WERA West Fontana Race Report 1/8 & Cyclemall Honda/Bridgestone Review

Background time, all of 2011 I spent my time focusing on my daughter and family which left me with no time or motorcycle for that matter to ride with. Crazy to think she will be 1 years old in a couple of weeks, it feels like yesterday that I was in the hospital with my wife in the delivery room.

Fast forward to Jan 2012, and heading to the track Sunday there were a lot of firsts for me to encounter. I was coming off the couch after 15 months of not riding a racebike, riding a new bike for the first time, riding new tires for the first time and really having no expectation except to have a good time with my friends which was a nice way to feel after years of chasing championships.

The first few practice session opened my eyes right away. Between the K-Tech suspended CBR600RR and Bridgestone tires, I immediately felt at home on the Cyclemall Honda. Never trying K-Tech previously, it was amazing how well the suspension performed. The front end had so much feel and confidence that I was smiling every time I was floating the back tire inches off the ground as I was braking. The shock was equally as good, no wallowing or squatting, and just loads of grip. This is all a racer can ask for honestly.

Let’s talk about tires. 12 years of riding Dunlop’s with tremendous success, they been extremely great to me over the years. The gratitude I have for them will never go away and I would never want to compromise the relationship we have built. But this year is little different which is why I ended up on a new tire for this weekend. I do not have a plan of chasing any championships, and I am not riding my own motorcycle for the first time in my career. For Tige, this was important for him and I really wanted to give him both thanks for letting me ride and also an honest performance evaluation by giving his tires all I can. First off, looking at the Bridgestone contingency program for 2012, it is strong approach. Just seeing the payout made me happy, because racers need help from all angles to make it to the races and without paybacks it makes it tough to race. Performance wise, I am happy to say they exceeded my expectation in all areas of performance. The grip was excellent and feedback was positive. They slide predictably, and wear was great. I used the same front for all 3 races with no hint of front end push. I wish I could have exploited the performance of the tires more, I feel they could have won all the races I entered but my ability for the day was not up to giving them their all.

As far as the races go, not much too much to talk about there. I was gridded way back (2nd wave for 2 races), and with usual suspects looking for AMA testing I was happy to be able to move up to a 4th place and a couple of 6th place finishes turning lap times about 2 seconds off the leaders. That was all on me, with more practice and testing I should be able to bridge the gap to those guys if I can get a chance this year to ride more, the bike, tires, and suspension is clearly capable.

Lastly, WERA and staff did an excellent job running the show and dealing with the high winds. I thought for sure we would not even race, just like years past. The day was smooth and I was wrapped up on time, what a pleasant experience.

Big thanks to Cyclemall (Tige and James), Bridgestone, Catalyst Reaction, K-Tech, Orient Express, GPR Stabilizers, NEXX Helmets (Thanks Slim, helmet fits great), and Helimot Leathers. Also thanks to the CM crew, great to see all the old familiar faces and friends.

 

Nice work Jeff! Glad to hear you are back on a bike and having fun. That K tech stuff is pretty amazing right out of the box. I worked with Tige on the R1 with K Tech stuff and was blown away. Hope to see you soon.

 

good seeing you again Jeff, glad we could pit together

 

There were plenty of really good Riding at Fontana, Hope to see you out again.