Joined Jun 2012
2K Posts | 1K+
Florida
Race report, Round 6, Barber Motorsport Park (Video and pics coming later today)
Friday report:
First let me say, I love BMP. It has everything you want in a race track. I felt like a kid a Christmas, waiting to get into the paddock to setup for Saturday morning practice. We arrived at the track around 3pm and decided to walk around the museum for a few hours and take in the bike and car history. It's truly amazing how much is in that one building. If you ever get that time to walk thru the place, it's worth it. They have everything from the old gas powered bicycles to the H2 and H2R which are staged right up front as you enter the building.
As we were leaving, ran into my buddy Mike how rolls with Tim Hunt and his crew. Got to chop it up a bit before going to the RV staging area and greeting all our friends and fellow racers and family members.
Once it was time for the gates to open, it was a mad rush to get to the paddock. I was going to pit with Tim, so I waited patiently to get in. Rolled the Red Hulk right in and setup the Leon Johnson Racing paddock. After we finished, we waited around until 7ish to see if registration was going to open, and when it didn't, we retired to the hotel for dinner and a good nights rest.
I woke around 3:30am to the sound of water. I still can't hear out of my left ear because of water from my honeymoon vacation to the Grand Caymans, so I get up to check the window and it looked like a monsoon outside. I went back to bed thinking it will pass. Well, 6am rolls around and I couldn't imagine it raining harder, but it was. We got up, showered, ate breakfast and made our way to the pit area. Water was everywhere. As registration and tech opened, no one dared ride their bikes to tech. After the rain subsided a bit, some racer were wearing ponchos and riding down to tech. Due to the rain, everything got pushed back an hour.
Practice sessions sucked and there was nothing to gain by going out on the track. I did one lap and can back in. After the second rotation, it seemed as though the track was drying and the rain stopped. Everyone was debating whether to switch to slicks.
After lunch, they started the solo races. I was race 7. They got thru all the races and then called third call for the HW solo class. We jetted out of pit lane, felt so good to get on the track with slicks for a good race. As we come up the hill out of turn 3, I see red flags and the red light. Then I feel the rain. We exit the track and I knew my day was done. I had one rain front, one intermediate rear, and I wasn't going to crash and risk my points for a solo race. It was just extra practice. I decided to sit this one out.
Saturday start out great. No rain, the forecast looked promising, and I felt good. I got my first practice session in and immediately felt comfortable. I started dealing with some issues with the bike, and tried to figure out how I was going to overcome them. One was a shifting issue that popped up now and again.
The second practice session felt better, but still a few bike related issues. Still, I ran some decent times on worn tires. I felt I could chop another few seconds with a fresh rear. The issues I was having made me have to be careful when I used 3rd gear. So, I would have to drop to second where I shouldn't have. Now, we were down for lunch and the excitement was building.
My first race of the day was HW twins SS. So, the grid was split, with the HW twins experts up front, C Superbike novices in the middle, and HW twins SS novices in the rear. Since I was on row 13, and C SB was packed, it would take some work to move up to battle with the experts. So, I was going to work on passing skills in this race. I was grid row 13, inside. Sucks, but let's see what we can do. I jumped up into the C SS class and was the 13/14th bike coming out of turn one. Picked off a few bikes going up the hill and down to Charlottes web. Picked off a few more on the straight coming up to the museum corner. Was coming in hot and over shot my reference marker and almost blew the turn. I was working thru that same issue with the bike, so I would have to baby 3rd gear or use 2nd when I could. It was single file for most of the first lap after that until the front straight where I motored past two more C SS guys and could have taken another, but I figured if wait and get him later. On the second lap, I noticed something was really wrong when I wanted to pass this 600 and the bike sounded like it was hitting the rev limiter in 4th gear and I was at 6000 rpms. I got close to him in turn 14a, dropped into 3rd gear and got another spot. Next up was one of the HW twins experts on a 1199R. Caught him at turn 1, and followed him to see where I could get him. I decided to take him on the brakes coming into Chartlottes web on the outside. Clean pass, back on the gas and get ghost. For the next few laps, I could feel the gear box acting weird. Just rode the bike to the finish line an took first place in HW twins SS. While on the cool down lap, I notice that I blipped the throttle and tried to down shift twice and the gear didn't change either time (12:29, video). As I entered the pit in, I tried one more time to downshift and notice the shorter felt limp. I looked down and I already knew the issue. The shift rod broke again. This happened at my first race weekend at Homestead in Dec. 2014. I coasted down pit lane and started pushing with my feet to get the bike out of the way. My boy Shane Richardson was right there and told me to get off the bike, rest and they will get the bike up to my pit so I could start working on it ASAP. The marshals called the crash truck and I go a ride up to the paddock. Shane and Tim Hunt both offered shift rods to see if one would hit my bike. The one Tim gave me worked and I was able to fix the rod. Went thru the gears a few times while on the stands and everything seems normal. Now, I tried to refocus, cool down, and get mentally ready for race 2.
My second race of the day was A Superbike. After working on the shift rod that Tim provided, I was anxious to get back out there and bring home another win. As I went out for my warm up lap, I push the bike a bit to make sure the shifter was working correctly. Felt good and I figure all systems are go. As the start went thru the 2,1, sideways green flag, I got a terrible start as I watched Lawrence Garrard motor past me and dive into turn on. I didn't panic and try to go around the outside of two experts on their new 2015 R1s. I thought, FINALLY, a chance to go head to head with one of these bikes. As we can out of turn 2, coming into three and climbing the hill, Lawerence was drifting into my line and I let off the gas so we won't touch and motored past him climbing up the hill and got right on the first R1s tire. I was itching for a fight but something wasn't right. I noticed as I shifted into 4th coming up the hill the bike hesitated during the gear change. As I pulled the brake lever and clutch and started my down shifting, the bike hit a false neutral and started coasting. I struggled to find a gear and once I did it was the wrong one for my speed. I drove out as hard a I could but that R1s were starting to gab me and I was able to catch them on the breaks going into the museum corner, but little did I know my race was over. As I tried to down shift, the shift lever wouldn't down shift. It was frozen in the gear I was in, 5th. I couldn't do anything and since I didn't want to ruin anyone else's day, I pulled off the race line and let everyone go play while I coasted helplessly to a stop. It was the most frustrating moment of my short race career. In my head, I wanted to scream some profanities, but I glad I kept my composure. These things happen and you have to deal with them accordingly. All I could think about were the points I was loosing and if I had finished first, I would have taken over the number 1 spot in A Superbike for the SouthEast region. My next thought was, what is the problem and how much is this going to cost? I got picked up after the race and to my surprise, the crash truck had to pick up another rider who ran out of gas.
After getting to the pit, I decided to call it a day and pack up the truck and head home. My wife had an early flight and trying to fix the bike was not in the cards.
Lessons from the weekend, I need more spare parts for the bike, maybe a few other hands in the pit(pit crew), and a B bike.
We got home around 1:30am, I got 3hrs of sleep and heading to work. I actually feel pretty good considering. I want to thank a few people. First, thanks to Shane Richardson for being right there, offering help and parts to fix the broken shift rod. Thanks man. Thanks to Tim Hunt for getting my a shift rod. It never fails that when I'm at the track and Tim is there, he is always ready to lend a had and give you tips to get around the track faster. One of the good guys I've met in the paddock. Thanks to Larry Threatt for looking out on the transponder that was still on my bike as I was 25 miles out from ATL. I must have some good karma working because I seem to attract all the good people man. Blessed. Thanks to Stephen for the awesome pics from Roebling road. It was good to finally meet Ford and congrats on completing the race school, laughing it up with Jeff Lanze and Lester. Speaking with Q after the riders meeting. And everyone else I forgot to mention. It was a hard weekend, but fun. Until I see you all at Roebling in two weeks. Hopefully the crew at cycle pro can hop right on the bike and fix the issue in time.
I forgot to mention I was able to meet and chop it up with Mr Barber himself. He came by Tim Hunt pit and I introduced myself and even made him laugh with a funny, true story. Really down to earth guy.
Race #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1VebrFMvpA
Race #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_bAiXSs_4
Friday report:
First let me say, I love BMP. It has everything you want in a race track. I felt like a kid a Christmas, waiting to get into the paddock to setup for Saturday morning practice. We arrived at the track around 3pm and decided to walk around the museum for a few hours and take in the bike and car history. It's truly amazing how much is in that one building. If you ever get that time to walk thru the place, it's worth it. They have everything from the old gas powered bicycles to the H2 and H2R which are staged right up front as you enter the building.
As we were leaving, ran into my buddy Mike how rolls with Tim Hunt and his crew. Got to chop it up a bit before going to the RV staging area and greeting all our friends and fellow racers and family members.
Once it was time for the gates to open, it was a mad rush to get to the paddock. I was going to pit with Tim, so I waited patiently to get in. Rolled the Red Hulk right in and setup the Leon Johnson Racing paddock. After we finished, we waited around until 7ish to see if registration was going to open, and when it didn't, we retired to the hotel for dinner and a good nights rest.
I woke around 3:30am to the sound of water. I still can't hear out of my left ear because of water from my honeymoon vacation to the Grand Caymans, so I get up to check the window and it looked like a monsoon outside. I went back to bed thinking it will pass. Well, 6am rolls around and I couldn't imagine it raining harder, but it was. We got up, showered, ate breakfast and made our way to the pit area. Water was everywhere. As registration and tech opened, no one dared ride their bikes to tech. After the rain subsided a bit, some racer were wearing ponchos and riding down to tech. Due to the rain, everything got pushed back an hour.
Practice sessions sucked and there was nothing to gain by going out on the track. I did one lap and can back in. After the second rotation, it seemed as though the track was drying and the rain stopped. Everyone was debating whether to switch to slicks.
After lunch, they started the solo races. I was race 7. They got thru all the races and then called third call for the HW solo class. We jetted out of pit lane, felt so good to get on the track with slicks for a good race. As we come up the hill out of turn 3, I see red flags and the red light. Then I feel the rain. We exit the track and I knew my day was done. I had one rain front, one intermediate rear, and I wasn't going to crash and risk my points for a solo race. It was just extra practice. I decided to sit this one out.
Saturday start out great. No rain, the forecast looked promising, and I felt good. I got my first practice session in and immediately felt comfortable. I started dealing with some issues with the bike, and tried to figure out how I was going to overcome them. One was a shifting issue that popped up now and again.
The second practice session felt better, but still a few bike related issues. Still, I ran some decent times on worn tires. I felt I could chop another few seconds with a fresh rear. The issues I was having made me have to be careful when I used 3rd gear. So, I would have to drop to second where I shouldn't have. Now, we were down for lunch and the excitement was building.
My first race of the day was HW twins SS. So, the grid was split, with the HW twins experts up front, C Superbike novices in the middle, and HW twins SS novices in the rear. Since I was on row 13, and C SB was packed, it would take some work to move up to battle with the experts. So, I was going to work on passing skills in this race. I was grid row 13, inside. Sucks, but let's see what we can do. I jumped up into the C SS class and was the 13/14th bike coming out of turn one. Picked off a few bikes going up the hill and down to Charlottes web. Picked off a few more on the straight coming up to the museum corner. Was coming in hot and over shot my reference marker and almost blew the turn. I was working thru that same issue with the bike, so I would have to baby 3rd gear or use 2nd when I could. It was single file for most of the first lap after that until the front straight where I motored past two more C SS guys and could have taken another, but I figured if wait and get him later. On the second lap, I noticed something was really wrong when I wanted to pass this 600 and the bike sounded like it was hitting the rev limiter in 4th gear and I was at 6000 rpms. I got close to him in turn 14a, dropped into 3rd gear and got another spot. Next up was one of the HW twins experts on a 1199R. Caught him at turn 1, and followed him to see where I could get him. I decided to take him on the brakes coming into Chartlottes web on the outside. Clean pass, back on the gas and get ghost. For the next few laps, I could feel the gear box acting weird. Just rode the bike to the finish line an took first place in HW twins SS. While on the cool down lap, I notice that I blipped the throttle and tried to down shift twice and the gear didn't change either time (12:29, video). As I entered the pit in, I tried one more time to downshift and notice the shorter felt limp. I looked down and I already knew the issue. The shift rod broke again. This happened at my first race weekend at Homestead in Dec. 2014. I coasted down pit lane and started pushing with my feet to get the bike out of the way. My boy Shane Richardson was right there and told me to get off the bike, rest and they will get the bike up to my pit so I could start working on it ASAP. The marshals called the crash truck and I go a ride up to the paddock. Shane and Tim Hunt both offered shift rods to see if one would hit my bike. The one Tim gave me worked and I was able to fix the rod. Went thru the gears a few times while on the stands and everything seems normal. Now, I tried to refocus, cool down, and get mentally ready for race 2.
My second race of the day was A Superbike. After working on the shift rod that Tim provided, I was anxious to get back out there and bring home another win. As I went out for my warm up lap, I push the bike a bit to make sure the shifter was working correctly. Felt good and I figure all systems are go. As the start went thru the 2,1, sideways green flag, I got a terrible start as I watched Lawrence Garrard motor past me and dive into turn on. I didn't panic and try to go around the outside of two experts on their new 2015 R1s. I thought, FINALLY, a chance to go head to head with one of these bikes. As we can out of turn 2, coming into three and climbing the hill, Lawerence was drifting into my line and I let off the gas so we won't touch and motored past him climbing up the hill and got right on the first R1s tire. I was itching for a fight but something wasn't right. I noticed as I shifted into 4th coming up the hill the bike hesitated during the gear change. As I pulled the brake lever and clutch and started my down shifting, the bike hit a false neutral and started coasting. I struggled to find a gear and once I did it was the wrong one for my speed. I drove out as hard a I could but that R1s were starting to gab me and I was able to catch them on the breaks going into the museum corner, but little did I know my race was over. As I tried to down shift, the shift lever wouldn't down shift. It was frozen in the gear I was in, 5th. I couldn't do anything and since I didn't want to ruin anyone else's day, I pulled off the race line and let everyone go play while I coasted helplessly to a stop. It was the most frustrating moment of my short race career. In my head, I wanted to scream some profanities, but I glad I kept my composure. These things happen and you have to deal with them accordingly. All I could think about were the points I was loosing and if I had finished first, I would have taken over the number 1 spot in A Superbike for the SouthEast region. My next thought was, what is the problem and how much is this going to cost? I got picked up after the race and to my surprise, the crash truck had to pick up another rider who ran out of gas.
After getting to the pit, I decided to call it a day and pack up the truck and head home. My wife had an early flight and trying to fix the bike was not in the cards.
Lessons from the weekend, I need more spare parts for the bike, maybe a few other hands in the pit(pit crew), and a B bike.
We got home around 1:30am, I got 3hrs of sleep and heading to work. I actually feel pretty good considering. I want to thank a few people. First, thanks to Shane Richardson for being right there, offering help and parts to fix the broken shift rod. Thanks man. Thanks to Tim Hunt for getting my a shift rod. It never fails that when I'm at the track and Tim is there, he is always ready to lend a had and give you tips to get around the track faster. One of the good guys I've met in the paddock. Thanks to Larry Threatt for looking out on the transponder that was still on my bike as I was 25 miles out from ATL. I must have some good karma working because I seem to attract all the good people man. Blessed. Thanks to Stephen for the awesome pics from Roebling road. It was good to finally meet Ford and congrats on completing the race school, laughing it up with Jeff Lanze and Lester. Speaking with Q after the riders meeting. And everyone else I forgot to mention. It was a hard weekend, but fun. Until I see you all at Roebling in two weeks. Hopefully the crew at cycle pro can hop right on the bike and fix the issue in time.
I forgot to mention I was able to meet and chop it up with Mr Barber himself. He came by Tim Hunt pit and I introduced myself and even made him laugh with a funny, true story. Really down to earth guy.
Race #1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1VebrFMvpA
Race #2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc_bAiXSs_4
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