Race Report - LRRS Rd2 - RSP Racing #43

[PainfullySlow]

Race Report: LRRS Round 2 – May, 2013 – EX#43

Arriving at the track
I managed to arrive on the east coast a few days before the races which gave me time to decompress and make the trip at my leisure. I was definitely a lot more relaxed and focused without having to run around like a lunatic to put everything together at the last minute. I arrived Thursday, mid-day and proceeded to get the bikes prepared for round 2. The SV needed some love and I got to work with an oil change and working on the vinyl wrap.

Friday Practice

I signed up for Friday practice to shake off the cobwebs and loosen up a bit which was very welcome. Practice was uneventful as I slowly worked my way up towards my race pace.

Saturday Practice

I made sure to run both practices on the SV to get comfortable and immediately felt the difference between the newer GSXR and older SV. Even though they are running the same front forks, they felt worlds different. The SV felt very unsettled and I was still having huge chatter issues from the front end. I love my SV but the simple fact remains that I really never had anything to compare it to as it was my first race bike. Once the GSXR frame was replaced I was starting to get a feel for different handling characteristics which I simply was ignorant of before. The main issue was that the SV simply wouldn’t turn as well and consistently ran wide under power. Now that I understood what my suspension could do, I set about to making it more ridable for me in an effort to drop some time.

GTL

I was gridded in 2A (second row, inside) and got a mediocre start. I was definitely having confidence issues with the suspension and my times showed it with the first few laps in the high 18’s-19’s. I recall being in a pack for a bit and made some passes when the race was red flagged 5 laps in due to a crash.

I took the time to mentally focus and find my calm, reciting my mantra inside my helmet “Purity of Purpose”. When we restarted I got a much better launch into 6th but was being held up Charles Sandoz (#18) on the new lightweight cheater bike extraordinaire, the Monster 1100 EVO. I finally made a pass stick in turn three and put my head down to catch up with Ted Temple (#52) who has been my nemesis of late.

I clicked off a string of high 17’s while I put my head down to finally get back on Ted’s tail which resulted in some of the most fun racing I have had in a long while. Ted had motor on me so I really had to work hard if I was going to make a pass. I think I must have spent 10 full minutes pressuring him, hoping for a mistake which never came. I showed him a wheel a bunch of times and even pulled ahead of him a few times but as soon as the throttle twisting came about, he would retake the position. Ted knew where I was at all times, he knew where I was stronger and took very defensive lines around the track. Seriously some of the most fun racing I have had, Ted is a true master!

Towards the tail end we started to encounter a lot more of the Amateur traffic from the wave ahead of us and Ted expertly used them to block me so in the end I had to concede victory to a great guy and fellow Spears Racing rider, and I rolled across the line in 5th place. Apparently we were all the talk from the spectators as first through third place was pretty spaced out and not terribly exciting. Glad we could give the fans a good show!

Outlap: 1:23.383
Finish: 5th out of 19
Best Lap: 1:17.705

Lightweight Grand Prix

I had a horrible grid position and got a terrible start so I had some work to do. I made a few passes on the first lap and began chasing down Chris Cucinotta (#88) as my next target. I was trying to make an outside pass into T1 but Chris wouldn’t budge so I ended up having to go off-track and took the NASCAR oval.

I waited for my position to come back up intending to slot right back where I was but the corner workers held me back (which is totally within their rights if they don’t feel it is safe) so I had to wait for the entire line of traffic to pass before I could go back out which pushed me back to 12th place in the span of 2 seconds.

Annoyed (to put it lightly) but determined I went back out and was trying to get past the giant group in front of me when the race was ended prematurely after five laps due to a red flag.

Outlap: 1:22.856
Finish: 12th out of 25
Best lap: 1:19.737

Middleweight Grand Prix (Dash for Cash)

My first race of the weekend on the GSXR went fairly well. I was gridded horribly back in the 5th row but got a good start. As per usual I was unable to keep my advantage and was passed a few times during the race as I am simply not up to pace on this bike. There is not much to say as I had a pretty lonely race so I used the time to try to improve my riding skills on this much less civilized bike than my SV650. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I set a new personal best on this bike but the elusive 15’s still evade me.

Outlap: 1:22.947
Finish: 15th out of 25
Best Lap: 1:16.283 (new PB)

Sunday Practice

I continued to struggle with the SV suspension and had to make an adjustment again as I was having issues with rear tire grip the day before. I also replaced the brake pads on the SV since it wasn’t stopping as well as I would have liked, thankfully I had a set of the incredible EBC GPFA pads courtesy of EBC brakes and Spears Enterprises. I skipped first practice on both bikes since it was so cold and overcast and went out for the second practice intending to put down some hot laps quickly.

The SV was not having it and was unhappy with the recent suspension changes, it was very difficult to turn. I ran very wide in turn 3 when I couldn’t force the bike to turn in any further and ended up going off-track into the dirt. Upon re-entering the track I went across the rumble strips and the bike tossed me hard. I landed on my head and side but got up, pissed off, and rode back to the pits after picking the bike up.

I had to repair the right side rearset, right clipon, and the forks were out of alignment. I had hit my head pretty hard and had some bruising/tenderness on my right side from the incident but I was determined to push past it.

I was angry at myself and my bike and went out for 2nd practice on the GSXR where I got within a second of my personal best so at least I proved it wasn’t me being a giant wuss.

Middleweight SuperSport

My side was hurting and I had a killer headache. I was gridded in 2D but got a fantastic start and was making my way to the outside of turn 1 for my preferred line when all hell broke loose. Someone collided with the back tire of ultra-fast guy Scott Greenwood (#4) who was in front causing both riders to go down. Somewhere in that mess, two other riders got tangled so the first four bikes went down which naturally slid to the outside of the track…right into my path. I went into full panic/avoidance mode as I struggled not to run over any of the riders, their bikes, or the flying airfence. I think I could tell you what color Scotts eyes are, he was so close to my front tire. Someone got it on video, you can see it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=ezbqv2VDLCM

Seeing that was really unnerving considering a friend, Scott Mullin (#24) was involved had had to take an ambulance ride along with another rider (not sure who). I later discovered that both riders were relatively ok with some broken bones.

The regrid was a little emptier than before which only reminded me of how bad the crash was but I tried to put it out of my mind and focus past it. I got another decent start and put down some pretty decent laps (for me) with several in the high 16’s and a bunch in the low 17’s. I don’t recall much of this race to be honest with you other than it was fairly uneventful. I did manage my best middleweight finish to date of 8th place.

Outlap: 1:20.817
Finish: 8th out of 23
Best Lap: 1:16.669

Lightweight SuperSport

I was in some pain and had not ridden the bike since the earlier crash so I hoped everything was in order. I did still more suspension work which was an improvement but still unable to get the bike to turn well so I was off my pace in the high 18’s low 19s. I did manage a decent start and got ahead of Ted Temple early which was my goal. I thought that if I could keep do this I would be able to stay there. Unfortunately for Ted he tried a pass in turn 11 and lowsided in the process right in front of me. After the earlier crash in MWSS this was unnerving.

Still I pushed ahead and tried to get around it. I am not sure when (things are a bit fuzzy) but at some point I was passed in turn 11 by recently fast Chuck Boucher (#39) who lost traction as soon as he got in front of me which caused him to lose a lot of speed immediately. We were still full throttle and leaned over and since he was mid-pass his rear tire was only a few inches in front of mine. I had to grab a fistful of brake to avoid colliding with his rear tire which unfortunately stood the bike up. I had absolutely nowhere to go and hit the massive bump on the outside of T11 at ~80mph which put me airborne until I landed on the apex cone which, naturally, got caught under my rear wheel starting a slide in the grass. I was tossed from the bike and did the rag-doll thing for a while as the bike flipped end over end for some time.
I was seeing stars but could move and knew if I didn’t stand up they would roll the bus so I got myself off to the side of the track and waited.

DNF for the race. The SV is a total loss as the list of good parts is far smaller than the list of damaged ones. I ended up with a concussion, sprained wrist, and all sorts of bruises/tissue/muscle damage. HUGE thanks to the cornerworkers of T12 who made sure I was relatively OK and got what was left of my bike off the track. These guys have a rough job and do it without complaint and with a ton of compassion.

In Closing

I need to start this with a giant list of thanks: To my wife who I scared to death…three times this weekend. To my teammates who went well above and beyond to help me out when I was pretty much useless with only one good arm. To the EMT/Medical staff of NHMS for setting me straight and to the cornerworkers of both T12 and T3 who both had the dubious honor of picking me up off the pavement this weekend. Special thanks to the fine folks at Nexx Helmets and Knox armor whose gear kept me in one piece despite my best efforts to the contrary, and to the rest of my sponsors for being there when the chips are down. Especially Gregg Spears Racing.

There are far too many people to name who stopped by to check up on me after my crash(es), and it is you that make this sport what it is for me. My sincere thanks to you all for your kindness and well-wishes. You all rock beyond words. I would feel terrible if I didn’t at least mention Heath Smith who, despite being our starter for this round, found the time to check up on me several times after the incident. You da man!

Thanks as well to Eric Reiter, recently named RSP Racing Pit Boss. Your help is invaluable.

Finally thanks to all the friends, family, and spectators that come up to help out or just hang in the pits with us. You really make this sport fun for us!

I am now faced with a very difficult decision: What to do about my lightweight campaign in LRRS 2013? This is the only bracket where I have a prayer of being competitive however I simply cannot afford to replace the entire bike. I am trying to check out my options but with me leaving for Montana in a day and not coming back until the week before the classic, my choices seem limited. I can either 1) repair this bike 2) buy another SV and swap motors or 3) abandon my lightweight campaign and only race the GSXR for this year. I am trying to wait until my head is clear before I make this decision.

On the positive side I got a new PB on the GSXR despite still being over four seconds off of the leader pace. Hopefully I will heal up in time for the classic.

Some shots from the weekend
First, the results of my awesome weekend






A great team shot with out new Pit Boss! Congrats and thanks to Eric Reiter!


I have a gallery of pics I took here

and some shots of the poor SV. The pics do not do the carnage justice at all.

[carsick]

Aww Mike, congrats on the PB, sorry for the damage to you and the bike. Your reports are inspiring, and after this weekend I know what you mean about the thrill of great racing! I have no doubt you will find an excellent solution to this challenge, see you next round.

[Degsy]

Wirelessly posted

You are definitely NOT painfully slow. 1.16.2. Damn!

[Doc]

I agree with Degs, name change time!

[PainfullySlow]

Thanks guys, I suppose it is all a matter of perspective. I am still over four seconds off the leaders :/

[CBR929RE]

that SV don't look nearly as bad as a couple other bikes from this weekend. give your teammate the keys to the garage and your credit card and it'll be ready to go next round

16s man that ain't no joke. yeah its 4 seconds off the leaders but you're talking superhumans up there

[PainfullySlow]

that SV don't look nearly as bad as a couple other bikes from this weekend. give your teammate the keys to the garage and your credit card and it'll be ready to go next round

Sadly the pics do not show the damage well. I would need both rearsets, both clipons, forks, possibly triples, gas tank, every fairing, every fairing bracket/stay, subframe, exhaust. Basically I can salvage the motor, radiator, carbs, seat, swingarm, wheels, brakes, and maybe frame. The rest is a mess.

[tsorfas]

you are moving out there man! you are incredibly fast and i stand by my original statement, you are right at everything and doing everything better than everyone else LOL.
been a pleasure watching you race and hanging out the last two weekends. sucks for the crash but lets be positive, we know things could have been much worse.
see you at the Classic

[tsorfas]

some shots i snapped sunday morning of you, at the cool down lap:

[Mr. Kurtz]

That'll buff out Mike.

Seriously though, you know all you need to say the word and we'll get over there and put it back together while you're in Montana.

[tsorfas]

That'll buff out Mike.

Seriously though, you know all you need to say the word and we'll get over there and put it back together while you're in Montana.

Party @ Mike's while he's gone?

[Mustang]

That'll buff out Mike.

Seriously though, you know all you need to say the word and we'll get over there and put it back together while you're in Montana.

:iws:

[The Snowman]

Seriously though, you know all you need to say the word and we'll get over there and put it back together while you're in Montana.

Party @ Mike's while he's gone?

:iws:

Damn BoRnies , it's :stupid : over here.

[PainfullySlow]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the thoughts. The bike is actually still in NH so going to my house will only net you some great german beer :-p

I have a couple options on the table, I will keep you posted but if this DOES come together it will be on the 12th-13th :-p

[PainfullySlow]

Thanks to Arcy of OTMPix.com for this fantastic shot. Almost makes me look like I know what I am doing =)

[Sweeneytuned]

That was my rear tire that got clipped. I started grid 1B it was no fun...

[PainfullySlow]

Gotcha, and I am sorry. That whole thing sucked beyond words. I was too busy trying not to run over people to take note of who they were but I am glad that you (and everyone) got out reasonably OK.