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WERA Round 5: BeaveRun Recap (Go Faster!)

Welcome back. This was going to be my first time riding in two months. It was nearly nine weeks since I broke my collarbone back in Nashville, then seven weeks since having surgery to repair it back here in Michigan; and finally two weeks since coming to the conclusion that I might actually be able to ride this weekend (not that I've been keeping track or anything).

Friday was a great day. The sun was shining, I was at the race track, back on the bike and life was good. The collarbone didn't hurt and would end up being the least of my physical concerns. In fact, it felt so good that I didn't even notice it. Aside from the rust of not having ridden, the bike felt pretty comfortable. I rode all day and we continually dropped lap times, eventually getting back into the low 1:00 range. After doing low :59's last year on the 2005 R6, I had wanted to be into the 59's by now, but all things considered, this was a good start to the weekend. Both my mom and dad were at the track, as well as Eric and Shelley. Doug and his son Austin had arrived around lunch time and we were off and rolling with the weekend.

Saturday morning started off in a less than stellar fashion. One of the amateurs had proceeded to severely oil the track early in the morning (and stay on the racing line while knowingly doing it), so our practice time was cut to almost nothing. After a long delay, we proceeded to get in a few laps and try a couple different changes to get the bike handling better. The primary problem was that the front of the bike just wasn't stable. It was oscillating at various points of the track and not feeling planted at all. My goal was to be in the mid-59's by now, but with a few more laps in practice, a :59 had yet to show up on the stop watch.

As practice ended and the racing began, I had a good grid position for the start of the Middleweight 20-lap race, which was important considering there were nearly 30 bikes on the grid. On the wave of the green flag I was 5th heading into T1. I made my way into 2nd place where Sam (Gaige) had already stretched out a sizeable advantage. For the next two-three laps the gap remained consistent, but after lap 6, it all went to hell. I fell flat on my face and immediately went from doing sub-minute lap times (a 59.6 as my best) to over-and-above minute laps for the rest of the race. I was passed by one guy who I just couldn't keep up with. And then Bill (Stranahan) passed me, knocking me into 4th. We went back and forth a couple times, splitting lappers at various spots on the track, but I was dying. I had a great opportunity to pass him on the last lap and just couldn't get close enough to make it happen.

Physically I was exhausted. And this isn't a physically demanding track, but the pace was quick – probably the quickest Middleweight Solo 20 lap-pace ever done around BeaveRun. Sam and Billy had dipped into the :58's and it was only Saturday. Last year low 59's were winning races on Sunday! I hobbled home in 4th, surprised more than anything at how physically drained I really was. Two weeks of going to the gym and getting ready was great, but it simply wasn't enough time compared to what I had put in before the season started – not to mention the four weekends of riding the bike beforehand. I wasn't even close to what my goals were. I had done low 59's last year on a slower bike, so this should have been a no-brainer. However reality had other plans.

Joe rode extremely well in the Lightweight Solo 20-lap race; checking out and winning in convincing fashion by a comfortable 10 seconds. With a good chunk of money coupled together from both our winnings, we were able to put that towards the dinner fund that night, as the whole group went to an Italian place and we did our best to load up on carbs.

Sunday morning started off promising. Avoiding heavy rain late Saturday night, we arrived to an already nearly-dry track. After a heavy dose of Motrin and BioFreeze, things were clicking off pretty well as practice began. We made a couple additional suspension changes and the bike was feeling much better. I was able to get into the 59's early and as practice concluded – Bill and I were the only two 600 riders in the 59's, according to the timing sheets.

The races were another story. Starting in the first race, I was gridded in the back of the 2nd wave. With a less than stellar start, I came around on the first lap in 23rd place, out of 27 bikes. Ugh. I was up to 14th by the half-way flag, but I was just way too tentative passing people that were holding me up. I wasn't aggressive and I ended up finishing in that same position of 14th place. Awful.

750 Superstock was next. Starting from the back in the 10th row with a 20-bike field, things went a bit better as I starting forcing the issue a bit more on passes, but I still wasn't getting through traffic fast enough. I finished 5th and with a couple more laps, I might have gotten up to 4th, but the lap times just weren't coming and I wasn't making the progress that I had wanted.

The 600 Superbike race was almost immediately after the 750 Superstock race. We decided to skip it, as it was going to be a 3-wave start with all kinds of bikes in it. My body wasn't exactly patting me on the back, so I thought it better to wait out for the 4th race and get a little extra time to rest up. As it turned out, there was a fair bit of carnage in that race. As the bikes ran around, I sat in the trailer drinking fluids and re-loading on Motrin.

750 Superbike was the last race and again I was back on the 10th row. I had a good launch and was moving through the field similar to the previous race. I finished 5th again and could at least see the leaders in front of me, which was somewhat encouraging. However I had kept checking up ever so slightly on each lap when passing someone, which was killing my individual lap times. I crossed the checkered line, relieved that it was over. I had made it through the first weekend back.

Overall the weekend went about as good as could be expected. I got back on the bike and got my first weekend out of the way. It wasn't the best weekend, but it could have been worse. As a few friends points out after the weekend, it's not easy to get back on the horse and be up to speed right out of the gate. There's a certain element of timing and overall comfort on the bike that you can't always immediately get back after a long layoff.

On the flip side, my dad did extremely well, winning two more races on Sunday and really riding quite strong. He was able to win both from starting in the front, while also having to work his way up to the front. It was a great showing by him and I know he's having some fun right now. Congrats also to Sam (Gaige), Bill (Stranahan), Blake (Kelly) and Brent (Bennett). They were the guys to beat all weekend and really put on a show.

A big thank you to my dad (Joe) and Doug for all their help this weekend, as well as my mom for being supportive and able to make it out for the long weekend. Thanks to Austin as well, who was a big help all three days.

Nelson Ledges is in a couple weeks. I'll be in better shape, so hopefully we can dial the new bike in on this track and be on the pace from the start of the weekend.

Cheers,

eddie

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 | POSTED AT: 6:08 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

6 Comments on “WERA Round 5: BeaveRun Recap (Go Faster!)”

paw wrote on 25 June, 2008, 1:53 PM
Great recap of the events as they happened.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Think positive, you did great!
Jeff Kovack wrote on 25 June, 2008, 3:24 PM
i think thats great, and i would consider it a good weekend….. you’ll be back in shape for nelson. i havent decided if im going there, or to Autobahn yet.
Jeff Kovack wrote on 25 June, 2008, 3:28 PM
oh, and sweet pics rockin the #1!!! Ray has some nice spots to shoot from at the Beav (damn him! LOL)
Eddie wrote on 26 June, 2008, 6:40 AM
Well *someone* had to take pictures since you weren’t there! :)
Doug wrote on 7 July, 2008, 10:46 AM
I really like the pix you attached to this post…. you in front of Bill S. Good action shot with you in front of Bill S. I’ll say that again…. you in front of Bill S. I like the sound of that. In an aside… is he looking at your ass? :)
Eddie wrote on 7 July, 2008, 11:42 AM
Yeah I need to be ahead of him a little more, wouldn’t you say? :)