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The Witchkraft Files – WERA Round 3, Nelson Ledges
By Doug Cornett:
Resurrection and/or =YeeHaw=
I always say – "when in doubt, gas it". I've never had to say that to our rider, Eddie. He has his own interpretation and uh, found his own way to put it into action.
Ok … an explanation of the title is needed. The "Resurrection" part means Eddie has returned. Returned to his winning ways. The "YeeHaw" part is Eddie has returned to his winning ways… BIG TIME.
Holy smokes what a weekend the weather was fantastically sunny and warm for a change so we (Marion, KC and I) showed up Saturday morning and our pit set-up was all set-up with the rest of the fast guys at Nelson Ledges and I'm all like, this is too nice of Joe and Eddie to not wait for me to help set-up the gear, and it looked all cool and stuff so Marion makes her usual fantastic coffee and gives us donut holes too as we sit around and talk about Friday practice and how the bike felt to Eddie and we be just chillin' and waiting for practice to start so Eddie decides to hang out and wait for the second session and goes out and lays down some good lap times, so we be chillin' again waiting for the the Middleweight Solo 20 which will be a good test of Eddie's stamina and we (me) are getting some butterflies wondering how the bike will be for him so the green flag sends the grid off and Eddie runs it hard with no drama and basically wins in commanding fashion. Oh yeah.
Now that we had every ones attention…Eddie layed it down, picked it up and kicked bootay.
Joe and I are on the "wall" (actually ancient tires stacked in front of an Armco barrier) Sunday for the C Superstock race which is our first sprint race of the weekend and in my mind is very important to gauge our bike and rider against the other fast guys. OMG was that a great race. Hole shot from the second row, ran away for everyone and finished out front (Editor's note: it was a close race with Sam the entire race). Outstanding effort and result to match. During the race Joe was giving Eddie signals so he knew where the nearest rider behind him was and I was running the stop watches. When there was a gap in the bikes so it was quiet, I said to Joe, "how is your heart rate?" I hoped his was as high as mine because I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Thanks for that Eddie.
I could go on and on about the rest of the race, so I will. We had a situation handed to us (along with other racers) of back to back races. This is just another indication of how determined Eddie is with his racing. We were set to refuel the bike on hot pit lane and give Eddie some liquids so he could go out for another hard fought race right away. Eddie won the first of the two races, went out in the second and set his fastest time of the weekend and I think the fastest lap of all the 600's while chasing down the early leader. Eddie showed his smarts by taking a solid second place right on the leaders butt rather than chancing a hard move when he was pretty tired and on a heavily worn rear tire.
Our last race was another excellent result in 1st and when Eddie comes in after the race he says, "nothing like a new rear tire". We had mounted a fresh Pirelli rear.
I noticed something I have not seen before. As the day progressed with Joe giving Eddie signals on the wall and me on the clocks – there were more and more crew members from other teams on the wall using Joe's style of hand signals to let their riders know what the gap to the next rider behind them was. Marion coined it the "YMCA" signals. Now all we need is the "YMCA" song to play over the PA while Joe is on the wall.
I really had it easy this weekend because Aaron Bagwell came to help. Man, he is one awesome crew member. We are really lucky to have a good friend and a knowledgeable racer watching Eddie for valuable insights and a strong back in our paddock. Aaron jumps in and knows what to do…like I said, I had it easy. It was good to meet his two sons and hang with them. Pretty cool kids.
Oh yeah…Joe raced (for the first time this season) and won his Lightweight Solo 20 race on Saturday. It was a fun race to watch as he didn't get the usual hole shot, he followed the leader for half the race sizing him up in various corners and straights, making runs at the leader to test him and then finding the best place to make a clean, decisive pass. Joe kept his lead by riding smooth and in control even as the second place rider would attempt to catch up and look for a way past. No way, no how. Joe was even able to climb off the bike afterwards as his sore legs were his excuse all weekend for moving slow. What a showman.
Witchkraft Racing is back on top of the box. Thanks for a fantastic weekend Eddie and Joe.
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- You're currently reading "The Witchkraft Files – WERA Round 3, Nelson Ledges," an entry on Witchkraft Racing.
- Published: 06.17.09 / 6am
- Category: Race Reports
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Great report Doug .. I didn’t know you got nervous too. :)