Feel Like a Pro at Miller Motorsports 5/19-20

Feel Like a Pro sweeps Miller!

Well this will be my first report as a mechanic. I was unfortunately taken out at the first round of AFM and received a concussion and between repairing the bike and buying new gear and getting over a cold, I chose not to ship my bike out to Miller. I did however, offer to be the mechanic of the small contingent of Feel Like a Pro riders who made their way from around the country to converge on the small town of Tooele to race in the WERA series last weekend.

With Dave and Sarah pulling the FLAP trailer from California, the rest of us either flew or drove to get their on Friday or early Saturday.

I being one of the flyers, I arrived at Salt Lake airport to the full effects of a storm producing big amounts of rain and after picking up Josh, and getting the rental car, braved the weather and all it produced on our way to the beautiful complex known as Miller Motorsports where I found Dave and Sarah had taken all the bikes out and thankfully had rented a garage for me to work out of so we stayed dry and warm while the rain poured down as I continued to fight off the effects of my cold.

After lunch time, Mother Nature decided to go ahead and let the boys and girls have some fun and as the clouds broke, you could hear engines begin to roar throughout the pit. After some discussion in our garage, it was determined that everyone present would ride and I started checking tires pressures, and placing tire warmers on all the bikes.

Friday's afternoon sessions were a blessing as nobody riding had any on track experience...remember I wasn't riding So I did my best to answer any questions and so it was throughout the weekend, our team did a great job of communicating with each other so that we could all be successful throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, we again checked pressures and placed tire warmers and the team was all fired up knowing they would go faster today than yesterday and we took advantage of all the track time we could get in before the 6 hour endurance racing. And so it was, our times continued to drop as the riders started settling in as experience was gained on each lap and before we knew it, it was time for me to do the final check of each bike before closing the garage doors and heading out to dinner.

After a good nights rest, we arrived at the garage and I went about my way getting all the bikes ready and on warmers in preparation for the first practice. Things were going well and I rode the pit bike out to watch all my riders circulate and upon seeing the checkereds I rushed back to the pit to take all the bikes from the riders and they rolled in and put them on stands. Remember, they are supposed to Feel Like a Pro

However, as I put each bike on the stands I knew I was only missing two bikes and the next rider in informed me that my last bike was being brought in by the crash truck....DAMN....there went my easy weekend I thought to myself. and of course I was concerned about my bike...er....my rider was ok

As it turns out, the bike brought half the gravel back from the Attitudes in the belly pan and shortly after receiving the bike and putting it on the stand, a hobbling rider came up to explain that he got the front wheel in too tight and got up on the paint at the apex and the rest was a long lowside down the hill.

After making sure that the rider for the most part (ankle) was ok, and sending him off with some ice for his ankle, I set my eyes and tools on task at hand, getting that bike ready for next practice. Oh wait, make sure all the other bikes have air, fuel and tire warmers on, check, ok belly pan off, throw away rocks, remove fairing, clean bike, take off rear sets, straighten, replace bars, tape up body work, and after a little duct tape clean up WALLAH, the bike is ready to go. Unfortunately the rider, did not fair as well as the bike and after some time assessing the situation, he felt that it would be in his best intrest to withdraw from the days eventss. So sadly, off he went and I reorganized my plans to attend to the other bikes and riders.

Now the grids are not as full as the AFM events but you race who is there and that is exactly what we did!

In the first race Clubman, Sarah Preston #479 was following the #7 bike of Tim Weig until he bobbled and went off line for a brief instant allowing Sarah to slide underneath and take the lead at which point she never looked back and took what would be her first of 3 first place trophies. Rounding out the podium and utilizing his years of wisdom, was David Murphy #909 our FLAP 60 something year old!

In the Novice class, there was a great race long battle between FLAP teammates Tosh Hall #737 and Kevin Carlin #82 with Tosh getting the upperhand at the line! and rounding out the podium not too far back was FLAP's Michael Kim #955!

We had a little team meeting between races and we discussed several strategies for each of the riders with all of them resulting in some type of personal challenge to improve upon themselves and to watch each of the FLAP riders go out and execute really satisified the old baseball coach in me and made the sacrafice of not racing this weekend so very worth it.



Now typically I am just looking at my bike each race weekend, but I do find it interesting that despite the different weights and riding styles, how well the Pirelli tire setup worked across the range. I did do some minor suspension adjustments, but I have to say, from my mechanic perspective, I was very surprised by how well the Pirellis performed all weekend, from the cold and blustery Friday to the warm and sunny Sunday races.

I feel funny as I feel I am overly blubbering on about these tires, but from a mechanics perspective with so many bikes to look after, the Pirellis made me look like a star GP mechanic who knew exactly what he was doing all weekend and thusly, have earned a little more of my respect for their product as well as my confidence in promoting this brand. So thanks Chris and CT Racing for making me look good to my riders this last weekend!

In the end, everyone placed in their respective races and improved each and every race so it will be nice as it will just continue to make everyone bring their A game each and every race weekend and when we get back to the 30+ rider classes of the AFM series, all the FLAP riders should just be that much more competition for the rest of the class making the riders and the 250 classes that much better!

I personally am looking forward to getting back in the saddle at the next AFM race June 2nd and 3rd and seeing the on-track improvements of this very special team!

FLAP would like to thank the following for making this possible:
Monster Energy Kawasaki
CT Racing / Pirelli
Leo Vince Exhaust
GoPro HD Cameras
Motion Pro
Woodcraft
Galfer
PBI Sprockets
ODI
GP Frame and Wheel
Motorex
Arlen Ness
Thor
Suomy Helmets

A sad note of the weekend, it was devestating to get a text notifying me that friend and 250 pilot and ambassador Gary Jaehne, passed away from injuries received in an accident while doing what he loved, riding the twisties of the California coastal mountain range. Gary was a great person who always had a smile and was a positive impact on many riders in and around the AFM and SF Bay Area as he helped with riding techniques and promoting safety.

From all of us at Feel Like a Pro, we wish Jill, family, friends and all those who have been blessed to have shared some a part of their life with Gary, our deepest sympathies and warmest wishes as we all make our way through this time of reflection on the loss of Gary.

C Y'all soon!
KazMan

 

hahaha I talked with the Ninjette crew a couple times. Those guys were having a blast. Good stuff. Great report.

 

Great story KazMan and it is always a pleasure rippin' around the track with the FLAP crew!

See you guys at WIllow next week right?

 

Hey Timmer, I believe there is a contingent going down to Willow next weekend! So you'll get to have more fun! I'm a little bummed because I sure do like that track but previous commitments will not allow me to go

Good luck to you and looking forward to hearing the stories on the Monday after!

Cheers,
Kaz