I feel compelled, somehow in an odd way, to post this to the race list, since others have, I will too, though I still hardly feel qualified as a racer....(hehe, odd to think of myself in that group)-here's a not-too-brief post on "My intro to road-racing at Loudon".
FRIDAY, April 17, 1998
Spend all day getting bike running and ready, then finally off to the track at 1pm, as expected. Arrive at 2. Open practice starts at 3. Rain threatens. I hesitate. Finally decide I might as well try it-I'm gonna be faced with wet pavement sometime, right? I was slow slow slow. and Choppy. Not smooth with downshifts, not smooth with turns, not smooth with, well, you get the picture. Less than 8 laps, I think, but that was enough for little old me for this round. I now know that I hate racing in the rain. I forgo further racing and begin to rectify the things the tech-guys said would have to be done before racing. Judy Mirro offers her garage space for me to work in,(what a great bunch of people these racers are!) but I'm almost done, so I thank her and finish the task under a tarp. Then I spent 40 minutes in line to get registered, only to learn that I was in the wrong line. Go to another, but I tried to pay with a credit card-so....you guessed it, go to another line, then back to the second line, then back to the first (which had just about wrapped up for the night, anyway.) I make tech 1 minute late, but Tony lets me in, cause he's a nice guy. I forget my helmet, but did get the one "that-one-has-to-be-lockwired" bolt drilled & wired to their satisfaction (thank the gods for cordless drills). The bike gets teched, even if the helmet doesn't. While putting the EX on the trailer, I notice that there is a thin sheen of oil all over the front of the engine. I wonder what's up with that. I arrive at home around 9pm. pooped. Put my son (who accompanied me all afternoon) to bed, and attend to house chores until 11 (read: Emails). sleep like a rock.
SATURDAY, April 18, 1998
Up at 5. Babysitter arrives on time at 5:45, but we chat for a half hour, so I leave later than planned, but not too bad. Weather was nice-a little cool, but not raining. 7:10am at the gate, I'm so happy I don't have to wait in the lines now forming for registration. It's good to live nearby. In the infield, I warm up the bike, wipe off the front of the engine, and watch for oil....I hold the engine at 10K for a few seconds, and there it is: a little river down the front, apparently from the top of the valve cover. Damn. Off with the seat/tank....a valve cover bolt gasket is missing. mmy first practice starts-I miss it completely. Who is responsible for this shoddy reassembly? Me. When I set the valves a month ago...Damn. I hunt in vain for an OEM replacement part-noone has spare engine parts...but Bob in tech says he can have one in a while. My second practice starts. I arrange a nested pair of orings with two flat washers which seem to work ok. I am finally ready and head for the track. Out of the pits and around turn one the bike's running good, Turn 1A, lean right, engine coughs and no power...lean left for turn 2-engine back to life, then falters again...I pull off at turn three, with no gas. By the time I get to the trailer, gas it, start it, and get back to the pit-out, I'm too late. My second of two practices is now over. No practice for me today. When I ask when the gas pumps are open in the paddock, two people immediately say "I have more than enough fuel-get some out of the can next to my truck." What a great bunch of people. I put in 1/2 gallon-which should do me just fine, and fill it up from the pump later when I get home.
Rookie race-I am about a half hour early to the pre-grid, and wait, and wait, and wait. I nearly drop the bike while looking around and hope noone saw...of course they did-I hear about it later. Finally it's our turn. Someone falls hard on the warmup lap on turn 5. He lays still the whole time I can see him, and is hauled out by ambulance. I don't hear any more about him all weekend. I hope he's ok, whoever he was. We finally start. I finish mid-pack (6/10), but most importantly, I don't fall down, so I get to keep my license. The memory of the fellow on the pavement sticks with me.
Race #4 Amateur Lightweight Sportsman. My EX500 can be competetive in this class, but not in my hands. I avoid a single bike/rider sliding sideways on the pavement in turn 2. I run 1:46-1:47's and finish 17 of 21, with a couple people behind me (and some DNF's, I suppose). I pass noone. Only a lucky grid position and a halfway decent start precludes a last place finish.
Race #7 Amateur Production Twins. This is the class LRRS created for EX's it seems. The guy next to me on the grid dumps the clutch at about 10K when the green drops, and I look to my left at his front axle as high as my elbows. I can hear the guy saying "Woohhw!" I pull away as he finally rolls off and gets it back on the ground. A big tangle on turn 1 right off the bat sends me into the grass to avoid the mess. I'm happy to not be involved. I actually make a couple passes mid-race. (yeeha!) On the last lap, I run wide in turn 5-roll off as I stir up the dirt/gravel on the outside of the turn, four bikes whiz past, I get back in the race, and apparently finished 11 of 15, with a couple people behind me again (a computer problem has made it hard for me to decipher the result postings, the official inside says they'll post them in legible format next race meet.) Still running 1:45-1:46's
I get home late, celebrate my entrance to the race world, and pass out for 6 hours. World war three wouldn't have awakened me.
SUNDAY, April 19, 1998
I make it to the track at 7, as scheduled. By chatting, not paying attention, and putting cute number-plates on the pedal pit-bikes for me & the boy, I miss my first practice. I make it out for the second, though, which was real cool. Lap times down to 1:43. I'm still slowslowslow (fast EX's do 1:25's I think; Eric Wood turned 1:16 in Nationals last year, I'm told, and can run 1:20's all day. Even when he's eating lunch). Man am I slow. But beginning to smooth out a bit.
Race#9 Amateur LightWeight Sportbike. Good race. I spend most of the race chasing an MZ (Paul from motoport, I think) His engine sounds really cool. He pulls away coming out of turns, I seem to be able to keep up on the straights, then I catch up to him on the turns. We run like this for 3 laps. Could the EX take his MZ? perhaps. Can I take him? No. At least not today. I follow him past the checkered flag for a 13th of 18 finish, dead last (I think) except for DNF's. I run steady 1:42's, with a 1:41.07 for good measure.
A great weekend.
CCS License: $100
Practice Fri: $60
Pit passes for me, son, and a friend: $45 (i think)
Three races: $150
Tshirts/hat:$48
Food: $25
Gas: $15 (mostly for the pickup towing the trailer with the bike)
Fun: Immeasurable.
Now I understand how these "this is how my race-weekend-went" posts get so long. It's more fun to write about mine than read others, but this makes a good way to recap it all for my sake.
Thanks to Tony Iannarelli for tech'ing me after official closing on friday and the track tips, and a special thanks to Renee for letting Tim hang out on the top of your camper for a bit while I was out on the track. It was good to see Judy Mirro again (#900) and meet Patricia Clark (#800) both racing EX's. I also chatted with TJ Tryon from the EX list.
Hey Ahmet-Was that your friend I saw crashing hard on turn 2 in race #10 Sunday just as I was packing up? I saw him stand and walk to the ambulance under his own power, but he lay there a long time..How is he? Did you get any good pictures of the weekend activities? I'll post some, as soon as they develop--don't know how good they'll be, but I'll try. If you got any good ones of #371, I'd be oh-so-glad to pay for a couple of prints.
Two people have said I should put a fork brace on my EX. Great. Another project. Perhaps I'll make one just for shits & grins. Anyone got a used decent shock for a '91 GSXR? I was asked to ask around for someone not on the 'net. If I can get him a nice one, perhaps I can snitch his stocker for the EX....
BIKE SETUP:
New aftermarket but stock-sized battery
Stock final drive (16/42)
rear tire=fairly beat Metz
front tire=fairly new Metz
30psi both tires...never did check em after I set em....D-oh!
mesh air filter screen, airbox fully assembled
Progressive front fork springs
15W fork oil
EBC green front pads
rear preload=?
No forkbrace
UPDATE: i just learned that I got 4 points for the PTWN race this weekend. 3races, 4 points towards Junior plates!
