2002 Race Report
Race #9
8/24 - 8/25 BlackHawk Farms
If you'd like to see the track layout and how to ride it, check my 2001 race reports.
Replay of the feeling I left the last race weekend with...
I can't wait until BlackHawk in another 2 1/2 weeks because
I'M BACK!
Skip ahead 2 1/2 weeks:
Friday 8/23:
Since I've put about 3000 miles on so far this year at BlackHawk, I decided that I could skip practice today and catch up on a few other things which
desperately needed attention. I've been working 12+ hour days basically 7 days a week over the last 3 weeks. Fortunately things seemed to be coming to an end in time for me to take Friday off. I ended up only taking 1/2 the day off, but it was good enough to change the gearing and tires on the bike. Things turned out well this way because it was misty and sprinkling all day on Fri, so practice was miserable for those who attended.
Saturday 8/24:
We got to the track right when they opened, but I ended up missing my first
session as there was only 1 hour to unpack, get dressed and get through tech
before my session went out since we were the first group of the day. Oh
well, that's fine. It gave me a chance to make sure everything was perfect
on the bike. Plus I wasn't looking forward to going out on a damp track
with cold slicks on.
The second practice session went very well. I concentrated on keeping my
body low on the bike everywhere on the track, and made a conscious effort to
have firm-positive shifts every time.
Amateur GTU:
I had a pretty decent launch for this race, and was 2nd into turn 1.
Right behind the #27 of Robert Borowicz who is a consistent front-runner.
Out of turn 1, I was passed by #19 Andy Feuersthaler who is another top notch
rider. We held pretty tight for the first few laps and I immediately fell
into consistent lap times of 1:19's which is respectable for the front of
the amateurs.
After 2-3 laps, Robert had a slight lead on Andy who had about 5 or so bike lengths
on me. Out of turn 7, Robert raised his hand and headed back down
pit road. It was all Andy and me at this point. He pulled ahead by a
bike length or so each lap and I held second place firmly.
We ran this way for well over half the race. However, something physically
was just plain wrong with me. I became incredibly fatigued by the 1/2 way
mark, and went downhill from there. Despite slipping only slightly in my
lap times, down to 1:20's, I remained second until about lap 18 of 22. In
the last 4 laps, I ended up losing as many spots. The final spot to #227
of Mike Chachere.
I pulled across the finish line in 6th place. When I got back to the pits,
I was more exhausted than I was after running +70 laps in the Team Challenge
earlier this year.
It was frustrating to get beat by Mike after holding him off for so long. I've
lead him through several races, but only rarely have been able to keep it
together long enough to cross the flag in front of him.
The one thing that I did find out in this race, was how to tell when a slick is
shot. For about the last 10 laps of the race, through turn 1, the carousel
and turn 7 I would slide the back like I was on dirt. The
beautiful thing about it though was that it was always a clean, controlled and
consistent slide. It was actually kind of fun.
Saturday 8/25:
Swapped out the slicks for a set of DOTs because the slicks were shot and my
first race required DOT tires anyway.
After a good night's sleep and lots of food and water, I felt good and ready to
race again. I started my practice session just to go around and feel out
the track again. My intention was to come back in and put warmers on
before the second session. The track should be dry and warming up at that
point.
I came back in from practice 1, and Jennifer says "should the bike be
smoking like this?". I looked and sure enough, smoke. A quick
whiff told me it was not coolant, but oil. Not good...
We pulled off the lower and there was oil splatter on the right side of it.
I looked closer and saw oil coming from the clutch cover. Oh well, nothing
big, just a gasket. I leaned the bike down onto the back of the trailer
and pulled the cover. I was cleaning it and noticed that it wasn't a
gasket which caused this leak, but a CRACK in the cover! Spares are a
beautiful thing!!!
We had the spare cover cleaned, new gasket and back on the bike just as my
second practice session went out. I wasn't dressed though and figured I'd
let the gasket cure for a few hours before riding so I skipped it.
Something which I've been wanting to do in efforts of improving my times was to
make a gearing change from 15/47 to 15/46 in order to get just a wee bit more
out of second gear. Having ample time to make the change, I borrowed a sprocket from a fellow F4 rider, and
installed it before going out for my first race of the day.
Amateur MiddleWeight SuperSport:
With the new gearing, I launched... I had a beautiful launch
and was 2nd into turn 1 but right on my entrance to the turn, Andy nudged a
wheel underneath me. I didn't want to totally pinch him off so I gave him
a foot which pushed me wide and screwed my line all up. It cost me a place
as Andy slipped by, but the minor mistake was easily forgotten as I held onto
3rd.
The laps flowed perfectly. I ran my best laps yet at this track. The
My-Chron clocked 3 laps in the low 1:18's which was around a second better than
my previous best times. On lap 6 of 8, I ended up getting passed by #966
Dan Ortega on his R6.
I followed Dan and as we got into lapped traffic, I was sure I could get passed
him as he was having a terrible time choosing a good line around lappers.
The only problem was finding the spot where I could pass 2 riders (Dan and a
lapper) at once.
My golden opportunity came on the white flag lap going into the bus-stop (turn
3a, HARD right hander). The lapper stayed wide, and Dan ran the middle.
I flew in the inside and just as I started to tip into the corner, Dan came down
on the line. My only choice was the brakes. After this, I never made
up the distance between us as I simply don't have the HP of the R6.
It was an excellent race which I finished 4th, and held off Mike unlike the GTU
yesterday (although he did start some rows behind me). Talking to Dan
afterwards, he told me that he saw me in the bus-stop, and closed the gap.
I smiled, knowing that it was just plain smart racing and I'd have likely done
the same.
The gearing change that I made before the race was incredible. Just what I
needed. I can carry more speed into and through most every corner on the
track. The biggest improvement though is downshifting. I use 2nd
through most of the turns on the track so I can have a good drive out of them.
Previously when I'd downshift, I'd get a rear end chatter while the motor was
trying to spin up to a higher RPM to match the wheel speed. Now with the
change, the motor spins up to the required speed with NO chatter so I can come
in much faster because I don't have to worry about the bike settling.
Amateur MiddleWeight SuperBike:
Mike Chachere registered late for this weekend, so he was gridded in the middle
of the pack, but his launch had him #2 into turn 1, behind Andy Feuersthaler
with me following. That was a great launch on Mike's part.
I ran the race in 3rd and got passed by 2 riders going into lapped traffic
around the 5th lap. Then I lost a spot to #465 of Eric Custar. It
was good to see Eric pass me though because I knew he had been having a
difficult weekend and I figured that running this good would be a great end to
it.
I chased the 3 that got by me around the track, and on the white flag lap I came
up to them in turn 5. Eric took the worst possible line around a lapper
who was being inconsistent and got stuck. I flew into the gap and passed
the two of them on the inside, finished out the last few turns and kept my head
to the tank across the line for 5th.
I talked to Eric afterwards, and congratulated him on his best race of the
weekend. Unfortunately it was little consolation though as he was
extremely disappointed in getting stuck behind the lapper.
Final Thought:
Another great weekend. The "Wall of Fame" grew by two
this weekend but I'm still missing that #1 plaque, and have entirely too
many 4th place ones. A special thanks goes out to my wife Jennifer who changed
out the clutch cover on the bike while still VERY hot, and then later suffered a
nasty burn on the back of her hand when I backed the bike into her while she was
putting it on the rear-stand. Sorry love! Another thanks goes out to
my kids who suffer through lack of sleep & all the heat and travel
associated with this season. Hang in there guy's, it's almost over!
So I've finally discovered what it takes to WIN a race. Through the entire
season, in searching for better finishes, I've analyzed the bike, tires,
suspension, my own physical abilities, the weather, etc... In the end,
it's the WHOLE package and nothing less. It's all a matter of keeping the
entire package together longer and better than the other guys.
The weekend's pics:
Photos by Jack Beaudry of Sliderphoto.com
3 races left, come on out and see us at Blackhawk Farms on 9/7-8
Until then...
Thanks to everyone for your support, life wouldn't be the same without this, and you all help make it happen for me.
-JeF4y
See all of my pics at www.sliderphoto.com. Just pick an event and rider #42!
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