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WERA Round 9: Nelson Ledges Recap (All Good Things…)

Heading into the weekend, I wasn't too excited to be honest. It was the last race of the season and we were only doing one race to try and win the last of four class championships. In addition, I had also just sold the R6 and the buyer was coming up from Florida to pick it up at the track. This was great news as it would finalize the deal, but it would make it a bit harder to push the bike. Who wants to toss a bike down the road after it's sold? I did that with the last R6 at Mid-Ohio and it sucked. I didn't want to repeat that again.

The weekend plans did get a bit more exciting when my dad and I met Garry for lunch a week or so earlier and he offered to let me ride his Triumph 675 at Nelson. I jumped at the chance and we made arrangements to get everything ready for the weekend. Add into the mix that we would have a great group with us and the fun factor was steadily on the rise.

We didn't do the typical Friday practice as work had gotten in the way, so my dad, Gina and I made the trip down late Friday afternoon, meeting up with Garry, Doug and Marion, Tom and Eric later that night. With this group, we'd manage to have a good time – crappy weather forecast or not.

Saturday's forecast called for rain and plenty of it. We were fortunate in that the first two practice sessions of the morning were dry. We didn't do anything with the R6 except pull it out of the trailer. I took the Triumph out in both sessions, only getting a few laps in each, as we were working out a few kinks with it. Once the rain came, it rained. Really rained. And rained all day. Most everyone hung out under the canopies from then on out, with a few opting to take to the track and race in the solos. While I was itching to put together a full race in the rain (which I haven't done this season), the option of riding a bike that was sold, or riding one that didn't belong to me wasn't convincing enough, so I hopped out of my leathers, ending the day with about eight laps of total riding. Garry, Doug and Eric spent some time tinkering with the Triumph. A new bike under the canopy is always exciting. Meanwhile, Tom loaded his bike up in the trailer and my dad (along with Doug as well) were going over the R6 to make sure it was ready for the new owner.

Saturday night was spent at Outback and we had a good table of 8-10 of us, including Jeff (Kovack) who was doing his usual excellent photography throughout the weekend. Good times, good laughs and we were all off to the hotel to crash for the night. Under the cover of clouds and precipitation, we would wake up to the same picture we went to bed with.

Morning practice was rather non-existent. Wet and cool, most everyone sat out and we did the same. As practice winded down and lunch approached, the track was starting to dry. We were going back and forth as to whether we would need to run rains, or if we could get away with DOT's. The R6 had some shagged tires on it, so that would be our dry weather bike. We had the Triumph wheels taken off and were going to have rains mounted and ready to go. With four total races on the schedule for us, but only 600 Superstock really mattering, this race would be our focus. I could ride either bike depending on the conditions.

During lunch and after looking at the radar, Joe made the decision that we wouldn't have any further rain and that it would be dry enough come race time for DOTs. With the rains already half-mounted, we had new DOTs mounted on the Triumph. This ended up working out well as I wouldn't have to buy a new set of rains to use for just one season-ending race.

The original plan was to race the Triumph in all the races, since the R6 was sold. The first race we were in was one of the Heavyweight races specifically for the Triumph. It was race two and 600 Superstock was race three. During the rider's meeting, I realized that we should really skip race two. The championship was the reason we were here and while the extra race would be fun, doing back to back races posed an added risk. We also decided that since I had so few laps on the Triumph, changing the plan and riding the R6 would be the smartest option. I could dial back the R6 to a comfortable pace without any trouble. I ran this idea by everyone and we agreed this was a better option given the current circumstances. Warmers on the R6, bike warmed up and we were ready to go. I would be turning my first laps on the R6 in Sunday's first race – a little different than normal.

The flag flew for the 600 race and into T1 we all went as I slotted into 3rd place. I ran around and eventually would finish 5th out of 15 or so bikes. By this point the guy buying the bike was already at the track and spectating. On the cool down lap, it was a bit of a load off my shoulders. Fourth championship won out of four championships we were chasing.

The next two races were on the Triumph. We were still sorting out issues with the bike in the first race, but we did manage to win the Heavyweight Superstock race after being gridded on the last row. The bike itself has a lot of potential and with more time to sort things out, I was pretty confident it could do some fast times around Nelson Ledges.

As the day concluded, the weekend and the season ended with a win and solidifying a perfect four for four. While the weather wasn't ideal, everyone with us made for a great time. And that's what racing is all about. The work this year all paid off and this was the end result. Winning races, setting fast times, pushing more than I ever have – it really came together this year and it only makes next season all the more exciting.

I sound like a broken record thanking everyone for their help week in, week out – but it's something I really do appreciate. I told Gina multiple times throughout the weekend; referring to Joe, Doug/Marion, Garry, Tom and Eric – "I can't believe these guys come out and are here mainly for our benefit. It's unreal."

All things have to come to an end. With this bike, that day was Sunday. Here's to hoping our next bike can treat us just as good as this one did …

Cheers.

Thursday, October 1st, 2009 | POSTED AT: 5:47 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

2 Comments on “WERA Round 9: Nelson Ledges Recap (All Good Things…)”

Doug wrote on 1 October, 2009, 8:41 PM
Hope you hear from Christian (new WK R6 owner) after he puts some time in the saddle. I’m ready to work on the ’10 bike.
Eddie wrote on 2 October, 2009, 10:22 AM
I’m ready .. almost .. :)

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You're currently reading "WERA Round 9: Nelson Ledges Recap (All Good Things…)," an entry on Witchkraft Racing.
Published: 10.1.09 / 5am
Category: Race Reports