Diary of a rookie racer; report 2, part one

Race report 2 Racer #486-Dan Martin May 19, 2003



Again I must thank:

NESR Racing* for fixing my destroyed clutch, linkage, gear selector arm;
for pulling the exhaust, and dropping the sump to collect clutch-plate bits.
A very heart-felt thank you to the whole NESR Racing crew for fixing this
competitor's race bike and allowing me to race on Sunday.

Your team certainly displays the honor, integrity, and attitude of a
pro racing organization.


Thanks to Double Apex Racing** for allowing me to pit with them for a second
weekend, you guys are great! The wife and I enjoy spending our race weekends
with your team.

Thanks to Lockhart Phillips USA*** for their great contribution as sponsor to
racer #486.


THURSDAY

PRODUCT TESTING AND OPEN PRACTICE:

Practice was good, GP shifting is setting in, only missing a few gear changes
all day, and trying to get familiar and comfortable on this new bike. A certain
degree of confidence is returning.

We bought a trailer last weekend; an 8'x20' monster. It worked well. The Avalanche pulled her full, no problem. We were able to haul five bikes and all our tools with ease.
None of us have ever driven a trailer before. This one seems big.


SATURDAY

PRACTICE:
Morning practice went well again, only missing a few shifts all morning, as opposed to missing a few every lap.
Confidence is returning and I need to start picking brake markers. Double Apex
is explaining where to start braking and how. They are telling me to get off
the seat through the corners.

FIRST RACE:

Warm-up lap went well.
Griding up front, I was having a little trouble finding first gear while sitting on the start grid:
Up comes the number 3, My bike still has the neutral light on.
Hmmmm, this isn't good.
Up comes number 2, I'm in gear, but don't know which one; starting grid nerves
coupled with: "Is it one up, and five down, or one down, and five up?" made my foot stab at the shifter arm in desperation to find a gear.
She's in.
At least the green neutral light is off.
Number one board is up, all other racers are bringing up the rpms; green flag
waves.
I was in second gear.
I flicked my fist up in the air to signal the riders behind me.
Everyone missed me, thank goodness.

Being a rookie, it is better to leave the grid in a straight line; people behind you can go around predictably.

My bike was in the first row. There were 30+ bikes that roared past me at the
start-finish line. By turn two I'm up to speed, by turn 10 they red flagged
the race.

We grid again in our original positions.
I'm well aware of what could take place a second time.

The 3 board is up and I've got a whole lotta neutral again.
Based on my previous experience, this is not only not-good, it's very bad.

As the 2 board goes up I notice I can have first gear if I hold the shifter lever up with my foot.
One board is up, I'm holding first with my foot, bring the RPM's up.
The green flag waves.
Dumb-dumb rookie here picks his feet up leaving the line and puts
them on the pegs, hello neutral again.
I jam it down into second just in time to see the last bike go by me.
By turn two the bike is up to speed and the race went well, missing shifts a few
times, I still managed by a few racers and finished 3/4 back in the field.

Returning to the pits, I felt that if I could find first gear just once, then concentrate on shifting, I could lower my times and place mid pack.

SECOND RACE SATURDAY:

Holding first with my foot propping up the shifter lever off the line,
I was able to launch. It was a poor start,
but I didn't become an instant safety issue this time.
In the excitement on lap two, I missed a down shift.
That's all she wrote.
No more gears, stuck in 3rd or 4th.
Twice I tried to get out of turn 3 and up the hill in 4th gear. No way.
Thinking of the other racers and the cornerworkers, I meatballed myself
(took myself out of the race due to mechanical difficulties).

Racing is tough on your luck and emotions.

I clutched the bike back to the pits in fourth, explained what happened to
my crew, and called my wife aside.
We discussed withdrawing from Sunday's races. I was not confident enough to
safely repair my machine overnight and still be awake and alert enough to race
the next day.
My wife and I were talking inside the trailer. It was very hot, depressing, and eerily lonely in there amongst the crowd and excitement of the infield. Having respect for my friends and fellow racers, it was with a heavy heart I swung the trailer door open to begin my walk over to the media center for a withdrawal form.

As I looked up, 6 crew members from NESR Racing were wheeling my racebike off
to their repair bay.

The clutch plates were stripped clean, linkage was apart, the oil sump had clutch plate parts in it. My learning GP shifting on the track had taken it's toll.
4 hours later the bike was fixed by NESR and they had me testing her gears out.
She was fine. New clutch, new gear selector arm, oil sump was dropped and cleaned, all seals were replaced, fluids and filters changed: a new machine.


Tony Inarelli lent clutch basket grabbing vice grips to us; thank you
Mr. Inarelli.

mpdgsxr1000 ~ an administrator from gixxer.com****, helped throughout the project; thanks Mike, having you around the track makes life a lot easier.

That night about 8pm as we get ready to leave, from the people who fixed my bike:
"Oh, by the way, your tires are toast. You need a new set before tomorrow."

That was an expensive day at the track. There seems to be a pattern here, leading straight to my wallet.
I ordered a new set of tires for Sunday.


SUNDAY

MORNING PRACTICE:

With so much different on the bike, Steve LaRochelle's (a fellow racer's) wife tells my wife to send me out on the old tires first, get used to having a clutch and more than one gear.
Then between practices, put on your new tires, use the second practice to scrub
them in.

That is what we did.
Thank you Lisa, it was a good plan.

FIRST RACE:

My old friend the endurance race.
This time I was prepared for the long race mentally, my body was tired towards
the end though, and I was making mistakes.
This race was good for finding my shift points, and a few brake markers.

It was fun having a clutch and gears!

After the race, the crew members from NESR Racing that had helped fix the bike, ran to me and told me what I was doing wrong in turn three.
Gonzo6 and Rye were right, their guidance dropped my lap times by two or three
seconds! Thanks guys!

continued....