Welcome to NESR! Most features of this site require registration, including replying to threads, sending private messages, starting new threads, and uploading files. Click here to register.

Results 1 to 9 of 9

Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

  1. #1
    Lifer legalspeed's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Somersworth, NH
    Age
    61
    Posts
    4,594

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Race Report 3 Racer #486-Dan Martin June 9, 2003


    Every week I start by crediting the people who helped me, thank goodness
    this week is no different:

    I wish to show my appreciation to Derek Sinclair and Rye from NESR* Racing.
    They noticed the brake fluid covering my master cylinder, throttle, and controls.
    Thanks guys,
    brakes are a good thing in racing;
    Thanks guys,
    it helps my confidence and safety margin when you keep and eye on me.

    Thanks to Double Apex Racing** for allowing me to pit with them for a third
    weekend.

    Thanks to Lockhart Phillips USA*** for their great contribution as sponsor to
    racer #486.
    Special thanks to Aaron Lephart, manager of Lockhart Phillips Motorsports, for
    taking the time to drop an e-mail and giving a phone call. Your words of
    encouragement go a long way out on the course.

    PAYBACK:
    For those about to read:
    I salute you with 17 points, one top five finish, and one tenth place finish earned this weekend.
    Thanks for following along with us, Barbara and I have received many positive
    comments from you.

    FRIDAY PRACTICE:
    weather plays a roll;
    Friday practice went well.
    The weather was hot and sunny despite the last few weather reports for this area predicting showers on Friday, with rain on Saturday and Sunday.
    We ordered rain tires last Monday. They arrived Friday at noon.
    During the hottest part of Friday, without a cloud in the sky, I stared at my
    rain tires wondering if I just spent $265 without needing to.
    Oh well, that's racing.

    Learning the track;
    Last year I took the Penguin class (racing school) with some friends. This year they are very fast. One of them, Dave Gerardin #989 of Off The Wall Racing****, let me follow him around the course so I could learn his racing line.
    Thanks "Sweet Pea".
    While standing in line at the end of the day, Dave told me we were doing 1:24's; if I was staying with him.
    I felt good. I WAS staying with him. Truth be known, and I did not tell him this at the time, we encountered lapped traffic and I had play catch-up to stay with him.
    We all know about unofficial times, I tried to keep it in perspective.







    SATURDAY:

    Practice:
    The weather forecast called for rain, rain, and more rain, with brief periods of heavy rain.
    Morning practice went very smooth again, dry, chilly and overcast from horizon to horizon, the bad weather seemed to be holding off.
    Shifter linkage did come lose again. Blue locktite, we learned about blue
    locktite and applied this new found knowledge to the rear-set fastener.

    Confidence is trying to build but can't; shifting points and breaking points are changing as my line is changing. This started to bother me.
    While on the course I'm lamenting to myself;
    that's alright, my line is changing because of the increased speed.
    Making mistakes is natural; try to string the good lines and good feelings together.
    The better you feel, the smoother you'll be.
    The better you feel, the smoother you'll be.

    Saturday practice ends.
    The rain begins.

    We were blessed with a very light rain at first.
    I walked around in the pits to see what others were doing with their tires.
    Half were looking around to see what others were doing, and half were furiously
    changing out dry tires for rains.
    I wonder if anyone else noticed that riders changing tires all had white backgrounds for their racing numbers (this signifies Junior - Expert levels) ??

    My wife, Barbara, and I working as a team, can now swap out motorcycle tires in 45 mins. including safety wiring.
    We furiously went with the rain tires.


    First of two races Saturday:
    The clouds did not go away. It rained steady from 11am until 5pm. Standing water all over the track, many pile-ups in turn two.
    Steve LaRochelle from Double Apex tells me, "stay way outside in turn 11, there are dry spots there. Everyone goes through the huge puddle in 11 because it's their usual racing line.
    Don't.
    Go to the outside and pass everyone where it's dry!"

    Well, I did, but he FAILED to warn me about the fire hose.
    Going into 11, I see the dry pavement, set up for it, and get ready to overtake
    a rider slightly in front of me on the inside.
    The plan is coming together perfectly; dry pavement is giving better traction, the bike doesn't need the brakes, I give her a little roll-on back into the throttle thinking "great, I've got him, the rain is my friend",
    then: BLUGGSHHH!!!
    WOAH!

    A sheet of VERY cold, VERY wet water hit me square across the chest. With a lot
    of force. I felt like one of those rioters you see on TV getting hit with a fire hose.
    Oh, another thing: I couldn't see for a second either.



    Let me restate that: I COULD NOT SEE FOR A FULL SECOND GOING INTO A TIGHT CORNER, IN THE RAIN, HOT FOR A PASS!
    What a head rush that was! It didn't spook me too much, when the water covered my face shield, I replayed the scene in my mind and could see the sheet of water launched out from either side of the other rider's bike.
    What the hey, there wasn't much else to do for a second but ride it out and enjoy the experience!?!?
    And all for a measly 50 dollar entry fee.

    "Didn't spook me" is to say I didn't go down, take a few seconds off my lap time for R&R plus allowed the other rider to stay in front; it sure did.
    I was especially pleased as I screamed past him down the front straight, soaking wet.

    The bike stayed steady, and I continued to learn my rains and pass throughout the race.
    Together we crossed the finish in one piece and picked up our first 3 points.


    Second race Saturday:
    I'm having a hell of a lot of trouble getting off the line. In the steady rain, with 27 in my field, I managed to squeak past a few and finish 12th after being bike number 27 going into turn 1.


    Something odd happened during that second rain race.
    You say: "No way!", but it's true!
    As always, a fast guy went past me. I'm going a little quicker on the track, so I figure he passed me around the corner, not lapping me overall.
    His tires had two lines down the center, unlike some of the others I had noticed.
    I think: he's on dry tires! I can get him too. So picking up the pace, I get a little closer. Then he gets a little farther away. So, I go a little faster. Getting close to his rear going up the hill in 4, I noticed he is breaking the rear out and getting a little fishy on his exits.
    I think: serves you right for being out here on drys.
    White flag lap; still can't get by this guy. A few times I'm getting a little fishtail out of the corners too. I push really hard. He squirrels out bad going up the hill in 4.
    Mirroring him with intent to gain, I squirrel out a little myself. His back tire is getting close to my front, but then he pulls away again.
    Dang it, I'm trying my hardest.
    Checkered flag.
    I never got around him, but I finished right behind him.

    We passed a few along the way.
    Hello to 6 more points.

    As we gear down to enter pit-in, the wheels are rotating slow enough to see the tread. I looked to see his drys. They weren't there; he had been running rain tires too.




    Realizing how close to being really, really, stupid I was:
    I kind of had a humble moment to myself.
    Don't think you know everything, you don't, you're a damn beginner.


    Saturday night:

    I want to mention the party NESR and Double Apex Racing threw that night…

    Two pits were getting together for a party: NESR Racing and Double Apex Racing.
    They had special permission for a keg party with band; on the infield of NHIS.
    I volunteered to help and wound up providing the cold plate system for our three kegs of beer donated by Gerard Schifino and NESR Racing. Obligated to attend, we stayed a bit and listened to the band.
    The Sam Adams keg was gone in 13 minutes.
    Racers drink a lot of beer. Fast.
    We held a raffle at the party and raised $150 for the Karen Hornbecker Injured Rider Fund. The check was presented to LRRS by Gerard Schifino on behalf of NESR and Double Apex Racing at the Sunday morning rider's meeting.

    Thank you to NESR and Double Apex for your donation.
    From all of us riders:
    we hope to never use it.

    The wife and I were home by 11pm.
    With sleep deprivation setting in, the adrenaline still flowing, stress and strains of timed intervals all day long, this married couple experienced laughter and frustration through the day, and cried in each other's arms that night, then went to bed.

    We woke up at 5:00am on Sunday, ready to start all over again.


    SUNDAY RACES:

    Before practice; we must swap out the tires. The weather was cold, grey and damp, but no rain or standing water. Time for the dry tires again.

    Sunday practice:
    Practice was different, I had to learn to go fast again. The rain slows you down, now going fast seems, a little wrong.
    Every lap was faster and faster and by the end I could honestly say: that was a crapy session.

    After a bad or slow practice, you really don't feel good. One just has to swallow hard and make it work in the race.

    First race Sunday:

    Human problems.
    Having the tire warmers on the tires is only the first step. The next important step is to:
    PLUG THEM IN!
    I had to go out with cold tires.
    Rookie.


    We check for the little red light now.
    I started slow and built up the temps. It cost me a good three laps going slow.

    Then I had mechanical problems again.

    Towards the end, into turn 3, my throttle wouldn't shut off to allow a gear
    change. I squandered the next 1/2 to full second panicking.
    My front brake lever is squeezing into the hand grip.
    My heart changed right then from being frightened, to being mad.
    To heck with (one word edited into three)it! Let the rev-limiter do it's job, pull in the clutch, dump the bike over and feed out the clutch again. I did, but the bike pitched violently back and forth, front end chattering and bouncing.
    On one flop, she lined up almost perfectly to exit the corner and start up the hill into 4.
    I went with it, just when she lined up I let the clutch lever back out.
    In the wrong gear, the bike bogged a little.
    Through the bowl and up to 7, I worked the throttle back and
    wondered what just happened.

    This just happened:
    The front brake master cylinder diaphragm blew out.
    Earlier in the morning, noticing I had no brake fluid left, we had a tough time getting the reservoir cover off. One of the screws was stripped.
    When Derek Sinclair and Ryan (Rye) finally got the cover off, the diaphragm seal was very thin, having been pinched by over-torquing the stripped screw. The thin material didn't hold a seal under race conditions.
    Oh well, that's racing.

    We put more fluid in and I waited for my last race, race 12.

    While waiting we noticed every class running had an unusual amount of crash-outs. Double Apex Racing, the nice people taking me under their wing, had six riders. Five crashed-out so far.
    I looked up at my wife and said, "That's strange. Everyone is crashing. Juniors,
    experts, amateurs, doesn't matter. I wonder what the constant is?"

    Announcement over the PA:
    "First call for race #12"

    What is the constant?
    What is the same between all the classes? All the machines?
    BINGO!
    Everyone checks the recommended tire pressures at the Michelin garage.
    The morning was cold and damp. Now it was hot and sunny.

    I ran for the truck.
    Another crash happens, the sixth member of Double Apex. Everyone handy jumps in the truck with me.
    "Where are you going?" they asked.
    "I want to go over to the Michelin garage and see if they changed the numbers!"

    The crash was not bad, our rider stayed out.
    We went to the tire guy: "Absolutely! Take another two pounds out, front and back!"



    One weekend previous: the old Michelin guy said to my wife while he mounted tires for me, "I like him. He listens."
    Damn straight.
    Now lets let 2 lbs. out and go racing!


    Second race Sunday:
    This is race 12, Formula 40, the "old man" race.
    YES. I qualify for being slightly over 40 years old, let's leave it at that.
    Someone in my pit said: "Cool, you'll kick ass!"
    I replied: "It's been my experience that these guys are smooth, predictable, and fast as hell."
    They were.
    I had a lot of fun in this race.
    Did the air pressure thing really amount to much?
    Yes, it gave me confidence.

    Going up over turn four and into the "bowl" (which is quickly becoming one of my
    favorite parts of the course) there were two riders in front of me.

    Remember when I had questionable gears and clutch? That made me brake harder.
    Now I am supremely confident in my braking ability going into the bowl.

    As I crest the hill, I see them in the middle of the track leaving the outside open, I like the outside.
    Got 'em!! But not without a LOT of work:
    They were good at braking too. As we roll down the hill into the bowl, I barely get my front tire past them. We are going really fast. It was time to start leaning the bike over to dump into the turn. I couldn't. There was a rider right next to me. I wait a tad longer, nothing. I heard a lot of noise. The third rider had tried to out brake the both of us and was on the inside of my inside guy.
    Three race exhausts coming down from red line, make a lot of noise.

    I'm on the white line, looking at gravel.
    Lean it NOW!
    I nudged something with my elbow on the way over, not a hard substance. Myself and the bike were still on the track. I looked over to see what my elbow had contacted.

    This was late in the day on Sunday. After two days of cold rain, the sun broke out and cleared the sky. It seemed very bright, and very warm in contrast to the dull gray overcast rain.
    At this point I knew about earning points on Saturday, felt like they were a little reward for all this hard work.
    Yes, it had panned out to be a good weekend of racing for us.
    The track was warm and my tires were sticking.

    Now with the sun hot and bright, I'm feeling great.

    I looked down at this rider next to me in the bowl and saw the beautiful paint job his gixxer had; metallic, gleaming in the sunlight.
    It was a gorgeous bronzish-orange color.

    Everything seemed right in the world.


    As I looked down at his bike, I was into the fairing with my elbow. I felt damn good about it too. He looked up at me real quick, I think someone moved his bike a little (tee hee hee). We exchanged glances, then we both looked back at the third rider in our motorcycle sandwich.
    Everyone held their line.

    I will always remember that.
    Points are great. Stacking up three high through the bowl is a lot of fun too.
    Each rider's life depended on the other. We all did what we were supposed to.
    It was a righteous moment for all of us.
    I am proud to have been a part of that race. Proud to share the track with such smooth, experienced riders. My bike was in the lead coming out of the bowl.
    Hello to 8 more points.

    SUMMARY:
    As we learned from weekend 1; buy your rain tires and get your points. We are lucky to have capitalized on that and lucky to have been smart enough to check tire pressures under the variable conditions.

    We are very happy with our modest points. And look forward to racing the Formula USA Nationals here at the 80th Louden Classic.
    We will only be looking to finish, clean.


    See you next weekend at NHIS.
    -D&B
    LRRS #486
    AKA criminalspeed/legalspeed


    LINKS:
    * www.nestreetrides.com
    ** www.doubleapex.com
    *** Sponsored by: www.lockhartphillipsusa.com ~ Your Sportbike Connection
    **** www.gixxer.com

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    LRRS\CCS\WERA #486

  2. #2
    I'm Sorry, What? Jank's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    North Walpole, NH
    Age
    55
    Posts
    3,441

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Congrats Dan!!!
    Great write up!!!(again!)

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    Chris J.
    "You're going the wrong way!!!"
    "How does he know where we're going?"
    03 Aprilia Tuono, 06 Yamaha R6, 16 Yamaha XSR900, 13 VW Touareg

  3. #3
    100 X slower than Gerard scootertrash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Alton Bay, NH
    Posts
    1,438

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Ya did great, old man (hey, I'm a LITTLE younger than you)
    Congrats on some great finishes.
    If you ever need some help with the bike, don't be afraid to ask...I'll do what I can.

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  4. #4
    Lifer legalspeed's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Somersworth, NH
    Age
    61
    Posts
    4,594

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Originally posted by scootertrash
    Ya did great, old man (hey, I'm a LITTLE younger than you)
    Sheeez, Kids. Can't keep their mouth shut!

    J/K Thanks Gordon and Chris. Your offers mean a lot.

    -D&B

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    LRRS\CCS\WERA #486

  5. #5
    Newbie
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Mass
    Age
    60
    Posts
    4

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    wow great riding and great writing. Have one on me

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  6. #6
    NOT laughing with you {~; bemused's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Deer Island, OR
    Age
    64
    Posts
    3,375

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Dan- great to read of your trials, tribulations, and triumphs. your writing about it makes it almost feel as tho I'm looking over your shoulder for the whole weekend.

    been most excellent to follow your exploits vicariously here... congrats on the continued progress

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    WWSD? (what would Sneakers do?)
    "for every credibility gap, there is a gullibility fill"
    jeff f
    '97 RF900R

  7. #7
    Super Moderator beet's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Meriden CT
    Posts
    11,349

    tx again jeffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

    Originally posted by bemused
    Dan- great to read of your trials, tribulations, and triumphs. your writing about it makes it almost feel as tho I'm looking over your shoulder for the whole weekend.

    been most excellent to follow your exploits vicariously here... congrats on the continued progress
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!

  8. #8
    Just Registered Doc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Jericho, VT
    Posts
    19,396

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Old post bump!

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    "I'd rather ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow"
    Bikes: Ducati: 748 (Track) Honda: RC31 (Race/street)/ CRF 110 Mini Moto/ Hawk Endurance Racer Kawasaki: ZXR1200R
    BOMO Instructor
    EX# X

  9. #9
    KB KB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Manchester NH
    Age
    52
    Posts
    8,171

    Late; Diary of a rookie racer, report 3

    Quote Originally Posted by Doc View Post
    Old post bump!
    Doc nice find but dude. WTF is your job the interwwwnetweb ?

    KB

    0 Not allowed! Not allowed!
    LRRS/CCS EX #13

    GMD COMPUTRACK

Similar Threads

  1. The CEO Rookie Weekend Report
    By CEO in forum Pit Area
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 05-01-09, 07:13 AM
  2. Replies: 13
    Last Post: 04-28-05, 08:34 AM
  3. Diary of a rookie racer; FUSA podium...
    By legalspeed in forum Pit Area
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: 07-23-03, 08:19 PM
  4. Diary of a rookie racer; race report #2
    By legalspeed in forum Pit Area
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 05-21-03, 07:24 AM
  5. Diary of a rookie racer, week 1
    By legalspeed in forum Pit Area
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 05-01-03, 07:17 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •