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MotoSeries Recap

It was a bit last minute, but we decided to go to Nelson Ledges for the weekend and do the MotoSeries event. We had been keeping an eye on the weather and while it looked a bit cold and wet on Saturday, Sunday appeared to show promise by the time Thursday rolled around – so we decided to make the trip. It would be beneficial because Jeff and Rob would be there so we could ride together, as well as we could try out our newly-borrowed RV and see how that all worked at the track.

This would be my first race weekend back since the injury last year and it wouldn't be a weekend for the books. Rain, cold, lots of wind – it all came as predicted. Conditions that certainly existed for everyone, but toss that into us really not being properly prepared and it made for a long day on Sunday.

The trip down to the track and accomodations were great. Borrowing Eric's RV, we had a great setup at the track – especially on Saturday when it was miserable out. Cold, wet, windy. We were able to hang out in the RV, as Joe, Matt, Gina and Connor were all there (Maggie too), so we had the RV at capacity. Doug, Marion, Jeff and Rob would jump in throughout the day and we all had a great dinner that night inside with grilled chicken, burgers and some nice side dishes. Oh and Lisa's Magic Bars too. So good.

The problem for Sunday maybe stemmed in part from a lazy day on Saturday. We sat around all day when we all could have better used the time getting ready for being on track and racing. For Sunday, we had two races in the morning and two in the afternoon. A quick recap of the races went something like this:

Race 1: Found right clip-on loose in my hand on the starting grid. New tires had only 20 minutes on the warmers before the race and it was cold out. Result – almost crashing several times in the first lap (in brand new leathers no less) while trying not to move the right clip-on. I pulled in early.

Race 2: Clip-on tightened. First time racing on the Dunlop spec tires, so it took a few laps to start building confidence back after the first race debacle. Still slow times and not comfortable.

Race 3: Changed gearing/chain combo back to original setting we had last year. Felt a little better on tires, but not great. Still way off the normal pace.

Race 4: Low fuel light was on as I got onto the grid. We forgot to check fuel. *sigh*. Worked my way up to 3rd and felt the bike sputter. Didn't want to get punted with a handful of 1000's behind me, or have to push the bike back, so I pulled in early.

We clearly weren't as prepared as I thought we were. I scrambled after the first practice to mount the new Dunlop spec tire on before the first morning race, but there wasn't enough time to get them on the warmers long enough – especially with 50 degree weather, high winds and rain sprinkles. I guessed at tire compounds and I don't know whether or not they were right. Jeff ran Mediums and I ran Softs.

All in all, it was a pretty amateur weekend. I probably needed to take on a little more responsibility myself with Joe and Doug riding, and Matt taking photos. Jeff did great. He had everything ready to go and Rob was right there with him. Rob even had enough time to go for a marathon-training run Sunday morning. I would have preferred some warmer weather for running personally. Rob's insane.

Frustrated on the drive home, I pulled the notes out and realized we didn't account for the Dunlop rear NTec and GPA spec tire have a big difference in diameter. I ran the spec tire once last year in practice and it felt good, so I assumed incorrectly not much needed changing. Wrong.  Compared to the Pirelli's, the NTec is 8mm taller and the spec tire is 2mm taller. The front Dunlops are 5mm taller compared to the Pirelli's also. I thought the two Dunlop rears were the same, but it all made sense, that the bike felt more agressive in the first practice (with the NTecs on and the bike more on it's nose) and then sitting low and running wide everywhere with the spec tire on, as the bike was arc'd back and sitting opposite of how I'm used to riding it. I know Alex from Dunlop probably told me this already, as well as I've had the notes sitting there all this time. I clearly forgot though and it makes me wonder how much better Barber could have gone if we had figured this issue out sooner (!?sdf!@#!!??@#!).

Joe did really well. For not having ridden since his hip and knee surgeries last year, he went out and did two races. One was a combined race with us 600 and 750 guys and the other was his twins race. He finished 2nd in the twins race and almost closed up on the leader at the end. He set the fastest lap of the race - pretty good considering he said he felt sore and not in race shape yet, after the race.

For Jeff, he did great. He won all four races and did a stellar job. The goal was to come out for practice and turn some laps, get more time on the Dunlops and he and Rob did that. We both agreed we have to get more laps on these spec tires to get the most out of them. This particular weekend with the weather and all, it just wasn't the best time or place to do that. We'll get there though.

Lesson learned for me – I'm glad I didn't stick with the NTec's as that would have likely pushed the geometry ephiphany forward another weekend with more lost time. The weekend also showed what kind of a difference it makes when you have a team there to support you versus riding on your own. Little things can fall through the cracks and with only one day to sort them out and race all at once, it makes for an uphill battle. The positive thing is that we'll be ready for Barber and have a very solid team, all focused on helping to find time.  At the level we're competing at, the surrounding team makes such a difference. And with switching tire brands, I hate to say it, but I need a little help adapting. I've been on Pirelli's for nearly eight years.  There's certainly a reason our team has been able to make big improvements leading up to race time – and it's certainly been a big part of what's helped us the past few years.

So on the agenda this week is sorting out chassis geometry and tire compounds – and making a nice big throttle grip for my right hand.  I'm optimistic the damping and spring changes in switching tire brands will be minimal.  It might be easy .. it might not be. One step at a time though …

Monday, April 18th, 2011 | POSTED AT: 5:46 AM
FILED UNDER: General

5 Comments on “MotoSeries Recap”

mike wrote on 21 April, 2011, 8:20 AM
hang in there Eddie, can only get better…
-m
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Eddie wrote on 21 April, 2011, 11:30 AM
Thanks Mike. That’s the goal.
Matt wrote on 24 April, 2011, 10:24 AM
Funny that weekend – it all seemed so relaxed. The event itself was part of a series that we wouldn’t be religiously competing in this year, the track was Nelson – which speaks for itself and then of course the weather. All these things combined probably did affect our level of preparedness that weekend.

One thing this sport will remind you of very quickly is the importance of consistency and routines. For me personally, more and more of the critical steps before, during and after racing have been given to me; especially on days when Joe and Doug are looking to turn some laps.

That being said, I dropped the ball on Sunday with gas, costing Ed an opportunity to finish race #3 – My sincere apologies, bro! In addition, race #1 ended early due to a loose clip-on. In this instance, I actually had gone and checked the allen’s for tightness, which they were when torquing with just the allen itself, but they still lacked enough torque which could only have been determined by checking them with an open-end to give the leverage needed – how often are we doing that? Every single round now.

However, all things happen for a reason and because of this weekend I will never forget to check that gas again, along with a more complete method of going over the bike’s nuts and bolts for tightness. Thankfully I got to learn this lesson @ motoseries, Nelson as opposed to a WERA or AMA event. That would have been catastrophic.

As crew member you really do hold both the success and safety of the rider in your hands. We sometimes see the most tragic of situations at the track, making the sometimes simplest of tasks so very crucial.

This last weekend although rainy, tough and lacking any excitement might be one of the most influential for me and therefore, I have to be somewhat thankful for the disaster it was.

-matt
Eddie wrote on 25 April, 2011, 7:04 AM
Lesson learned. Hit the clip-ons in the pits to check for tightness and measure the fuel/check tires before every race. We’ll be good to go. Thanks bro!
mike wrote on 25 April, 2011, 9:22 PM
you gotta good team bro!
-m
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