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WERA Round 7: Grattan Raceway Recap (Character)
It's been a long season and as it winds down, we've been able to build a points lead in all four classes we're chasing. With nothing yet secure or locked up, the goal heading into the weekend at Grattan was managing the points and trying to build on that lead in the effort of finishing out the season strong. As it would turn out, the results would be good, the weather sketchy and some aspects of the weekend quite disappointing.
Friday's practice was a wash – literally and figuratively. It rained on and off all day. Just misting, but enough where it prevented much in terms of good laps. I was able to get out for a few sessions and my dad/Joe, who was also riding – managed to get in some good laps as well. He was back riding – his first time since Nelson Ledges in May and he again had a big smile on his face after getting back at it. Eric (Johnston) came out for the weekend to hang out, just after VIR which was a lot of fun. Jim Cottrell and Jeff Chen were also there Friday, who are always great to see. Both guys have helped me in racing, all the way back since the beginning. Aside from my dad, they were some of the fast experts I looked up to as a new amateur on the racing scene. Good guys as well.
As Friday ended, we couldn't use our exact settings from the Grattan National last month because we had some different things with the bike's setup, so we were trying to establish a new baseline and I was struggling a bit early on to get comfortable. There were a good group of fast guys present – Shawn Conrad, Jonas McCluskey, Jeff Wrobel, Rob Hancock, as well as Dave (Grey) and Eric Spector, to name a few.
Most guys get fired up for a race weekend. A few of those guys try to use that to play head games and get you off your game. It's nothing new since I started racing, but Dave was trying to work that angle early in the weekend. It was basically his first race weekend of the year doing sprints and he was fired up and ready to go. "All the pressure's on you Eddie!" he said as he walked by, along with some other subtle jabs he said at the Grattan National when he wasn't riding that I got wind of, which he later shrugged off and said he was joking about when I called him out on it. That kind of stuff is funny. It might phase some guys but it doesn't bother me. I've been doing this for awhile. If anything, it actually does the opposite. It's happened already this year with others, but you'd think some of these guys would get it. Eddie Lawson once said he'd never say anything that would potentially fire up his rivals – he didn't want anybody using anything he said to make them want to beat him anymore than they already did.
That night we had a big group of us all eating at the Grattan Bar. Wes and Jan (Swain), Eric, Doug, Joe, Jeff, Rob and Dave as well. Dave (Bavol) was there and was doing his first actual sprint racing this weekend. He was doing great and would later win the first race he entered. Awesome and congrats to him. His imaginary friend Casper must have left his mark on his bike – it was freshly painted stark white, with yellow circular number plates and specifically placed blue stickers. He was all growns up.
Saturday morning was again damp. And cold. With highs only predicted to be in the 60's, it was an un-August type weekend. Doug had arrived, so we had the team effort in effect. Morning practice was uneventful. We were trying to make suspension changes on tires from VIR which wasn't really doing much in terms of being productive. The front end of the bike was bouncing around in a bunch of spots, plus we were having some tearing issues in the rear. It was easy to say it was cold-tear on the tire, but we rarely ever have tire wear issues at Grattan. In any event, we finished out practice and put on some new tires for the race. With a 20-lap race, we would now get a better idea on what the bike was doing – even if it was a cool, green track.
The green flag flew and I had a good launch off the line. I was third behind Conrad and Jonas heading into T1. Into T3, Spector dived up the inside to pass me and then proceeded to push Jonas off the line in T4 to take over 2nd. Not surprising for Eric, although it was the first lap of twenty, which was a bit surprising. I'd later joke to him that he was trying to impress since his dad was there watching. He was obviously pushing hard. He later took to the lead and led for the next few laps. I chased Conrad and Jonas who were nose to tail, with Eric just ahead. As the laps clicked off, I could almost get by both of them into T1, but not quite. Without much warning, it started misting rain onto the track, making it damp. This slowed the pace down and everyone was trying to feel out the track. I felt pretty good on the bike in these conditions. I passed Jonas in T1, then passed Conrad on the outside of T9 and then Spector (forget where) to take the lead. I led for the next few laps and had a couple moments – primarily going through 10B and onto the straight. The sealer strips get slick and that can pose a problem. I kept plugging along and past halfway, Dave came by me through 10B to take the lead. Well I guess I can go faster. I upped the pace and followed Dave and as the rain stopped and the track dried (Grattan dries quickly), we were down into the 1:22 range. The rear of the bike was now bucking and snapping and the front end was bottoming out and compressing hard in several spots at this pace. I finished 2nd just ahead of Jonas who was closing in on the last couple laps.
I congratulated Dave after the race for riding well and back in the garage, we started checking the sag. Our front rider sag was 41mm. Not good – it should be 32-35mm generally. That would explain a lot of the front end issues I was feeling. With the rear, we had stiffened it to try and fix the tire wear issue we were having – but that hadn't helped. The tire was still wearing irregularly and the back of the bike wasn't happy. After some discussion, we elected to go back to our shock settings from the Grattan National and just work on the front of the bike – the one variable that wasn't constant from that previous weekend. In the Lightweight Solo, Joe finished 2nd behind an Aprilia 250, which was great after a hard twenty laps.
We arrived to the track Sunday morning and were ready to go. I sat out the first practice session due to it being cool/damp and went out in the second. In that practice, Dave passed me on the out-lap, so I figured I'd tail him and see how that went. He was visibly pushing hard and looked back at least three times to see if I was still there. No problem as I know that's how he rides. As we came onto the straight and I was going to draft past him, he suddenly weaved over and cut across my front wheel. I had to completely roll off the throttle and nearly hit the brakes to avoid getting clipped. I ducked inside, out broke him into T1 and led for a couple more laps before coming off. Times in that session were in the 1:22's with my best being a 22.4 – fastest overall in the session.
I went over and said something to Dave afterwards. Nothing serious, but just letting him know what he did. He often weaves around on the track, but this time it wasn't quite as innocent. As he typically does when confronted about his riding, he didn't say anything – just shrugged it off. It was becoming apparent that Dave was out to prove something and I'm not sure exactly what that was. All was fine at that point though. To be honest, I was nearly two seconds off the pace from what I was running at the Grattan National and to see Dave pushing that hard to be at that pace, I wasn't worried. We were still fastest in the morning, and at the end of the day, we were running for points, not position.
What complicated the situation was that someone said something to Jim Sublet (the race director) about Dave's weaving during the rider's meeting. I'll guarantee it wasn't me, but Dave thought it was. I was actually joking, laughing and giving him a hard time during the rider's meeting that someone saw him do that, but Dave didn't find it funny. He came by shortly thereafter and accused me of "ratting him out" then sped away on his scooter. I followed him and told him I didn't say anything, which was certainly the truth. I had more important things to worry about than tattle-tailing on a friend of mine. And to be honest, Dave was at the bottom of my radar until he started pulling stunts like he did in practice and now with this accusation. We shook hands and I figured the situation was settled.
Back to the bike. After our prior sag measurements, we needed to add a lot of preload to get to our target number, although we don't typically worry about getting to a certain number, as it's just a guideline more than anything. Everyone's different and a set number doesn't work for everyone. We just knew that with how the bike felt and confirming our sag numbers, we did need to add some preload. However five turns would be a bit much going into a race, so we split the difference and started there.
First race of the day was 600 Superbike. I got the holeshot and led into T1. Conrad passed me heading into T2 and I started to give chase. As the laps clicked off, I was getting the sign that someone was behind me. I figured it was either Jonas or Dave. I kept pushing away, fighting the bike slightly to keep it inline. It was better, but now that I had dropped time and was into the low 1:21's, it was the same feeling of the front moving around, only now being experienced at a faster pace. On the last lap, I came out of the bowl and through the sweeper, I caught a glimpse of Dave's bike on the outside of me. It was a drag race to the bus stop and I had the line. I got in there, got out, went up the hill, made sure I got a good drive onto the straight and took the checkered flag to finish 2nd.
What I was at a loss for words for however was on the cool down lap. Dave raced by and gave me the finger. What?? I pulled alongside him at post-tech to ask him what that was all about. "You ran me to the grass in that race! You held me up two seconds! Next time I won't be that nice!", he finished with and raced off. I was stunned. Here's the guy I've been friends with for years, have helped countless times, cussing me out because he couldn't get by me in a race? Did this really happen?
After getting off the bike, I went to talk to him. "How'd I run you off the track?" I asked. "Well well, through the sweeper your front end was all moving around and you ran wide and I almost went in the grass!" I replied, "Well Dave, yeah I had a moment and ran it wider than normal through there. I wasn't anywhere near the edge of the track though. If you were outside of me, I certainly didn't see you until the last lap – and I wasn't wide on that lap. I never looked behind once during that race. And regardless of what happened, it definitely wasn't intentional." He blew it off and I walked away.
I was just in shock. I didn't even know it was him behind me until the last lap when he came alongside in the sweeper. As for lines on the track, I typically don't run the exact same line every lap – especially during a race. It is a race after all. Regardless .. to give the finger to anyone after a race is ….. but to me, a friend .. a good friend I had thought. I went back over again and talked to him. I just couldn't get past it. He had nothing to say. All he did was accuse me again of ratting him out earlier in the day.
Back in our garage, we decided we weren't about to let someone with nothing to lose ruin what we had worked for so far this season. We decided that when my dad was giving signs, if it was Dave, he'd have his hat on backwards. Anyone else, it would be forward. While I really wasn't a fan of it, the plan would be to just let him by and for us to collect points. Jeff was the guy chasing us in all four classes, so it was most important to stay ahead of him. All in all, I would have much preferred a plan of not giving away anything, but we'd play the safe route instead.
The second race was 750 Superbike. I had a decent start, but was on the outside. Rob had gotten the holeshot and I moved over to the right to tuck in behind him. I slotted over to the inside of the track as we raced down and out broke him into T1. I took the lead and started putting in consistent laps, light on the bars and relaxed. We had added a little more preload into the forks, which was better. I was relaxed on the bike/bars and was clicking off low 1:21's and the lead I was getting from my dad was big. The hat was on forward, so it wasn't Dave in 2nd, so I figured it was Jonas. I managed the gap and took the checkered flag, winning the race. I looked back and didn't see Dave. Apparently I wasn't holding him up two seconds a lap.
I came in and was happy with the win. A big accomplishment of the weekend thus far had been able to win against Jonas. He's such a talented rider and incredibly fast, it was nice to be running in his company. Of course it was good to clear out from Dave, but we also gained points towards the championship. And for what it's worth, we set the fastest lap of the race.
After a long break, 600 Superstock was next. I had a good holeshot, but spun the rear up pretty good coming out of T1. That let Conrad by rather easily. I followed him for the next few laps and was trying to run with him, but just didn't have anything for him. I ran around and at about halfway, got the sign that it was Dave behind me. I rolled off early on the straight, braked early and let him by into T1. I knew he had just put on a new rear tire for this race and I had a sizeable gap back to Jeff in 4th, so we finished 3rd.
As I later saw, Dave was only in the 1:21's, even on his new tire with a clear track. Being competitive of course, I was second guessing our strategy, but everyone confirmed the long-term reward was better than the short-term one. We gained points in this class and that was the goal. We were still in the 1:21's on a tire that was on it's way out.
Looking at the rear tire afterwards, it wasn't good. It was spinning up during the race; now visibly torn up and worn out. There wasn't time to have another tire mounted and put on the warmers before our last race of the day, so we were stuck with it. I talked to Mark at the Pirelli truck and he suggested we drop the pressure another pound to make it last. "It'll squirm a bit early on", he said, "but it'll last the duration of the race." So we did that and headed out to the grid. It's never confidence inspiring to go out on a tire that you know is toast and still have to run hard on.
The launch in 750 Superstock was bad. Jeff had a better timed start and I then hurried the clutch release after seeing him go, so I wheelied nicely and ran that about halfway to T1 it seemed. I was on the outside of four bikes with nowhere to go. Rob must have remembered my out braking maneuver in the first 750 race, so he waited way late to brake and had the lead through T1. I was on the outside of him through T1 nearly alongside him through T2, setting up a pass on the inside of T3, which I was able to make work. I led the next lap or so until Conrad came by – again. Once again, I couldn't match his pace this time around. This was a bit frustrating as we had run the same times at the National. I worked on being smooth with the throttle and trying to carry as much corner speed as possible without getting on the gas too hard. Times were down in the 1:22's and 1:23's, but I managed to finish 2nd. Congrats to Shawn though. He rode great all weekend and I got to talk with him throughout the weekend as we were next to each other in the garages. Cool guy and really good rider.
It's funny how quick you become spoiled. With three 2nds, a 3rd and a win – that's almost disappointing in terms of results. For points though, it was good. In terms of lap times, I've gone faster before and in the back of my mind, wanted to go faster this weekend as well after the National, but oh well. The championships are what matter now.
The biggest shadow on the weekend is obviously what happened with Dave. People will say, "that's just Dave", but after awhile that just doesn't cut it. I know him. I've stuck up for him and defended him on multiple occasions on the reputation he’s earned. He's always been a good friend of mine. When I asked him to ride my bike last year when I was injured, he was great. Level headed and great to be around. He had the full resources of our entire team at his disposal. Joe, Doug and myself – there just for him. The stunts he pulled this past weekend though – throwing accusations, jabs, gestures and even threats, I’m not sure how that even begins to happen. It’s not just a matter of disrespect to me – it’s disrespect to my dad, Doug and everyone there who has been friends with him and who has even helped him over the years. At the end of the day, it's just disappointing.
As for some better news, Joe got back into the 1:26's in his two races, all while fighting a motor that needed some TLC – losing power and leaking water into the lower and onto the rear tire. It's definitely time to have that motor freshened up. Thanks to Joe, Doug, Eric and Tom for all their help and making for a good weekend overall.
Thanks to Jig for the above photos – http://www.heavypennyphoto.com
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- You're currently reading "WERA Round 7: Grattan Raceway Recap (Character)," an entry on Witchkraft Racing.
- Published: 08.25.09 / 9am
- Category: Race Reports
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Doug had reminded me the other day to check out his article and then yours. I’ve always tried to believe we are in this together, but sometimes we are taken by surprise by someone’s actions. It sounds like you did everything you could to right the situation. Now, get out there and race!
Thanks Marion. BeaveRun is next and I can’t wait for that. I love that place. Looking forward to seeing you and Doug – and getting the latest updates on your book!