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2006 Race
Reports - by Ryan Nelson |
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My VERY first race report - February 2001
2006 6/29-7/2 Road Atlanta - Cycle Jam (NF SE MC) I was really looking forward to
Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta. Road Atlanta is a track that really
rewards horsepower and I was looking forward to comparing my bike to the
other superbikes. I also was going to ride on Friday during a
6-hour endurance race on an R6 with Gill Gutchen, Scott Padgitt, and
Dave Arkle.
I got on the road after work on
Thursday and drove over to my brother, Zack's, place in Atlanta. I
replaced my windscreen at his place and fell into a deep sleep on his
couch.
Sean Clarke from WERA helped me set up my laptop for live timing and then Zack and I helped set up the endurance pits.
Endurance practice rolled around about 10am and we rotated riding slots doing practice pit stops between riders. I got briefed by Scott on his shift points and I took to the track for a few laps. I never had hidden a bike with a speedometer around Road Atlanta before. I clicked 6th gear just before turn 9 and realized I was going 155 mph and about to bend it in. I actually let off of WFO for a second. I did a few laps, but was off the pace and at the same time looking to get really comfy on the bike for my 45-60 minute stint in the race. Gill took the start of the race, but there was a red flag on the first lap. He took the start for the 2nd time and put down a couple of good laps. Next thing we know Gill pulls the bike in after a minor crash. We fixed the broken front brake lever and rearset and sent Gill back out. Scott got on the bike after a quick fill of 4.5 gallons of gas and roared out of the pits. Scott advanced us a couple of positions but the motor blew going up turn 2. Scott successfully pulled in the clutch and stopped off the racetrack, but our day was done.
It was disappointing, but at least we were all unhurt. It could always be worse. It was Gill's first endurance race, and I guarantee he'll never forget it! I brought Dan Pittman the next day to the track and he helped me get thru practice on my FZR400 superbike. It was evident my gearing needed a tooth less in the rear, but I couldn't fit a smaller sprocket on the rear because the chain was too short. I ended up getting a larger GSXR front sprocket from Dave Arkle (thanks, Dave!) and bolted it up while increasing the rear sprocket 2 teeth. The suspension felt good and I was ready to race but I still was off the pace I needed to run. Borge Larson was on fire and I was going to really have to push to keep up with him. I was watching the V7MW race Borge was racing in on our way to go get lunch and I noticed he didn't come back around the track. Dan and I drove up to turn 10 to see if we could find Borge. We pulled up and there Borg was laying on the ground past turn 10b.
He was definitely hurt and we watched him get loaded in the ambulance after he woke up. He ended up breaking a collarbone, shoulder blade, and had a concussion. I probably didn't need to be watching with my race coming up in a couple of hours. Dan and I went and got lunch and I tried to get my head in the right place for the race. With Borge hurt I was just going to try to win, but I wasn't planning on hanging it all out. Road Atlanta can be a dangerous place in certain spots. We finally gridded up for our race with me on pole and Borge's spot next to me empty. Harry Wolle got the holeshot but I made a pass on the outside going up turn two and took the lead. We were already on the tail of the SV's gridded in front of us in their own race. Harry took over the lead at some point and the race was red flagged on the 2nd lap. We started again and I ended up 5th into turn one. Again the race was red flagged on the 2nd lap for another crash. We gridded up a 3rd time and I was 6th going into turn one. I worked my way thru the field with Tom Lees and I battling for position for a couple laps.
I made my way up to Harry Wolle in first place but couldn't quite get to him. I took home
2nd place down 0.6 seconds behind Harry. 6/17-18 Talladega Gran Prix - CCW (SE MC) This race reports going to be short and sweet. I was going into the weekend really hoping to get a 1st place on Saturday and and 1st place on Sunday. I hadn't done the hat trick in a long long time. I got a 1st and a 2nd last time at TGPR in February, but in the other direction (CW). I had adjusted the suspension to gain more rider preload in the rear since the bike was pretty lose in the rear end when the suspension would top out on the brakes. I also was trying to beat my previous best times at TPGR, which was 1:06.9. I showed up to the track early Saturday morning to find Borge Larson there with his superbike FZR400. I was expecting him to show at this round, so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I also ran into Karl Morrow on his Hawk coming back from a horrible crash and injuries at Road Atlanta at the GNF in October 2005. Karl was my race school instructor from 5 or 6 years ago and an all around great guy. Dan Pittman and my brother, Zack, from Atlanta came on over to give me a hand in addition to my father, Stan. It was unbearably hot out and they sure stuck it out for me! The bike needed more compression damping and rebound damping plus the carbs were a little rough getting up onto the main jet. We adjusted the accelerator pump and the suspension thru the two practices.
I gridded up for my Saturday V6LW race on the front row after a nice lunch of steak sandwiches off the grill. I got the holeshot but by the 3rd turn Karl had come from the last row to pass me for the lead! I couldn't believe it. I tried to hang with him, couldn't, and almost lost the front end more than once trying. Borge was right behind me and kept showing me a wheel. He finally came around me and I finished 3rd, just thankful I didn't crash. The geometry of the bike had change somewhat because in the previous 5 years of racing I had never struggled to keep the front end from pushing so hard and long. It was just keep going and going to the point where I couldn't hold the race line and would start to drift. I didn't feel good either and started to haunt me going into the corner. Henry Avello, and fellow Floribama Rider, finished 4th in the race. Here's the video of the race shot from my bike. Henry had beat me in February so it was just a little payback. Here's Henry getting some fresh race rubber:
We went home and I fed my brother for his hard work in the sun.
I made some more adjustments in Sunday's practice sessions then I gridded back up on the front row for D Superbike Expert. I got the holeshot again and put my head down. The bike was better for sure and I just need to try to keep Borge behind me. Borge finally made a pass on me, I passed him back, then he got me back. I had a horrible last two laps and he beat me by several seconds. Its was a fun weekend though - I brought home two trophies, bested my best time at TGPR running in the 1:06's all weekend with a best of 1:06.4. I'm running in two weeks at WERA's Cycle Jam at Road Atlanta. On Friday, Gill Gutchen, Scott Padgitt, Dave Arkle, and I will be racing a 2003 Yamaha R6 in the WERA National Endurance series. 6 hours of fun! Then on Saturday I'm racing my FZR400 in D Superbike Expert! Come say "Hi!" if you make it to the races! 5/06-07 Barber Motorsports Park (SE MC) Since my recent sponsorship with
Mary Lou's Team ReMax I could
fit the Friday practice day, and fuel that goes with it, into my budget.
The race bike was getting its exhaust repacked by Roger Bates at 29
Dreams, so I picked it Wednesday night and loaded up all the gear back
at the house.
I shot a little
video with my new camera and
experimented with it a little.
At the end of the first lap, I was about 10 feet behind Joe and the two of us were checking out quick.
Joe and I battled alone for the whole race. We passed back and forth and just had a ball. I was in the lead on the last lap and ended up turning my fastest ever at 1:42.2 and took home the win by 2 seconds over Joe Pomery in 2nd place and Henry Avello a distant 3rd.
Great race!
Borge Larson passed me at the end of the back straight,
but I passed him back for the lead on the 2nd lap. Everything was going according to plan when the bike just totally lost power driving up the hill after turn 3. I watched Borge pass me with power and I just kept riding. It was great mid-corner, but just quit pulling at high rpms. Something was gravely wrong with the bike. I kept riding and hoped I could stay on the podium. 2nd place Tom Lees came by,
but I ended up in 3rd. After the race, we started troubleshooting and we discovered one of the main jets in the flatslide carbs had vibrated loose and fell out! I couldn't believe the bike would even run at all while missing a main jet. I replace the jet while making sure the other main jets were tight (they weren't). A scrub lap confirmed that everything was back in working order. We had a cold one, packed up, and went home. I did best my fastest lap at Barber, so I was happy, but it was bittersweet because I had a good shot at winning the D Superbike Expert race if the main jet hadn't fallen out. But - that's racing! Next race is at Talladega GP on June 17-18. Maybe I'll be able to pull two wins out there! 4/29-30 Nashville Super Speedway (SE MC) Fellow FBR and overall nice guy, Andy Crenshaw, rode up with me to Nashville Friday night for my second ever weekend racing at the speedway. We arrived to the track about 9:15pm, got into the track, but the paddock was locked up. We dropped the trailer in front of the paddock gates, then drove the Andy's parents house nearby in Lebanon. Montgomery and Peaches Crenshaw rolled out the red carpet and made my weekend a lot cheaper by putting us up. We arrived at the track bright and early Saturday morning and Dave Arkle, aka DietDrThunder, made space for us in his garage. This shelter would prove to be a really blessing later in the weekend. Thanks, Dave!
I had slicks already mounted up when we arrived, but registration and tech took longer than usual and I ended up barely missing first practice.
Second practice I tried to remember how to get around the track. I did 1:20, 1:19; 1:18; 1:17, 1:16, 1:15 and then they checkered the practice session. I needed to be running 1:11 in the race. I really need to work on getting up to speed faster at the track, but sometimes its really tough at the tracks I only get to once a year. I was pretty despondent after I checked the time sheets to see Joe Pomery kicking my butt in practice. I had my work cut out. My brother-in-law, Todd. showed up to help from Indiana and we enjoyed DDT's pit humor.
My race finally came around and I gridded up in the pole position with Joe next to me and the rest of the pack behind us. I got an OK start and was in about 4th place going into the very fast turn one. I kept it pinned and shot by the other guys to pin myself to Joe's tail going into the very tight 180 degree turn 2. Joe was pulling me going into the short back straight and then again on the front straight, but I was down in the 1:11's. He's got a great motor in his RZ350 two-stroke. I was trying to match his pace but my bike was periodically protesting my wants. There is a very long left sweeper where you crank thru 3 gears leaned over finally coming up onto the front banking. On lap 3 I had it pinned thru the left sweeper trying to get the best drive possible while clutchless upshifting and hanging as far off the bike as I could muster. I got a great drive but the 3rd gear to 4th shift sent the rear wheel sliding a couple of inches and it promptly found its traction again. I bobbled quite a bit on the recovery and lost another second or two across the sweeper / front banking combination. The rear end of the bike was just too soft and wanted to wallow under acceleration. My suspension adjustment which helped me some at Roebling was coming back to haunt me. Joe was pulling away . . . We got the halfway marker and I took a look coming out of turn 3 where the track double backs on itself and noticed 3rd place was way way back. I decided I'd just not throw it away trying to match Joe's pace and I settled in for the remaining laps careful with the wallowing in the fast sweeper. I took 2nd home by a long margin over third and Joe took the win by about 9 seconds. I'm glad the rain held off but the forecast didn't look very good for Sunday's race. We all packed up and went out to dinner with the Crenshaws, Andrea got in from Birmingham, and we hit the sack for another night of restful sleep. First practice went well on Sunday, and then the sky opened up. Rain started falling and just didn't stop.
Andy and Todd helped me mount up my spare rims with rain tires so I could make second practice. Thanks, guys!
I pushed the rain tires a little and found there was one place I could drag a left knee and another place I could drag a right knee, so I felt good. The tires were sticking very well and the track had a good amount of wet grip. DDT still cracked us up with more pit humor.
I finally gridded up for my race, D Superbike, but there was just me and Doug Reese on his Kawasaki EX500 gridded up behind the SV's. I just had to stay in front of Doug to take home the win, but at least we both had rain tires. It would be very very sketchy to even run with DOT's in the conditions. I got a terrible start and Doug got a good start. I finally caught and passed Doug in between turn 3 and turn 4, and just paced myself to keep Doug behind me. I was running slower than I had in rain practice, so I was comfortable and I was pulling away from my opponent on the fast portions with my motor. The bank was a weird experience up high on the banking at 125 mph or so with water sheeting down the banking. The tires were working great though. It was hard to see with all the water streaming up the windscreen and top of my face shield at high speed, but you could see just enough to make it work. I took the win convincingly and happily collected my weekend's trophies.
Everyone helped me pack up the gear and we headed back to Birmingham while Todd returned home to Indiana. Finally the rain slowed down and there was a great rainbow and sunset combination while I cruised on down the interstate.
Next race is next weekend back at home at Barber Motorsports Park. 3/18-19 Roebling Road Raceway (NF SE) I hadn't been to Roebling in 4
years and that was on a R6 endurance bike plus I hadn't ridden a 400
there in 5 years - I was going to have my work cut out. I got all packed up solo Thursday night,
which is a larger undertaking than most people realize even on my small
scale.
The Marauder is a great tow vehicle for a car and its trunk is cavernous. I pack the
toolbox, generator, tire warmers, chairs, leathers, boots, helmet bag,
clothes, rain tires on rims, spare slicks, and other associated goodies in the car and the rest of
the stuff goes on the open trailer.
We got to the track the next day and headed out again for some practice. Fellow FBR Dave Gay gave me some pointers and I followed him around to see if I could learn something. He looked great out there and his lines helped me out, plus I found I could keep up with his SV650 on the long long front straight. The motor was pulling strong, but I just needed to ride harder. Full lean with fairing scrapes were not happenin'.
There was a light rain in my
second practice, which didn't do much for my confidence since the front
tire didn't like the patches on the track if there is moisture. I was still way off the
pace and just relented to have a good race, and place the best I could
and get the points.
I knew Borge was going to leave me - he races here every year and had
the track and his riding nailed. I got a poor start (1st real
start at Roebling) and Borge came
flying by the outside going into turn one. The traffic sorted out
and I was in a solid 3rd place after a lap. Kith Birkenstock came
by me and I stuck to his tail. I passed him back, then I got passed
by Doug Berrong going into turn 7, I promptly passed him back for 3rd
place, then Kith came back around me. I was getting a handful of a
race! I had power on Kith and passed on the front straight but
realized that it was past the start / finish line, so I needed to be in
front of him on the last lap and couldn't rely on being able to make a
last-turn-onto-the-straight-pass-for-the-lead. One more lap, we got the white flag
by the time I got by him and I
was still in front of Kith and we were working thru lap traffic. I
just need to hold Kith off and make some smart passes and I'd take 3rd
and the points that go with it.. We got into a small pack of
novice SV650's and I passed a guy in turn 5 on the inside, while Kith passed the same guy on the outside and beat me around.
I stayed very close to Kith back tire and we powered thru the final high speed turn 9. There was some traffic we were catching, which
caused Kith to not get the best drive onto the front straight. I
finally pulled out from behind Kith and beat him to the line by about a
bike length at the line - 9 hundredths' of a second. Fun, fun stuff and it was good for a third place in
the race. Borg and I will have our day at the GNF at Road Atlanta.
I probably wont race against him 'till then since we race in different
regions. Ryan
2/11-12/06 Talladega Gran Prix - clockwise (SE MC regions) My fellow Floribama Riders,
Jeffro,
Scott, and Henry set up a
nice spot for us at the track Friday night.
I arrived early Saturday morning and
unloaded as the other guys showed
up one by one. The track was soaked and it was misting rain
with 40 degree temps, but we got two good practices in on rain tires,
which is good to get practice, but does help much when the afternoon
races are dry. The bike's carbs needed a needle-raising between
the two practice sessions. After switching to new slicks for the
now dry track, I gridded up for my one Saturday afternoon race, Vintage
6LW. I was on pole position, got a decent start and soon found
myself in 2nd place behind long time friend,
Henry Avello. On the
second lap, he pulled out a large lead and started pulling away from me.
I tried a couple of different shifting combinations and made a mental
note that I needed slightly taller gearing to get a better drive out of
the double 90's. I kept hitting the revlimiter while still
standing the bike up and I know I could go a lot faster thru there if I
had few hundred more rpm's. Henry just got out of reach and I
crossed the finish line in 2nd place - almost 4 seconds behind
Henry.
If I was gonna lose this one, it was nice to lose to Henry, but he wont
ever let me forget it!
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