Summary
Round 4 was a complete and total success, yielding another victory for a total of two wins, a second and a third so far this year. With only one round left the BOTT LW championship is almost in the bag. The Prairie Dog Racing endurance team survived another wet race on street tires, and my PDR teammate Allen is getting up to speed in his sprint racing endeavors.
Round 4
Round 4 of the SOAR series was held on the "Technical Track" layout at Grand Bend. This configuration incorporates the entire length of the back straight, which works to my advantage in the Battle of the Twins Lightweight class since I have a bit more horsepower than some of my main competitors.
I like this layout a lot but had not ridden it since an instruction / track day back in August of 2013. At that time, my best laps were in the 1:20.0 range. I wasn't sure what lap times to expect with a season or so of racing under my belt.
Friday Practice
All three members of the PDR team were able to get time off work and attend the Friday practice day. After the cluster f**k Friday two weeks prior, the organizers instituted a rule that if you miss the 8:30 riders' meeting, you don't ride until the afternoon. I had a brutal week at work trying to get everything done so that I could play hooky on Friday. I might have had four hours' sleep Thursday night and so was late hitting the road the next morning. I arrived at the track at 8:35 but was able to sprint to the meeting in time not to be benched.
Practice went fine, and I was seeing times in the 1:15.0 range almost immediately (5 seconds faster than two years ago!). Traffic was pretty heavy, and so it was hard to really set any times on clear laps. Part of the problem was the perennial "slower guys on faster bikes" issue. Really, it's pretty simple: if another rider shows you their wheel in the corner multiple times, they are, by definition, faster than you over a full lap distance. If they weren't, they would not be in a position to come alongside you in the corner in the first place. The fact that you can twist the throttle on corner exit and walk away from them doesn't mean you should. Let them past - after half a lap they will not be affecting you at all. Why is this so hard for some people to understand? It really should just be stated outright at every riders' meeting.
The PDR pits are getting even more awesome, mostly due to the tireless efforts of Allen. Check out the big canopy attached to the rebuilt trailer (now with air conditioning). We even sometimes manage to cook breakfast and lunch for ourselves, instead of running into town all the time.
We have also accumulated some great friends this season (Glen McTavish and Yarek Rutkowski) who always pit nearby and hang out with us.
The BOTT LW Field
Disappointingly, Alex Radecki did not show up for this round. Also, Dylan Bauer seems to have graduated from twins racing and moved up to Amateur Superbike and Amateur 600. He had an incredibly successful weekend in those classes. Here is a photo of him looking amazing.
Here I want to mention that all of these wonderful on-track photos are provided by Sheri Manuel. She is a track rider, member of the SOAR community and incredibly talented "amateur" photographer. She provides these photos for free every round. We really need to find some appropriate way to thank her.
With Alex and Dylan out, I really only had Bob Tziougras and Steve Mitchell to worry about in terms of competing for the win. There were 9 riders registered in total but based on past races the other six guys didn't have the pace (either due to machinery or experience) to have a reasonable chance at winning. Steve is the fellow who showed up out of nowhere with an SV650 last round to take the victory and give us all a big surprise. And then there is Bob.
Have you ever had a friend that, on one level, you really like but on another level he is kind of an a**hole? But you also realize that the a**hole-ness is, in a way, what you like about him? That's Bob.
If Bob beats you, he gloats mercilessly and only half jokingly. If you beat him, he implies that you really just got lucky because he had traffic or a mechanical issue. He tells tall tales about the lap times he is doing in order to freak you out. He rubs his chin, looks thoughtfully at your bike in the pits, and casually says "That doesn't look right. Are you sure that's right?"
I love Bob. And I kind of hate him. Bob's bike has the same motor as mine, but is tired and ratty, mostly stock, and poorly maintained. Mine is well maintained, pretty, and has had just enough work done to it (intakes and fuel mapping; slipper clutch) to give me a performance advantage. But Bob rides very well when he is really on it and sometimes can negate the difference between our respective machines.
And, this weekend, for his most successful Jedi mind trick ever, Bob out-qualified Jason Andreassen in the BOTT Heavyweight class. Jason is an experienced and talented rider, and his modified Ducati Streetfighter has at least 30 hp on Bob's 1000SSie. And yet Bob beat him on Saturday. I have to admit, that kind of got into my head a little. Talk is one thing; performance is another.
Here is a photo of Bob chasing down Jason.
BOTT LW Qualifying
In Saturday morning practice I had got my lap times down to the mid 14's, and was hopeful that would be enough to stay ahead of everyone in the 6-lap qualifying race. I was starting on pole but had another mediocre start, as you can see in the video. Bob ended up in the lead and I eventually caught up to him and made a pass going into the carousel, but he got by me again almost immediately, through the dogleg.
The last lap was pretty interesting. We came up on slower traffic (one of the LE Heavy riders), and Bob was desperate to by get by him in order to keep a gap on me before we got back onto the straight where I had a good chance of passing him. Keep in mind that, at this point in the series, I pretty much just need to keep it upright to win the title, while Bob has nothing to lose. That attitude showed in the dive-bomb pass he made on the other rider entering the "bus stop" - they actually came together when the other fellow turned in for the corner. I briefly considered blasting past both of them while they wobbled about, but decided that discretion was the better part of valour.
If you watch right until the end of the video, you will see that there were no hard feelings.
After the race I walked to Bob's pit area to congratulate him. I could see him coiled there, waiting for me, just poised and eager to begin our usual back-and-forth BS session. And so instead I just totally disarmed him:
"Hey, I got nothing. You were just farkin' fast. There is nothing else for me to say about it. You were just awesome - congratulations."
He looked crest-fallen.
Saturday Endurance Race
Although it was dry and sunny at the start of the endurance race, the forecast was for heavy rain. PDR owns a set of rain tires for the Gixxer, but no rims to mount them on, so if it rained part way through we were pretty much screwed.
Here are a couple shots (again, from Sheri) of how we were doing during the first part of the race. First Steve, then me; didn't get one of Allen.
At around the half-way point, the skies opened up and they called a delay due to lightning. It absolutely poured. We were relatively lucky in our pit area but some other teams were standing in several inches of water.
I really thought it would end that way, but with just about 30 minutes to go they sent us back out. Teams with rain tires had already mounted them, but we were stuck with the Q3s that were on the bike, and there were HUGE deep puddles in places. We debated not going out again at all, but eventually decided to try tip-toeing around the track to log at least a few more laps. Allen went out first, and then me, trying to weave between the areas where the water was deepest. The left-hand section in the esses was occupied by a small lake, with only a tiny path off-line that permitted passage. The bikes on proper tires would come storming past us through there, blasting a huge wall of water in both directions, like the wake of a seadoo. It wasn't fun.
However, we survived and ended up placing 5 / 11 in the GTU class, and besting all 15 (!) of the GTL teams.
Grand Bend
The Grand Bend Motorplex is located just a few minutes drive from the town of Grand Bend and one of the most amazing beaches in Canada, on the east shore of Lake Huron. After the endurance race the skies cleared again and it was a beautiful (if hot) summer evening. So, the PDR team and its extended entourage went into town for dinner and then walked down to the beach. We waded into the water, enjoyed the party atmosphere, bought ice cream - it was wonderful. I really don't know why we don't do that more often.
Sunday Morning
We awoke to a heavy fog Sunday morning and everything was covered with dew.
It burned off quickly though and the weather report indicated that we would have dry, sunny and hot conditions for the sprint races. Morning practice went well and I was doing low 14s when I had clear laps. According to Steve, who was watching the practice sessions, when Bob and I were out on track together I was leaving him behind.
I had been thinking about a strategy for the race, and realized that I always had the option of passing Bob on the straight if I was close to him coming off the previous corner. The tricky part would be after that, carrying enough corner speed through the carousel and dogleg to stay ahead of him following the pass. So, I worked hard on those two sections during practice, and eventually felt like I was taking them about as quickly as I possibly could.
Things started to look more promising when Bob had his BOTT HW race. This time, Jason left him for dead, and Steve put a stopwatch on Bob and had him on 1:16s (!).
This is where it gets fun. Allen (of his own volition - I didn't know about it), takes this information to Bob. I understand the conversation went something like this:
Allen: Hey Bob, nice race. Too bad you didn't have anything for Jason today. Steve was watching the race and clocked you doing 1:16s.
Bob: Oh yeah? That's interesting. What kind of times has Hugh been doing?
Allen: Oh, this morning super-consistent low 13s.
Bob: (silence)
BOTT LW Final
Allen's little white lie actually turned out to be more of a prediction, since I did indeed dip down into the low 1:13s during the 12-lap final. The video below shows the whole thing.
Starting from the middle of the first row, I had by far the best start of my life, leading into the first corner and then over almost two complete laps. Unfortunately at that point the race was red-flagged for a rider who had gone down in the carousel and injured himself (not too severely - he was on his feet when I went by, but holding his arm up with his other hand as if maybe he had broken his collar bone).
The restart didn't go as well. When I let the clutch out a bit in anticipation of the start I could feel it slipping and acting odd - I couldn't get the engine revs "poised" against the clutch, if you know what I mean. When the starter sent us off, Jordan Renshaw, Bob, Steve Mitchell, and Yarek Rutkowski all darted out ahead of me.
No problem. Steve and Yarek were sparring a bit on the first lap, so I let that settle down for a while, then passed Yarek at the beginning of lap 2, on the short start-finish straight. I tried Steve into the bus stop in a crazy move similar to the one Bob had pulled off in qualifying, but pulled out of it just in time. Later that lap I got by Steve and Jordan on the back straight, putting me second behind Bob. I passed Bob in the same place on the next lap, putting me in front, but then I fell off the pace a bit, turning a 1:15.0 and then a 1:15.5 despite having a clear track in front. My next lap was better at 1:14.5, but then traffic came into play. I tried to pass a lapped rider on the outside in the middle of the bus stop, but he left me no room and of course then Bob passed us both on the inside and pulled out a lead. I finally got by the lapped rider on the straight, and put my head down to chase Bob. I managed a 1:13.3, then passed him in the usual spot on the following lap, which was a 1:13.7. I had to pass another lapped rider on the next lap but he didn't really hold me up much so that was a 1:14.3. Then, a 1:13.6, and finally another 1:13.3 to the checkered flag.
Here is another video of the race (beginning from the restart), from Steve Mitchell's camera. I love the bit at 4:10 when Yarek comes flying by Steve, but then Steve outbrakes him. My pass on Steve is at 5:23.
Allen also had a good race. He is not in the lead pack yet, but is having fun dicing with Dean Hammond on his 748. Here is Allen on the fattest bike in the race, chasing Dean on the skinniest.
A few more great shots from Sheri. Bob sizing up Jordan and Yarek:
And me behind Steve and Yarek:
As we were packing up after the races, Jordan Renshaw came up to me to let me know that Steve Kinghorn had picked up a Ducati clutch spring off of the asphalt at the start / finish line. I made a snide comment about how Bob's ratty bike was more likely than mine to be shedding parts, but then looked at my clutch and saw this:
One clutch spring screw, spring and keeper missing, another nearly out. Oopsie.
I went and sheepishly collected my clutch spring from Mr. Kinghorn.
We stuck around for the awards ceremony this time, so I could pick up my plaque. Yarek also received his first plaque ever, for finishing second in the Lightweight Superbike class:
I wish Bob had stuck around. I am sure he would have had something to say about my T-shirt.
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