Round 2 - That's Better!

Summary

Round 2 was on the Modified Track at Grand Bend.  Things started off looking bad with some mechanical issues but it all got sorted quick and I managed to make qualifying on Saturday and both sprint races Sunday.  Results pretty much on target, including a podium in Battle of the Twins Lightweight.  Feeling great with my first real sprint races under my belt.

Round 2

Round 2 was June 14 - 15.  I skipped Friday practice since I already had some experience on this layout (Modified Track), and instead hit the road before 5:00 am Saturday morning.  Arrived at the track at 7:00 to find my two Prairie Dog Racing teammates fast asleep in the trailer.  Woke them up rudely then got the bike unloaded and ready for tech.  So far all according to plan.

Saturday Practice and Qualifying

First practice session...and the bike breaks on the first lap.  Just started running on one cylinder.  Rode it back to the pits in a FURY.  Parked it, yelled some obscenities, then started preparing the "For Sale - Cheap" sign.

Eventually I calmed down, got out the diagnostics equipment and isolated the problem (injector lead again).  Fixed it in no time and got back on the track before the morning practice ended.

I eventually got my practice times down to what I was hoping for.  When I wasn't in traffic 0:59s were easy, and there were some low 58's in there as well.  Excellent - right on target.  I was pretty much correct with predictions on where I could make up some time, especially in Turn 1.

Qualifying for the BOTT LW race was interesting.  Our class was combined with Lost Era Heavyweight, with the Lost Era guys in front of us because they are faster.  BOTT LW qualifying quickly became a battle  between myself and Alex on his 748.  I basically followed him around for all 6 laps, never getting close enough to pass, but taking note of where he was faster than I was, and where I could make time on him.  I qualified just behind him in second.  I was very pleased with this, as it was confirmation that my bike could be very competitive in this class, as I had expected.

My Rookie 600 qualifying race was the very next one - I literally pulled off the track from my first qualifier, then did a U-turn and joined the mock grid for Rookie.  I was a bit tired and started riding kind of ragged.  I did make up quite a few spots working my way through the back of the large field (17!), and probably could have caught one more but then I screwed up the entry to Turn 2 and ended up running across the grass.  I ended up 9th.

Here are a few photos from Saturday qualifying.

Saturday Endurance Race

Our 3-h endurance race went pretty well.  I only did two stints while Steve and Allen each did three.  We messed up our fuel calculation and ended up having to refuel twice instead of once.  The GTU class is *very* competitive.  We finished last place (fourth) in GTU, but only one team in GTO turned more laps than us, so we were fifth overall.  Pretty respectable all in all and we are all getting faster.

Battle of the Twins Race - Sunday

I really botched the start in the twins race, sending the front wheel sky high in a completely uncontrolled wheelie.  In the end it didn't matter though because I caught up to Alex quickly and eventually passed him under braking into the carousel.  I led for a few laps but didn't really have a feel for how far behind me he might be...and then out of nowhere he gets me back in exactly the same spot!  As you can see in the video I had a plan to try to retake the position, but unfortunately I got lapped by the leader of the Lost Era race on the last lap, and so our race was shortened by one lap and I never got the chance to challenge Alex again before the finish.  I was happy with second but my intention is to fight harder for first in Round 3.

Rookie 600 Race

I was a bit nervous about the Rookie 600 race because there were 17 on the grid, with me about midpack at position 9.  Honestly, I got another pretty awful start but at least I didn't pull another wheelie.  Things didn't really spread out much midpack for the first few laps, and at one point I got behind a bit of an incident where the rider in front of me was forced to brake really hard to avoid the bike ahead of him entering Turn 2.  I kept my nose clean but lost a pile of positions.  That actually turned out all right because then I had the fun (and practice) of re-passing all of those guys.  I swapped places with one fellow in particular multiple times.  In the end, after all that action, I finished right where I started: 9th.

I was actually pretty happy with the way the bike performed in the race, against machines with quite a bit more motor.  The Ducati is very stable under braking and can carry a lot of corner speed, so I was quite often able to pass people entering the faster corners at the end of both straights.  I made a lot of passes into Turn 1 which gave the people in the grand stands a nice show.  The race was a lot of fun and has convinced me to stick with the rookie class for the rest of the season to see if I can move up the rankings a bit.  I will never turn the times that the front runners are capable of, but upper third of the pack should not be out of reach if I can dig a little deeper.  I did get faster over the course of the race, eventually turning low 58s consistently.  Video:



Summary

Having now completed my first real sprint races, I have to say that I am enjoying myself and am pleased with my progress.  Such a relief after the disaster of Round 1!  I even earned a little tire contingency money for my second place BOTT LW finish (thanks Bridgestone and RIPP racing).

Reviewing my goals for Round 2:

1. Don't crash - Check!

2. Don't miss any qualifying or sprint races due to mechanical issues - Check!

3. Get average practice lap times down to 0:59.x, and turn at least a few 0:58.x - I did better than this, putting in a pile of 58s and one 0:57.94.

4. Podium finish in BOTT LW (why not?) - Yep!  Hooray!

5. Mid-pack or better finish in Rookie 600 - Not quite (9 / 17) but close enough.

6. Have fun - Most certainly.

Getting Ready for Round 2

Summary

With Round 2 only 8 days away I am thinking hard about what I hope to accomplish and how I am going to manage it.  After my pathetic double-DNS in Round 1, the main objective for this coming round is to avoid mechanical issues so that I don't miss any sessions.  I am in full "Hope for the Best but Plan for the Worst" mode.

Round 2 - Grand Bend, June 14 & 15

I won't be doing the Friday practice day this round.  The track layout is the "Modified Track" - same layout as the practice weekend so I already have plenty of laps on this configuration.  It is the shortest track setup at Grand Bend, with the fastest superbike riders turning laps in the 52-second range.  On the practice weekend I had targeted 1:00 flat as a reasonable time and easily achieved it, with also some 0:59.x laps in the mix.  There is some video of this layout in the first blog entry.

To be honest this is not the best configuration for me, because it is one of two layouts that use the entire length of the back straight.  I can often gap the 600s exiting corners but once they get wound up, given enough space, they will eventually blow by me.  Long straights definitely do not work to my advantage.

Reliability

Obviously the main goal this weekend will be to keep the bike running reliably so that I don't suffer another mechanical DNS.  The diagnostics indicated that I had a poor electrical connection to one of the fuel injectors.  Unfortunately I never identified the problem with 100% certainty, but by the time I had tested every connection and put it all back together, it ran perfectly again.  So here's hoping...

I have also installed the new (used) oil cooler, and run the bike up to temperature three different times to test both it and the fuel injection.  Zero issues.  So, I will safety wire the oil lines, put the bodywork back on, then test it one more time.  But I think I will also bring the diagnostics equipment to the track this time, just in case.

I have also been nervous about the prospect of rain leading to a DNS, since I am running slicks.  Accordingly, I have acquired a lightly used set of rain tires and a spare front Brembo rim, which I will assemble with the OEM discs next week.  I am going to have to mount the rear rain tire on the OEM spoked rim.  It will look a little goofy, but at least I will be able to run in the wet if need be.

Competitiveness

If I can turn 59-s laps consistently in practice I should be very competitive in the BOTT LW sprint race.  But the 600 Rookie field is excellent this year so I am going to need to find some more time if I want to mix it up with those guys.  I have some ideas about where I can pick up a few tenths.

• Certainly I can brake later into the long "carousel" turn, since I am currently coasting a bit there before turning it in.  It takes a lot of nerve to stay in the throttle until the first set of cones (at over 220 km / h!) but I know it is doable if I can summon the courage.
• With a wider line entering the dogleg before the start / finish line I should be able to carry more throttle through there.  That will require getting closer to the curbing at the apex of the dogleg...but not too close.  The pavement is kinda humped up for about 12" beyond the curbing and can really upset the bike.
• I am also confident that I can enter Turn 1 with a lot more speed.  I am not using anything like the whole track there. 

The tight infield bit (Turns 2 and 3) remains a mystery to me, so I will be studying other people's lines during practice.

I have also been thinking hard about passing strategies.  I was pretty tentative in the endurance race last round.  That was mostly okay because endurance racing is supposed to be a bit more relaxed, but I was still sometimes frustrated with how long it took me to safely get by bikes that were obviously much slower.  The good thing about endurance racing though is that it gives you piles of practice.  For Round 2 I will be sure to use those 50 or so laps to experiment with alternate lines and different ways of getting around other riders.

Objectives for Round 2

1. Don't crash

2. Don't miss any qualifying or sprint races due to mechanical issues

3. Get average practice lap times down to 0:59.x, and turn at least a few 0:58.x

4. Podium finish in BOTT LW (why not?)

5. Mid-pack or better finish in Rookie 600

6. Have fun

    

Round 1 was a washout...

Summary

Well, Round 1 was a terrible disappointment.  The bike stopped running and I missed all of my qualifying races Saturday and so we packed up and left Saturday night.  I did manage to get licensed however and we also did the endurance racing Saturday, so it wasn't a total waste.

Friday - SOAR Race School

Arrived bright and early Friday to about 5°C and light mist...which turned to heavy mist...which turned to something that could only properly be called rain.  Everything was soaked and I didn't bring enough warm clothes.  I had two hours of race school classroom time in the morning, which was very useful - answered all of my outstanding questions about starting procedures grid assignments, flags etc.  But the building was unheated and I was wet and actually shivering during the class.  The classroom instructor was Mike Bevan, a top runner and previous champion in Expert Superbike, and he was just great.

Here is what our pit area looked like after the class:

After lunch all of the race school students had to do some laps with an instructor following to make sure our lines were safe and that we weren't totally incompetent.  Problem is the track was still about 80% wet and several of us had only slick tires.  Fortunately for me I also had the endurance bike handy wearing Q3 street tires, so I took that out with the instructor.  The instructor had race DOTs on, which must have been kinda spooky in those conditions.  After I had done five or six laps I went back to the pits to wait.  He eventually showed up and said "I am very tentative in the rain and you left me for dead out there, so you can consider yourself licensed."

Hooray.  I guess....

Eventually the track dried up, but when I started the Ducati it was running very badly.  A bit of a shocker because the bike has been very reliable (except for the oil cooler thing....) and was running great two weeks prior at practice.  We found some issues with the battery connections and got it running well again.  By that time it was pretty late so I didn't even set up the timing beacon or record any video.  The track layout was "Reverse Screaming Alien" which I have some prior experience on, and I felt like my times were probably okay, though certainly not the 1:10s I was hoping for.

I got registered with Bridgestone for the tire contingency program, and put the stickers on the bike.  It was looking even more bad-ass and I went to bed very excited.

Saturday - It all goes pear-shaped

To make a long story short, when it was time to go out for Saturday practice (on a nice, dry track) the bike wouldn't run.  Now it was actually turning on the check engine light, but I had left the connector cables for my diagnostics software at home so I couldn't check the codes.  I spent the whole day Saturday wrenching the bike, trying everything I could think of, and making runs into Exeter for parts (fuel filter, plugs).  This is how the bike looked during my qualifying races:

It is hard to get more pathetic than that.  I was just frantic, at first hoping to make the last practice session, then hoping to make qualifying, then just hoping to get it going for Sunday and start at the back of the grid.  No dice.  

Eventually I just had to admit defeat, throw down the tools and concentrate on the Saturday evening endurance race on the Gixxer.  That was quite a bit of fun and at least I got some practice with passing under (low intensity) race conditions.  After that we had a beer and a hotdog, then broke camp and headed for home a day early.  

I am extremely disappointed because, looking at the lap times others were doing, I am pretty sure that I could have been reasonably competitive in both of my sprint races.  On a happy note, a friend of mine on a Triumph 675, also a first year racer, decimated the field in the 600 Rookie qualifying race.  Way to go Brodie!  Still waiting for the Sunday results to see how he finished.

So, how did we do?

Reviewing the list of "realistic goals" for Round 1:

1. Get licensed - Check!

2. Don't crash - Check!

3. Turn some practice laps in the 1:10.x range - Uh,no....

4. Don't embarrass myself in the sprint qualifiers or races - Never had the chance.

5. Have fun - Meh.  Froze my butt Friday morning, spent 9/10 of Saturday frantic and frustrated.  So I'm gonna say "fail" on this one.

Definitely a failing grade overall.  Hopefully it all gets sorted for Round 2 in three weeks.  Diagnostics led me to an electrical fault to one of the fuel injectors and the bike is now running again.  You can be sure that it will be started and run on pretty much a daily basis for at least a week to see if it misbehaves again.

Plans for Round 1

SOAR Round 1 is this weekend at Grand Bend.  It will be a three-day weekend for me, because I need to do the race school on Friday.  Assuming they are crazy enough to grant me a race licence, I will get a bit of practice in on Friday afternoon and then again on Saturday morning.

I struggled a bit with the decision about how many classes to register for.   I am committed to the endurance racing with PDR on Saturday, and wondered if maybe that, along with the Friday school, would be enough for the first weekend.  And actually it looked like that would be all I would be permitted to do, since my family was understandably not thrilled to learn that I would be gone for three days straight.  However, they eventually acquiesced so the decision was mine.

I knew I wanted to do at least one sprint class, if for no other reason than to get the experience of a race start.  Battle of the Twins Lightweight is the obvious choice - my bike should be pretty competitive there.

The question was...do I also sign up for the 600 Rookie class?  Air-cooled twins up to 1200 cc are permitted, but could I be competitive against a bunch of young guys (and girls) on Japanese supersport bikes?  Also, that class is usually pretty heavily subscribed early in the season.  I could be gridding up with 15 to 20 other riders as inexperienced as myself.  Recipe for disaster?

The track layout will be "Reverse Screaming Alien".  I reviewed quite a bit of youtube video of past Rookie races on that layout, and convinced myself that lap times in the 1:10 range would be competitive (i.e., potential to podium).  So, even the high 1:12s I was managing last year at a track day on that layout would not see me getting lapped or otherwise humiliated.  Accordingly....I signed up.  If I can get my practice times down into the 1:10s I will be pretty confident going in, so that is the goal I have set for myself.  But if I even manage some 1:11s I won't be too disappointed.

So the weekend schedule is: Friday - school and practice. Saturday - practice, 6-lap qualifying races for both BOTT LW and Rookie, then 3-h endurance race.  Sunday - a bit of morning practice and then two 12-lap sprint races.  The only thing certain in all of this is that ibuprofen will be my friend on Saturday.  I wonder if Advil would like to sponsor an amateur racer?

Speaking of sponsorship, I am going to sign up for the Bridgestone contingency program, since I am running their V01-R slicks.  They pay back to third place for any class that has a minimum of six competitors on the grid.  That will include 600 Rookie for sure but we may even have that many in BOTT LW.  Of course expecting to podium on my first race weekend is a bit fanciful...but I would feel like an idiot if I somehow pulled it off but hadn't bothered to register for the contingency program.  Also, it sure would be helpful at this point to win a little tire money!

On the bike prep side, the replacement oil cooler didn't arrive until today and I couldn't wait that long to get the bike ready, so I just removed the old cooler and bypassed it.  These bikes run fine without coolers anyway, but I will keep an eye on the engine temperatures and install the new cooler at the track if I deem it necessary.

I just acquired a new front wheel so that I can get set up with rain tires, but that won't all get organized for this round.  Hopefully it doesn't rain or I am screwed for the sprint races.

So, in summary, Realistic Goals for Round 1:

- Get licensed
- Don't crash
- Turn some practice laps in the 1:10.x range
- Don't embarrass myself in the sprint qualifiers or races
- Have fun

I should add that there is a running bet within the PDR team as to who will turn the best laps on the endurance bike...we are talking serious gloating privileges here.

A middle-aged guy decides to become a motorcycle racer

Hi there -

My name is Hugh Earl and, at the age of 45, 2014 will be my first season racing motorcycles.  I will be campaigning a 2006 Ducati Sport 1000 in the Battle of the Twins Lightweight class in the Southern Ontario Association of Racing (SOAR).

I am also a member of the Prairie Dogs Racing Team, which consists of myself, my brother Steve and our friend Allen.  We have put together a 2003 GSXR600 which we will run in SOAR's GTU Endurance Class (basically, a 3-h race with multiple riders taking turns).

I have been track riding since 2010, mostly at Cayuga (Toronto Motorsports Park), but with occasional outings to Mosport and Grand Bend.  Six of the 2014 SOAR rounds will be at Grand Bend on the various configurations there.  One of those is a joint round with RACE, and then SOAR also has another joint round with RACE out at their home track of Shannonville.

My bike is pretty unusual for a race machine, being a 1000-cc air-cooled 2-valver.  However, SOAR's rules allow me to enter it into a number of classes, competing against 600-cc inline fours if I so choose.  Here is the bike:

Modifications from stock include a DP slipper clutch, WASP intakes and fueling mods (with Dynojet PCIII), WASP top mount steering damper, Traxxion Dynamics fork cartridges and springs, Penske shock, Arrow 2-1 exhaust, Airtech fairing on an Endurance Engineering stay with a Gustaffson windscreen, Catalyst Composites bellypan, LSL (Spiegler) footpegs, Brembo wheels and 4-piston / 4-pad front calipers, Shorai Lithium Battery relocated under the seat, Tech Spec tank grips, 14 / 41 final drive gearing, Motovation frame sliders and RhinoMoto bar and axle sliders and probably some other stuff I am forgetting.  I am running Bridgestone V01-R slicks with Bickle tire warmers.  The bike has been safety wired according to SOAR tech requirements, and the crankcase breather is vented into a catch can mounted in the front fairing.  There is also a brake lever guard and a rear sprocket "shark fin" guard (both Woodcraft) as required by the rules.

I have registered with SOAR under novice race number 282, but won't be officially licensed to race with them until I complete the race school on Friday May 23.

With this bike I expect to be reasonably competitive in the Battle of the Twins Lightweight class, but am also very curious as to whether on not I could hold my own against other novice racers on inline-4 600s.  SOAR has a special class for rookie (first year) racers on 600s, which I may enter if I can convince myself that I could make a good show of it (i.e., not be dead last).  So far the signs are encouraging.  Last Saturday SOAR had a test day at Grand Bend on the "Modified" track layout.  Watching youtube video of rookie 600 races on that layout from previous years, it seemed like 1 minute flat would be a respectable time.  So, on Saturday I went out with the "Red Group" (what was I thinking...holy smokes those guys are quick), and quickly managed to average 1:00.x, with a few 0:59.x in there for good measure.  

Here is some video, which unfortunately ends with my oil cooler exploding.  The fellow at the end is trying to signal to me that my bike is smoking, but of course at that point I already knew.  I really should have exited the track sooner (rookie mistake), but fortunately the leak wasn't bad enough to drop any oil on the track surface.

  

I've ordered the parts I need to fix the bike and so expect to be ready for Round 1.  If not then I will just do the endurance racing for that round and wait for Round 2 to get the Duc out there.

Got some laps in on the endurance bike as well.  I was 2 - 3 seconds slower on the Gixxer, probably because I have not ridden an inline 4 for so long (over a decade!) and so had no feel for what gear to be in.  The bike seemed to work reasonably well though.  We have it on Dunlop Q3s, which seem to be really wonderful tires.