The weekend overall was good for OMRRA because it was dry on Saturday for the races.  All week the weather reports were calling for rain all day Saturday and nobody was looking forward to that.  It was still cold on Saturday, I don't think it ever got above 55, but it was dry.

My weekend was a little more mixed.

Friday was practice and racing on Saturday.

Friday morning;  I spent the entire morning:  Getting my leathers fixed.  Getting tires mounted (I love bridgestones!). I was also trying to get the suspension baselined to start out with.  But my rear shock was messed up, so I had to pull it off and get it serviced and put it back on.  Friday afternoon, I got three 20 minute practice session in.  I started off slow just to make sure everything was working.  By the end of the day, I loved the new bike but was still going slow.

Saturday, there was only one 20 minute practice session and I was really hoping to get up to speed.  But after 4 laps, I noticed something was wrong.  When I came into the pits, I noticed that I was spilling gas all over the motor and exhaust.  THANK GOD it never ignited.  The fuel line came loose from the gas tank and I spilled probably a gallon of fuel.  But that was the end of my morning practice session.

I entered 2 races and when the first race started, I had very little practice time and hadn't ridden the bike in anger in over a year.

But all in all, I was happy with my results.  I started both of my races at the back of the grid (since I didn't race last year and grid positions are based on last year’s class standings), and I finished the first race in 8th and the second race in 6th.  The bike worked perfectly in the race.  I was able to battle against a few racers in both races and had fun. 

I can't thank my sponsors enough for all their help. 

My next race is at Willow Springs at the end of April with AHRMA

2008 Race Bike:                 Honda RC51

2009 Race Bike:                 Suzuki SV650

Location:                             Portland, Oregon

Venue:                                 Portland International Raceway

2008 was an off year for me.  After contesting multiple class championships in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, I needed to take a break to mentally recharge and to get my finances back into balance.

Pacific Super Sport Riders Motorcycle Track days and Safety School (PSSR): 

Even with 2008 being an off year, I was still at the track several times each month working as an instructor for PSSR.  At each track day, my race bike and pit are set up prominently displaying all of my sponsors. 

The PSSR track day events for 2008:   April 22^nd / May 6^th / June 3^rd / July 1^st/ July 21^st/ August 28^th/ September 9^th/ October 9^th / November 3^rd & 4^th

2008 Portland Rose Festival Cup Races:

The Rose Cup Races, the oldest amateur auto racing event west of the Mississippi, has been a major event in Portland for 48 years and the largest draw for any events at Portland International Raceway in 2008.  This year’s Rose Cup Race had over 10,000 in attendance.

 This year the organizers of the Rose Cup Race wanted to include motorcycle racing as a way to cross pollinate car racing fans and motorcycle racing fans.  My title sponsor, Vicious Cycle, wanted a presence at the race to promote his business.  The expedition race was a short endurance race.  I teamed up with Joe Pethoud from Vicious Cycle and entered my RC51 into the Heavy weight class.  This was the first time Joe Pethoud had ridden my RC51 and my first race of the season.  With my RC51 against many newer 1000cc four cylinder bikes (CBR 1000, GSXR 1000, etc), we weren’t able to fight for the win.  But we were still able to put on a good show and finished the race in 10^th place overall.

The race provided an excellent promotional opportunity, as we strategically positioned our pits on the main walking path.  We had several fans comment and congratulate us.

2009 Preview:

Now I am looking forward to challenging several class championships at OMRRA in 2009.  In November 2003 I purchased a SV650 from a fellow racer.  I am working with my title sponsor to build the bike into a very strong middleweight superbike.  We plan on re-working the already good SV 650 from the ground up.  After we are done every component of the bike will be upgraded. 

In 2009, I plan on contesting the Middleweight Superbike, and 650 GT Twin class at OMRRA.  I very much appreciate all the help I have received from my sponsors over the years and hope I can continue my relationship with all of my 2008 Sponsors.

July Race Report



Date:    July 28th, 2007

Location:    Portland, Oregon

Venue:    Portland International Raceway

Series:    OMRRA

Class / Finish Position:

    Open Twin Supersport / 2th

    Open Twin Superbike / 5th

    750 Superbike / 16th

    750 Supersport / 14th



This was the last race of the OMRRA 2007 season.  The season was cut short this year because Portland International Raceway was closing the track down early to start a much needed repave of the entire track surface.  No one likes having their season shortened but all of us are happy to have a new surface to race on in 2008



750 Supersport – 14th

The 750 races are always tough for me.  The old RC51 just isn’t much of a match for the new 750’s.  But I put my head down and put in my best effort.  As usual, I got a pretty good start and was able to gain a few positions only to give them back up on the long front straight as the race progressed.



Open Twin Superbike – 5th

This was the last race of the day for me, and an interesting thing happened on lap 2.  I’m shifting up through the gears and after I get to 6th, I look down and notice that one of the two bolts that holds my steering damper on, is rattling around, backs itself out and falls out.  I am thinking “Oh Crap!  This can’t be good.”  I look down again and see my steering damper bobbling around.  Do I pull off, call it a day?  The steering damper is about to fall off.  Having something that big fall off, can’t be very safe for the racers behind me.  Then I just decided to go for it, I want my points!  So I grab it and chuck it off in the braking zone for turn 1.  Keep in mind that all of this happened in about 1 second, while I am trying to slow down from 165mph to 100mph.  Adrenaline is an incredible drug!



For the next lap or two, a few things came to mind.  1) I just tossed a $500 steering damper.  Was this one race really worth it?  2) The RC51 is a pig.  Having a steering damper is probably a good thing for this bike.  3) Oh well, its too late now, might as well go fast.



After the race I pulled off at turn 1 to see if the corner workers could find it.  As soon as I pulled up, the corner worker says “Hey, I found your damper.  Here!  And wait, I think there is another piece, let me get it.”  I was SO happy.



750 Superbike – 16th

This was very similar to the 750 Supersport race.  I was able to get a good start and pass some of the fast guys until we got to the front straight.  But I was happy to put in some decent and consistent laps.



Open Twin Supersport: - 2th

This race started out good.  I was in 3rd place after the first lap and started putting in some good laps.  The first and second place racers pulled a gap on me, but I was really determined to put in some fast laps to see if I could pull them back in.  I did put in some good laps and on the last lap I could see that I was catching the 2 place racer.  I put my head down and on the last turn before the checker flag I made the pass.  I knew he was right behind me but I was able to beat him to the line and take 2nd place.



Now my racing season is over, but I do have 3 more track days in September and October where I am instructing.  Then I need to get ready in the off season for next year.



Thanks for all your support this year and you will be getting my application for sponsorship in 2008 soon.  



Thanks again.  Without the help I get from my sponsors I would not be racing.

Date:           June 24th, 2007

Location:    Portland, Oregon

Venue:        Portland International Raceway

Series:       OMRRA

Class:        Open Twin Supersport

                    Open Twin Superbike

The forecast for Sunday, June 24^th was rain, hail and thunderstorms.  Typical weather for the NW, I assume.  That makes two of the first three rounds at OMRRA this summer rain races. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t just rain all day, which wouldn’t have been too bad.  It was cloudy and had that look like it could dump at any point in the day.  In the morning it started raining during the riders meeting.  It looked like it was going to stay rainy for the morning, so right after the meeting I decided to put on the rain tires.  Of course as soon as I finished putting my rain tires on, it stopped raining.  Even though it was starting to dry out, I went out in the morning warm-ups with rain tires on.  In 4 laps, I melted my rear tire.  Rain tires are so soft that if it isn’t raining they heat up and just melt away.  Luckily it was a used tire so I wasn’t too upset. 

After the morning warm-up, I put on my racing tires and it stayed dry for the rest of the morning for the qualifiers.

Open Twin Superbike qualifier: 

The track was still cold and damp and I didn’t want to throw it away in the qualifier, so I only put out enough effort to be on the front row of the grid for the mains.  I finished in 4th place which put me on the outside of the front row for the mains.

Open Twin Supersport qualifier:

My competition was sand bagging it, so they could try to follow someone and learn their lines.  I didn’t want to play any of their games and just put my head down and put in some fast laps.  By the last lap, we had caught up to some lapped traffic and I was in the lead.  I wanted to put some traffic between me and my competition to give myself a little buffer, which worked and I finished in 1st place.

Open Twin Superbike Main:

During lunch it started to pour, so I put my rain tires back on.  But then about 30 minutes before my first race, the sun popped out and started drying out the track.  So I decided racing tires would be better. 

Of course, as soon as I rolled out to the hot pit lane for my first race, it starts raining, but now it is too late.  I had racing tires on which on a wet track is slippery as ice.  Only one racer had played the rain gamble correctly and had rain tires on.  When the race started, he took off and opened a big lead on everyone.  The rest of us had racing tires and it was like riding on ice.  For the first 4-5 laps, everyone was tip toeing around.  You had to be so easy with the throttle or you would just spin up the rear.  Then it stopped raining and we got a dry line for the second half of the race.  By then the first and second place riders had a big gap and I just played it safe and finished in 3rd place.

Open Twin Supersport Main:

By now the track had a dry line but I was still not 100% confident in the track.  I got a bad start but was in third place by the end of lap one.  But because of my lack of confidence in the track, I wasn’t able to push it 100% and was never able to catch my competition. 

All in all, two races and two 3rd place finishes isn’t a horrible day considering how bad the weather was.

Now time to get ready for the Sun and the July races.

Rain, Rain and more Rain!

That pretty much sums it up.  It was raining during the morning qualifier and rained even harder during the afternoon main events. 

This was my first time racing in the rain with rain tires on.  It seems strange to say that since this is my fifth year racing in the NW.  I have raced in the rain before but during my first 3 years, I didn’t have an extra set of wheels to mount up with rain tires.  In all my previous rain races, it was dry for some of the races and wet for others.  Which means that if I wanted to race with rain tires, I would need enough time to take off my wheels, get new rains mounted and then put my wheels back on.  I never had that much time before my races.  I would just race with DOT’s dry weather racing tires.  Which is slippery as ice, btw.  This year, I have an extra set of wheels so I was ready with rain tires mounted and ready to go.

Since this was my first time in the rain with rain tires, I used the day as a learning session.  I basically, started off at a slow pace and would get faster each lap.  The day was pretty uneventful.  Because of the delays caused by the additional crashes in the rain, the races were shortened to 8 laps and then to 6 laps. 

In the Open Twin Supersport race, I finished in 3^rd place and in the Open Twin Superbike race I finished in 6^th place.  In both races, I didn’t have the pace to go faster to try to catch the lead group and didn’t have any challengers from behind. 

In the end it was a good learning experience.  I am sure I will do better in my next rain race but I am hoping for dry conditions for the rest of the year.

The first race weekend in Portland Oregon was cold.  In the morning I had ice in the back of my truck, but at least it was dry.  The day before brought rain and everyone was happy that it had stopped for the races on Sunday. 

This year I am competing in four classes.  750 Supersport, 750 Superbike, Open Twin Supersport, and Open Twin Superbike.  Last year I only competed in two classes and in hindsight, I wished I competed in more.  One thing that makes you faster on the track is track time and this year I am determined to get as much as possible.

Morning Qualifiers:

OMRRA runs qualifying races in the morning that are only used to determine grid position for the afternoon races.  You can’t win the main race by finishing first in the qualifier, but you can lose the main race if you crash in the morning and take yourself out of racing for the rest of the day. 

With that in mind I was in no hurry in the morning qualifiers.  The track temperature was below 50 degrees and I was using a set of used tires from the previous year.  With the cold track and my shagged tires, I was spinning up the rear every time I got on the throttle, so during the qualifiers I just watched people as they passed me.  But I wasn’t concerned, I only need to get into the first 2, 3 or 4th rows for the afternoon mains which I was able to do.

Afternoon Races:

Open Twin Superbike – 3^rd

Rumor all winter was about the Ducati 1098.  There were several of them on the grid and my old 2003 Honda RC51 wasn’t supposed to be a match against them.  But after the first lap though it looked like the same people would be leading the race.  I was in 3^rd place after the first lap but wasn’t able to keep up with the first and second place bikes.  After about half way through the race, I assumed that I was all by myself.  Then on the last lap I was passed by one of the new Ducati 1098’s.  With only one lap remaining I wasn’t able to make a pass.  I still ended up in 3^rd place because the first place racer ran out of fuel on the last lap, but that didn’t make my 3^rd place any more satisfying.  Lesson learned, push hard all the way to the end.

750 Supersport – 11^th

I had no idea what to expect in this race.  This year the 750 class has all the fastest racers and they are all on new faster lighter bikes.  I was also new to this class so didn’t have any idea of what to expect from the other racers.  In the end I finished in 11^th place and actually had a lot of fun.  On the first lap, I got pushed around a bit and was passed by a few people, but after that I put my head down and was able to make up ground on every lap.  Passing 1 or 2 racers every lap until about mid way through the race when I found myself with no one in front of me.  The top 10 had pulled a big gap and I only had to hold off the racers behind me.

Open Twin Supersport – 2^nd

This was much like the Open Twin Superbike race.  Not much to talk about.  I was in second place after the first lap and held that spot until the end.

750 Superbike – 17^th

The last race of the day and I was exhausted before it started.  This was my worst race of the day and all the people I beat in the 750 Supersport race took advantage of me in this race.  I lost positions every lap and just could not muster any energy to fight back.

My racing started this year at Willow Springs Motorcycle Club in Southern California.  I was using that first race weekend to sort out my bike and to remove the winter rust.  I didn’t worry about running race fuel, or changing my gearing for the Willows track, or even buying new tires. 

I wasn’t concerned about my results for that first race weekend.  I just wanted to sort out my bike and get some practice in a race.  It takes me longer to learn new tracks and in my first race of the year, the winter rust is obvious.  Another reason to go to Willows was to get all of that sorted out before the first race at my home track. 

Everything I planned to do at Willows was a success.  My bike ran great thanks to all the work Vicious Cycle did to get it ready.  I was also able to gradually improve my lap times all weekend with my fastest laps coming in my last race.

My results weren’t what I would have hoped for, but I wasn’t disappointed.  Now I have a week before my first race with OMRRA in Portland, Oregon and I am looking forward to my first home race 

Race Results March 18^th, WSMC

Place    Race

10^th      750 Superbike

13^th      Formula Twins Heavyweight

15^th      BOTT Heavyweights

Thanks to all of my sponsors

This was my first visit to the Spokane Raceway. I had heard a lot of good things about the track, but also heard that it wasn’t the model of safety. There is not much run off around the track and no curbing, so racing at 100% is risky. This was also my first race outside of Portland, OR. Because I don’t have a lot of experience on different tracks, it takes me longer to learn a new track then others. I did a track day on Friday to get familiarized with the track and on Sunday I did 2 sprint races, 750 Superbike and Open Twin Superbike. In both races, I got a good start and then pretty much held my position after the first lap for the rest of the race. In the end I finished the Open Twin Superbike race in 8th place and the 750 Superbike race in 12th place. Not bad considering that was my first time at that track.

Before the August race, I finally made the needed improvements to my bike to get it on par with everyone else. I corrected the gearing, had a custom fuel map created and rebuilt the front brake calipers to help solve a brake problem that I had been having. The results were immediately noticeable. The bike ran much better and I could tell I had more power and had better drives out of the turns. The result was a new best lap time that was 2 seconds faster then before. I was also able to lead my first race for the first half of the race until we got into some lapped traffic. At that point I got hung up behind a lapper and lost a few positions.
In the end I still finished in 3rd place in the Open Twin Supersport and Open Twin Superbike races. But I was finally able to battle for the win. Now my confidence has grown and I know I can get a win before the end of the year.

The July race was frustrating and rewarding at the same time. I finished both the Open Twin Supersport and Open Twin Superbike races in 3rd place. I have to be a little happy with finishing on the podium in both of my races but at the same time, I want to be battling for the win.

The week leading up to the races, I discovered that my fuel mapping was not set and I had been using the stock mapping that comes from Honda. That helps to explain why I am down on power and not able to get to red line in top gear. To try to solve the problem, I downloaded a map that was the closest I could find for my bike and the modifications I have. But come race day, I think that made the problem worse. Of course I can only go by how it felt because I didn’t have time to get it dyno’ed but the motor seemed to be having a harder time getting to red line.

I did the best I could to keep up with the front 2 racers, but it was not enough. Now that the races are behind me, I am looking forward to the August races. I will have a custom fuel map created and a new taller rear sprocket and I am sure both of those changes will have positive effects.