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WERA ’14, Round 4&5 – Mid-Ohio (Challenging Adversity)

Mid-O. Ohhh Mid-O. Two years in a row now we've struggled here. Lack of track time has been an issue – especially this year with the new Suzukis. Dad couldn't make this trip, so it would be Doug, Aaron and myself for this WERA National event.

Quick recap from Monday: Slow. Frustrating. Nearly wanted to call it quits, but didn't. No way. Doug and Aaron stuck it out and we kept plugging away. The bike was a tractor. We somehow managed a 2nd place finish in one of the 750 races. Big grids all around, with plenty of guys from all over the country.

Monday Night: We regrouped and formulated a plan. We talked to Mark (Junge) who was there and had some good advice on where we were going wrong.

Tuesday Morning: Bikes were revamped. We raised the forks 7mm within the triples. We raised the rear another 4mm. We changed gearing and lengthened our wheelbase a good 15mm. We went from 1.0 springs in the front with 13 turns of preload, to 95 springs with 6 turns. We changed some other stuff as well. If not for notes, we'd have lost track, we changed so much. We essentially had all-new bikes.

Tuesday Morning/Afternoon: First practice on a green track, we were down to our Monday times. By the second practice, we were faster. The bikes were now rideable. Of the four races on Tuesday, we'd finish 3rd, 4th and 5th in the first three – against no-joke 1000's with serious riders on them. In the last race, we had a really good race with Dave (Grey) and came out on top, winning against another deep field and dropping another half second. We went from 1:35's on Monday to a 1:33.5 on Tuesday. It wasn't where we needed to be, but it was progress. And at that point, we'd take it.

The good? Doug and Aaron are stubborn enough to never give up – ever. I won't lie – it was bad enough Monday, the thought crossed my mind that I had completely forgotten how to ride. We were four seconds off our best times. We stuck with it and figured stuff out, nailed down a solid baseline setup on Tuesday where I could start to push the bike – where it wasn't the bike holding me back, but now just me needing to ride better. And every session out, that was happening.

The bad? We were still a good two seconds off that previous best time. The bikes might not be an R6, but they have more power than that R6 had – so there's no excuse to not doing the times – faster times even. The key is track time. We need more of it at Mid-O. Back then when doing 1:31's, I was riding there rather frequently. Then we went a few years without racing there at all, until last year. Now the last two times there have been a struggle. This is something that's going to be corrected for next year.

So while this wasn't a great round, we ran at the front. But just "running at the front" isn't enough. We want to be winning. So it's back to the grind. More time on the trainer, more time running. More of everything. This bike has potential that I haven't yet tapped into.

Some people may have given up, or just said "we'll figure it out next time", but Doug and Aaron didn't. And I thanked them for that repeatedly on the drive home. We challenged adversity. Now it's time to put in more work and conquer it.

Thanks for reading.

Grattan Raceway (clockwise), is the next event up on the schedule. Just a couple weeks away.

Thursday, July 17th, 2014 | POSTED AT: 5:20 AM
FILED UNDER: Race Reports

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You're currently reading "WERA ’14, Round 4&5 – Mid-Ohio (Challenging Adversity)," an entry on Witchkraft Racing.
Published: 07.17.14 / 5am
Category: Race Reports