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WERA ’10, Round 8 – Nelson Ledges

The final weekend of the regional race season came and went. Joe just had hip surgery, so he wouldn't be in attendance, but we had myself, Doug, Tom, Eric, Gina and Marion.  It was probably a combination of the economy, the facility and it being the end of the season - but the pits were empty. What were 15-20+ bike grids in May were now 2-6 bike grids. It's typical to get lower turnouts towards then end of the year, but this was a bit of a bummer to see.

In terms of the overall season, the last round wasn't exactly what I had planned going in. When Jeff and I talked at the beginning, we wanted to go out and win races. He and I won four and three WERA Championships last year respectively and that was great. The focus this year was on lap times and race wins – and if that went well, the rest would fall into place. However that plan changed. Jeff getting choppered out at BeaveRun and myself being knocked out for the season altered the plans. So as we headed into Nelson, Jeff was back up to form, running up front and rather impressively to his own credit, still in the hunt for two and with a long-shot, three championships.

In the end, Jeff would come out with the 750 Superbike Championship and two wins on the day. He lost one championship to Dave Grey on Sunday. To his own accord, he rode tight and Dave rode well, which cost him one point that was the championship in Sunday's first race of the day.  Hey, that's racing. He came back into the pits, knew what to do and bounced back - railing in the next three races and dipping down into his fastest times of the season. Once relaxed and settled down, everything started clicking and he was flying. Riding out wheelies, sliding the bike .. the normal stuff he does when he's comfortable out there. He even fought through Doug explaining suspension dynamics to him during third-call of one race. Impressive indeed.  :) For anyone who didn't know in talking to Jeff directly, the wheelies to the checkered flags throughout the weekend showed those watching how much fun he was having. It was good to see.

On another note, congratulations are in order to Richard Harris and the Apex team. Richard did a great job this year running things. It's still an awkward situation with Dave being at the track.  Apologies on a forum are nice for previous actions, but not saying something in person has always left me feeling a little shorted on the the whole situation. Richard however has gone out of his way to make sure everything has always been good and right with our guys and Dave on the track.  He has bent over backwards to help him attain their championships this year and I sincerely hope Dave genuinely appreciates that. Everyone on our side of the paddock thoroughly enjoys hanging out with Richard, Julie, Bavol and company. And when you get down to it, I think the overall vibe of their team can overcome most any negativity. With that said and without trying to pat ourselves on the back, I think we took the high road and had been helpful this year to Dave when he needed it – not something everyone in our shoes might do.  While Dave may have avoided me and asked Joe for tools and such, those decisions were parts of discussions we had before the weekend started – whether or not we would help someone who's done wrong to us in the past. While it's easy to forgive, forgetting has just taken a little longer for me personally. In any event, without rambling further – congrats to the Apex team for their results this season.

As for the series, I'm a little bummed in the WERA turnout this year. It's been thin. I mean, last round of the season and we had two bikes on the grid for one of the 750 races. Two bikes.  The Cycle Jam at VIR was the biggest event of the year and that's not even in our region – and it was still lighter than the 50+ bike grids we had in 2009. There was definitely an emptier sense of competition this year and both Jeff and I didn't like that.  We need to get more riders out in these events for 2011. I think WERA needs to find a creative way in getting more people out on the grid. You can still go to trackdays that are at capacity, so the riders are out there. The last few events that boil down to championships should be the most exciting and well-attended of the season, not the other way around. Perhaps WERA needs to somehow place a bigger focus on series championships to in-turn get entries up.

As for our team this year and the hurdles we've had, I would most certainly say it has been a success. Jeff rode great and has been the perfect teammate. He's made things so much fun and definitely picked up the slack with my being out of action. He's willing to help anyone and is simply a genuinely good person who might be a good old hillbilly by his own accord, but one who's made my season quite enjoyable watching from the sidelines throughout most of it. The time on and off the track, in between the races and everything else – we've become really good friends. Funny, considering we're fairly opposites when it comes to personalities. I know we've learned from each other this year and once we get back on the track together - I think it will be exciting to watch what we can do as a team.

As this season concludes, I do feel we need to do something more. Or something different. Whether it's CCS/ASRA, WERA, AMA, track days, or something else. We've done the WERA North Central schedule for the past 3-4 years and we've accomplished a great deal – more than I ever thought we would. It's time for a change.  Dad and I, Jeff and a few others are looking at our options.  Joe's our fearless leader and once he's healed up from his hip surgery, we'll start planning for whatever 2011 brings. Racing's not cheap by any stretch, but we're going to see what we can come up with. Any suggestions – feel free to send them our way. :)

Cheers,

eddie

Photos courtesy of Jeff Kovack – www.jeffkovack.com

Monday, September 27th, 2010 | POSTED AT: 5:32 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

3 Comments on “WERA ’10, Round 8 – Nelson Ledges”

Doug wrote on 6 October, 2010, 6:35 AM
Yeah…I got carried away explaining what I was thinking to Jeff at that third call. The problem for me is that Jeff listens and understands so it is easy for him to incorporate the info into his riding. : ) Looking forward to you twisting the throttle again and the excitement of prepping, planning and caring for 2 riders.
Matt wrote on 6 October, 2010, 12:22 PM
Nice recap, Ed. I want to thank Joe, Doug and the rest of WKR for all their help and teachings this year. With recent relief from a career which had consumed all personal time, I had one of the greatest summers of late – much of that due to my abilities to travel with the team on a more consistant basis. Whether it involves taking photos, or getting better around the garage – this team has much promise well beyond its two current premier riders.

Looking forward to off-season and more importantly, a fresh start for the racing that 2011 will bring.

Cheers,
matt
Eddie wrote on 12 October, 2010, 1:22 PM
Glad to hear Matt. It was great having you at the track bro. And like you said, definitely looking forward to what 2011 brings …