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2003 CCS Pacific Region Race Write-Ups

Round 1 - Streets of Willow, Rosamond, CA - 02/01/03

Round 2 - Firebird East, Chandler, AZ - 03/15/03

Round 3 - Las Vegas Classic Course, Las Vegas, NV - 5/10/03

Round 4 - Streets of Willow, Rosamond, CA - 05/31/03

Round 5 - Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA - 07/05/03

Round 6 - Las Vegas Classic Course, Las Vegas, NV - 08/01/03

Round 7 - Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA - 08/16/03

Round 8 - Thunderhill Raceway, Willows, CA - 10/04/03

Round 9 - Firebird East, Chandler, AZ - 11/03

Round 10 - Streets of Willow, Rosamond, CA - 11/03

2/1~2/03 CCS Round 1 - Streets of Willow (MY 1ST RACE WEEKEND!)

Picked up fellow CanyonStrafer Glen Egan, loaded up the bikes and gear, and headed on our way.

Okay, let's get right to it. In my first ever race weekend, here's what happened:

Amateur GTO - 3rd place out of 9 bikes, 2nd row start (won $75)
Amateur Unlimited GP - 8th place out of 24 bikes, 2nd row start (won $75)

Since my goal was to just finish some races in the top ten this year, I was pretty satisfied at the end of the weekend. On Saturday morning, my practice sessions were going pretty well and I was "riding my bike like I wanted to blow it up" (quoting Mr. Andy Carman). But, I had an "incident" during the last practice session. Coming around turn 5 at a good clip (the 2nd, short left hander after the front straight), I lost the front end, ground the generator cover, and somehow managed NOT to go down (I think I used up all of my good karma for at least two racing seasons when that happened). Came back into the pits when Glen saw some fluid leaking from the generator cover. Just great.... Called Lancaster Kawi, they said they had a replacement cover, went there to get it, and they told me they didn't have one in stock. WTF??? Called Glen back at the track to see if Mr. Weld could fix the cover, and he said he could. Drove back to the track, got the bike over to Mr. Weld, took the fairings off, removed generator cover, and had him weld it. Once he was finished, I frantically put everything back together 1 race before I was scheduled to go out. By then, I was all sweaty, hot, pissed off, stressed out, etc.

Started the GTO race in the 2nd row, got a good start, and I was running in 2nd place for a few laps until we got red flagged. The experts, in the first wave, got to regrid according to where they were when the red flag came out. But we, the lowly amateurs, had to regrid based on our original positions. Why the difference??? Got a pretty good start again, ran in 4th for awhile, caught a Ducati in 3rd place, passed him and remained in 3rd for the rest of the race. Most of the race, I was totally out of it, due to all the BS that happened right before the race. My lines were totally jacked at times (not that they are that good to begin with). Somehow, I held on to 3rd.

For me, the Unlimited GP race was basically a shorter version of the GTO race. But, my practices on Sunday weren't going as well as the day before, and turn 5 sort of spooked me. I kept thinking how it would suck to crash out in my first weekend of racing. My 8th place finish reflected those thoughts. Oh well, maybe I'll do better next time.

But, 3rd place in GTO was cool, so I left the track with a 3rd place plaque and $150 ($75 each for the 3rd and 8th place finish). But, it sure would've been nice be relaxed and "ready" for the GTO race. Oh well, "welcome to racing", huh?

3/15~16, 2003 CCS Round 2 - Firebird East - Chandler AZ

Amateur GTO - 2nd place out of 15 bikes, 3rd row start (won $110)
Amateur Unlimited GP - 7th place out of 27 bikes, 4th row start (won $80)

Track Day - Friday, March 14
Left San Jose around 12:30pm on Thursday, March 13 (Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me…), thanks to my ultra-cool boss "Jannis". The drive was pretty uneventful, but not all that boring, due to some books on cd that I rented. For those of you who have to solo it from time to time, I highly recommend it. Anyway, got into Chandler around 12:30am (should've taken me about an hour less, but I made frequent stops to stretch my legs, etc.). I checked into Motel 6 and then realized that it was actually 1:30am due to the time difference. DOH! I would only get about 4 hours of sleep before getting up the next day. Oh yeah, if the races are on Sat. and Sun., what was I doing there on Thursday? Well, my new CCS pal (and arch-rival in the Unlimited Am. GTO and UL Am. GP race) Simon Williams took the time to set up a track day for Friday. Nice guy, that Simon!

Got to the track bright and early, met the guys, and we set up and got ready to hit the track. Got out onto the track and after 1 lap was convinced that this would not be the "little, easy track" that I had expected. Firebird East is pretty damn technical. By the end of the day, I had gotten into the low 1:05s (1:05:12), while John Wehrli, chattering front end and all, dropped into the 1:06s, while Simon, who was having pretty severe brake fade problems, came in running 1:07s. Other than losing my front end twice in turn 3, everything was going good. But, without the track day, I am not so sure that I would've raced at this track the next day. It's THAT tricky. Imagine a much smaller and tighter version of Buttonwillow (without the elevation changes). Tough track (or maybe I am just a wimp).

Race Day - Saturday, March 15
Showed up at the track around 6:45, and there was a big line at the gate. Once I got in, it was the usual organized chaos at the registration line. I had to ask/remind them to set up a pre-registration line, which they promptly did. Once I got up to the window, I was informed that they did NOT have my pre-registration…..grrrrr…… The whole point of pre-registering is twofold. Number 1, eliminate the time wasted in the morning standing in line filling out forms. Number 2, grid positions are determined based on pre-registration. So, instead of hopefully being gridded somewhere in the two front rows (which is what I was counting on), I was gridded in the 3rd row for Am. Unlimited GTO on Saturday (30 minute race) and 4th row for the Am. Unlimited GP on Sunday (9 lap sprint race). Grrrrr….

Race time approached, and I was getting butterflies. I took the warm up lap, and gridded in the 2nd wave. The experts took off, and a few seconds later we did as well. I got a mediocre start and was probably mid-pack entering turn 1 (I think there were about 15 bikes in my wave). Still need to work on my starts. I am also still a bit timid when surrounded by a bunch of newbie racers. Oh yeah, I guess I am a "newbie" too. Anyway, after a couple of laps I started to pick off a rider every couple of laps, and struggled to get by a guy on a Gixxer 750 who was actually holding me up a bit. So, I finally decided to make my move and outbrake him going into HIS slowest part of the track, which would enable me to easily leave him and not have to worry about him dive bombing me in the next couple of turns (I love these 30 minute races where you can actually develop a strategy). I got by him and a couple of other guys, when I came up on an R1. The epic battle was about to begin. For the last 6 laps or so, I would outbrake and pass him going into the last turn (9), and he would do the same to me going into (1). We were VERY evenly matched. Fun stuff. After some pretty clean dicing and showing each other our front wheels going into various turns, the white flag came out. "Great", I thought. I'll take him as usual going into 9, and then outdrag him. Going into 7 and 8, I got right on his tail and followed him to 9. Going into 9, I clamped down on my brakes at the last minute lifting the rear wheel up (look mom, I can do a stoppie!), dived in quickly but ran a little wide on the exit. To compensate, I gunned the throttle and spun the rear a bit, but didn't lose much momentum. But, in the split second that I broke loose, he came up slightly behind me to the right. The drag race was on! As we flew by the start finish line, I thought I had him by less than a foot. As it turned out, I was right, and took what I later found out to be 2nd , while he finished in 3rd. I think the time difference was like 6/1000 of a second (transponders are cool). I actually had no idea what place I was in, but was happy to hear it was 2nd. After the race, I hunted down "Rob" and thanked him for the fun. He was pretty excited about it as well, and we chatted a bit about our experience. What a bunch of "newbies", huh? That was probably the most fun I have ever had on a racetrack. Awesome stuff, and worth a plaque and a check for $110.

Race Day - Sunday, March 16
The night before, I had packed up the bike before I left the track, figuring it would rain the next day. CCS runs races in the rain, but you won't see me out there dicing it out in the rain anytime soon. As I left, I told Simon that I was doing them a favor by loading the bike up. My reasoning was simple. If I loaded the bike up anticipating rain, it simply wouldn't rain tomorrow. That's just the way it works for me most of the time. Well, it almost worked out that way. I awoke the next morning to see that it was pretty wet outside and raining. "Oh well", I thought. "I'll just cruise down to the track and pick up my plaque and check". During the short drive to the track, I could see that the rain clouds were not continuous, and that the sun was poking out. Hmmmm….. Got to the track, and it was wet. But, in the couple of hours that we were there, it started to look like the track might be semi-dry. So, I unloaded and decided to run the practice session. The track was pretty wet, but was drying fast. There were still some corners that had small puddles, so if you were a foot or so off of the dry line line, YIKES! Not a pleasant thought. But, at this point, I had decided to go ahead and race, figuring the track would be completely dry by the time my race came up (race 3, right before lunch). Race time approached, and the clouds were once again getting darker and darker. We took the warm up lap, and I noticed NO water on the track. Great! I lined up in row 4 (in a fairly big grid of at LEAST 8 rows). Since this was strictly an Amateur race, we didn't need to worry about any Experts coming in and stuffing us, etc. I once again got a mediocre start, and was mid-pack again going into turn 1. The rest is pretty much a carbon copy of the GTO race on a smaller scale. Hehe…even the finish is the same. I was passing people at a pretty good clip, even outbraking two riders at once going into some turns. That really makes you feel like a badass, by the way. Eventually, I came up on Simon who was trailing a bike that I remembered from the Streets race. I remembered this bike because he passed me towards the end of the race. Ahhhh…."time for sweet revenge", I thought. Simon eventually got around him in the last turn with one lap to go. So, naturally, my plan would be the same as the GTO race. I would outbrake him going into turn 9, and outdrag him to the finish. Like clockwork, I got on his tail going into 7 and followed him going into 9. This time, my pass came off without a hitch. I dove to the inside, outbraked and passed him (I think I caught him off guard), and accelerated to the finish line. I wasn't too excited about the 7th place finish, but the $80 check makes it feel a little better. :-)

5/10~11, 2003 CCS Round 3 - Las Vegas Classic Course, Las Vegas, NV

Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 4th place out of 16 Amateur riders, last row start
Amateur Unlimited GP - 10th place finish out of 22 bikes, last row start (won $65)
Amateur Unlimited GP - 7th place out of 25 bikes, first row start (won $80)

Saturday

Unlimited SuperSport - I was basically gridded last. Actually, I think it was 14th out of 16 amateurs and 22nd out of 24 riders total (it was a single wave start with the experts, as opposed to the normal 2 wave start). I gridded up and tried to get "angry" for the start. It actually seemed to work. Hehe...I was literally sitting there repeating in my mind, "I am going to pass everyone single one of you amateur mo-fo's going into turn one." As I was saying this, I got pretty pumped. We got the green flag and I got an absolutely smokin' start, and by turn 1 I was in 3rd place (among the amateurs, of course). I had passed 11 bikes! Hung on to 3rd place until two laps before the end and got passed. Settled for 4th. Not too bad. My lap times were in the mid to upper 1:28's I believe.

Unlimited GP - After waiting most of the day, my next race came up. I was actually pretty beat, and not really motivated. Might've been a bit fatigued from the drive down. Anyway, I was gridded up at the back again, and got ready for the normal 2 wave start. There were 22 amateur bikes, I believe. Got a fairly crappy start, passed a few riders in the first lap (I love my new tire warmers!) and then chased a rider around the track for several laps, and was actually pushing it a bit too hard. Scared myself a few times going into turn 1 and turn 4, but settled back down and everything was cool. Ended up in 10th. Oh well, at least I won $65 and was able maintain my "all top ten finishes" for this year (having said that, I probably just jinxed myself). Surprisingly, my lap times had improved, and I ran low to mid 1:28s fairly consistently. My goal for the weekend would be to leave with 1:27s.

Sunday

Did the first practice session and felt great. So, I decided to pass on the 2nd practice and conserve my quickly wearing Pirellis.

Unlimited GP - I was gridded on the front row for this one (my first time this season, there were 25 bikes in the amateur wave). Felt pretty good, but I knew the competition in this race was gonna be tough (it always is). Brian Hall was behind me, and #517 was pretty hot at this track. Oh well, I would give it my best shot. Got a decent start and was probably in 5th going into turn 1. Followed the leaders around, but got passed by 4 riders during the course of the race. There was one rider ahead of me, with two riders right in front of them who were dicing it out pretty squirrely. We were all pretty close to each other. In the transition from turn 7 to turn 8, one of the erratic riders decided to dive inside and overtake the rider in front of him. But, his speed was too high, and he lost traction and went down, taking out the other rider as well. They fell pretty hard, and I was expecting a yellow flag. Only a standing yellow was shown at that corner the next time around, so me and the rider in front of me continued our pace and finished in 6th and 7th. It was actually a really fun race, and I ran some pretty decent lap times. I think the 2nd lap was a 1:28, while the rest were low 1:27s, with my fastest lap time being a 1:27:090. Had the race been a few more laps, I have no doubt I would've dropped into the 1:26s, since my lap times were dropping with every lap. An $80 check is headed my way.

Great weekend. Great track. Can't wait to go back and improve my lap times!

5/31~6/1, 2003 CCS Round 4 - Streets of Willow, Rosamond, CA
(Simon Williams' race write-up is here)

Amateur GTO - 2nd place, 2nd row start (won $110)
Amateur Unlimited GP - 6th place, 3rd row start (won $85)
Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 1st place, 3rd row start

Okay, it was a hot one this weekend, so let's see how much of this I can remember.

Once again, I had the pleasure of pitting with John, Amber, Simon, Lorraine, and the G2 Racing boys. Nice to have some experts nearby for technical expertise and questions regarding the best line to take on the track.

Saturday (approx. 100 degrees)

Amateur GTO - I think there were 15 amateurs for this race, and I was gridded on the 2nd row (my memory is not what it used to be :-) ). The experts took off in the first wave, and I got another decent start. Going into turn 1, I was in 2nd place. Joseph Philbrook has been on a terror these last couple of rounds, and this race was no exception. I stayed with him for a few turns, but he slowly pulled away from me. After a few laps, I looked behind and noticed that I had also pulled away from the rest of the pack. So far, so good. About the only excitement up to that point was my near high side in turn 2 (hard enough to throw me off the pegs). I did it once, and repeated that again a couple of laps later, just to make sure I got it right the first time. :-) After 9 minutes on the track, we got the red flag. We all pulled into the pits, and sat there for a couple of minutes. I can't exactly remember the cause of the red flag, a crash somewhere. I asked how long we had ran, and I all I heard was a ".....19 minutes". "Great", I thought, "Only 11 minutes to go" (GTO is a 30 minute timed race). As I said that semi-out loud, one of the spectators corrected me and said, "no, you guys have only run 11 minutes". Man, what a letdown. It was so hot on the track, that after a few laps, I was parched, dying for water. I wanted to hurry up and get this over with. After a few moments, we regridded, and the start was pretty much a carbon copy of the first start. I was running 2nd again, watching Joseph pull away from me. With a few laps to go, I was once again pleased to see that the next racer behind me was several seconds behind. So, I figured there was no need to "push it", and I just went on cruise control for the last few laps, and coasted across the finish line in 2nd place. A great start to the weekend. $110 payday. :-)

This race was really brutal. To run full on for 30 minutes in 100+ degrees is tough. I'm glad I survived, and actually look forward to the high temps in the coming rounds, as it will only be hotter when we do this in Las Vegas in August!

Sunday (109 degrees)

Amateur Unlimited GP - I was on the 3rd row for this race. I wasn't too excited about it, but what can you do? This race would also be a 2 wave start. After the experts took off, we launched, and I found myself in 4th place going into turn 1. Not bad. But, here's where it got frustrating. Joseph was in first, my buddy Simon was in 2nd, and #8 (who took 3rd in the GTO race behind me) was running 3rd, and there was another racer was right in front of me. Since I had beaten the #8 rider fairly soundly in the GTO race, I figured I would be able to easily get by both of these guys and move up to 3rd. It was not to be. The rider in front of me just couldn't get around the #8 rider, and I just couldn't find a place where I could pass them both without taking us all out (Streets is a fairly tough track to pass on, IMHO). After a few laps, the rider in front of me finally got around the #8 rider, and I quickly followed him around. This was good, but there was only a few more laps for me to get around this guy in front of me. As we are riding around, two racers came zipping around me AND the racer in front of me. D'OH! Not much I could do about that. Those guys were just quicker than we were (Rodney Sherman, who I know fairly well, used to race AMA and was one of the amateurs that went by). So, instead of battling it out for 3rd, I was now battling it out for 5th. I was riding pretty hard, but also began to fade a bit from the heat. Although I wasn't content with 6th place, I just couldn't get around this guy in front of me. I am sure I had the HP on him, but my drives out of the last turn onto the straightaway were pretty bad, and I ended up in 6th place. Those poor drives are what cost me 5th place, IMHO. Oh well, an $85 payday.

Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - For this race, I also had a 3rd row gridding. There were only 5 experts (and about 20 amateurs), so this race would be a single wave start. I was pretty confident and pumped about doing well in this race.

I got a pretty good start, with the 5 experts right in front of me, and an amateur on the outside and inside of me going into turn 1. I kept the throttle on and won the game of "chicken" with my amateur competitors going into turn 1. Going into 2, I almost ran into the back of an expert, and promptly passed him on the inside going into turn 3. I immediately knew I was leading the amateurs and was also able to stay with the experts for about 2 laps, when then started to pull away from me. At the halfway point, I decided to take a look behind me going down the front straightaway and was happy to see noone behind me. As I glanced over to my right, I could see the 2nd place runner just entering the last section of turns before the skid pad. Ahhhh.....a comfortable lead. "This is good", I thought. On lap 6, we got the red flag again due to a crash in turn 5. We all came into the hot pits and sat for a few minutes. As the race officials looked as though we were going to restart, several of the riders began to yell "call it". Since the race had gone half the distance and was red flagged, the race could be stopped at that point. The officials took a quick vote amongst the riders, and the majority of racers wanted to cancel it. Hehe...who was I to complain? It was so hot, well over 100 degrees I think, that NOONE wanted to restart for a 3 lap sprint race. Wise decision.

Red flag or not, this was my 1st win, and I am happy with it. I had a commanding lead over the 2nd place amateur racer, and have no doubt I would've won anyway. Winning is a great feeling, and I hope to do it more often, before I graduate to the expert level and get trounced. :-(

Best lap time was 1:28:092. I need to AT LEAST get down into the low 1:27s the next time out.

7/5~6, 2003 CCS Round 5 - Buttonwillow Raceway, Buttonwillow, CA
(Simon Williams' race write-up here)

Amateur GTO - 1st place, 1st row start (won $180)
Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 2nd place, 1st row start
Amateur Unlimited GP - 3rd place, 1st row start (won $110)

Friday - Buttonwillow track day

Since I had only been to Buttonwillow twice before, I really wanted to make this track day to get in some decent lap times before racing this weekend. Met Simon, Lorraine, and the kids at the track, unloaded my gear in the garage that we would have for the weekend and got ready to go out. Although I hadn't been to the track since March, I hopped on the track and started to ride fairly aggressively, but within my limits. Much to my surprise, I was running 2:01s by my 9th lap of the first session. "Great", I thought. But, not wanting to wear myself out (and my tires), I pretty much just took it easy the rest of the day. Simon hadn't been to the track in quite some time, so we worked on a couple of things, but it looked to me like he just needed to twist the throttle a bit more. Hehe...his lines were actually alot clearner than mine. :-)

Saturday

Amateur GTO - Pretty small grid for this one. Only 10 bikes (luckily, 10 is the minimum for contingency, as Simon pointed out). I was gridded in pole position, with Simon right next to me. This would be a single wave start. The green flag dropped, and the sandbagger himself, Simon, got the jump on me. Hats off to his great start, but my start was pretty bad. I reeled him in a bit going into turn 1, and figured I'd get around him sometime during the first lap. WRONG! Simon was "in the zone" and running some great laps. I just stayed behind him and figured with 30 minutes in the race, I would just pace him and pick a nice spot to pass him. Entering Riverside (the fast, fast, right hand sweeper on the backside of the track) on the 1st lap, there was a huge crash off to the left. At that point, Simon and I had the experts in sight, and as we got about 1/3 of the way through the turn, we see dust and a couple of bikes flying in the air. I was naturally thinking, "great, here we go with our usual GTO-red flag." As it turns out, only the yellow flag came out, so we continued on with our brisk pace. I just don't get it. GTO is a 30 min. race, and people just freak out like it's a sprint race. Oh well...

At the end of the second lap, I made the decision to try a pass on Simon on the front straight on the next lap. We came around and I entered the last corner trying really hard to stay right on Simon's rear tire. Exiting the corner, Simon immediately pulled away from me by a few bike lengths (v-twin power!). But, I quickly closed the gap, got right behind him to get a bit of a draft, and then pulled out and made my move right before the start finish line. I motored by him and had the inside line going into turn 1. Pass complete. From there, I generally maintained my lead, until we came across some lappers. Entering the last turn, we got caught behind some lappers, and I bogged the motor a bit exiting the corner. Simon came up on my right and tried to make a pass stick, but the mighty Ninja had too much motor for him, and he was unable to pass. From there, it was pretty uneventful, and I cruised home to take my 1st GTO win, with Simon in 2nd. I believe we pretty much left the field behind, with the 3rd place finisher crossing the finish line rougly 5 seconds after us. Cha-ching! $180. :-) Lap times were pretty decent. Mostly low 2:01s and some high 2:00s, from what I can remember.

Saturday

Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - Much to my surprise, I had another front row gridding. :-) I looked over the names on the grid and felt pretty confident for this race. There was ONE bike that I didn't recognize, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this rider. This race would also be a single wave start with the experts. I got a pretty good start, began to enter turn 1, when the bike I didn't recognize came around me on the outside. Grrr......No problem, I'd just stick with him and see what would happen (only a 5 lap race though, so I needed to act quick). We were running a decent pace, and actually caught up to the back end of the experts and began to run their pace. I just couldn't reel this guy in, but he also wasn't pulling away from me much. A pretty uneventful, but fast race. I ended up in 2nd place. Later on, I went over to look at this guy's bike. He seemed to have front brake rotors that were illegal for this class, but it was too late for me to protest anyway. But, if I see him at the next round and he finishes in front of me......hehe...if you're that rider and you're reading this.....beware (or just be sure to finish behind me). :-)

My best lap times came in this race. Mostly 2:00s, but I also managed to dip into the 1:59s. That was actually the highlight of my weekend, moreso than my race results. I hope to soon make the 1:59s consistent and work on getting down into the 1:57s very soon.

Amateur Unlimited GP - Whaddya know? Another front row gridding. The way I look at it, it was my turn to get a good gridding, to make up for all of those lousy grids that I had in the previous rounds.

Okay, here's how it went (or how I remember it). I got a good start, but #99 David Yeski got the jump on me and I wasn't able to scoot by him going into turn #1. We stayed together for a lap when I tried to make a move on him coming out of Riverside. We came out of the high-speed right hand sweeper and I moved to the left and made the pass but got into the next left hander too hot and ran wide. He came back inside of me, passed, and went into the Lost Hills turn in front of me. "Oh well", I thought. I'd just have to try and pass him again somewhere else. We completed another lap, and on the second straight section of the track, right after turn 2, I was able to get a decent drive and passed David going into turn 3. I got into that turn a bit hot again, but was able to make it stick and keep David behind me. We went around for another lap, and in the meantime I had no idea that David had been passed by another rider. As I was exiting turn 2 on the next lap, I again ran wide, and heard a bike coming up on the inside of me. "Great, here comes David", I thought. However, it wasn't David. This guy was running at a good pace and I immediately knew that David and I would now be battling for 2nd and 3rd. I continued to somehow hold on to 2nd, but could hear David right behind me. On the last lap, and exiting the last section of esses, I felt pretty confident that I had 2nd locked up. However, I got into the last turn a bit hot AGAIN, but managed to save it and not run off the track (thanks to my extreme trail braking riding style). But, the result of this action caused me to lose my momentum and gave David the chance he had been waiting for to pass. He motored past me on the straight, I kicked it down a gear and started to reel him in, but it was too late.... Oh well, a 3rd place is better than a crash, eh? Great job David. See you at the next round. :-)

8/1~3, 2003 CCS Round 6 - Las Vegas Classic Course, Las Vegas, NV
(Simon Williams' race write-up here (don't believe what he says about me stuffing him! :-))

Amateur GTO - DB (Drank beers with Simon) :-)
Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 3rd place
Amateur Unlimited GP - 4th place (won $100)
Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 3rd place
Amateur Unlimited GP - 19th (DNF'd due to worn tires! D'OH!)

Thursday, July 31

Picked up the truck at the shop at 10am, right after a "Breakfast Briefing" for work that I had to attend. I hate rushing around to pick things up and get ready for a long road trip, but there was nothing I could do about it. After picking up the truck, I drove to Hayward Kawasaki, where Todd was finishing the installation of my newly rebuilt shock (developed at leak during the Buttonwillow round, as you may recall). My original plan was to be on the road by noon (which I knew wouldn't happen), but by the time I got ready, it was about 2:45pm. Oh well. "As long as I get to bed by midnight I'd be alright", I thought. The drive was long, boring, and uneventful, with the exception of the sporadic thunderstorm activity that I drove through on the way there. I called ahead to Simon who had left a few hours earlier and got a weather report. The storms weren't as bad as they looked off in the distance, and I didn't even need to slow my pace down at all (I sure am glad that I bought new tires for the truck a few weeks prior, though). Got into Vegas around 11:00pm, checked in to my luxurious penthouse suite at the Super8 Motel, and got a restless nights’ sleep.

Friday, August 1

GTO
Showed up at the track nice and early, and saw Sandbag…I mean, Simon at the head of the fairly short line at the gate. They opened the gates at 6:30am or so and I pulled in and set up shop next to Simon's RV. Awhile later, John and Amber showed up, and the gang was complete.

We all did a few practice sessions, and I was pleased that my practice times had already surpassed my previous best race lap time of 1:27:092 in May (seems ridiculously slow, now that I think about it). Here’s where the fun started. Simon and I were running slicks, and the weather was threatening all day. We both decided to play it safe and switch to DOTs in preparation for the GTO race at the end of the day. As the first to GT races approached, the skies looked even more threatening. Simon and I there decided that switching to DOTs might be a wise decision. The first GT race started in the dry, but soon the skies started to sprinkle, and the track conditions got worse. I don’t recall any crashes in the first GT race, but it was certainly not conditions that I would like to be on a near-150hp bike and racing on. The 2nd GT started in almost the exact same dry conditions, with sprinkles starting soon thereafter. THIS race, however, had several crashes. During this race, Simon and I decided that we had made the right decision to skip the GTO race which would be next. As were the GT race finished, we chatted about the GTO race and noticed that the track was drying and started to debate whether or not to go out. At the VERY last minute we decided we’d give it a shot and rushed to get our leathers on. I got suited up and was ready to go. As I peered into the trailer, I noticed that Simon was having some problems getting his gear on. He decided that he would not get his gear on in time and asked that I go out and race. I decided not to. Since we are #1 and #2 in the GTO class, it really wouldn’t be much fun for me to go out and grab points without him. I’m such a great sport, eh? J As it turns out, the GTO race was a completely dry race. The ONLY completely dry race of the day. Oh well. I guess that’s just the way it works out sometimes. We had a few Coronas and joked about it while watching the GTO race.

Saturday, August 2

Unlimited SuperSport
Single wave start (20 bike amateur grind – fairly large)
Gridded up for the race and was eager to get it on! Got a good start and followed Brian Hall into turn 1 (fast guy from Illinois). I actually had the jump on him going into 1 and could’ve got in front of him, but knowing that he was 1~2 seconds a lap faster than me, I just let him get in front of me. I soon passed an expert and was running at a very good pace. The expert and I diced it out for a couple of laps, but he soon got the better of me and stayed in front of me, slowly pulling away. I hung on to 2nd (amongst the novices) for most of the race, but got a bit tired. So, I started to look back to see where the next rider was. At first, I thought I had a huge lead. But, I soon found out that Kenny Dallas (local racer) was right behind me, as he showed me a wheel coming out of turn 5. He didn’t get by me, but I now knew that there was no time to relax. We went around, and entering turn 1, I got into turn 1 a gear too high and immediately shook my head knowing that Kenny would be coming under me. Sure enough, there he was. I tried to hang onto him for the last two laps, but he slowly pulled away from me. I settled for a 3rd.

My lap times were very good (for me, anyway). But, I noticed that my MyChron only caught 4 low 1:25 lap times, with my best being a 1:25:13 (the race was an 8 lap race). I found out later that there was an issue with the timing for the 1st 3 races (my race was race #1), and no lap times would be provided by CCS (grrrrrr…..). That explains why I only had 4 laps registered on the MyChron, I guess. Based on the pace I was running, and the decreasing lap times, I’d like to think that I dipped into the high 1:24s, but I guess I’ll never know…….annoying. 1:25:13 is what I consider my official fast lap of that race (and as it turns out, the weekend, too).

Unlimited GP
(25 bike amateur grid! Pretty large grid for this race)
Ahhhh, yes. The “money race”. This race is basically the toughest race in CCS. Everyone comes out of the woodwork for this race, and the racing is pretty hairy, to say the least. My goal was to get a good start and hang with the front runners, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the the backmarkers and more sketchy racers (saw a nasty crash right in front of me the last time I raced here).

Well, I got my good start and went into turn 1 in 3rd. In front was AZ fast racer David Yeski (the same guy that I diced it out with at Buttonwillow). In 2nd was Sandbag….I mean, Simon. We were bunched up nice and tightly as we completed a lap and was coming down the front straight. I tucked in behind Simon and decided to make my move on him. I pulled to the inside and was able to outbrake him a bit and scooted into turn 1 (right hander) ahead of him. BUT, I quickly realized that I was once again in too hot, and ran wide. The Ducati rumble and a red flash flying by on my inside was all that I saw after that. D’OH! I pulled in right behind him and the 3 of us continued around for another lap. Coming down the front straight, I was determined to make the same move and make it stick this time. It worked. I outbraked Simon going into 1, and was able to keep it tight this time, not allowing Simon to get by. From there, David and I were running 1 and 2 fairly smoothly. I had no idea who was behind me, or how close they were. With about three laps to go, John Blaylock (another AZ fast guy) showed me a wheel coming out of 5, but I was able to hold him off. John and another racer must’ve been pacing me, trying to figure out a good passing spot. As we completed the lap and entered turn 3, John came flying by on my inside. All I have to say about that is, GREAT PASS. He was really “in the zone” this weekend. Another rider got by me going into 7, and I had quickly slipped from 2nd to 4th. John and the other rider even got by Dave as well, so he finished right in front me in 3rd. Great race, but ALOT of work!

Sunday, August 3
Unlimited GP – Scary…
With my decent placing in yesterday’s race, I was eager to go for a podium during this race. My rear tire (I was running slicks) was in decent shape, but the front was definitely a bit worn. But, I was hoping they would last the race without any problems. I got a decent start, and went into turn 1 in 4th, I believe. The first lap was uneventful, but as I exited turn 6 on the 2nd lap, I floated out really wide. I remember asking myself, “Did the front end just push, or was I just lazy on the exit of that turn?”. The answer would come on the next lap. As I exited turn 6 in the middle of the back straight (120+mph), I felt the sick feeling of the front end tucking. “Damn, I’m going down.” I felt the weight of the bike on my right knee, and I am sure I instinctively pushed the bike up a bit with my knee. Almost as soon as the front end tucked, I found that I had just recovered from the slide. PHEW! Dodged another bullet! The race was quickly red flagged due to a crash. So, I came into the hot pits, had a chat with Simon about my incident, and I quickly decided to pull out of the race. I DID think about continuing at a slower pace. But, two thoughts crossed my mind:

1. If I backed off in fast parts of the track, I could cause big problems to my competitors who are NOT expecting me to back off in such a manner
2. Back off in a race? Who am I kidding? Had I continued with the race, I am pretty sure I would’ve kicked up the pace and then possibly crashed

I learned an inexpensive lesson. Don’t skimp on tires!

Unlimited SuperSport
Gridded up for the last race of the weekend. This race ended up being pretty much a carbon copy of the SuperSport race the day before, so I won’t bore you with the details. I had to work a bit more to get my 3rd place finish, however. I had been stuck in 4th the whole race and decided that if I wanted the podium that I’d need to make a move on this guy. Coming down the front straight, I decided to make the move that had been working for me all weekend: outbrake my competitor on the inside going into turn 1 (just ask Simon about that move). Coming into turn 1, I reeled in the rider in 3rd, hit the brakes, but immediately realized that I had made my move too quickly. The rider in front had not yet hit his brakes! I immediately let go of the brakes and waited for him to clamp on the brakes before I did so as well. The split second delay between his braking and mine enabled me to slide in front of him and take the inside line for turn 1. I held the him off to complete the lap and take another 3rd. Fun race!

8/16~17, 2003 CCS Round 7 - Thunderhill Park, Willows, CA
(Simon Williams' race write-up here)

Amateur GTO - Race weekend ending crash!

To put it very mildly, I hate this track. I could never seem to really get into a decent "groove" or "rythmn" on this track. Although, at a recent track day here, I was able to nail down a 2:00:30, which was a personal best, and definitely a competitive lap time for the class I was in.

Saturday, August 16

Morning practice was pretty uneventful, and I was got my usual-of-late, front row gridding next to my arch-nemesis Simon Williams. Pretty hot August day, so I just tried to take it really easy in the pits and made sure to hydrate really well (not that that's any different from my usual routine). Went over to Tom to get some new tires mounted, and I was ready to go for the weekend.

GTO (CRASH!!!!!!)
I was still ahead in the points in this class, but Simon was narrowing the gap, so I at least wanted to post a top-3 finish, which seemed highly possible. Although, the AFM boys showed up for this one, so I wasn't sure what the AFM yellow-platers were like. We gridded up for the start, and I got one of my patented horrendous starts. I was probably in 9th place going into turn 1. "Oh well", I thought. We still have 30 minutes to go, so I'll just reel them in one-by-one. Simon, on the other hand got a decent start and was a couple of spots ahead of me. As the race progressed, I moved up into 7th, but got caught up with 2 who were battling it out with each other. They were, in actuality, holding me up a bit, but I just couldn't find a place to get by them safely. Tristan was also right behind me, undboubtedly waiting for me to make a move, which would enable him to cruise by as well. Can't remember the turn, but Tristan eventually got around me and the two bikes in front a short time later. Although he was able to pass them, he was pulling away very quickly.

I finally decided it was time to make my move. Coming out of turn 15, I made sure to stick right on their rear wheels as we came onto the front straight. I then unleashed the Ninja power, and passed them both going down the front straight. Yeeeehaaawww! Soon, I caught up to Tristan going into the right-hand off-camber turn 3 and noticed that he was floating wide to the left in order to square up the turn. I guess I can't blame him for taking that line, since he was still trying to figure out the track and didn't know that the inside line was the line to take. So, I kept to the inside and passed right by him. Great, I am in 5th now. "I wonder where Simon is?". After another lap, I came down turn 5 (aka the Cyclone), and as I was entering turn 6, I could see Simon exiting turn 8 and heading up the hill to turn 9. Just as I was thinking, "Maybe I can catch him?", I entered the high speed turn 7 (a left hand dogleg) at what I conservatively estimate to be 120+mph, and the front end slid out from me unexpectedly. I went down hard. By the way, things really do go in slow motion when you are crashing. :-) I remember slding on the pavement, followed by some hard tumbling once I hit the dirt and grass. I distinctly remember telling myself, "Okay, get ready. Here comes the real pain." While tumbling, I was totally expecting to end up with a broken collarbone, leg, etc.

After what seemed to be an eternity, I came to a stop, and realized that I wasn't really in a whole lot of pain. The only thing I thought of was, "I need to signal to the corner worker that I am okay, so they don't red-flag the race." As funny as that seems, that was drilled into us at the riders meeting, and that's all I could think of at the time. So, as I was going to wave to the corner work to tell them that I was okay, I remember stopping and asking myself, "But, am I really okay?". At that moment, my right shoulder felt pretty sore. I had this sick feeling that my collarbone was broken. So, I unzipped my leathers and felt my collarbone, which was intact. Phew! I am okay. A few minutes later, the race ended and I saw Simon ride by and put his hands in the air and shake his head with pity as he realized that it was me that crashed.

Walking over to the bike, I expected it to be totaled, and my season at an end. Much to my surprise, the damage consisted only of a broken fairing bracket, damaged stator cover, cracked upper fairing, broken front master brake cylinder (a Brembo....sniff....sniff... :-( ). All in all, pretty damn amazing. My gear had also done the job. Helmet was scraped on the back left portion of the helmet, gloves were severly battered (kevlar reinforced knuckles were crushed), and my leathers were scuffed, with a couple of holes only on the outermost layer of leather. If it were not for the quality of the gear, my injuries would've been alot worse. IMHO, the thick shoulder pads prevented me from ending up with a broken collarbone. Truly amazing stuff.

The support you receive from your pit mates and other racers when you crash is pretty amazing as well. Racers are a "family" and really try to look out for each other. Sure, there are a few bad apples, but overall it's a great crowd. I had several offers of parts to get me back out there for the races the next day, but I decided to just have dinner with my pit mates, spend the night, and then drive home the next day. Oh well, that's racing.

10/4~5, 2003 CCS Round 8 - Thunderhill Park, Willows, CA
(Simon Williams' race write-up here)

Amateur GTO - 6th place
Amateur Unlimited SuperSport - 3rd place
Amateur Unlimited GP - 2nd place

As you might imagine, I wasn't exactly thrilled with having to race at Thunderhill on my comeback to racing after my crash here in August. But, my confidence level was back to about 80~90%, and my goal was to simply get out there and garner some points to maintain my points lead over Simon. He was really hounding me in GTO and GP, and I was now getting seriously worried about the championship (but, I never told him that, of course ;-) ).

Saturday, October 4
GTO
Welp, here we are. I am gridding up for the GTO race, the race that I crashed in at this track 2 months prior. I was pretty nervous while gridding up, but tried to just focus on the task at hand: finish the race in one piece. The race actually turned out to be pretty unventful for me, except for a huge crash in turn 11, which caused the race to be red-flagged. The re-start proved uneventul, and I took a 6th place. I was actually happy with the finish, and it did wonders for my confidence. "Phew! Glad that's over with." was my thought.

Saturday, October 5
Unlimited Supersport
Unlimited Supersport was a class that I had done pretty well in during the season, so I felt pretty good about going into this race. The man to beat was 14 year old Tristan Schoenwald. He had really picked up the pace at this track and was trouncing everybody. I knew I didn't have much of a chance in beating him, so I thought I'd settle for 2nd. Simon also decided to enter this race, just to harass me, IMHO. :-) I was on the front row with Tristan, and I believe Simon was gridded somewhere towards the rear, due to his last minute decision to enter this race.

I got a decent start and was in the lead for half a lap or so when Tristan came flying by. I pretty much expected that and made no real attempt to catch him. I cruised all alone in 2nd for several laps. With one lap to go, I missed a shift entering turn 8, and none other than the sanbagger himself, Simon, passed me going up the hill to turn 9. Rats! :-) I did what I could to catch him, but just couldn't do it and settled for a 3rd. All in all, I was happy with the result.

Unlimited GP
Simon had to sit this one out due to mechanical problems with the always tempermental Ducati. The start (and race itself) was almost a carbon copy of the Supersport race and was pretty uneventful. Tristan got by me quickly, and I just settled into 2nd by myself which is where I ended up at the end of the race.

All in all, a pretty good weekend for me. Especially when considering the crash I experienced at this track the prior round!

11/15/03, 2003 CCS Round 9 - Firebird East - Chandler AZ
(Simon Williams' race write-up here)
(Matt Bollman's race write-up here)

Amateur GTO - 2nd place

The bottom line is, I drove 730 miles for one race. Yeah, I know, that sounds pretty crazy. But, I was totally addicted to this racing thing, and just felt the "need" to do this. Oh yeah, I guess leading the Southwest GTO class in points might've had something to do with it as well. :-)

After misunderstanding my GPS and missing the turnoff, I finally ending up at the glorious Red Roof Inn, just a few miles from the track. I called Simon and he was already in town, so we just decided that we'd hook up at the track the next morning. Hooked up with Simon the next morning at the track, went through tech, and was ready to rock. During practice, however, Simon's Ducati was once again up to its tempermental ways. Upon further inspection, it appeared as though his bike had somehow managed to ingest a bolt through the air intake, that had somehow worked its way all the way to the motor. Hmmmm.....we were both a bit suspicious regarding the circumstances surrounding this incident. In the end, Simon packed up and headed back to the bay area. Can't say I blame him. I would've done the exact same thing.

I spent the day with AZ fast guy Matt Bollman (a really nice guy too!). Matt was still trying to sort out some settings on the Gixxer 1K, and I knew that he wasn't yet running at his full potential. Good for me, bad for him. :-) But, to be honest, I was really only here to grid up for GTO and bring it safely across the finish line to clinch the Southwest GTO Championship. I did the math, and that was really all I had to do. In fact, I could've just gridded up, completed a lap, and then pitted. But, what fun would that be? :-)

We gridded up, and I think I my position was somewhere mid-pack, due to the fact that I did not pre-register for this race until the last minute. We got the green flag, and I quickly found myself all alone in 3rd. Fast guy Brian Hall was long gone, and Tristan got another one of his rocket starts on the SV and was in 2nd. The gap he had on me was not getting any bigger, but then again, I wasn't reeling him in either. I figured the race would end up this way, with me in 3rd. However, Tristan made an error and overshot turn 4, and I was able to sneak by him right before he got back on the track. Yipppeee! The race was pretty uneventful, and I crossed the finish line in 2nd place, clinching the the Southwest GTO Championship. Very cool. My first season racing, and my very first championship.

Lap times were pretty slow, actually. I think I dipped into the 1:04s for the first time, but that's nothing to write home about. But, for only my 2nd trip there, it could've been alot worse.

11/29/03, 2003 CCS Round 10 - Streets of Willows, Willows CA
(Simon Williams' race write-up here)

Amateur GTO - 4th place
Unlimited Supersport - 5th place
Unlimited GP - 9th place

Ahhhh, the final round of the season. With the Southwest GTO locked up, I was prepared to settle for the #2 Pacific GTO crown, due to the fact that Simon goes pretty well at this track. I was pretty much assured of the #2 spot for Unlimited Supersport, provided I had my usual strong showing. The Unlimited GP class was mathematical mine, with only John threatening me in that class. As long as I stayed ahead of John the title would be mine.

Amateur GTO
Simon one again was suffering from mechanical woes on the big red Duc, so he hurriedly prepped Lorraine's bike, and would be gridded on the 748. Sure, he'd be down on hp, but I was actually still very concerned about his race pace. Since I had the hp advantage on him now, my goal was to get a good start and stay ahead of him.

Upon inspecting the grid sheet, I noticed several unfamilar riders. Hmmmm..... I got a decent start and was dicing it out with 3 other riders from the start in turn 1 and 2! Wow! Who the heck were these guys? I was in a group of 4 riders, swapping 3rd and 4th place a few times each lap. Eventually, the top 3 riders got away from me, and I soon found myself in another pack of 3 riders, battling for the 4th, 5th, and 6th positon. This was prety frustrating, as I was battling it out pretty aggressively with a rider on a Gixxer 1K. I was quicker than he was in the turns, but the grunt of the Gixxer was just too much for me to keep up with. So, I'd reel him in in the tight stuff, only to have him pull away whenever he could use his HP advanatage on me. I figured he had at least 10hp on me. I finally made my move going into turn 2, outbraked him in the right hander, and rode "defensively" for the next few laps. During this time, I thought he was right on me, but coming down the front straight a few laps later, I looked back to notice that he had dropped back considerably, leaving me all alone in 4th. Phew! I also noticed that Simon was running in 7th or 8th place, so I breathed a sigh of relief, kicked it down a few notches, and crossed the finish line in 4th!

YIPPPEEEE!!!! I had just added the Pacific GTO crown to the recenly earned Southwest GTO title. What an awesome feeling. I also noticed that my lap times had dropped into the low 1:25s! This was awesome (for me, anyway).

Unlimited SuperSport
Not a whole lot to write about here. John pretty much had the class championship locked up, so all I had to do was finish ahead of Micky Grana to take to the #2 spot. As soon as I knew I was comfortably ahead of him, I just rode a relaxed pace, being careful not to crash.

My mind was actually on the upcoming Unlimited GP race, which I essentially had a lock on for the championship, provided I was able to finish the Supersport race in one piece. Needless to say, my heart wasn't really in this race, and even Simon (who was watching from the pits) commented that he could tell that I wasn't really trying to win this race. Hehe...he was right. :-) Some people may not be a fan of my race "strategy", but I personally think this was the smart way to ride. Why jeopardize a championship on a race that I had no chance of taking the championship title in? Made sense to me to just ride "smart" and save myself for the GP race.

Unlimited GP
This race turned out to be one of the most enjoyable races of the season for me. It was almost a carbon copy of the GTO race, in terms of the start and first few laps. I actually got the holeshot and was in the lead for the first lap, but quickly got passed by several riders. Once these riders got by me, I just settled in and decided to ride another safe race and bring it home in one piece. At the same time, I wasn't trying to ride radically different, which might've caused problems for my fellow racers.

My finish was a lowly 9th. But, I rode like I wanted a 9th place finish, so I got what I deserved. More importantly, my "smart" riding enabled me to lock up the Amateur Pacific Unlimited GP championship. Sweet. I think I am most proud of this title, due to the fact that this race is well-known to be the hairiest and most competitive race in CCS (prize money tends to have a weird effect on people).

My final tally for the year was:

Southwest Amateur GTO Champion
Pacific Amateur GTO Champion
Pacific Amateur Unlimited GP Champion
Pacific Amateur Unlimited SuperSport #2

12th overall in a field of 191 racers who had points

Many Thanks!
Thanks to all of my sponsors and newly found friends who made my first season of racing an extremely memorable experience. In particular, I really want to thank Ken Hill for prepping the bike for me, which allowed me to focus on just riding the bike. I also can't imagine what my race experience would've been had I not had the opportunity to become pit mates with Simon Williams and John Wehrli. Thanks guys. You really made my 1st race season a blast. See you guys on the track soon! ;-)