashes involved 2 sidecars making contact at the end of the back straight. Both rigs flipped over and ended up in the gravel trap. All four racers were injured with one being med-vacced out. My son, Garrett, had the best weekend since leaving the AMA circuit. He started STARS LW from the back of the grid on Saturday on my Super Sport spec SV and handily won that race. Then on Sunday he started STARS MW from the back of the grid and won that race after a cat fight with excellent racer Mullins. Garrett also won the Formula Singles class both days on my Super Single KTM 450. He lapped up to 2nd place on Sunday. The KTM vibrates like crazy but really has a lot of pull in that motor. Unfortunately he shagged a new set of tires which makes me want to fire his ass. I really appreciate Bill Johnson posting the Sunday video of the 350GP race. And Bill, to his credit, found his way into my garage to introduce himself and congratulate me on winning the 2 race series. On Saturday Bill put his 350 Honda out in front of the grid and ran the race wire to wire. I didn't have anything to offer him and finished way back in 3rd behind Francis Ganache on his Ducati 250. So after being properly chastised I decided to put my head down and see what my Seeley 7R had to offer. Bill lead off the line and as the video shows I stuck my rude little nose up the inside of the left turn exiting Thunder Valley heading to the carousel. Later I apologized to Bill for this move but he felt it was part of being 'all fair in love and war'. That move pushed Bill wide enough that Francis also followed me by Bill. A few laps later Francis stuffed his Ducati up the inside of the entrance to the carousel on me. I had to lift and throttle 3 times before I managed to pinch him off. (There's a lot of thoughts going through one's head about taking out your teammate at a time like this, let alone anyone else for that matter. Fortunately Robin 172 was not around to reschool me on the art of the bump.) So after that melodrama I kept my head down and finished the race in 1st. I'm planning on racing the WERA GNF if my Seeley can make it through the season. The troops at WERA are a good lot for sure.
Fun event, but it would have been nice to know about the grids with a little notice. I was 2nd in one class and 3rd in another, so I didn't sign up til I got there Saturday morning, and was kinda annoyed when I saw myself gridded second to last row...
