weekend 18-20 October with Bike Promotion. Should be good times!

August 16, 2009

Seriensport Oschersleben

Weather: Sunny and hot

Fast Lap: 1:49.2

Dauerprufung 1:

The session began with a few sighting laps to learn the lay of the land as this was once again a new track for the Skinny Racing Team. The morning was pretty uneventful minus a small off-track excursion after getting on the brakes a bit late for a right hander.  The beacon at start finish was not operating so I was unable to gauge my performance based on lap times although I felt like I was getting on pretty well. I tended to run a bit wide in turn one and the triple left was giving me some minor issues with finding the correct line. All in all a good session for me.

Dauerprufung 2:

This session began with Maurice Evans (#486) following me around for a couple of laps and then swapping positions to give me some pointers. A big thanks to him for taking the time out of his training to help a new guy out! The biggest thing learned was to take the first of the three lefts wide and to stay on the gas all the way through. Once Reese had finished his required 28 laps, he retired to the pits to recoup while I stayed out taking advantage of the track time. The beacon was working intermittently so I was able to record a fast lap of 1:49.2. Not sure if that was my fast lap for the weekend but I was happy to be in the 1:40s.

Klasse 4/7 Race:

The race was run in two waves with the Metzler shod Reese Racing R6 in Klasse 4 starting 20 seconds before the Dunlop shod Skinny Racing R6. The start was forgettable as I dropped the clutch and showed the spectators the underside of my bike. Once I got the front wheel down, I was able to stay with the leaders and go into T1 in fourth place. I am realizing that my braking is not where it should be as that is where I notice myself dropping off the pace while corner speed at Oschersleben did not seem to be a factor. I maintained fourth all the way down the back straight when another R6 mounted rider passed on the brakes into the right hander. As I said before my corner speed was good, and apparently better than his as I rapidly closed up on his rear wheel mid-corner. In a fit of panic and not wanting to run into the back of him, I tapped the brake and tucked the front end. After a short tumble through the gravel pit, I got up and realized that the bike had done its own tumbling and was forced to retire. The biggest disappointment was looking at the race results and realizing that I had the pace to be battling for third and possibly my first career podium. I will chock that up as a lesson learned and look forward to applying it next time out.

I want to give a big thanks to the Reese Racing crew for all the help and support over the weekend. The good times, beautiful weather and awesome sandwiches made this weekend one for the books. It will take some time to make the needed repairs on the Skinny Racing R6 but she will be back out before season end; of this I’m sure.

Skinny Racing
Seriensport Nurburgring Short Course
19 Jul 2009
Conditions: Cold, Wet/Dry, Windy aka Fickle

Following a drought of races for the Skinny Racing Team due to prior obligations, I jumped at the opportunity to enter the Nurburging Round of the Seriensport Championship. Upon arriving at the track, it became abundantly clear the day would be full of strategizing and being prepared for any condition.

Dauerprufung 1
Because the team is only outfitted with one set of wheels, I had to take a gamble and leave the 2008 Yamaha R6 shod in a mix of Metzlers and Dunlops (leftover from the 500KM auf Hockenheimring). Unfortunately as the session began, the conditions were such that any attempt to set a fast lap would have been futile. While it was not raining, there wasn’t a dry line to be found. I decided to go out anyway in an attempt to bank a few laps toward the 28 total lap dauerprufung. I got out on track about 15 minutes into the session and was forced to putt my way around like a tourist on a country road and a moped. As luck would have it, about 3 laps in, the sun came out and with the aid of the breeze and about 60+ riders on course, a dry line was beginning to form. From the first lap to the last, my times continually improved on a wet but drying circuit ending up with a fast lap of 2:15.

Dauerprufung 2
This is where the frustration began. Just as it was time to head out for a second session, the rains came and brought a stiff wind along with it. Rather than risk my safety as well as those shod in rain tires, I thought better of it and stayed in the pits. This gave me time to put some fresh Dunlop 209s on the Skinny Racing R6 in preparation for the race.

Klasse 4 Race
With more than enough time on the warmers, and the sun shining bright, I was more than amped for the start of the race. Starting from the outside of row 9, I ventured out on my sighting lap. The lap went well however I was more concerned with scrubbing in the new tires. Warm-up lap was uneventful as well and allowed me to get a good practice start.

The lights went out and my start was amazing! Passing 8-10 people down the front straight and on the brakes into T1. I got caught a bit on the outside line which made my approach to T2 a little on the slow side. From here is where it became clear that I am strong on the brakes but my corner speed from entry to exit is not up to snuff for the caliber of racers in Seriensport. By the end of the first lap I was relegated to last place. The bike felt great and the tires were like glue, I’m just missing the little bit extra in the turns. By lap 5 or 6, the grid encountered another setback in the form of more rain and howling winds. Barreling down the front straight was a chore as you couldn’t get tucked enough to get out of the wind, it was that bad. I backed off the gas a bit and the lead pack began to pass. The track was getting more and more wet and as I entered T10 (I think) a rider came blazing by and low-sided right in front of me. Thankfully he is okay and will race another day. Keeping my cool, I eased off a bit more. Another half lap and the track was completely soaked. I continued the procession around the track in what I refer to as "a race of attrition", how many riders were going to crash and how many were going to call it a day? I still wound up in last place but 27th is six spots ahead of where I finished and can be attributed to keeping a cool head, realizing I’m not contending any championships here, and crossing the finish line upright.

The Skinny...

Thursday morning finally comes and it's time to make our way to Magny Cours France for the opening round of the European Speer Cup. Rich was kind enough to loan me half of his cargo space in the van so he came by the house, loaded up and we were on our way. Road trips are always more fun with two people anyway.

We pull into the circuit at about 2030 just in time to register for the weekend’s events. Rich and I both entered the GP2 race on Saturday and the ESC 600 race on Sunday. We met up with Vinny and Eli while we registered and Jaz was not far behind with Ty coming from Spangdhalem.

By 2200 we had a pretty good set up going with Jaz's Vietnam era “garage” for the bikes. Huge thanks to him for bringing that with. It just makes me wonder what we’re going to do for the rounds he isn’t able to make!

Friday morning, the sun is shining and the riders are chomping at the bit to get our first taste of French asphalt. First session as always was a learning session for me not going out to set the world ablaze with lap times but learning lines, braking markers and shift points. I had a minor issue at the bottom of the hill just before the final chicane when I banged down the gears and got on the brakes I could hear my chain slipping on the rear sprocket. I immediately returned to the pits to remedy the problem which was nothing more than a loose chain. My mistake.

The remainder of the qualifying sessions went smoothly with my fastest time of 2:07.462 coming on lap 24. What stuck out most about Friday was the experience in general. In hopes of learning everything I could about the circuit, I found myself watching Troy Bayliss’ final lap in the 2008 Race 2 of WSBK where he cemented his place in history when he won the 2008 WSBK Championship. Having the opportunity to lay down some rubber on some of the same lines he was using was a privilege and one that I will never forget….even if he was on a Ducati.

Saturday morning comes and the sun is no longer shining. I will preface the remainder of the report with the fact that I only have one set of wheels and therefore am only prepared for one set of conditions at a time. Today was the wrong day to be down a set of wheels. Throughout the day, the weather consisted of about an hour of rain followed by an hour of sunshine with the exception of about 90 minutes in the middle of the day when it stayed sunny enough to dry the track and allow me to go out on race tires for 20 minutes, pit for fuel, and return to the circuit for another 20 minute session. While I may not have set my fast lap during this session, it was the most comfortable I felt all weekend. To use the old cliché, I was in the zone. The only problems that came up was a weird shimmy in the rear end while on the brakes and letting out the clutch. According to the on-hand suspension tech, there was nothing that could be done because my Ohlins rear shock was sh*t. I'll get a second opinion before Brno. Next that day came the GP2 race for all 600s and 750s. I took a gamble and went out on race tires in hopes of a dry line. After completing the sighting lap I decided that it was just too wet to be racing on race tires so I thought better of it and pulled it into pit lane.

Race day, more rain. Ugh. I finally caved and decided to make the switch to rain tires. 24 Euro later they were on the bike and I was on a mostly wet track. The worst conditions when it’s not full wet and not full dry but just enough to make you slow the pace a bit. I was feeling comfortable on the rains and was on track for a good 25 minutes when I tipped the bike into Chateaux d'Eau, the front end gave and I tucked the front sliding across the asphalt like a noob. I was so disappointed as this exact thing happened to me about three months earlier at the Hockenheimring. When I picked the bike up I immediately noticed the right side case cover was scratched and leaking oil. I threw my leg over it and idled all the way down the hill and into the pits where my race weekend came to an end.

So here's looking forward to a better weekend at Brno in three weeks time. Thank you to everyone for you help and support and look forward to seeing you all in Czech!

Cheers...

Arrived at the track around 1030 to make sure I got a good pit location and also to get in line early as this was a first come first served event. About eleven o’ clock, a few more American riders showed up however only two of them were able to get in line in time to get a spot.

After seeing the number of people showing up on bikes with license plates, lights and mirrors, we decided we had better sign up for the fast group. Really glad we did as the medium group was, well….slow.  On the flip side of that however, there were about 60 people in the fast group and the majority of them were ridiculously fast. Regardless I still feel I made the right decision.

First session out was a slow one as this was yet another new track for me. Getting my sight picture and making note of braking markers was my main priority. I got up to speed toward the end but left a lot in the tank for the remaining sessions when I knew what I would be getting myself into.

Next session out was a bit faster. The pit lane exits and sets you up for T1 which is a downhill right hairpin. Screw this one up and your next two corners will be tough to get right. T2 is a blind left that exits downhill for the T3 setup which is a late apex left into a chicane type late apex right T4. From here there’s a short straight into a downhill left T5 and then downhill right T6. After another short straight you approach Dunlop Curve a.k.a T7, which is a right that on the exit brings you back up the hill. Grab a few gears and enter T8, an uphill left. Staying on the gas the entire way up the hill, through T9, your front wheel hovers above the track until you begin you braking for T10 and T11 which is a left right chicane type corner. Now the fun part….get on the gas and get on it hard all the way down the hill; you’ll throw it into 6th just before T12 which you’re on the gas all the way through. Then climb up the hill on the back straight and set up T13/14 which is the quick left right chicane. A right handed T15 and you’re back on the front straight.

In the video you’ll see a lot of people overtaking me however, I don’t put much value in it as most were on liter bikes and the rest have most assuredly been to this circuit before.

In total we got five 20 minute sessions and everyone in our US contingent made it home safe. The single most thing  I liked about this trip was the area. Driving into Nurburg, the motorsport in the air is damn near palpable. There is so much history there with the Nurburg Castle in the background and the Nordschlife lurking in the shadows. I feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to visit Nurburgring. Oh yeah….the circuit itself and the riding was pretty amazing too!

This will be my last track day before I begin the 2009 European Speer Cup in with Round 1 in Magny Cours France. I’ll be using this time to continue my workout program and save a little cash as racing in Europe is not cheap! So until then, keep the rubber side down! Cheers…

money for bike repairs but hop to be up and running by seasons end.

My trip to Anneau du Rhin was an overall great time. As with any track day there were some issues.

I had to leave around 0530 to be there by 0800 for registration. I got about 10km away from the circuit and the skies opened up. Torrential downpours ensued. Needless to say, after last weekend's Hockenheim trip I was furious! Especially since I had left the wet stuff tires at home. Pulled into the track and the wet stuff stopped as the sun started shining through. Things were looking up.

After registration I began doing the dB dance from the checkpoint to the pit and back trying everything I could to get the dB's down to 100. The best I could manage was 102 but thanks to the helpful folks with Speer, they were able to talk to the track personnel and get me on track. Bad news abiut that? I wasted so much time wrenching on the bike, that I only got one session in before lunch and two in after for a total track time of 1 hour! Hardly seems worth it reading this but the time I did have on track made it totally worthwhile.

I will say this right now.....I like this track better than Hockenheim. Don't ask me why but I was immediately at speed after one or two warm up laps.

Coming onto the track from the pits actually spit you out in the middle of the circuit as opposed to the front straight or somewhere near there. You immediately go into a quick left right chicane followed by a sweeping left which flows into a sweeping right onto the back "straight" which consists of high speed left right left curves and brings you into an increasing radius right. On the exit you find yourself on the front straight which has a slight left kink in it. From there you have a fourth gear right hander into the double apex right which is where pit entry/exit is.

This was probably my best day on track since being in Europe. I hate to say it especially since none of my compatriots were there with me but I think I got some mojo back after yesterday. I got a lot more comfortable with my left turns (never really felt good to me).

And now for the drive home. Note to self: if you're driving anywhere in Europe, it may be a good idea to ensure there are no NATO Summits taking place in a city which you have to drive through. Suffice to say that Strasbourg was SHUT DOWN. Autobahns were closed forcing me to make my way through city streets and traffic for 2 hours. It took me a total of 4.5 hours to get home after it only took 2.5 to get there. Lesson learned I guess.

Please enjoy the provided You Tube link where I have posted a video of a few of my laps there. It was shot using the GoPro Hero Camera (http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=5) mounted both on the tail section of the bike and on the front. I got video using one camera over a few sessions and after a little elementary video editing, I think it turned out pretty good. A LOT of quality was lost in the upload to You Tube. The raw video is MUCH clearer! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uJCCP0RqNI